tram transport

Letting the tram take the strain on the Abbey Flyer has got the thumbs up from civic watchdogs. St Albans Civic Society is supporting the move to transform the current rail link between Abbey Station and Watford Junction with a more frequent tram service. Public consultation on the proposal, which would provide between two and three trams an hour between the two stations compared with the current 45-minute intervals between trains, was launched late last year.  

Functional Design has been approved. A draft Environmental Assessment (EA) Report is being prepared. It will identify the scope of the project, describe current environmental conditions and assess the environmental impacts that the design, construction and operation of project will have.  

Mr Rush – who was once quoted in industry bible Construction News as saying: "I'm no soft touch. If you kick me in the b***s, I'll head-butt you several times" – has been drafted in as it emerged TIE has now adopted a "no compromise" approach to the dispute. It is understood the tram firm is no longer negotiating on design detail, but is insisting that the contract is upheld in its entirety. Sources close to the project today indicated that the dispute could "blow up" within the next two to four month

not worth the paper it was written on   -David Mackay

 

A multimillion-rand tram project that will transport tourists along the wine route, stopping at various vineyards and restaurants, is on the cards for Franschhoek. Punted as an "icon" for the picturesque valley, known for its wines and world-class restaurants, the tram will travel along an old 28km railway line to Paarl that is no longer in use. The project is the brainchild of Franschhoek businessman Dave Blyth and his son Sean, a locomotive enthusiast.

As tourism numbers to the Franschhoek valley increase, the tram line will not only create direct employment in and around this more rural area, but also will drive economic growth.   -Alan Winde

 

Traces of Columbia's mass transit history are being uncovered and rediscovered on the city's northern edge. Sections of railway for the city's trolley system, which operated from the mid-1880s to the late 1920s, recently were unearthed during road work along Main Street near Elmwood Avenue. 'They're pretty much the old trolley tracks,' Dana Higgins, Columbia assistant engineer for construction, said of the lines that once were part of the city's mass transit system.

They're pretty much the old trolley tracks   -Dana Higgins

 

With the False Creek streetcar trial coming to an end next week, one city councillor says she hopes the service will keep running and expand into a comprehensive citywide tram network. Coun. Suzanne Anton said the city should do "everything in its power" to keep the cars — which are on loan from Belguim — in Vancouver. "There is pretty much a universal desire to keep it," she said.

There is pretty much a universal desire to keep it   -Suzanne Anton

 

Public transportation in Pasadena in 1915 was mainly by the Pacific Electric street cars traveling on fixed rails. In addition there were "jitneys," individual automobiles covering a wider area of travel at low cost. The word "jitney" is said to derive from slang for a five-cent piece.  

OFFICIALS in charge of Edinburgh's trams scheme have been accused of deceiving the public after it emerged they were warned months ago that the project was running more than two years behind schedule. • Tram works have caused disruption across the city as roads have been closed and traffic diverted Picture: The consortium charged with building the multi-million pound network is said to have warned officials last September it would not finish work until late 2013, almost three years later than envisa  

A car-share club which aims to cut the number of vehicles on Oxford's streets is set to expand. The Streetcar club, which launched in Oxford two years ago, has four cars dotted around the city for members to use whenever they need them. Now managers have revealed another 20 vehicles will be on the road in the city from next month, after more than 250 people signed up to take part in the scheme.  

John Welborne from the nonprofit group that now runs the funicular says the Public Utilities Commission has declared it safe and gave the green light to the revival. The one-minute ride costs a quarter. Angels Flight opened to help commuters negotiate the steep hillside in 1901 and was rebuilt in 1996 after a late-1960s dismantling.