Newcastle tram (New South Wales)

Newcastle Light Rail
Urbos 3-Bahn at the "Civic" stop
Basic information
Country	Australia
city	Newcastle (New South Wales)
opening	17th February 2019
operator	Newcastle Transport ( Keolis Downer)
Transport network	Transport for NSW
Infrastructure
Route length	2.35 km
Gauge	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system	Accumulator railcar
Depots	1
business
Lines	1
Clock in the peak hours	7.5 min.
Clock in the SVZ	15 minutes.
vehicles	CAF Urbos 100

The Newcastle tram ( English Newcastle Light Rail ) is a tram company in the Australian city ​​of Newcastle in the state of New South Wales . It opened on February 17, 2019 and connects downtown Newcastle with the city's previously relocated train station . It is operated by Newcastle Transport , a Keolis Downer brand .

history

In December 2012, the government of the state of New South Wales announced that it would shut down the railway line from Sydney between Wickham and Newcastle ( Lage ) terminus . Despite protests from the population, this happened on December 25, 2014. In July 2014, the state government's plans for a tram in Newcastle that should use parts of the disused railway line were presented to the public. The decision to use only parts of the former track for the tram was criticized by some opposition politicians: the railway was only shut down so that the site could be sold.

In 2016, the government of the state of New South Wales announced that the Downer Group had won the tender to build the tram, which finally began in mid-2017. It was also announced that the tram would be built with batteries (or accumulators) and thus mainly without overhead lines will. The construction was completed in September 2018 and after a free day of discovery on February 17, 2019, the tram opened on February 18, 2019.

route

Newcastle Light Rail
Newcastle line Newcastle Interchange Wickham Wickham Depot, train station closed. 2014 Honeysuckle closed in 1872 Honeysuckle Newcastle Mortuary closed in 1933 Civic train station closed 2014 Crown Street Queens Wharf Newcastle closed in 2014 Newcastle Beach

The 2.35-kilometer route runs from Newcastle Interchange station in an east-west direction for about one kilometer on the former railroad track with a stop at Honeysuckle . From the intersection of Hunter Street / Worth Place the tram runs flush with the street on Hunter Street (about 800 meters) to near Newcastle Wharf . The train then drives on Scott Street (about 800 meters) past the former train station and ends in a single-track stop at Pacific Park near Newcastle's beach.

The tram runs Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. every 15 minutes, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every 7.5 minutes and then until 12:30 a.m. every 15 minutes. On Saturdays and Sundays the train runs every 30 minutes from 5:15 a.m. to 7 a.m. and then every 15 minutes on Saturdays until midnight and on Sundays until 7 p.m. The train then runs every 30 minutes until 0.30 a.m.

vehicles

The new tram fleet will be maintained in a newly built depot on the site of the previous Wickham station .

Newcastle Transport ordered six CAF Urbos 100 trains from the Spanish vehicle manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles , which come from an option on the Sydney light rail system . They are 33 meters long, can hold 270 people and offer free WiFi. As accumulator railcars , the trams are charged with stationary overhead lines at the stops, and energy is also returned when braking.

Extensions

In April 2016, Transport for NSW and UrbanGrowth NSW published considerations for expanding the tram network:

• Newcastle Interchange - Broadmeadow
  • Broadmeadow - Hunter Stadium
  • Broadmeadow - Adamstown
• Newcastle Interchange - Mayfield

Other public suggestions include routes to John Hunter Hospital, the University of Newcastle at Callaghan , the airport , Glendale , Merewether , and an inner city ring . However, according to Transport for NSW, these routes suffer from high costs and technical challenges.

See also

• Sydney light rail
• List of cities with trams

Individual evidence

1. ^ Ian Kirkwood, Dan Proudman: Keolis Downer to run Newcastle light rail, buses and ferries says Baird government. The Newcastle Herald, December 12, 2016, accessed March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
2. ^ Jeannette McMahon: The deepest cut ... Newcastle's rail line to go. ABC News , December 14, 2012, accessed March 25, 2019 (Australian English). 
3. ↑ Ian Kirkwood, Jacob Saulwick: Newcastle rail closure: Light at the end of the tunnel. The Sydney Morning Herald , December 27, 2014, accessed March 25, 2019 (Australian English). 
4. ^ Jeannette McMahon: Light rail route for city finally revealed. ABC News , May 23, 2014, accessed March 25, 2019 (Australian English). 
5. ↑ Michael McGowan: Light rail decision draws mixed reactions. The Newcastle Herald, May 23, 2014, accessed March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
6. ↑ Nick Bielby: Premier Mike Baird refused to rule out development of the Newcastle rail corridor after the truncation of the line at Wickham. The Maitland Mercury, October 22, 2014, accessed March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
7. ^ Change on track for Newcastle Light Rail. Transport for NSW, August 9, 2016, archived from the original on August 19, 2016 ; Retrieved March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
8. ↑ Light rail rakes another step to major construction. Transport for NSW, February 27, 2017, archived from the original on March 9, 2017 ; Retrieved March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
9. ^ Newcastle Light Rail goes wire free. Transport for NSW, April 18, 2017, archived from the original on April 20, 2017 ; Retrieved March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
10. ^ Newcastle Light Rail finished by end of the month. Transport for NSW, September 17, 2018, accessed March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
11. ↑ Newcastle light rail gets start date of February 18 2019 after open day. The Newcastle Herald, January 31, 2019, accessed March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
12. ^ NLR - Newcastle Light Rail timetable. (PDF; 260 KB) Transport for NSW, March 21, 2019, accessed March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
13. ↑ Light rail depot on way as the end arrives for Wickham station. The Newcastle Herald, May 10, 2017, accessed March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
14. ^ Newcastle Tram. Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles , accessed March 30, 2019 . 
15. ^ Max McKinney: Newcastle's first light rail vehicle is due to arrive via cargo ship in the city's harbor on Saturday. The Newcastle Herald, September 7, 2018, accessed March 30, 2019 (Australian English). 
16. ↑ Newcastle's public transport future - April 2016. (PDF; 1.2 MB) (No longer available online.) Transport for NSW, UrbanGrowth NSW, April 2016, archived from the original on April 18, 2016 ; Retrieved March 30, 2019 (Australian English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• official website of Transport for NSW