Subscribe to RSSChristchurch Trams Get Extended- Photos
Great to see Christchurch continuing to embrace light rail in the forms of its trams, as the council moves forward with its tramline extension.
The council is spending $11.5m extending the inner-city tram route, with the first stage, to the corner of High and Tuam streets, to be finished before the RWC next year and the second stage, along High St and Ferry Rd to the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, will be completed in 2013.
It’s also good to see one of our Christchurch readers add to our collective font of knowledge with a blog which you can read here
He has also supplied these photos of the new tramline being laid. Thanks Willu. Good luck with your blog.
PHOTOS CONTINUE here
CHRISTCHURCH TRAM SITE
9 Comments
Is this getting anywhere near being a transport facility again? Or still so short / circular in route that only tourists will use it?
I’m all for trams, but Christchurch’s one is useless for locals at the moment - so I’d be interested if these extensions go anywhere.
It’s intended to remain a tourist route from my understanding.
Mmmh, interesting. Having had a look at it, it seems they are. Though it will still be a one-off connection (when students want to go into town), unless a lot of students live in Christchurch’s CBD?
So whether or not it will attract transport traffic will depend on whether the fares are low enough for student to just hop on?
Looks very nice, Dublin eat your heart out!
The map of the route of the extension is on the council site
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/cityleisure/projectstoimprovechristchurch/projectcentralcity/projects/tramextension.aspx
The council have kept mum on what form the tram extensions will take, although the default response seems to be a continuation of a tourist tram service.
This would be a shame as the new route passes through areas of much greater interest to locals. Reducing fares and integrating the service with the metro card would be a wise move.
The current loop is a touirist trap but the new extensions will provide a good link between the SOL developments and the CBD. It also passes through the CBD’s top shopping and entertainment precincts (Cashel Mall, High Street, SOL Square, the Lanes, the Strip) and will link the bus exchange with the Square & CPIT. It also passes through the heart of new high density residential developments.
There are big plans for this area, the tram being extended through here is no coincidence.
The cheapest option in town is the free city loop bus a great little service across the CBD, from the Casio to the old railway station
It’s a tourist route at present but slowly building this infrastructure opens the door to modern light rail vehicles being run in the future. Plus it adds a lot of character to a CBD, I wish Auckland would build something downtown, the MOTAT loop is nice but the waterfront proposal would be even better.
It’s a couple of years since I was in Christchurch but when I rode the tram, you couldn’t do a single fare trip. You had to buy a 2 day pass so unless that’s changed, it’s presumably completely uneconomical for locals to use it as everyday transport.