Ding Ding! Watch Out For Trams

 

Auckland’s new waterfront tramway infrastructure will be tested and drivers trained to operate the two historic trams over the coming week.

It’s been more than fifty years since the public has encountered tram tracks and trams operating on busy city streets so Waterfront Auckland is urging motorists, cyclists and pedestrians around Wynyard Quarter to take care as they get used to the idea.

Cyclists especially are being warned to be aware of the double rails, avoid cycling on them if possible, and if they need to cross the rails to do so at right angles.  The rails can get very slippery when wet so we should all take care when crossing roads where tram tracks are installed.

These trams are very quiet and while they move relatively slowly they are obviously extremely heavy and can’t stop quickly to avoid a potential collision.  Plus if the rails are wet they require a greater distance to slow down and stop.

The 48-long W2 tram weighs 17 tonnes, seats 52 people and has a driver and conductor onboard. The smaller X-1 tram IS 31 feet long, weighs 9 tonnes, seats 32 people and has one driver onboard.

Both trams have front and rear indicators and warning gongs that ring when the tram pulls out on to the road as it leaves each stop.

Cars riding over the tram tracks

The trams will start operating on Saturday week, August 6 - the weekend that Waterfront Auckland celebrates the opening of the first stage of the Wynyard Quarter.

This tram will soon be operating here under its own steam |@cranz

The two historic trams, already painted a vibrant carnation red colour, have now received their logos and personal tram numbers which are a continuation of the tram number sequence from the last time trams travelled on Auckland city streets in 1956.

Latest construction photos

Waterfront trams FAQ

 

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6 Comments

 
  1. KarlHansen says:

    “Cyclists especially are being warned to be aware of the double rails, avoid cycling on them if possible, and if they need to cross the rails to do so at right angles.”

    Actually, 45-degrees works easily, from lots of personal experience. Just a matter of keeping your eyes on the road, as we all should anyway.

    “The rails can get very slippery when wet so we should all take care when crossing roads where tram tracks are installed.”

    I can agree with that however - one of the few car accidents I have had was slip-sliding into the back of an SUV in Europe when trying to brake on tram tracks. I had them nicely centred, all four wheels on ;-)

    “These trams are very quiet and while they move relatively slowly they are obviously extremely heavy and can’t stop quickly to avoid a potential collision.”

    Mmmmh, in Germany, I know that trams to be used in city traffic actually have the SAME minimum braking requirements as a car (not fun for the passengers in back though!). So they should be able to brake quite quickly. Not sue if this also applies for heritage trams, or for trams in NZ generally.

  2. rtc says:

    Modern trams stop literally on a dime, I’ve witnessed tram drivers in Switzerland basically stopping on the stop when someone walked in front of a tram without looking. I’d say they’re a lot quicker to stop c.f. buses. But these are old trams, so I’m not surprised they take longer to stop.

  3. Harry McDonald says:

    I’ve cycled over these tracks lots of time at all angles with no problems. I can imagine that racing bikes with ultra thin tyres could have problems thoough.

  4. KarlHansen says:

    RTC - they are modernised heritage trams, though, aren’t they? Shouldn’t be too hard to exchange some brakes, unless one wanted to be an extreme purist.

  5. Feijoa says:

    Modern trams have magnetic track brakes to stop quickly.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram_controls#Track_brakes

    I’ve cycled over tracks often here and overseas and although are a slight hazard, they’re nothing compared to the risk posed by careless or inattentive drivers in cars!

  6. max says:

    was there today watching the drivers training! was pretty awesome to see the trams in action for the first time. Most drivers seemed to be not paying much attention to anything else when the trams went by which was a bit of a worry.
    It’s really changed so much since I was there last sunday and it was quite busy too, there were plenty of people around which is a definite positive.

 

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