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Councillors Visit Tramlink
Councillors and Officers of Bath & N.E. Somerset Council have been on a tramway fact-finding trip to the London borough of Croydon.
The visit was arranged at the request of a
number of B&NES Councillors. Three Councillors, Gordon Derick,
Peter Metcalfe and Caroline Roberts went on the trip accompanied
by Steve Howell, Head of Services, Mike Finch and Simon Bell.
They arrived by train and had the opportunity to travel on Tram
Route 3 to Addington Village and Route 1 from Croydon to Wimbledon
before going to the depôt for a question and answer session
with a representative of Tramlink.
FAVOURABLE IMPRESSION
Mike Finch said: "The overall
impression was favourable and we all came away impressed with
the work that had been done. There had been teething troubles
but the system seemed to have been well received by the public."
"During the question and answer session there was some discussion
about the background to the Croydon system and the particular
circumstances that apply there.
LONDON PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The public transport system in London
remains regulated and integration between Tube, bus and tram is
much easier. In terms of passengers it was also noted that a great
number of people already have pre-paid tickets because of the
various discounts/ passes etc that are available in London.
OVERALL CONCLUSION
The overall conclusion was that Trimlink
showed the way to enhancing the availability and attractiveness
of public transport, objectives that we are seeking for B&NES.
WHAT THE COUNCILLORS THOUGHT
Councillor Gordon Derrick (Lab), said he was really excited
by the Croydon project. In particular, the way it pulled in people
from socially excluded areas like parts of New Addington was most
impressive; it was full of passengers, including lots of mothers
with pushchairs.
The high initial cost of a tramway and the viability of such a
system in the very different circumstances of Bath was a matter
of concern to all the councillors. Councillor Caroline Roberts
(L.D.) said: "The visit was extremely useful and the system
certainly seemed to run very efficiently, but how they would work
here may remain to be seen!"
Councillor David Hawkins (Con), who was prevented from attending
by last minute personal circumstances said: " I have since
been in touch with a Croydon councillor and hope to visit the
system myself in the near future".
Councillor Gitte Dawson (L.D.), who visited Croydon earlier this
year said: " They are impressive - clean, quiet and well
organised - I can't wait till we get them here".
The first thing about Croydon
trams which strikes everyone is the length of the vehicles
they follow the continental practice of a pair of tramcars articulated
together. Surprisingly, these 30m long 'bendy-trams' glide through
the narrow, twisting historic streets of central Croydon without
difficulty.
SINGLE OR DOUBLE DECKERS?
There is, however, a pressing reason for preferring a double-decked
design for Bath. Croydon tram stops have to be at least as long
as the vehicle. This is to give level access at every door along
its length - but in Bath, there often isn't room for such long
stops. The single wide central doorway of a low-floor double-decker
is preferred as the tram stops then need only be about 15 feet
long. The loading and unloading may be a bit slower, but the people
of Bath are not to be rushed like London commuters.
CORRIDORS AND NETWORKS
Croydon has well-defined patterns of commuter flow, for which
their three-corridor system is well suited. Bath, on the other
hand has a diffuse mixture of residential and employment areas
which are best served by a network of routes. There is no point
in having a corridor to the Western Riverside, for instance, if
it doesn't run where anyone can catch the tram in the first place.
CENTRAL CIRCLE
Croydon has exactly the same problem as Bath when it comes to
route interchange and it solved it in exactly the same way.
There is a Central Circle in Croydon, just as we have planned;
changing routes is simply a matter of stepping off the tram and
catching the one behind.
POPULATION SIZE
Although the population of Bath is only about 90,000 compared
to 400,000 in Croydon, there is not as great a difference between
the actual number of people who can walk to the tram stop in either
place. This is because the Croydon corridors do not serve anything
like the whole population whereas the Bath system plans to have
about 90% accessibility. Croydon is particularly deficient in
Park + Ride facilities, so the passenger catchment is not as well
extended to surrounding commuter areas as it would be in Bath.
Bath also has a large tourist trade, which Croydon does not; so,
all-in-all, the customer base for Bath trams is not very different
from of Croydon's.
Alan Wilkins and Tony Young,
two of the members of the team that wrote the Hyder Report will
review the public transport options that are available to Bath.
Is a segregated system technically viable?. Will it stand up financially?
Can trams really fly? Are we about to witness the renaissance
of the tram or is it yet another pipe dream?
Make a note in your diary, don't miss it!
If you want to 'swot up' beforehand on what the Hyder Report said, look on our website at:
http://www.bathtram.demon.co.uk/Website1/tG20.htm
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MANCHESTER
23 companies and consortia
have formally registered their interest in the contract to construct
and operate three new extensions to the Manchester Metrolink systems
and take on the existing Metrolink operations.
Source: LRTA Website
CROYDON
A woman was treated
for hysteria on the top deck of a Croydon bus after she saw a
tram go past with the body of an electrocuted fox on its roof.
Source: Unofficial Croydon Tramlink Website
Briefly mentioned in last "Tramlines",
we have now had an opportunity to savour this delightful item
to the full.
The video has been skilfully compiled to cater for two distinct
markets : those interested in Bath transport nostalgia, and as
a souvenir of Bath's historic buildings and streets for visitors
to the city who may have just ridden one of the open-top sightseeing
operations.
The Bath tour element is primarily linked to Martin Curtis's recent
successes with the Bath Bus Co., and suitably resplendent Bristol
VRs in his fleet represent survival of this zenith of local bus
manufacture. This leads seamlessly into a video version of Peter
Davey's historical talks on tram and early bus operations in Bath,
neatly supplemented by Colin Maggs inimitable local lore of many
of the lighter and personal incidents from the tramway years.
Although the Walcot Street tram depot has been, demonstrably,
"an empty tram depot" for the whole of all our lives,
it is a sobering thought that even scenes shown in this current
video are suddenly no more.
Peter Davey's earlier videos on Bristol were based on still images
of the tramways, but not so this video, as a pre-war amateur cine-film
of a tram journey from Bathford to Combe Down is presented in
unedited entirety, which adds greatly to the charm.
This is supplemented by carefully interspersed shots of some of
the better-known surviving prewar Bath street scenes which include
moving trams. The early postwar Bath bus history is also briefly
sketched out.
As a glorious bonus as far as TfB is concerned, our existence
and aims are spelled out by Peter Davey as part of his commentary,
looking towards the possible future, with copies of "Tramlines",
our network map, and possible vehicle designs, all prominently
featured.
Production of the video, the camerawork, sound, commentary and
overall editing, is to professional standards. You will already
have a copy of Peter Davey's "Bath Tramways" and Martin
Curtis's "Bristol VR" on your bookshelves, now supplement
them by adding this visual gem to your video cupboard.
Peter Provest
During the past year, there
has been a distinct lack of events for members of TfB. Our committee's
energies have been devoted to less visible activities, such as
meetings with council officers and drawing up documents in connection
with the Hyder Report. Such talks as we have been able to arrange
have been given to local Residents' Associations and the TfB members
who turned up were probably left with the feeling that the talk
was not intended primarily for them.
In the coming year, we hope to able to devote more of our time
to organising the talks, walks and meetings which give everyone
a chance to join in. If you have 'contacts' whom you think could
give us an interesting talk which would further our cause, please
let us know by telephone, post, e-mail or by buttonholing any
committee member at the A.G.M.
_______________________
T f B Committee
Secretary: Adrian Tuddenham, 88, Mount Road, Southdown, Bath.
BA2 1LH Tel: 01225 335974 E-mail: atudd@bathtram.demon.co.uk
Treasurer: Keith Berry, Canon Hold Cottage, Church Walk, Melksham.
SN12 6LY
Acting Chairman: Derrick Hunt, 43,Greenland Mills, Bradford-on-Avon,
Wilts. BA15 1BL
Admin Officer: Jenny Sutherland, 27, Purlewent Drive, Bath. BA1
4AZ
Minutes Secretary Peter Provest
LRTA Representative Brian Lomas
Helen Cox
Jeff Kenyon
Sue Langdon
Jeremy Paterson-Fox