Driver's Twilight View Gold Coast Tram Helensvale to Broadbeach South Queensland

41 Minutes
Not only will you see day turn to night, but all the way you can watch the tram speedometer.

[@brucewilliams8714]

Well, that's my first modern trwm ride in Queensland. Very impressed with the traffic management, so different from Melbourne's. Thanks for this. I remember sseing the old Brisbane trams.

[@tressteleg1]

You will have to come and try it in person one-day, when we are allowed to travel again. Melbourne would be a much better Tramway if it had priority on the roads like the Gold Coast line. Canberra is also similarly well run.

[@oxoxabbyxoxox]

You can just go to the beach.

[@johanlamprecht5577]

I took that trip many times visiting Gold Coast from South Africa. Wonderful I cant wait to come visit again soon

[@tressteleg1]

That is good to hear. At the moment they are in the early stages of construction of the next extension, a further 7 km south. It won’t open for probably two years yet. I normally use nearly all its length twice each week.

[@nigelhorsley7395]

Brings back happy memories from our holiday and trip for the GC2018 games. The public transport and trams were fantatic.

[@tressteleg1]

😊👍 Yes everything worked so very well for the games. Just somewhat quieter at the moment.

[@cameronwhyte7223]

Public transport is excellent up there. Although I think in the early 1990's it was quite lagging behind. I've only ever travelled up there since they have had good PT.

[@tressteleg1]

Yes you can get most places you want to by train, tram or bus although some bus routes only get an hourly service which is almost a miracle due to the tiny loads they carry. I only came to the coast 10 years ago so can’t comment about earlier services.

[@treypohe4593]

I love how you include pieces of information in your videos 😍😍 They really reach me a lot about the transport up here in Queensland (Gold Coast especially). Moving from Sydney, I didn’t really know a lot about anything up here so your videos really are helpful 😊😊😊

[@tressteleg1]

Happy to help. I try to think of things to explain which people may want to know. I don’t enjoy videos when interesting things happen but are not explained.

[@JDeLaat]

Very nice tram line, almost entirely separated from road traffic so traffic jams will have minimal impact. I'm sure it would be lovely to ride even during rush hours.

[@tressteleg1]

It doesn’t have rush-hour traffic like most tramways. When the university has lectures, not this year with Covid, trams can have rather good loadings in the section between Helensvale station, Parkwood Park and ride, and the hospital/university stops in the morning. Apparently the afternoon School and college peak hour is the busiest during the afternoon, boosted by hospital change of shift, but I don’t normally ride then. Before Covid at least, the weekends carried traffic sometimes heavier than the weekdays. Nevertheless, the running time is 45 minutes, 24/7.

[@biggils8894]

It’s separate from road traffic bcse it’s using the existing road system creating more traffic. The government are United Nations governed creating a nightmare utopia. 2030 new world order. Private ownership of motor vehicles will be unaffordable

[@N.S.M-oy9gm]

It's very interesting watching how tram drivers operate the vehicles and watching it from their point of view. I love the pop-up information btw! 😀

[@tressteleg1]

Thanks 😊. In a few weeks I will be publishing a video which concentrates on a particular driver and shows some of his tram operating movements.

[@tressteleg1]

Since published: Meet Darcy, Your Friendly Gold Coast Tram Driver kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaKlYZaijpeghrM

[@cameronwhyte7223]

Another great video. That tram line has grown a lot since I rode on it. I was scratching my head to work out where I caught it. I worked out it at 29:20 Love had the trains travel twice as fast on tracks over a foot narrower.

[@tressteleg1]

😄 If the track is good enough, there is little reason to limit the speed.

[@jamesbradley7306]

Don't mind the announcements. Nicely pitched local voice. I'm a local and frequent rider.........

[@tressteleg1]

When by myself I have largely learned to tune out unless they are especially loud, which some trams are. But if trying to chat to a friend, the intrusion is most annoying. I have never come across such a barrage of noise on any other tramway especially Melbourne which is run by Keolis also. Why do people have to be constantly told to cross the road safely. I’ll do a video about this noise in due course. “The Yap Yap Blah Blah earbashing tramway”!

[@chrisandrew852]

Thanks for that and toughly enjoyed the ride. I live down in Coolangatta so can't wait for it to connect!

[@tressteleg1]

Unfortunately with the (lack of) speed the project is progressing towards Burleigh, we will be lucky if that is open by 2032, let alone the rest to Coolangatta.

[@LachieVidsTransportVlogs]

I love the “Hold On! Tram departing, welcome aboard”

[@tressteleg1]

Nothing but pointless insincere noise pollution. Just try having a conversation with a friend and constantly being bombarded with all this unnecessary blather! I get sick of it every time I ride so I did this video about it, which of course had no effect whatsoever, in fact they’ve added more yap yap since then. The Yap Yap Blah Blah Earbashing Gold Coast Tram with Comparisons kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKqrp3uimpeMoK8

[@Lemmy_fenriz]

I hate it🤮, main reason why I don't ride the tram.🤮

[@tressteleg1]

Try headphones and good music. I wrote a letter of complaint to GoldLinQ a couple of weeks ago. A generic reply turned up a few days later. I’ll give them a few weeks, expect no improvement, and will then get stuck into them this time. I’ll keep your comment as further ammunition.

[@PaulinesPastimes]

Well, who doesn't like a high speed off street run, that was really good. It looks like a very well designed system too and yes, I would be irritated to death by that constant "Hold On! Off we go!" rubbish. Cheers

[@tressteleg1]

Apart from the incessant announcements, it is well run. So I use it once or twice each week even though I could drive to my destination faster. I catch up with emails which I can’t do in the car!

[@anakinskywalker4113]

wow such a long distance between tram stops. That's more like a train than a tram to us Melbournian's. I wish we had more segregated tram routes like this one shown.

[@tressteleg1]

Traffic light priority similar to Gold Coast would make a huge difference to tram travel in Melbourne but improvement has been microscopic in the 26 years since I last drove trams there.

[@AJayAnswersYou]

Very much. I would love to try out your public transport services, like your Gold Coast line perhaps.

[@tressteleg1]

Hopefully Covid will eventually go away and we can all travel more freely, and you could visit. I read your comment when riding home on tram 05 😄

[@DavidJohnson-cd6pe]

Love this tram system normally catch it from surfers paradise north to broadbeach south then down the coast by bus easy

[@tressteleg1]

I normally use it once or twice a week from Parkwood to Broadbeach north, and rarely is there an issue that has affected me. While it’s not perfect, nearly always it is very close to it. A good reliable service which I use instead of driving my car to the same place.

[@jamesknight4797]

they're working on expanding the line down to burleigh heads, and then after that all the way to coolangatta

[@tressteleg1]

Not quite. While some exploratory work for underground infrastructure and the geology is under way, the last I heard the contract with Hollands still has not been signed, even though it was ready well over a year ago.

[@Maximevete]

We have the same tramtype in Antwerp but a bit different in configuration of the drivers console. Why are the cameras blinking red continiously as also the yellow icon on the rmmi?

[@tressteleg1]

Unfortunately I cannot tell you why the red is blinking at the bottom of the camera screen. Not sure what you mean by the rmmi . I have been to Antwerp several times in the past, but not since 1991 or 92. But I do get the Tram 2000 magazine.

[@iamthinking2252_]

At 11:09, is the junction to the sidings actually here rather than earlier on? Because it looked like there were four rails all in one section

[@tressteleg1]

Preselecting points where the point blades are some distance before the junction, resulting in 4 rails as you see, have been common overseas for a long time. They have several advantages over point blades at the junction. That all applies to the facing direction but in my opinion it is nonsensical to have these in the trailing direction which we are doing in this particular ride.

[@Tedd755]

Why is there a constantly flashing red border around what looks like rear-view video feeds on the monitors? Almost as bad as sending every email with 'high-importance'.

[@tressteleg1]

I must admit I have never noticed this before. It seems to start soon after the tram moves off and continues until it next stops. Unfortunately a terminus is the only place one could ask a driver, and I rarely get the chance to ask questions. But if I ever get the chance, I will ask.

[@tonymccarthy6713]

Thanks. Good smooth ride, but a little slow at times.

[@tressteleg1]

I agree that the run along Surfers Paradise Boulevard, the heart of Surfers, is slower than necessary but the ‘experts’ decided that with people wandering around, they did not want to risk tram hitting anybody. Nevertheless I’m sure a bit faster would still be quite safe, especially the southbound travel where a tram driver can easily see someone carelessly walking towards the tracks. Nevertheless 20 km in 45 or 46 minutes is not bad.

[@tazzer9]

@@tressteleg1 it's probably also the case of the average person in that surfers paradise section may have a bit more than blood running through them.

[@tressteleg1]

👍. And I very much expect that that was the thought in minds of the decision-makers. Especially in the later parts of the evenings.

[@nickbyrne409]

The preselect points in the tunnel at the hospital, only ones like that in the country i read somewhere. Could be wrong

[@tressteleg1]

Yes, wrong. A couple of years ago a similar set was installed at St Kilda Junction where there is a right turn to Fitzroy St. See last week’s Driver’s View Tram 16 video.

[@nickbyrne409]

@@tressteleg1 i stand corrected, i think at the time i read about it, late 2017, the GC one was the only one

[@tressteleg1]

@@nickbyrne409 😊👍. Nobody can know everything.

[@15sixmedia]

Looks like such a smooth and flawless system, especially when compared to Sydney’s L2/3 lines. Those are a completely slow and unreliable joke.

[@tressteleg1]

I normally use this Gold Coast line once or twice a week and can always expect the tram to be within a minute or two of the timetable at the worst - unless something major goes wrong but fortunately that’s not too often these days. In Sydney L2/3 certainly were a lot better in April this year than when they opened but unfortunately with the long pedestrian area of George Street and bureaucrats setting speeds limit elsewhere, not much in further improvements can be made except for proper tram priority at several major intersections.

[@wence25games89]

HOLD ON! TRAM DEPARTING. WELCOME ABOARD! THIS TRAM IS TRAVELLLING TO HELENSVALE STOPPING AT ALL STATIONS TO HELENSVALE. PLEASE REMEBER TOO TOUCH YOUR GO CARD TO A CARD READER ON THE STATION PLATFORM AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF EACH TRIP.

[@tressteleg1]

Just try having a conversation with somebody with all that inane blabbering going on.

[@YoungHarry1000]

I really enjoyed this video. Lots of people out and about, isn't covid19 a problem there?

[@tressteleg1]

😊👍 Queensland has kept a quite tight control on people coming from other states, thorough tracing of anyone who came in contact with an infected person, two weeks enforced hotel quarantine for anyone from overseas or other states and it has paid off as we are leading an almost normal life with just some social distancing rules to follow in places like hotels and restaurants. It is over three weeks since anyone in Queensland caught Covid from anyone else out in the community. It is a long weekend at present, and holiday spots report extremely good booking numbers.

[@tranmere292]

Agree re announcements. I don't think a recording is very sincere in wishing us a happy day. All it really needs is the next stop and the usual warnings, which must be great for people with impaired eyesight.

[@tressteleg1]

It is very annoying when you are trying to have a conversation with a friend and mostly inane comments keep shouting at you every minute or so. I intend doing a video on this Yap Yap blah blah earbashing tramway before too long and compare it with other operations. It ruins a pleasant ride and I have edited out some of it when the tram was stopped.

[@Wheelycool_Moonwalker]

Are you the driver or were you given special permission to do this?

[@tressteleg1]

I simply recorded it from the passenger area. I need to do the other direction next.

[@stepfordclass730]

What’s the top speed of this tram

[@tressteleg1]

70 between the Main Beach stop and across the Nerang River Ridge, and nearly all the way between the hospital and Helensburgh rail station. As usual, I used the service today.

[@stepfordclass730]

It’s Helensvale but you said is accelerating to 140

[@stepfordclass730]

Oh the train

[@tressteleg1]

@hrithikeshfunstuff Yes, train 140 between stations, tram 70 maximum. If you want to see a good tram/train race, watch this video especially starting from 12 minutes! Gold Coast Tram Stage 2 Trackside Views, Opening & 2018 Commonwealth Games. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rna2fn2ce66jia8

[@mjtunstall1976]

well tram driver you are not alone of hearing those stupid annoucement, i once caught a train ride for the day from ipswich station to nambour station takes abiout 3 hrs to get there and i was going cuckoo by the time i got to nambour with all that stupid annoucement every station: "if there is your station please be prepare to disembark" and "doors closing please stand clear" imgine about 50 stations to go thru on the green line! great tram ride

[@tressteleg1]

I am glad that some people agree with me. Queensland seems to excel in saying in 30 words what could be said in three or four. Many announcements are pointless blather on the tram which I ride regularly. It’s not too bad when I am alone and working on the iPad, but when a friend joins me, conversation is forever being interrupted by childish comments about crossing roads safely and other bullshit which is not the responsibility of the Tramway. I note that British Rail is on the point of getting rid of all their pointless nonsense. I intend sending that report to GoldLink.

[@mjtunstall1976]

by the way, i had to return home after a good day in nambour and when its time to go home i totally forgot about the annoucement and thought to myself: here we go again!

[@tressteleg1]

@@mjtunstall1976 Next time you will know to take some good music with headphones. British trains are about to ban unnecessary loudspeaker spam. I am in the process of sending a terse comment to GoldLinQ telling them of this, and giving them some candid opinions about their stupid noise. I expect nothing will happen.

[@vsvnrg3263]

did i detect the flash of a red light camera at 39:57? 40:20, bloody yes!

[@tressteleg1]

I checked it frame by frame and at 39:57 there most definitely is a camera flash but despite continuing further, I could not see a second one. Although I regularly ride the line, I very rarely travel this last bit so I’m not certain about a red light camera but it’s extremely possible due to it being a very busy crossroads.

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@tressteleg1 ,the strobe flash of the red light camera is of such a short duration that it probably fitted between camera frames. you may be lucky that the camera recorded any flash at all.

[@tressteleg1]

Anyway I went to Google Earth maps street view, put myself in Gold Coast highway immediately north of hooker Boulevard, looked towards the east and there are the two posts on the footpath which are the normal arrangement for red light cameras here. It’s quite possible they also detect speeding vehicles.

[@callumrimer3099]

Lol, I did just comment- that intersection is the most red light run intersection in QLD

[@vsvnrg3263]

@@callumrimer3099 ,red light cameras are a safety thing. i had a rare datsun 1600 wagon in my yard. a friend begged me for it. i eventually yielded and sold it to him. he totally fixed it up- new paint job, motor, etc and someone ran a red light and wrote it off a couple of weeks after he got it back on the road. no-one was hurt, thank goodness. it could have been much worse.

[@w_avor]

20:42 Tram Bell

[@tressteleg1]

Yes, they have a bell which always dings twice. A horn is also fitted.

[@sk8r839]

I do find the announcement anoyying and good at the same time

[@tressteleg1]

The greatest annoyance is when you are trying to have a conversation with a friend, and the loudspeaker starts shouting at you. Even more annoying when instructions are the sorts of things you tell little children, such as crossing the road safely.

[@michaelbeck3289]

40.42 A woman with a shopping trolley. What is the hell is she doing with that. Put it on the tram. You got to be kidding. Ha ha

[@tressteleg1]

It looks like that was the plan. Why supermarkets allow their trolleys to be stolen I will never understand.

[@jeffo9599]

Are you on instagram mate?

[@tressteleg1]

Nope. Nothing like that.

[@jeffo9599]

@@tressteleg1 to easy, I catch the tram all the time as well, was going to say hi if I seen you.. lol

[@tressteleg1]

Well that’s not gonna happen now because I left the job of tram driver in 1994. My annual visits are to catch up with friends and get some more video. Gold Coast trams are my usual ride, like today.

[@norbertfransewitz8486]

Die Elektronische Maschinen bringen nicht immer Glück

[@tressteleg1]

Faust immer 😊

[@carrahulley8484]

YES ALL THE TIME 😤 🤮 🤐 😵‍💫 😡 😠 💣!!

[@tressteleg1]

?

[@carrahulley8484]

@@tressteleg1 can sleep in on morning work on the tarm good work

[@tressteleg1]

True. When driving you can do nothing else. I regularly use the tram and do work on the iPad along the way.

[@carrahulley8484]

Song on phone 📱 save are sold up load on the term play for hours

[@darrenedmonds8928]

she has a leaking nuclear power plant which has pushed the sand of the beach at byron bay

[@prune501]

trains not trams

[@rahmibae2827]

Wactiadgrm.Wactaara.Wactwtrey.Wactaeyb.Wactaara.Wacteraa.Wacteraa.Wactaran.Wactaara.Wacteyesh.Wactaara.Wactieml.Wactaara.

[@ToniusOrg]

Poor video quality

[@tressteleg1]

That’s why I now have a new camera which can handle night. By the way, nobody else complained about the quality. Let’s see what your videos look like.