I Went On Canberra's Tram Network - Is It Worth The Hype?

[@johnhamilton6003]

A few things to note from a Canberra local who uses it multiple times every day: 1) weekday frequencies are not 5 minutes all day. They are only every 5 minutes in the morning peak. They are every 15 minutes in the early morning/late evening. Every 6 minutes in the afternoon/evening peak. And every 10 minutes between the morning and evening peak. The afternoon/evening peak commences at 3pm to help cart school students as there are 4 major schools (2 public, 2 private) very close to the light rail route 2) Opposite the disabled area is a dual bike rack. There are 2 of these dual racks per vehicle meaning up to 4 people can take their bike on the vehicle at a given time. This enables people who live/work say 2km from a light rail stop combine cycling with light rail to speed up their commute. It is also beneficial for those who travel to the CBD with a bike for work (e.g. food delivery riders). I've seen families use the bike racks as well. E.g. Mum & Dad with their kid going out for a day on the bikes. Having bike racks on the light rail vehicle makes the possibilities of where to go endless. Every light rail stop except EPIC & Racecourse also has bike racks directly across the road from the stop. There are even bike racks on the platform at Alinga Street. To my knowledge, it is the only light rail network in Australia that features dedicated racks for bikes. There are only a small handful in the world that have this feature. Also noticeable in the video is the marking on the platform for where people with a disability or a bike can access the carriage door. It makes the boarding process much easier if you have a wheelchair, pram or bike with you. 3) There is a seatbelt in the disabled space. I could be wrong but I think this is something that doesn't occur in many other cities. 4) The synchronisation with traffic lights is amazing. The traffic lights are very much designed to be always green for the light rail vehicles. The track is 13km with 25 sets of traffic lights. It is very common to not have a red light for the entire journey. When you do get a red light, the traffic signal sequence breaks to give the green light to light rail vehicles before continuing with its cycle afterwards. This is a huge benefit that Sydney's L2 and L3 could learn from.

[@AidenHowlett]

Bang on. A couple of extra things to note: - Every stop has bike racks on and around the stop, including EPIC which has plenty of parking for both cyclists and motorists. EPIC is the main Park and Ride facility on the route. - The seatbelt is required on buses in NSW, and was also fitted to Urbos 3 trams in NSW initially. Although the ACT has never required seatbelts for this purpose (even on buses), it is very handy to have for passenger safety.

[@Myrtone]

So more cycling infrastructure elsewhere, such as protected bike lanes, could therefore increase the coverage of each stop.

[@johnhamilton6003]

@@Myrtone Yes, correct. There are already adequate shared & dedicated paths that connect 9 of the 14 stops with the rest of the city path network but the other 5 stops have very little around them. Plus there are gaps in the path network for some sections of some suburbs

[@faliq0826]

Hey, thank you for the video. It gives me an illustration about the tram network system in Canberra as I'm gonna move in to the city next year. At least, I didn't jump in with blind imagination, didn't know anything about how the tram is operating lol

[@rifkinr4660]

This is very comprehensive, congratulations!

[@andrewyoung3299]

The driver changes happen on the trams in Melbourne too. It happens at the depots, but on the main route itself. Much like what is shown in Canberra

[@peterhoz]

@@andrewyoung3299 you beat me to it

[@thekingbenny4803]

You used to be able to walk through both sides of the tram on the Gold Coast light rail at Broadbeach South Station for many years until they began construction on the extension and had to open the station up to fit two trams

[@aussiejohn5835]

I really enjoyed this journey and your review. I think this driver change is interesting because it seems that the relief driver may be a trainee who is being assessed. Fun fact: Most of the driver change (relief) points on Sydney buses correspond to the relief points that existed during the life of the original tramway system. Excellent video, well done 👏 👍

[@darkillusionists2595]

I used the tram during a weekday when I was visiting Canberra. I was quite surprised with how crowded it got.

[@tsetstransport]

It was very crowded, especially for a Saturday, I was quite surprised and I think they should increase frequency on weekends to every 10 minutes, to hopefully help manage the crowds a little.

[@Myrtone]

​@@tsetstransport Or get longer trams if 15 minute frequencies are sufficient. How about longer trams, preferably with bogies under the cabs?

[@jdelark6428]

In Sydney for the L2 and L3 lines, Ithiught they do driver changeovers at the Racecourse stop given it is near the depot and that intersection on Alison and Darley Roads have dedicated stop lights for tramso that it cancross diagonally onto the other side of the road.

[@hazptmedia]

I’m planning on briefly stopping at Canberra on my trip to Sydney later this year. I only have 1-2 hours there but might be able to check this out

[@tsetstransport]

It’d be fun to check out but if you’re keen on doing a trip on the entire line like I did, I suggest allowing at least an hour and a half. :)

[@hazptmedia]

@@tsetstransport I’ll probably just see one stop

[@transportfanaussie]

The announcements give off Brisbane Rail vibes. (At Gungahlin Place)

[@mddawson1]

The line is actually classed as 'Light Rail' as it uses an isolated rail line. Trams share the road with cars.

[@jellofishy-vlog]

i was there a few weeks ago ❤ its amazing there the Rapid Bus are really good although there are some delays

[@Brettski_1234]

You can walk through trains like that at Noarlunga Centre in Adelaide, but its no longer the end of the line since the Seaford extension

[@RailDoesTravel]

It's certainly something though, better than having 100% buses Btw, there are driver changes in sydney as well at convention tram stop on the L1

[@tsetstransport]

Driver changes on the L1 occur that Convention and Lilyfield, but those are at tram stops, the only driver change that I’m aware of on this line is next to the depot in between stops, which is something we don’t normally see.

[@RailDoesTravel]

@@tsetstransport ohhh ok

[@bigdude101ohyeah]

The announcements were recorded by students from colleges (year 11-12) along the route

[@CanberraUser]

Children running the show. I thought so

[@johnhamilton6003]

the original announcements were primary school kids

[@xr6lad]

@@CanberraUsergot to have virtual signalling and ‘involvement’ rather than just do a decent job and run a transport system.

[@sancheeez]

@@xr6lad they're absolutely obnoxious to listen to. "NoW aWwiViNG aT ePiC aNd WaCeCoUwSe"

[@jellofishy-vlog]

when were you there? was it in the school holidays?

[@pbear6251]

Who is the manufacturer of the trams and what is the name of this particular model? Good video Thanks!!

[@jellofishy-vlog]

did you take the southern explorer to canberra kingston station?

[@sancheeez]

I have a model of 009 from Oz Bus Models bought online. So that one is "mine" now lol. It's a well built line, but I still think we could have got better return for money with full suburban rail down to tuggeranong, with stations at about 4-5km apart or more. extending light rail all that same distance would cause all sorts of problems.

[@DAEMTAM]

I like they announce door opening side like gold coast and closing announcements.

[@mgp1203]

man these trams are so much better than Sydney, would've loved these sets for Parra

[@BigBlueMan118]

Parramatta literally has exactly the same trams, in fact they are actually better than Canberra's because they are significantly longer with double the capacity and they have 2.5x more doors.

[@mgp1203]

@@BigBlueMan118 I can see CAFS but I might have to go back and see for myself, I only remember seeing the Parra LR and thinking the interior looks entirely outdated

[@ranger8237]

Broadbeach South on the Gold Coast stops on both platforms

[@Crushery]

they actually modified the station a few weeks ago to have 2 side platforms, as part of consturction for the stage 3 extension

[@ranger8237]

@@Crushery A knew something like that is going to happen

[@TomHommus]

Did they fix the issue where at the terminal stations both the indicator boards on both platforms showed the same thing so they had to get staff to manually point to which one was leaving?

[@tsetstransport]

Nope, still displays the same thing! Only thing on the screens mentioning anything to do with this is tiny text reading whether the next tram is departing from the certain platform or not, it was very confusing for a first-time Canberra commuter!

[@TomHommus]

@@tsetstransport well at least they had that back when I tried it out they had nothing, they just employed someone to point at which one leaves. IT infrastructure for the ACT government is miles behind any other government/company.

[@TheNakedWombat]

Canberra remains a city where a car is essential or you're stranded. They have not even provided efficient public transportation connecting to the countrylink train station.

[@sancheeez]

They don't spend money efficiently. In fact they straight up went against the advice of the overseas transit experts they hired, who suggested starting with improved bus lanes across the city, then working up to rail-based rapid transit. Which light rail isn't - it's a local connector. Totally unsuitable for cross-city trips.

[@andrewclarke6899]

Canberra is a government town where perceived social status is incredibly important, and taking public transport is not good for one's image. This is especially true among the city's numerous Green-voting chardonnay socialists who wouldn't be seen dead catching a bus. Canberra's buses used to serve Canberra's railway station but ceased to do so a couple of years ago. There are about six (6) trains each way to Sydney, they are more expensive than the competing road coaches, which run hourly, and they take an hour longer to get there. The train trip is very pleasant, and a lot of people enjoy it, but the car is much cheaper and the plane much faster. And if you want to get to Melbourne by train, they first take you by road coach to Cootamundra.

[@BigBlueMan118]

@@sancheeez Light rail can be whatever you want it to be, at least to an extent. The Canberra light rail operates at an average speed of 30kmh across its route, which is faster than the average speeds on the New York, Paris or Copenhagen subways (28-30kmh). The patronage figures show the light rail is far (FAR) more popular than the equivalent bus service would have been, the light rail has demonstrably driven up more development along the corridor than a BRT would so the returns are better, and the light rail has outperformed its own business case projections within the first years of operation.

[@johnhamilton6003]

@@andrewclarke6899 The R2 bus serves Canberra railway station every 10 minutes on weekdays (in the daytime) and every 30 minutes on weekends.

[@xr6lad]

Something one can say with every city. Trams, LRT and trains are point to point and serve a totally different need and trip pattern than a car. I wish transit fan boys would grow up and understand one people use one for some journeys and will always use another for others. I live literally 100 metres from a tram stop and a train station and I rarely use either because my journey needs are no where near their routes and no route will ever go anywhere near where I want to go.

[@Therando-d9d]

Its not a tram line but the t7 at olympic park during major events both aides of the platfotms are opened like this tram stop

[@highlandsrailfanAU]

nice

[@tasmaniantaswegian]

suggestion - change 'i went on to i rode canberras'

[@DAEMTAM]

How was the signal priority over traffic? Gold coast is better programmed for priority than Sydney 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@BigBlueMan118]

Yeah Canberra is pretty good at that

[@paulbowler2760]

As you say, there is but one tram line (for which a proper business case has yet to be published!) - so it is hardly a network!

[@DAEMTAM]

I really wish Sydney would go back to button operated doors like when L2 & L3 launched, it's a much better operating mode.

[@garryhall-hollis4834]

I like the trams but in my opinion I think all the trams could have been built in Australia Victoria built their own NSW and ACT probably could of purchased some from Victoria at least the money would be kept in Australia and also light rail is expanding in our country we should build some more facilities to build them quiet frankly my kids and I love catching the tram around

[@stronzer59]

living without the need for a car is wealth creating

[@DripPro69420]

The fact that he keeps saying “train” when is a tram

[@tsetstransport]

@@DripPro69420 said team buddy, don’t know what your hearing

[@TheHsan22]

Hopefully they'll move to the battery-equipped variety removing the need for the overhead wires, replaced with battery charging at specific stops. It would certainly simplify the new route across Lake Burley Griffen to Canberra's South.

[@sancheeez]

line and land use: poor to ok. Gungahlin pl drops you right in a retail strip near the bus interchange, but alinga street you have to cross 3-6 lanes of traffic to get where you want. The government's fear of upsetting the habitual drivers - which is the majority - really hampers any efforts at transit oriented development. This is especially felt at Dickson, where you have to cross at least 2 roads to get to anything. Build: very high quality, but I question the need for laying the entire track in concrete. interior: bad. It's useable off-peak, but during busy times it's nearly unworkable. Seats near the doors should be longitudinal to encourage flow into the middle of the tram, rather than crowding the doors and wheelchair areas. the bike racks are too closely spaced and handlebars get in each other's way constantly. PA system is insufferable. Each stop gets announced FOUR TIMES. why. route: eh, its ok. Belconnen arguably would have been a stronger destination, but the gungahlin route has better development opportunity. But if they really want to be serious about TOD, they need to alter the balance of road uses. The route to gungahlin is direct, the planned route to Woden will not be.

[@BigBlueMan118]

Baby steps though, Canberra was like the most car-dependant major city in Sydney a few years ago and now its well on its way to big improvements, I agree those large stroads need to go on a diet once the 2nd stage opens and you have an even stronger network in play. The TOD is coming, it normally takes 8-10 years to really show up, have a look at Sydney Green Square and Mascot that took 10-12 years to really get going, and Canberra is growing faster than Sydney. Laying everything in concrete was absolutely stupid unless they wanted to make it accessible for emergency services. The trams themselves I agree the layout it bad, they got conned by CAF, they should have gotten double doors at the ends, and arguably a longer tram would have been better, maybe it is possible to add another section in the middle with 2 more sets of double doors per side as some cities in Europe have done this with similar CAF trams and increased their length. I thought the route studies had shown Belconnen would cost more and have less TOD oppotunity but similar initial demand.

[@andrewclarke6899]

​@@BigBlueMan118 Compared to Canberra's buses the trams are very uncomfortable, especially for the elderly. The seats are very hard and very narrow. Getting the light rail through Woden to Tuggeranong - the southernmost of Canberra's "towns" is going to be interesting. They have to cross Lake Burley Griffin by building new spans onto the existing bridge, and then somehow get the line along State Circle - a short tunnel has recently been suggested - and then take the line along the wide dividing strip between the up and down lanes of Adelaide Avenue, which happens to be flood prone. To catch the light rail, people are still going to need to be driven to, or catch buses to, the present interchanges at Woden and Tuggeranong anyway, so we are going to spend billions of dollars to replace the number 4 bus which links Tuggeranong, Woden, Civic and Belconnen, runs every 10-15 minutes and is only crowded during Canberra's two mini-rush-hours. How they are going to get the trams to Belconnen is going to be interesting...

[@willx9352]

@@sancheeez Canberra is designed around the car - for better or worse. i looked up a trip this afternoon from Whitlam to Conder - 2.5 hours by public transport, 25 minutes by car.

[@johnhamilton6003]

@@willx9352 to be fair, very few people would be commuting/travelling from Whitlam to Conder.

[@willx9352]

@@johnhamilton6003 I was the last weekend! Fortunately, someone was able to drive me. If you want to go other than town centres, the trip times by public transport are horrendous. From my place to Deakin, last week for a doctor’s appointment took 1 hour 20 minutes (yes - I did actually use public teansport for this journey). The same trip by car takes less than 25 minutes.

[@jokerface20]

when they added in this stupid tram, they redid the entire bus network to force you to use the tram by transferring from bus to it. my original commute to the city was 25 minutes by ONE bus, and since this was added, the quickest option is bus and tram that takes a minimum of 45 minutes during peek, but anytime outside of peak and weekends it's a 2 hour journey. I ended up getting a car that makes the trip in 15 minutes, majority of people not on the tram line hate this thing.

[@CanberraUser]

👍👍👍

[@sancheeez]

ironic, because the line was meant to benefit the gungahlin voters most of all. How frequent was your local bus, before and after 2019?

[@ncfenech]

I mean, why would you run a rapid bus from Gungahlin to Civic AND a light rail service. Makes zero sense.

[@sparxumlilo4003]

It's interesting to hear your glowing report, though it worries me when a reviewer has nothing that he did not like.

[@johnhamilton6003]

As a local who uses the system regularly, the only real fault I have is the arrogance and condescending attitude of many of the transport officers who are meant to be assisting people. The rest of the network is really well designed from a customers perspective

[@justwatchvideos11]

I literally live in Canberra and this tram is soo useless, doesnt event connect to Universities other than ANU (which is in the city). Is also a minimum 15 minute walk from apartments near the city centre. No car = no easy getting around in Canberra.