Newcastle Light Rail - Rear Cab View with Commentary - Newcastle Beach to Newcastle Interchange

[@Agent44996]

The Newcastle Light Rail is very cool, and the pantograph feature at each station is unique!

[@TransportVlog]

Yes it certainly is!

[@TheBicycle1]

A well put together video. I was informed by a railway electrical engineer that A 'Super Capacitor' is used for the traction system with current day storage batteries for auxiliary operating systems. The Super Capacitor has the advantage of rapid charging with far less charge / discharge losses over a very long service life. The chemical batteries recover most of their charge during time spent at each terminus. A similar system is used by Detroit's Woodward Avenue system.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks Adrian, That's really interesting and helpful technical information on the batteries. I just googled "Detroit's Woodward Avenue streetcar" and found this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHLae2d6nbWarMU . It seems to work in a very similar way to the Newcastle system.

[@acde9355]

It's such an amazing "wireless" tram. Thanks for sharing your video!

[@TransportVlog]

Yes it is rather cool and a little quirky! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@harrygoldun5779]

Oh that was excruciatingly slow, what a disgrace replacing an efficient rail connection with. a mechanical version of a snail. Enjoy your videos and the informative commentary are always an added bonus.

[@TransportVlog]

It didn't seem that slow to me, although if I was a regular user, that view might change. In a perfect world, you would have the old rail connection and the light rail! The main way to speed up light rail is to give it priority at junctions. It looked like that might have been happening with the Newcastle Light Rail, as I don't remember any stops between stations, except for coming into Newcastle Interchange.

[@harrygoldun5779]

@@TransportVlog trams in Melbourne do travel faster, on Shared roads they keep up with the traffic, on it's own reservation, they can travel up to 80km/h. Evident with the accompanying road traffic maintaining the same speed. Seems that trip takes 10 minutes for that section between the beach and interchange, that's ridiculously slow!!

[@terencemccarthy8615]

@@TransportVlog Newcastle is fast becoming a most desirable place to live...the arguments about whether the heavy rail should still be there are getting rather old now..what’s done is done and it’s time to move on..some of the vegetation in the median strip along the route could do with a bit of tlc..btw.....Harry Goldun pops up in just about every NSW light rail vlog and his comments are always negative.....best ignored...another informative blog...thanks Paul

[@sydnorth5868]

I know that the Newcastle Light Rail has been the subject of a lot of criticism. But I genuinely believe that the opening up of Scott Street to the waterfront that has been achieved by the Light Rail has had a far greater benefit to the city than continuing the heavy rail link into the old station.

[@harrygoldun5779]

@@terencemccarthy8615 well the reason being, people laud the system, especially the L2 & L3. I have used them whilst in Sydney, an improvement but still slow to say the least. Criticism is warranted when you expect a tram system to deliver an efficient service to get you from A to Be in the least amount of time. It's not about a leisurely sigh seeing your, can do that at a museum. Seems anything in NSW cannot be challenged as it's perfect according to the likes of many. Just glad I don't have to deal with both of those systems on a daily basis.

[@ethans-dk4bk]

On The Newcastle Light Rail(NLR). I Remember Why It is Easy to see a caf urbos 3 on that line.

[@Carlomunroxx]

You explain nsw transport very well

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks Yuri

[@JustinThomas7]

Yes, the trams almost always stop at Stewart Ave, this is not timed to give the tram right of way like the other intersections. It's an incredibly busy intersection and was one of the main arguments for removing the heavy rail line from the crossing. The intersection is timed with the other nearby intersections on Stewart Ave (King St, Hunter St & Honeysuckle Drive). And yes, the second track across the road is for future expansion to the west of the station (likely Broadmeadow) I live just down the road from the Honeysuckle stop.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks for that Justin. It's good to see that there is light rail priority at the other junctions. Nice to hear from a local!

[@astapic]

Excellent video and commentary,I thoroughly enjoyed watching and listening to all of the informative commentary.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks! - Glad you enjoyed it. Paul

[@astapic]

@@TransportVlog ,just keep them coming,Paul.

[@atholmullen]

As you pull out of Crown St stop, you can see a dark vehicle on the right coming past a give way sign to join the road. That is where Hunter St diverges and continues south of Scott St. That's where the road changes name.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks Athol, It wasn't particularly clear on the map, so thanks for clarifying.

[@Mediawatcher2023]

interesting information

[@guyb3785]

Hi Paul another great video keep on the great work

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks, will do!

[@Jimblefy]

Great video again. Thanks.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks!

[@smyrnian_]

Thank you for the well explained video.

[@TransportVlog]

Glad it was helpful!

[@andrewmckenzie4246]

Nice video. I’d like to see you do the same for the Canberra LR.

[@TransportVlog]

Yes, I do plan to cover Canberra LR in a future video.

[@saumyacow4435]

The other track that ends at Newcastle Station is there to allow extension of the line without disrupting the road.

[@TransportVlog]

Hi Saumya, Yes I thought that might be the reason.

[@gregessex1851]

In response to your questions. 1. The extended line at Newcastle Beach is for broken down trams rather than stabling. In normal operation, trams only spend a few minutes at Newcastle Beach before returning. 2. The lack of stopping is due to the trams having very high priority at all Traffic Control Signals. This works in Newcastle as the traffic volumes are very low. 3. The second line at Newcastle Interchange is for a future extension with the preferred option being to John Hunter Hospital via Hamilton and the proposed Broadmeadow development area. This is far from confirmed and may never happen however the track was built as the amount of work required to build a second track later would be significant due to underground drainage in the area. I live 50m from Newcastle Beach station and find it much quicker to ride a bike to Newcastle Interchange partially due to the long dwells as a result of the charging system at each stop. I am yet to find a reason to use the tram despite living right near the eastern terminus.

[@TransportVlog]

Hi Greg, thanks for answering these questions. Its good to see that the tram gets decent priority at junctions. Cycling is often quicker than public transport, especially if you need to change modes. I used to cycle to work when I lived in London, as the journey time by train/ tube and walk at either end was 50 minutes and cycling was 35 minutes! In London, the double decker buses are so slow, that I would overtake them quite often. That's very different to Sydney!

[@gregessex1851]

@lwf51 and a bus wouldn’t take up all the space that could have been used for urban amenity improvements

[@kygladdish2554]

The pantograph rasies after the tram passes a balise sensor in the ground and the tram comes to a stop in the right spot. If the tram over/undershoots the platform and isnt directly under the charge bar, then the pantograph wont raise to avoid overextension. The pantograph will stay raised while the doors are open/activated, so the tram will continue to take charge, and in the event of a tram needing to extend its time at any stop, that means the OESS wont drain. However the pantograph wont drop until the OESS receives a full charge, so if the doors are closed before the OESS is fully charged then the panto will stay up until full charge is taken. So the raise and lowering of the pantograph is automatic. However there is also a way for the driver to manually raise and lower the pantograph if needed.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks very much for your detailed explanation of how the raising and lowering of the pantograph at each stop works. Good to hear that the process is automatic, and that the driver can take control of this if necessary.

[@aussiejohn5835]

Hi Paul, this is another excellent presentation. I have travelled on this system only once and I found the dwell time at each stop was longer than the Sydney system. I was told by the driver that it was necessary in order to charge the battery at each stop. He also told me that there is a push to have the service extended to John Hunter Hospital in the future. The cost of converting to light rail seems to me to be a little extreme for a distance of 2klm. The inconvenience for people with luggage is unnecessary when they had a perfectly good rail system which had been in place for many years. I am not sure if the bus and coach station has been relocated from Newcastle Station to the new interchange. I could not see such a facility in this video. Thanks again Paul for this video.

[@JustinThomas7]

The removal of heavy rail was demanded by most locals due to traffic congestion (particularly at Stewart Ave) and the division it created in the CBD between Honeysuckle/Harbourfront & the CBD. It was never about a business case, it was about fixing a broken city (2010 was a dark time for Newcastle, most of the CBD was abandoned). As a local I think it has been a good move. The heavy rail couldn't really be used for local transport as it only ran hourly off peak - whereas a lot more people use the light rail to travel within the CBD. And yes, the bus interchange is now just south of the new Newcastle Interchange station. I'd argue it's easier with luggage now as you go straight from the heavy rail to light rail without stairs, and then get off the tram at street level without having to deal with steps - not to mention the density of light rail stops in the CBD is double what the heavy rail was (6 vs 3) which likely means less walking to your destination. My only criticism is the light rail isn't timed to the heavy rail timetable, which isn't a problem when it runs every 7/8 minutes but when it runs every 15 minutes you could be waiting a while.

[@aussiejohn5835]

@@JustinThomas7 I appreciate your information and your perspective as a local. I have an emotional attachment to the old Newcastle Station in a historic way and I suppose this has influenced my opinion of the light rail. Thanks again for your reply and the information you provided.

[@TransportVlog]

Hi John, Glad you enjoyed this video. Thanks also to Justin for adding extra information from a locals perspective. I agree that a 15 minute service at weekends is not great. All the trams I travelled on were pretty busy, and an extra tram at weekends to boost the frequency would definitely help.

[@cam4007]

I was wondering, considering the amount of money invested in creating a light rail and an interchange station, if I’d wouldn’t have been better to have just sunk the existing rail line to an open-air tunnel and added plenty of greenery and bridges to improve access. My understanding was that they removed the heavy rail link to improve access to the foreshore (for development and beautification purposes). Sinking the existing line would probably have achieved this without the inconvenience of changing trains.

[@MrSquareart]

Are you going to do a video about if they expand the light rail? This is the first light rail system that I have seen with the paragraph goes up and down at every station. Not sure why they did that way. Plus are you going to talk more about if they expand the light rail system??

[@TransportVlog]

Yes, I'm sure it will be expanded at some point, so I'll cover that when any extension plans are approved.

[@MrSquareart]

@@TransportVlog okay. Plus maybe you can do a blooper video. Just a great thoughts

[@JT.4305]

this tram system reminds me of goldcoast tram system

[@TransportVlog]

Nice! Hopefully I can do a video on the Goldcoast system in the future

[@BossboyGaming]

Did you get to sit on the drivers seat at the back or did you zoom in? Did the driver let you sit at the back?

[@TransportVlog]

Good question! No I zoomed in!

[@jasperkelly181]

Paul you should go on the Stockton ferry and make a video of the ferry

[@TransportVlog]

Yes, I planned to do the Stockton ferry on the same day as filming this video, but ran out of time! - It's on the list for next time.

[@game-azing]

Is that trams voice the same for the Sydney trams? And is the bell sound the same to Sydney?

[@TransportVlog]

Not sure the about the voice, but the bell is the same for all trams.

[@metricstormtrooper]

You mean all those 26 hour days (really) that I put in when the Newcastle station was upgraded were for Nought. : (

[@TransportVlog]

Unfortunately, although the old station has been nicely preserved. I'll do a video on that sometime.

[@anniemon]

@@TransportVlog good because I was wondering what the Newcastle Station was now. Could see it was still there.

[@metricstormtrooper]

@@anniemon it wasn't the last station we did an upgrade on that got shut down very soon afterwards, does anybody remember the Canberra railway station lasting long after it received a million dollar + upgrade, complete with a restoration of the Royal Carriage.

[@julianlee4803]

Is the Newcastle Beach stop much of a walk from the beach itself? Planning a trip up there soon

[@katto4586]

From the Beach Terminus to Newcastle Beach is fairly close - less than 500m and slightly uphill. The opening shot of the journey which starts at 40sec mark is pointing in the right direction. You are looking back from the terminus buffers/posts up past the old building with the maroon roof on the horizon. That is the way you walk to the beach - it's literally just over the hill. It is however way closer than what Newcastle Station was prior to the light rail. Newcastle Beach is great for families with ocean baths (for young families and those not used to the water) plus some great rock pools not too far away. Newcastle Beach is usually fine for surfing and is fairly popular due to its central location. I guess it depends on what you're planning on doing while you are there and who is going with you. I was born at the hospital overlooking the beach (many moons ago) so I know the area quite well.

[@j0hnathan13l5]

Newcastle Beach is about 2 minutes from the tram stop and Nobby's Beach with the breakwall and lighthouse is about a 10 min walk. Highly recommend a visit.

[@julianlee4803]

@@katto4586 thanks for the info. I was just planning a trip up there to look at the beach and have lunch somewhere. Nothing special

[@Thetuber83]

@@julianlee4803 it's actually quite a spectacular view if you can get up high. The Newcastle beach stop is conveniently close.

[@Wog68]

Just for few moments stop, charging of tram at the stop must be quick and efficient to let it move at least up to next stop.

[@TransportVlog]

Yes it seems to be. The dwell times at each stop seemed to be similar to other tram systems

[@rodcampbell8231]

The second line over Stewart Avenue is for potential future expansion to the west. A bit like stub tunnels I suppose.

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks Rod, I thought that might be the reason for the extra track.

[@saumyacow4435]

One little detail missed here. At the Newcastle Beach station there is a line drawn across the paving that says you're entering a "paid zone". Which is amusing because the platform *is* the footpath, so there's no way to avoid it!

[@TransportVlog]

Thanks - I totally missed that!

[@game-azing]

Woah woah woah, what do you mean by a "paid zone"? You have to pay to get in that area?

[@saumyacow4435]

@@game-azing In theory yes. Curiously after I wrote that, they widened the footpath so now there are paid and unpaid zones on the footpath :)

[@RGC198]

Ecellent video. Thanks for sharing. My last visit to Newcastle was prior to 1981 and it looked very different back in those days. Newcastle was always a favourite place for a day train trip from Sydney. In earlier years, we used to take a morning train from Sydney to Maitland, walk from there back to High Street Station and catch the train to Newcastle. We then would have some time in Newcastle before returning to Sydney. We managed this all in a day. No trams in Newcastle back then and it is great seeing the light rail there now. My first trip to Newcastle was way back in 1966 and there were steam trains everywhere in Newcastle back then.

[@TransportVlog]

That's a long time ago! - Was that before the Newcastle line was electrified?

[@RGC198]

@@TransportVlog The electrification only went to Gosford back in those days. Then, we had to change at Gosford into a steam train to go on the rest of the journey to Newcastle. There was also a direct diesel train from Sydney to Newcastle called the Newcastle Flyer. Some years later, they replaced the steam trains with diesels, which included the local services in Newcastle. The full electrification from Sydney to Newcastle was completed only after we moved here to Melbourne in 1981.

[@TransportVlog]

@@RGC198 Thanks for this little bit of history!

[@robincoleman1350]

The tram is painfully slow.

[@harrygoldun5779]

Yep, must be a feature of light rail systems in NSW, not light rail but snail rail.

[@TransportVlog]

It didn't seem that slow to me. However, it's been a while since I've been on a light rail outside of NSW. I know that some of the Melbourne tram lines have completely segregated sections, where they operate more at train speeds. However, when running on streets, there is a limit to what you can do to speed them up.

[@xpxp2839]

slower than a bicycle

[@tld8102]

why do the trams travel so slowly compared other trams?

[@TransportVlog]

Great question! Trams generally fun faster when they are on segregated lines. The Newcastle Tram runs primarily on streets.

[@BeckhamStocks]

I went on one of those trams 😊

[@TransportVlog]

Nice!

[@BeckhamStocks]

@@TransportVlog thanks Paul

[@jamesfrench7299]

Things that bother me. Too short a system for the disruption building it. Gold plating the tracks in cement in ROW. Super slow in the on street section. Importing trams into a city that builds trains.

[@saumyacow4435]

Agree with some of this. If Newcastle is to have a proper tram network it needs a bit of a rethink. Dedicated rights of way is what is needed. But it doesn't need tracks. Just quiet, smooth electric vehicles with step free access. Also moving away from tracks solves some grade issues (John Hunter, Charlestown Square etc). We could build the right of way for a lot less per km. One thing I do like is the battery powered trams. We need more of this.

[@notsureyou]

You forgot to directly mention that the idea was sold using a lie. The lie being that the light-rail would use the old heavy rail corridor. Instead literally follows the road, and has decimated every business along the way. Just look at Hunter street.... Or the business that no longer have parking out the front......

[@jamesfrench7299]

I think developers wanted the waterfront cleared of the railway and they sold it on the misleading idea that it would physically replace the railway corridor. In reality there was no real need to remove it but saying it was needed to make way for the tramway was the justification they needed.

[@notsureyou]

@@jamesfrench7299 That's the main version that I have heard, The slight deviation that I heard before I moved up to Newcastle is that: They did a study on the most cost effective way to more people, like bus, light-rail etc, but excluded the heavy rail from the study...... that they were already using.

[@lachlanmcgowan5712]

Wow, look, *both* kilometres of the light rail line! (Sorry, it's a very nice line, but it's simply ridiculously short. The light rail network really needs to be massively extended throughout Newcastle, the development of the city has stretched a long way away from the existing heavy rail and the bus infrastructure is laughably inadequate.)

[@TransportVlog]

Yes, it would be lovely to see this extended, and I'm sure it will in the future!

[@tonyliolio9078]

Hi Paul. I don't really think much of the Newcastle Tram at all, there was nothing wrong with trains to Newcastle Railway Station. Newcastle Railway Station had a heritage order and the dumbest thing that Newcastle Council to cut off the railway did was to install at $600 Million dollar tram run by a private company to now change poor people who live in Newcastle more money to travel up Hunter Street. Well, that's really smart thinking of the Newcastle Council and the State Government run by the Autocratic Dictatorship. I remember the protests in Newcastle (don't blame them) against cutting off the rail link because the Newcastle Council have built a Glorified Modern Day Slow Steam Roller called a Newcastle Tram. The money could have been better spent on an International Cruse Port in Newcastle Harbor, Earthquake Proof High Rise Apartment with Elasto-metric footings and even a Large Metropolis Style Shopping Center to draw in the customers from the suburbs like it was in the early 1980s a very busy hub that we were proud of, but it would have even been better still. Shame on Newcastle Council....

[@TransportVlog]

Hi Tony, yes this was certainly a controversial scheme. It's a shame that very little of the old rail line was used for the light rail. The CBD does seem to be in better shape than it was when I first went there in 2011. Not sure whether the light rail has anything to do with that or not.

[@johngore8096]

@@TransportVlog As someone who worked in Newcastle in the 1990s, the closing of the rail line and the opening of the light rail has made a huge difference. It changed it from a decaying town, described by someone as resembling bombed out Beirut, to a very desirable place to life. Newcastle people hate change even it it has shown to have made a huge positive improvement. Newcastle interchange station is also a great design and makes it easy to interchange. It is a great improvement. I have also lived overseas for almost 11 years in Canada and Europe and I don't know why Sydney people especially are so critical of their city when all the international surveys rank it very highly. Maybe our convict heritage has produced a negative, critical inferiority complex which doesn't allow us to appreciate what we have. Melbournians don't have that negativity but it doesn't rank as highly in most international surveys.

[@utareangara5529]

How pointless is this tram? Why on earth didn't they just leave the train line? what a waste of money >< it doesn't go anywhere XD