CBD & South East Light Rail

[boronia]

So it's semi circular quay.

Not even that any more. It's more Rectangular Quay now

[Linto63]

Above some poster mentioned "diverting" IWRL services to CQ not justified based on demographics - that shouldn't really be considered - it would be about adding additional services while maintaining existing capacity to Central.

It is more efficient to operate each line independently. While there would be some Circular Quay to Darling Harbour demand, it is all of a 100 metre walk to interchange between the two.

[Swift]

It should be 11 metres or less.

[tonyp]

It should be 11 metres or less.

This interchange was a victim of some unfortunate planning on the run. The original plan was that this section of George St would have two tram tracks and two road lanes, so the Chinatown stop was pushed up north out of the way of turning vehicle traffic and was, what turned out to be a rather unsafe centre-island platform that sometimes overflowed with crowds. Then, Sydney City Council changed its mind and implemented full closure of George St to vehicles. If this had been decided in advance, the Chinatown stop could have both butted up to Hay St and been two side islands. I guess that could still be done in years to come but would be at the bottom of any priority list. The present arrangement is tough when it's pouring with rain, not what an interchange should be.

[boronia]

Drivers must be becoming a bit more "aggressive" with their driving lately. Lots of new signage around to "Hold On".

[Jurassic_Joke]

I don’t mind the signage, I can ignore it, it’s the “please hold on at all times” announcement they added recently that plays at most stops that’s becoming a bit grating

[Swift]

Drivers must be becoming a bit more "aggressive" with their driving lately. Lots of new signage around to "Hold On".

They need to in order to keep to time from ask the unnecessary stops they make at intersections, unlike the vastly superior system 1000km or so north.
Then again any tram system outside of Seedeny shall always leave it in the dust. Absolutely always.

[jpp42]

For those worried that APS (ground-level power supply) is a white elephant, Alstom is managing to continue to sell it for new installations - Barcelona has recently given them a contract: https://www.railway-technology.com/news ... m-network/

[boronia]

Drivers must be becoming a bit more "aggressive" with their driving lately. Lots of new signage around to "Hold On".

They need to in order to keep to time from ask the unnecessary stops they make at intersections, unlike the vastly superior system 1000km or so north.
Then again any tram system outside of Seedeny shall always leave it in the dust. Absolutely always.

Inbound services often have extended dwells at Moore Park. Driver today apologised because we "are running early".

[tonyp]

Daily Telegraph

Sydney’s Pitt Street closed to traffic after tram and fire truck collide

Paramedics have been called to a busy Haymarket intersection after a light rail tram and fire truck collided a short time ago.

September 5, 2022 - 11:49AM

Drivers have been warned to avoid a busy Haymarket intersection after a light rail tram and a fire truck collided shortly before 11am.

Pitt Street has been closed in both directions at Eddy Ave after the collision.

In images posted of the smash, what appears to be the front carriage of a light rail tram has been smashed off the rails, with a fire truck stopped next to the tram.

NSW Ambulance confirmed they had been called to the scene but were yet to assess how many patients needed treatment.

Northbound traffic is being diverted into Quay Street and southbound traffic can use Elizabeth Street or George Street.

The Transport Management Centre confirmed light rail services between Central and Circular Quay on the L2 Randwick Line and L3 Kingsford Line are not running.

[jpp42]

Photo of the aftermath: https://i.redd.it/7460xqsstxl91.jpg

Reports of 3 people with minor injuries.

[jpp42]

Close-up photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CiG8iN0pwOA ... MyMTA2M2Y=

[boronia]

Set 01 was involved. Concerning is the length of time taken to clear the line. Accident happened about 11 am and line still closed at 5 pm.

[Swift]

So many of those fire emergencies in and around the city turn out to be falsies I once read. I know they're vital but they're a PITA in that respect. This exposes another drawback to the unusually long sets (I know it hit the first part) is once they start crossing, it's quite a few seconds before they clear. It will be interesting to see who was at fault.

[boronia]

That will be investigated, but a video of the actual crash show the tram had its white light to cross, and the fire engine didn't slow down before running the red light.

Seems the problem with "tram priority" here has been solved, resulting in the trams entering the intersection at speed.

[Passenger 57]

Could they run a Town Hall - CQ service? Isn't there a cross over at Town Hall?

[boronia]

So many of those fire emergencies in and around the city turn out to be falsies I once read. I know they're vital but they're a PITA in that respect. This exposes another drawback to the unusually long sets (I know it hit the first part) is once they start crossing, it's quite a few seconds before they clear. It will be interesting to see who was at fault.

Many are "false alarms", but they are reported by automatic monitoring systems and firies don't know what the problem is until they get there.

"tram priority" has been improved along here recently, so the trams tend to pick up a bit of speed before they get to the intersection. Guess there will be a new speed restriction imposed here now.

[Swift]

Guess there will be a new speed restriction imposed here now.

Even if the fire tender is found to be at fault? Knowing Sydney, yes.

[Glen]

This exposes another drawback to the unusually long sets (I know it hit the first part) is once they start crossing, it's quite a few seconds before they clear.

I think you countered your own statement. How is that relevant when the fire truck collided with the front of the tram? It would have still hit it if it was a Birney car.

[Glen]

Could they run a Town Hall - CQ service? Isn't there a cross over at Town Hall?

I was at QVB at 1.30pm and there was a northbound tram stopped at the platform 'NOT IN SERVICE' and I could see a southbound tram at Town Hall.

That driver must have been there a long time.

[Swift]

This exposes another drawback to the unusually long sets (I know it hit the first part) is once they start crossing, it's quite a few seconds before they clear.

I think you countered your own statement. How is that relevant when the fire truck collided with the front of the tram? It would have still hit it if it was a Birney car.

I was upfront about that. Why do you need to reiterate it to give the impression I'm clueless.
This incident highlights that emergency vehicles face a loss of vital seconds waiting for a blinking long vehicle to get through.

[boronia]

I was at QVB at 1.30pm and there was a northbound tram stopped at the platform 'NOT IN SERVICE' and I could see a southbound tram at Town Hall.

That driver must have been there a long time.

The accident happened about 11 am. Around 13:00 I got talking to the driver of the outbound tram "trapped" at Haymarket. He had to stay there until he was relieved at his normal finish time, I think he left around 15:00.

Guess the drivers of the other trams had the same fate.

[jpp42]

I walked through the city around 5/5:30pm and none of the stranded trams had drivers. I guess by then officials finally agreed to let them shut down their tram and leave (lights were off but pantographs still raised). Most of the trams were at stops except for one southbound at Haymarket - I guess it must have been notified of the accident just before it was about to enter the Haymarket stop, as it was stopped just before the turn from George St.

I watched the final stages of the recovery, which was done with hand tools like chain blocks, anchored to the recovery truck and heavy rescue FRNSW vehicle that you can see in some photos. The overhead power was never shut off, I guess in order to preserve service on L1, but they seemed to get by fine with ground-level equipment so this wasn't a problem (no cranes/etc needed).

I saw a notice for TfNSW around midday that they expected recovery would take about 6 hours and in fact it was recovered by about 6:30pm, and the coupled set drove off under its own power with service restarting shortly after that. So they were pretty spot-on with the time estimate. The recovery was done by TfNSW's Transport Incident Commanders and the Rail Emergency Recovery Unit with FRNSW heavy rescue unit supporting. A group of Transdev staff appeared to be monitoring the scene, and provided track workers to inspect the rail and grind off some small damage. Police and RMS traffic controllers were directing traffic. Alstom was also there to inspect the tram and provide a mechanic to ride along in set 001 for the recovery (it was trailing as the tram was driven wrong-road from the scene up to Chalmers St). I heard the Transdev and TfNSW staff discussing whether or not a TSR was required in order to restore traffic and they agreed it wouldn't be, as the minimal damage had been successfully repaired with the grinders.

[boronia]

The set at Haymarket was in the stop prior to the crash, but was later backed out into George St to allow the tow truck (OPS-100) room to maneuver.

I would be surprised if the drivers just left the trams unattended; probably lurking nearby? The driver at Haymarket told me he had to stay there until he was relieved.

The official notification that services had resumed didn't come out until about 8pm.

[boronia]

I find it worrying that it took 6 hours to clear up was essentially a minor derailment. The effect on traffic was horrendous, even at midday.

Things were not helped by what seemed botched attempts to move the sets, putting the tram in worse situations. It is disappointing that Alstom seem inadequately equipped to handle this "in house".