New battery-powered light rail vehicles slip quietly into service

Canberra’s growing population means that in ten years we will have to upgrade Adelaide Avenue’s T2 lanes to T3 lanes to keep them uncongested, and some time after 2046 we will need to upgrade the T3 lanes to bus rapid transit (at half the cost of light rail).

Think you miss the use case. They will still run on wires but need to be able to travel about 2km between wired charging opportunities. The batteries are only meant to cover that gap.

They only nees th batteries for the 2km gap. They will use wired power the rest of the time.

You may think it stupid but it’s a requirement of the Capital Authority.

An odd comment for a supposed physics PhD. It was not the local government’s decision not to cable the run through the triangle. They have no option.

Take time to charge? Golly, gee whiz. Relatively unsafe? Short life? Sounds like the usual spurious talking points.

Concentrate on physics, if that is a reality. Given you seem to be starting behind, check out Galileo and go from there.

I agree. If Melbourne can have wires outside parliament, so can Canberra (sounds like it will outside the Assembly), but the RWFW “LIBERAL” appointed NCA tried to wreck the LR by making it harder and more expensive. Don’t blame Barr or the Greens for this stupidity, nor the Greens. Even Brunel’s Grade I Listed Maidenhead Railway Bridge have had overhead fitted for the Great Western Line to Bristol / Cornwall. They just altered the spacing so the staunchions line up with the brickwork supporting the bridge, and lit looks quite good. Canberra’s bridges were built last week, by comparison.

Buses can make the trip in 18 minutes. Light rail will take at least 25 minutes. That’s why the government expects that Stage 2 will reduce the ACT’s public transport travel by 5%, The need for battery operation will add at least another 2 minutes.

Wherever you got your PhD from, it obviously didn’t provide much value, nor basic skills of comprehension it seems. The premise is they’ll only run under batteries when they need to…..

Totally wrong actually. From day dot of the first stage it was known the NCA (the unelected body that controls planning in the parl triangle and other “import” locations in the ACT) made it clear wired would not be allowed in the triangle.

So from the beginning the requirement for future wire free running was factored into the project and was one of the reason the CAF trams were chosen as when the time came for them to need batteries they could easily be retrofitted. Which will happen to the original deliveries soon.

As for grades getting into state circle again all factored in and was why the ACT governments prodded route was not state circle. But again dealing with an unelected body.

So call it what you will it’s far from inept.

JC,
The NCA is no more an “unelected body” than the ACT Government’s planning authority is.

That’s odd as there haven’t been any verifiable reports of your story.

I’ll stick to my car. No issues with people sneezing except me.

Well the trams are emission free so the only explanation is that the driver of the latter tram had a big feed of curried beans and onions the night before.

I have little to gain from telling fibs in relation to my Wife’s and Daughter’s “experience”. At the time I scanned information pertaining to a tram swap and or air conditioning/ventilation issue without success.

It may appear It is not in the interest of the Operators of the Light Rail on publishing negative issues in a way that may be straight forward on attainment. I do not have the time to go through data/websites to locate prior service disruptions.

If the Sydney Tram as an example had not advertised structural defects, I am sure we would have never heard of the issue in an advertised manner relating to the Canberra Trams.

astro2 is calling you a liar, Logicalusername.

Not at all, just when you break down the elements of the story; e.g. a light rail service was slow on “take-off” and there was a wait at Mitchell for another carriage, that’s just a normal service break-down, which happens on buses as well (and cars), so really nothing to see there. However the “sneezing and coughing” on another service a week later sounds a little like something you might observe in an office or shopping centre in the hay fever season. (I’ll leave the bit of about passengers throwing up on the sidewalk as it sounds a bit of an embellishment. Besides, isn’t “sidewalk” an American term? We usually say footpath in Australia) My point about verifying stories is that, generally, if there’s a real issue, then the Canberra Times or RiotAct is pretty quick to pick it up to be honest.

Slow acceleration is expected, because batteries have smaller power density in comparison with super capacitor (used in the regenerative systems in regular trams). Power density determines acceleration.

I have spent some time in meetings with Americans, maybe why I utilised the term of sidewalk, one thousand apologies, oops sorry for the Hong Kongkian apology.

As for the CT/Riot Act not detecting an embellished foot path issue is something I will cover with them in the past. No fear I have Rupert on the job.

Fortunately I have access to a DeLorean. If I don’t accidentally go back to 1985 you can be rest assured I will find the perpetrators whom expelled their breakfast in public and bring them to justice Salem style.

The batteries are not in use. The slow acceleration may have just been a gentle start. The battery running will start in 2028.

Sure thing, nothing like a vivd imagination and it makes a good pub story, however I doubt whether light rail carriages are making people physically ill. Although perhaps the old Can the Tram mob are feeling faint at the sight of them.

Even if the tram was on battery which I doubt they could have stuck the panto up to take power off the wires again. But considering this type of tram operates wire free in many places seriously doubt it was a battery issue. It’s not cutting edge tech.

Not a pub going person, nor do I drink.

During the SARS outbreak I was stuck on the tarmac in a 747 for about 2 hours, no power connection as we had taxied away from the gate. The APU for whatever reason was not engaged, (maybe to save fuel) thus we had a tiny amount of ventilation, outside was well over 30. I recall Vividly throwing up into the little baggie provided by the airline. Is that my imagination?

Earlier this year I was in SEA. Driving around with a friend. I noticed a number of electric buses fitted with aircon with large pull down windows, two breakdowns. My friend who is a local (senior public transportation engineer who has worked in the EU, China, Korea and so on, specifically monorails and medium/heavy elevated rail). When I asked her why the new electric buses have window openings (where the other diesel aircon buses do not) said they cannot run at times the full distance with the aircon on, this particular day was humid and 38C. People need ventilation or they get sick.

Moral of the experience is some people react differently.

Whilst it’s fun to hear of your travel tales Logicalusername, and I’m sure others would have carsickness and plane tales, regarding the Canberra light rail, there are no verified reports of people actually getting sick from a light rail carriage. The aircon is operating fine and if they needed to stop for any period of time the doors open for air. So it isn’t an issue.

Light Rail is American terminology on which streetcars run.. In Australia, we call them trams which run on tram tracks.
Footpaths are indeed found in Australia but they are rare in Canberra.

They run on terminology? Is that a new secret energy source or do you put it on the road?

I take it no American term has ever previously made it into Australian vernacular, nor French nor German or Scandinavian words into the English you use without a thought, words like “tram”.

We had trams long before light rail was coined, Franz.
And remember that famous American movie “A Tram Named Desire”?

@Capital Retro
” … that famous American movie “A Tram Named Desire””
I must have missed that one, CR. Was it the sequel to the Brando/Leigh classic: “A Streetcar named Desire”?

This conversation is becoming comical at this point:)

OK throwing a spanner in the works, my Asian friend calls a footpath a walk path, sometimes walking path.

I was trying to appease Franz, actually.

@Capital Retro
That’s good to know. I was thinking that, when the film was released, they had to change its name, on the hoarding at your local moving picture house, so the locals would understand the title.