Cross River Tram

[Jimbob]

trams are the bees knees, have travelled on them quite a bit when i lived in belgium and have used them when in holland and dublin. Like all public transport they have limitations but for a speedy, pleasant way of getting from a to b,they knock spots off buses and would give the tube a run for its money.

[Burbage]

I'm not sure I agree with Jeremy. The Croydon-Wimbledon tram doesn't seem particularly quick to me, and much if it goes through fairly low-density/low-congestion areas (such as the South Norwood Country Park). The fact that Croydon-Wimbledon isn't a major commuter route may also be significant. It's probably great for people who live a few stops from one of the centres, but I'm not sure the benefits are particularly widespread.

The assumption about signal priority is optimistic. It doesn't seem to be the case in Croydon and trams seem as subject to congestion as anything else, despite their little bells. The other problem with trams is that you can't divert them, so burst water mains, house fires, sieges, roadworks, traffic accidents and power or signal failures can bring the whole service to a halt. As for unevenness, tram rails are often embedded in the road surface, and do shift noticeably with time, and there doesn't seem to be anything to stop drivers slamming the brakes on when they get a chance.

I am however, in favour of the CRT project. I was persuaded by one of the promotional colouring books they were handing out at last year's Thames Festival (South Bank, this year's is Tomorrow and Sunday), which has been an enduring source of challenging amusement, and not, as I originally thought, the sort of pointlessly cynical propaganda that happens when a half-wit gets a budget.

[AllforNun]

...........there are so many half wits in the conservative party which are you talking about ?

[kilmore]

Having just come back from a holiday in eastern Germany, every medium sized town has new low floor trams gliding in and out of the town centre, linking the shops, the station and the suburbs. The streets are paved with newly restored cobbles and there is not a speed hump or raised table to be seen. The trams run to a timetable displayed on screens at every stop and turn up absolutely on time. Everyone dutifully punches their ticket in the machine. Bikes, cars, buses and trams seem to coexist quite happily, with the buses sharing the tram stops. There is plenty of parking but you always have to pay a euro or two.

So it seems a bit odd that London, the richest city in the universe cannot afford the ?1bn for the south London tram. If money needs to be saved, cut out the Camden and Brixton extensions because the first lot don't want it and the second have two tube lines already - call it a second or third phase. But Peckham desperately needs the tram because the railway is so akward and the buses so slow and uncomfortable, made worse by the incessant prattle of that annoying woman telling us twenty times a journey what bus we are on.

Look again at the loop proposal round Peckham which would bring it round the oval at the top of Peckham Rye Park (by Austins) and make it useful to people living in East Dulwich. And sort out the depot by taking it out of Peckham Town Centre and making an extension to the Ilderton site by Millwall Football Club.