Some areas of Melbourne simply aren’t served that well by public transport. Particularly in more densely populated areas of the city, it’s unfeasible to add a new train line – and buses simply don’t cut it.
So – where would you place a new tram line in Melbourne, and why?
Don’t just think around your neighbourhood – where have you tried to travel to recently that’s been a ridiculous criss-cross of changing trains to buses to more trains, when you could’ve easily jumped on a tram?
Add your idea in the comments, then vote everyone else’s up and down!
Purely self interest, but a line along Springvale Rd would be good.
Otherwise more evening frequency would be the biggest one.
I’d like to see an extended tram line to the Airport. It shouldn’t be too much to extended it from Moonee Ponds. I’d use it to travel there everyday. Well worth the spend.
I guess the airport would be nice, but the SkyBus is pretty good. Doncaster/Malvern desperately need more than just buses, and there’s plenty of room for a tram line.
I’ve always thought a tram line along the beach from Port Melbourne to St Kilda (or beyond) would be great for both locals and tourism. The 112 tram almost gets there, but it’s mostly back streets through Albert Park.
Currently all we have to serve this route is the 606 bus, known locally as the “ghost bus” due to its sparse running times…
Doncaster Road in Doncaster
All the existing tram lines could (and should) be extended – not hard to do in most cases, so that would cover the Airport, Beaconsfield Pde etc. and connecting those western suburbs routes into the city. And deleted tramlines should (and could) be re-instated. As for a single new tram line? Hoddle St/Punt Rd (linked to the High St tram at the north, and down to Elwood and beyond at the southern end). The Hoddle St/Punt Rd could be given the boulevard treatment. But why stop at one? The entire length of the Warrigal, Clayton and Spingvale Rd alignments would be candidates, along with the northern ring of Bell St/Manningham Rd etc to Box Hill and beyond. And maybe there could be a route all the way along the Nepean Highway to Frankston, to serve all those people on the wrong side of the tracks.
Alexandra parade would make sense. It would link up the northern lines that currently have no cross lines beyond the city. The new line could utilize That useless and unused nature strip. Or ideally a tunnel for cars under the road with trams running on the revitalized streets above. This model would also create space for new shops with apartments above. Use decent architects, and a wonderful line of demarcation would be created between city and suburbs.
It will be good if a tram can reach to Westfield in Doncaster.
Aiport as it already goes as far as Essendon. Running along the centre of Freeways is a cost effective measure! So Doncaster shopping town (Eastern Freeway via Latrobe St), the 64 to Southland (nepean hwy). The 8 or 67 to Chadstone (Dandenong rd) . It all can be done!
I think there should be a tram line from Footscray to Sunshine train station, it’s would be a lot better than any other transport in the west, i sometime wait for 20, 30 or even 35 minutes for a bus and most of the time there late, maybe runing it from the city and the tram would follow the ballarat road all the way to the sunshine train station, and with tram stops on ballarat road, i assure that the tram would always be packed, most of the time the buses in the west are packed, a tram there would help a lot of people.
trams are too damn slow and noisy, we need some more train lines and better trains
beach road – port melbourne to st kilda
We need a few ‘cross suburb’ tram lines, ie ones that don’t originate in the city center. For example, maybe one that goes from West Melbourne through to North Carlton/Brunswick and then North Fitzroy, Clifton Hill, Richmond etc. This may work better as an underground. Melbourne needs a system that devalues the CBD as a transport hub and connection zone. I’ve also often thought that we need to allow our trams to go underground like they do in cities like Vienna and disconnect our trams, cars and pedestrians from having to interact so much!
Doncaster!
Great ideas Ryan, nice to see somebody thinking beyond there own suburb. I spent some time in San Francisco and really enjoyed how the tram system there dove into tunnels as it approached the CBD and then effectively became a metro system. Taking traffic lights out of the equation really speeds things up.