| Bendigo tramway network | |||||||||||
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 Tourist tram in the main street. | |||||||||||
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| Locale | Bendigo, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||
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Trams in Bendigo have operated since 1890. They ceased to operate as a means of public transport in 1972 but part of the main network continues to operate today as a tourist attraction. [1] Limited trials have also been made in 2009 with operating commuter service, but with minimal usage by the public. [2]
The first trams in Bendigo were battery operated, but only lasted three months before being withdrawn due to their unreliability. A steam tram system commenced operation in 1892 operated by the Bendigo Tramways Company Limited, and lasted until 1902. [3] Electric trams commenced in 1903 operated by the Electric Supply Company of Victoria, the network eventually covering two routes, one north-south from North Bendigo through the city centre to Golden Square, and Eaglehawk through the city centre to Quarry Hill. [4]
The Electric Supply Company of Victoria was taken over by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) in 1934, as part of the centralisation of the supply of electricity in Victoria. The SECV was in the power generation business, and did not want to operate the loss-making provincial tramways of Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong, but was forced to by the State Government.
In 1957–58 tram passengers were paying an average fare of 3 cents while the service cost 8.75 cents to provide, and by 1961–62 the cost was 10 cents. [5] Between 1961 and 1969 patronage fell 46 percent, but in 1968, the Legislative Council refused to give the SECV permission to abandon the service. [6] It continued to be operated by the SECV until April 1972, when the Bendigo tramways were closed.
In September 1972 a two-year trial of tourist tramways commenced by "The Bendigo Trust" trading as "Bendigo Tramways", and they remain in operation today. [7] The service operates from North Bendigo though the city centre to the Central Deborah Gold Mine.
Between 1996 and 1998, a tourist restaurant and cafe trams was introduced to Bendigo, following the success of a similar model of the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant in Melbourne. [8] The idea proved very popular and the Bendigo fleet has since increased in size.
In 2005 a proposal was put forward to the City of Greater Bendigo to extend the tourist tram route around Lake Weeroona, however the plan met staunch opposition from the community and it was ultimately rejected putting the viability of the network at risk. [9]
In 2008, notable environmental scientist Peter Newman called for modernisation of the Bendigo tram network to operate as a form of public transport. [10]
After calls from the community organisations and representatives, a week-long trial of commuter tram services began in December 2008, followed by a second trial between 16 March and 9 April 2009, with trams running every 20 minutes between North Bendigo, Golden Square and the CBD during the morning and afternoon peaks. [11] Fares were set at A$2 a ride. [12] The trials attracted good publicity and support from the Bendigo +25 Transport Action Group, but resulted in light patronage. [13] The Bendigo Tramways concluded that the trial "showed that Bendigonians are still more comfortable using their cars", but should the need arise to reintroduce the trams as a commuter service, "we are certainly up to the task". [2]
In February 2010 the Bendigo Tramways received $3.1 million to fund the redevelopment of the depot, workshop and administration building, as well as landscaping and heritage conservation, and safety works. This would mean a doubling in the capacity of the workshop, which also restores parts for heritage trams around the world. [14]
A tram is a train that runs on tramway track on public urban streets; some include segments of segregated right-of-way. The lines or networks operated by tramcars as public transport are called tramways or simply tram/streetcar. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States, with trolley being preferred in the eastern US and streetcar in Canada and the western US. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses". In the United States, the term tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains, which are unrelated to other kinds of trams.
Trams are a major form of public transport in Melbourne, the capital city of the state of Victoria, Australia. As of May 2017, the Melbourne tramway network consists of 250 kilometres of double track, 493 trams, 24 routes, and 1,763 tram stops. The system is the largest operational urban tram network in the world. Trams are the second most used form of public transport in overall boardings in Melbourne after the commuter railway network, with a total of 206 million passenger trips in 2017–18.
There are many forms of transport in Australia. Australia is highly dependent on road transport. There are more than 300 airports with paved runways. Passenger rail transport includes widespread commuter networks in the major capital cities with more limited intercity and interstate networks. The Australian mining sector is reliant upon rail to transport its product to Australia's ports for export.
The Melbourne rail network is a passenger and freight train system in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the core of the larger Victorian railway network, with links to both intrastate and interstate systems. A large suburban passenger network centred on the CBD also operates, with a limited degree of segregation from longer-distance passenger and freight trains.
V/Line is a government-owned corporation that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross railway station in Melbourne, as well as bus services across Victoria and into New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia. In addition, V/Line is responsible for the maintenance of much of the Victorian freight and passenger rail network outside of the areas managed by Metro Trains Melbourne and the Australian Rail Track Corporation.
The Tramway Museum Society of Victoria Incorporated (TMSV) owns a large collection of trams from Melbourne, Ballarat, Geelong, Adelaide, and Sydney as well as preserved buses and other work vehicles.
The State Electricity Commission of Victoria is a government-owned electricity supplier in Victoria, Australia. It was set up in 1918, and by 1972 it was the sole agency in the state for electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply. Control of the SECV was by a Board of Commissioners appointed by the Victorian Government. After 1993, the SECV was disaggregated into generation, transmission and distribution companies, which were further split and then privatised in the mid to late 1990s. However, electricity supply agreements with the Portland and Point Henry aluminium smelters were retained by SECV, which continued as their electricity supplier.
Myki is a reloadable credit card-sized contactless smart card ticketing system used for electronic payment of fares on most public transport services in Melbourne and regional Victoria, Australia. Myki replaced the Metcard ticketing system and became fully operational at the end of 2012.
The Transport Ticketing Authority (TTA) was a statutory authority within the Department of Transport in the State Government of Victoria, Australia. It was established in June 2003 to manage Victoria's interest in the OneLink Metcard public transport ticketing system contract, and to procure and manage the new ticketing system for Victoria, eventually known as myki.
Until 1958, trams formed a network spanning most of Adelaide, with a history dating back to 1878. Adelaide ran horse trams from 1878 to 1914 and electric trams from 1909, but has primarily relied on buses for public transport since the mid-20th century. Electric trams, and later trolleybuses, were Adelaide's main method of public transport throughout the life of the electric tram network. The tram network was progressively closed down through the 1950s with the last lines closing in 1958; the Glenelg tram line was the only line to survive these closures and has remained in operation ever since and has been progressively upgraded and extended since 2005.
The history of trams, streetcars, or trolleys began in the early nineteenth century. It can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of motive power used.
Energy in Victoria, Australia is generated using a number of fuels or technologies, including coal, natural gas and renewable energy sources. Brown coal is the main primary energy source for the generation of electricity in the state, accounting for about 85% of electricity generation in 2008. The amount of coal-fired power has decreased significantly with the closure in 2017 of the Hazelwood power station which supplied around 20% of Victoria’s electricity, and to a lesser extent with the exit of Anglesea power station in 2015. Brown coal is one of the largest contributors to Australia's total domestic greenhouse gas emissions and a source of controversy for the country. Australia is one of the highest polluters of greenhouse gas per capita in the world. In 2016, about 16% of Victoria’s electricity was from renewable sources, with a government target to increase that share to 40% by 2025. In 2019, renewable energy provided 23.9% of the state's electricity. On 28 March 2021, Victoria reached 50% renewable energy.
The Newcastle Tram System was an extensive network that operated between Newcastle and the outer suburb of Wallsend from 1887–1950. At its peak the line extended from the city to Speers Point and West Wallsend. The service was rarely profitable, and low utilisation for a variety of reasons including the convenience of buses led to it closing and the tracks being removed.
The W-class trams are a family of electric trams built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) between 1923 and 1956. Over the 33 years of production, 752 vehicles spanning 12 sub-classes were constructed, the majority at the MMTB's Preston Workshops.
The Prahran and Malvern Tramways Trust (PMTT) was a former tram operator in Melbourne, Australia. The trust was formed in 1907, with its first line operating in 1910. Its functions were taken over by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board in 1920.
The earliest trams in Australia operated in the latter decades of the 19th century, hauled by horses or "steam tram motors". At the turn of the 20th century, propulsion almost universally turned to electrification, although cable trams lingered in Melbourne. In cities and towns that had trams, they were a major part of public transport assets.
Trams in Ballarat were first used for public transport in 1887. They ceased to operate as a means of public transport in 1971, but a section continues to be operated today as a tourist attraction.
The city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia, operated an extensive tramway system from 1912 until 1956, when the service was replaced by buses. Unlike Victoria's other major regional cities, Ballarat and Bendigo, which have kept some track and trams as tourist attractions, no trams or tracks remain in Geelong.
The Ballarat Tramway Museum is an operating tramway museum, located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The museum is run by volunteers and has a fleet of trams which operate on part of the original horse tramway around Lake Wendouree and the Botanical Gardens. It has a large research collection, archive of information and more than 3,500 items about the Ballarat tramways. The trams in Ballarat operated on a large network through the city from 1887 until 1971.
Bendigo's electric tramway service completes its 50th year of running tomorrow.
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