L2 to Randwick Under 30 minutes 

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@@tressteleg1 😀😀

I agree, but it’s still better than Melbourne. Melbourne has nowhere where an approaching tram interrupts a traffic light cycle to let the tram straight through. It’s obvious the Sydney traffic light people have been reluctant to give this concession to the Sydney trams but it seems that bit by bit they are being forced to do so. Certainly that stretch leading to and including High Street could do with some tidying up so that trams don’t have to slow down then accelerate again going up the hill. As for speeds, it’s not uncommon for Melbourne trams to have to run at about 15 km/h in busy streets to avoid getting ahead of the timetable. My fourth part of E class trams on the 58 will show that.

@@tressteleg1 I'm thrilled to bits to learn LRV is actually triggering cars to stop in some cases! I never thought I'd see the day in Sydney town. Not having to come to a halt outside stops boosts average speed so much that nominal speeds don't matter as much.

Yes, an extra 10km/h will cut only seconds off the total time. It just seems faster. 30 seconds less at lights makes a huge difference. Incidentally, in the 32 minutes the L2 takes to do its 8km, the 96 from East Brunswick, Melbourne’s Showpiece light rail, goes less distance, partly because of more tram stops, and partly from hostile traffic lights especially in the city. These two responses have been typed on Good Coast tram 16 😊

the racecourse traffic light actually works for the intersection ahead, as you can see there is no light there. this video shows the route can be done at better than timetable although not sure what the ride was like, the driver seemed quite quick off the mark and braking. other drivers may want to be smoother, knowing around 60% passengers on a tram stand.

@@BigBlueMan118 As a former Melbourne tram driver who drove the Bourke St Mall, one change since then especially for new ‘Light Rail’ is micromanagement, especially in relation to speed limits. When I drove the Mall, there was no speed limit. Drivers were trusted to drive according to circumstances (crowds) and I don’t recall hearing of any accidents. Now some bureaucrat has decided that 10km/h should be the limit. Stupid at midnight when nobody is around. As for George St, south of Town Hall certainly should be 30. Tram drivers learn how to ‘read the minds’ of pedestrians so can tell if somebody is likely to step in front of a tram, or is close enough to do so. So risk is minimal. As for CQ to TH, sometimes 20 can be too fast, other times stupidly slow. With adequately trained and experienced drivers, 30 should also be OK. As for the L2, it is hampered by a lot of twists and turns which limits maximum speeds. Also a bit more fine tuning of traffic lights would help a lot. High St leading to the terminus is pretty hopeless, so easily fixed. But the miracle is that any priority exists anywhere in Sydney. In my opinion the traffic light programmers have been ‘dragged kicking and screaming’ into giving any priority at all. Certainly on opening day there was very little. As for best possible speed, I have been on a trip that did it in 30 minutes. I think 2 or 3 minutes faster would be easily possible, but especially with 20 in long George St much less would be difficult. A bit of extra time must be allowed for the odd times that passengers are slower than usual getting on and off.

@@tressteleg1 Are you of the opinion though that a higher-quality tram with swivelling bogeys like a Melbourne E class would be able to get much more out of the L2 alignment as it is, given all the curves? Those curves that are limited to 15kph along the L2, could a Melbourne E class do those significantly faster?

@@BigBlueMan118 Swivelling bogies would allow slightly faster speeds on curves but you must also consider standing passengers. Two factors I believe affecting tram speeds, besides physical limitations such as the many curves, is speed limits being set every inch of the way and drivers likely be punished if exceeding these speed limits. Another aspect which comes into play is the attitude of drivers. The faster trips that I have experienced involved drivers with a certain amount of assertiveness. They keep tram stop halts to a minimum, accelerate as fast as is comfortable, and one situation I have recorded was Northbound at Market Street. Traffic was queued across George Street. Tram drivers told to just wait for it to clear. One assertive driver I had actually moved his tram into the intersection and was ringing the gong at motor vehicles blocking his progress. As soon as the car moved off, the tram driver continued on. I don’t know whether the T light had run out before the rear of the tram cleared Market Street, but that doesn’t matter. Not to me anyway. Below is the link to one of the fastest rides I have had. Top marks to this assertive driver. Drivers View Randwick to CQ in 30 Minutes (Timetable 34’) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OXzKmZznvWw.html

@@tressteleg1 wow thanks thats fantastic. The Trams in Sydney just often feels like riding in a hearse except on certain sections, compared to Prague or Frankfurt where Sometimes it genuinely feels like a Roller Coaster! Even Canberra and Gold Coast really move but they are pretty slow around curves compared to Prague or Frankfurt and others. The issue i have is by the time they build the obvious extensions to the Sydney L2 and L3 network, to Maroubra and Coogee, the journey time could be getting towards 45 minutes which will likely be much too slow to really be competitive and you are leaving some benefits on the table then. Though i guess in the Southeast of Sydney driving is so bad that people might still prefer public transport even If its slow. Would you recommend tram Driver as a career though? And specifically based on your experiences in the Australian systems would you recommend it still regardless of City, like is the Job going to be as fun or frustrating on the slower lines like Sydney or Adelaide compared to the quicker lines in Gold Coast or Canberra, and how does it compare to the legacy system in Melbourne? I personally dont think i would like to Drive the older trams Melbourne has, like Z classes.

@@BigBlueMan118 Again, speeds are limited probably by people who have never driven trams. Overseas and to a large degree in Melbourne the driver judges the speeds for curves. However somebody told me that Budapest is no longer as fast as it used to be, so the bureaucrats may be taking over there and they may do elsewhere like in Prague and other fast places. Most Sydney drivers to me tend to be “nervous Nellys” except for the assertive one or 2 as you have seen.. With the horrendous cost of building L2 and L3 using track laying methods that are excessively overbuilt, while Maroubra could be possible I don’t expect Coogee will ever happen as they won’t lay track in street shared with motor vehicles. As for driving as a career, I will start by saying that personally it would drive me nuts going up and down the same route forever although with Sydney’s 2 routes there is slight variety. When I went to Melbourne, it was never going to be forever and at the time South Melbourne had around six different routes with the odd peak hour run to Toorak and West Coburg. Plenty of variety. And as a tram fan, I enjoyed driving the different classes of trams.

@@civities Fairly early in the evening from memory.

@@civities Why not? It’s not in the pedestrian zone and road traffic would be doing at least that speed right next to the trams.

​@@tressteleg1 I mean the driver have to brake Early then before And you could fall by not holding somewhere. And plus it's still in the city zone.

@@civities Yes but with the way the track is set up, it would miss Central Station altogether which would displease more people than it would please.

@@civities A few Sydney drivers don’t muck around but unfortunately the vast majority just take it easy. The running times are set to suit the slower drivers unfortunately.

@@amosfu345 For a long time there has been one in the scissors crossover approaching Moore Park outbound. I believe that this is just a cracked rail joint. My experience of tram driving in Melbourne at a time when there were broken rail joints all over the place is that there is no need whatsoever to slow down for a broken rail joint on straight track. Unfortunately the modern systems are being run by nervous Nellies who don’t know what can be done. So always panic on the side of conservative. At least it’s not like Manchester which shuts a whole line until it is fixed, sometimes months later.

@@tressteleg1 Thanks! That explains a lot. Sydney LR rumbles a lot and is usually much bumpier compared to Melbourne tram. I assume that’s something to do with track maintenance. Is it related to the hotter climate? I haven’t been to Gold Coast in years - can’t recall if it’s the same in there.

The rumblings you refer to are caused by rail corrugations, ripples on the surface of the railhead. Even the experts can’t agree on what causes them and I am at a loss to know why they are not a problem in Melbourne, but most definitely are on Sydneys three light rail lines as well as sections of the Gold Coast. They are also a problem on the Sydney Metro. They can only be removed by grinding the railhead with some equipment being better than others. “Bumpiness“ is possibly the result of most low floor trams having wheel sets which don’t rotate like a normal bogie. Most Melbourne trams are not like that.

@@tressteleg1 That's interesting. Hope they fix the issue soon - though not sure if it requires a full shutdown. Also looking forward to the opening of the Parra light rail and seeing if it's a thing even on the newest line.

@@amosfu345 Usually to fix a broken rail joint, usually a weld, it’s necessary to close that section of line so that a welding repair can be made. If they have the resources, it would be worth having several teams work on different breaks at the same time. These breakages should not be happening on a line that is so new. As for Parramatta, they have power supply issues. They are not telling us what it is, but it’s possible that there is too much distance running on batteries without overhead wire and the trams are not making it to the terminus.

I always do my best to protect the identity of the driver.

Both directions have been done, here is the link from Chatswood. The opposition direction is similarly named. Front Window View North West Metro Chatswood to Tallawong Sydney ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VF2Yz6vMZGk.html

Thanks, must've missed those. Now you mention it I think I do remember seeing something on your channel about it but it was a while ago so I forgot.

No worries. Sometimes I have trouble remembering what I have produced myself!

Sydney’s Lord Mayor essentially demanded that there would be no wires, otherwise there would be no trams in George Street north of the town hall. APS was probably the best choice, but it certainly does not come cheap.

I have no idea. Most unlikely to be a requirement.

Hi. I took a look at your RU-vid site and it seems you have an interest in train sounds. I appreciate good gear sounds as does a young guy in Sydney who I know. Anyway this link may interest you. No need to mention that a good sound system up LOUD or headphones are essential. Send me a link when you have used my L2 sounds. "Sounds Only" videos ru-vid.com/group/PLLtOIHp49XNAz2Tc2I0PZZzsUYriF7zaX

Thanks, will do! Awesome Sound Only videos - I miss the old trains, such a great sound :)

Thanks for getting back to me. I thought that you would appreciate the sound videos. Let me know when you have finished what you are doing with mine.

Will do! I’m also working on a tram sound video - could I please use a few seconds of your Newcastle audio too?

Yes that is fine.

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Well for comparison I rode a bus from near the Randwick tram terminus to the city, allegedly to Circular Quay but everyone was dumped off in Phillip St south of Bridge St, hardly convenient if headed for the ferries. That delightful trip took 27 minutes, a lot more than your target of 20. As for the slow speeds in George St, you can thank the politicians for creating the pedestrian mall. Don’t forget that every tramset takes about 5 smelly buses off the roads. My conclusion was that the mode which is nearest you and goes closer to your destination is the one to use.

@@tressteleg1 agreed, but think the whole mandatory stop at each station thing should be dumped. Why not an on request stop as with busses and seriously with the separated roadway, these things should hit at least 60 kph rather than the paltrey 50 as displayed in that video.

There would very rarely be a time when nobody wanted to get on or of, except very late at night especially at Moore Park.. The same applies on my local Gold Coast line where just one stop occasionally has nobody getting on or off. It is the so-called experts that set speed limits, but with L2 and L3 only a minute or 2 could be cut off with higher speeds. A bit more fine tuning if traffic lights, with a commensurate tightening of the timetable, could probably cut a couple more minutes off the timetable. I picked up a few tricks while driving trams in Melbourne some years ago.

@@tressteleg1 been watching a handful of Melbourne tram vlogs, noted their speeds even when arriving and departing, running through intersections is faster than the snails pace adopted in Sydney. Public transport is about getting people from A to B in the quickest time possible, safely of course, not a scenic slow boat to China affair that seems to dog the Sydney system. Plus those trams sound like they are ready for the scrapheap with the amount of external bangs and crashes emanating from the bogies.

Wait until I eventually get around to doing the 4th part of Rt 58 with E class. Trickling along at 15 km/h to stay with the timetable, then sitting at the Orrong Rd Timepoint for around 4 minutes because of early running. To bad for the elderly businessman who just wanted to get home from work and only had a couple of stops more to get home. Besides its size, Melbourne is a showpiece for little. When I drove the 96, nights and Sunday mornings we had 90 minutes for a round trip and did it with a couple of minutes to spare. It’s much slower than that now, even after midnight.

Not really. The line is totally segregated and with proper traffic light priority (getting closer to being achieved bit by bit) the volume of road traffic is irrelevant. The only variant is passenger numbers, and whether they load quickly or not. So most times of the day, 30 minutes should be achievable but most drivers just amble along.