Luas in Waterford

hardybuck

Is it still the case that there is no direct link between the Dunmore Road and the Cork Road servicing either WIT or the Industrial Estate?

If this can't be organised good luck to a Luas.

dayshah

Are there any similar sized cities with trams?

abouttobebanned wrote: »

Will someone address my bridge concerns...

Come on, you should know better than to give rational arguments.

The main cost advantage of a tram is you pay 1 driver to do the work of 4 or 5 buses. As its not even efficient to run double decker buses in Waterford so it is pointless to have a tram service. At best we could have less regular trams to try fill up the space.

The reason trams are more reliable is because they have their own dedicated track/road space. They do not have a magical ability to avoid traffic. Are we willing to slice off half of the Cork Rd for track space? If we are willing, at least give a quality bus corridor a trial.

It would be far cheaper to have some sort of integrated ticketing, and use GPS so you know when the bus will arrive, and have electronic displays on the quay and other popular stops. Also a pedestrian bridge would be nice. A pedestrian bridge can lift up and down to allow for shipping (which has a right of way).

To connect Ferrybank to Reginalds Tower I honestly believe a cable car system would be effective and they have been used in urban settings. It would be a draw for tourists too. They don't need the high volumes that trams need.

Trick of the Tail

With more and more people commuting to Waterford, I'd like to see the Waterford-New Ross rail line reopened. I reckon that a commuter service from Ross to Waterford at key times would work, especially when you look at the traffic jams into Waterford in the morn and into NR in the eves.

It could terminate either at the station or possibly at a new station on the quays (where the level crossing is near the CIE depot) with a connecting bus service into town and to the industrial estate.

As that line isn't (as far as I know) officially closed, it shouldn't take too much to renovate the route.

A.

dayshah

alinton wrote: »

It could terminate either at the station or possibly at a new station on the quays (where the level crossing is near the CIE depot) with a connecting bus service into town and to the industrial estate.

Where is this? I'm wondering if a rail link from the industrial estate to Belview (for freight) might be useful too.

Trick of the Tail

dayshah wrote: »

Where is this? I'm wondering if a rail link from the industrial estate to Belview (for freight) might be useful too.

Its here: http://g.co/maps/kj539

the line to New Ross is the upper one disappearing off to the right.

A.

Trick of the Tail

dayshah wrote: »

Where is this? I'm wondering if a rail link from the industrial estate to Belview (for freight) might be useful too.

Well that wouldn't be hard to do either. Reinstate the Red Iron Bridge, relay the track that the Suir Valley Railway uses with a spur to the industrial estate close to the southern link road to the bypass.

This last bit would be the costly bit though.

And CIE have scant interest in freight.

A.

rasper

Between bus eireann and the government local and national there is no interest in improving public transport , Tramore bus for example expensive , infrequent and not very convenient to most , government doesn't want to lose out on mugging car owners either
Before any luas would have to test waters with proper bus service which would be sufficient tbh

fricatus

MickClince12118 wrote: »

to be honest i dont think its really needed, waterford may be called by the name city but it is much too small for that, u can find the same kind of main street in most towns and many which are bigger towns than waterford city, if you were to talk about waterford getting one then everywhere would need one surely?? i mean we're talking dublin vs waterford here? no chance im afraid lads n ladies as great as it would be

In fairness, that's acknowledged by Sully in the OP. However the notion that Waterford is "much too small" for tram lines is debunked in Merlante's post, which mentions a number of similar sized cities in Germany that do have tram lines. Trams aren't necessarily the exclusive preserve of big cities, as most Irish people seem to think.

fricatus

alinton wrote: »

With more and more people commuting to Waterford, I'd like to see the Waterford-New Ross rail line reopened.

This would make a lot of sense, and would no doubt be done in a proper country. Unfortunately sense is in short supply in Iarnród Éireann.

dayshah

fricatus wrote: »

In fairness, that's acknowledged by Sully in the OP. However the notion that Waterford is "much too small" for tram lines is debunked in Merlante's post, which mentions a number of similar sized cities in Germany that do have tram lines. Trams aren't necessarily the exclusive preserve of big cities, as most Irish people seem to think.

I think a crucial thing is population density. The only really densely populated part is the city centre. The rest of the city is suburban sprawl. How many people would be living close to any particular stop? Also are the best alternative routes congested?

Remember the main advantage of trams is they can carry more people than a bus. If we need to carry more people we could use double deckers as an intermediate step.

fricatus

dayshah wrote: »

I think a crucial thing is population density. The only really densely populated part is the city centre.

Wouldn't fully agree with you there. The Dunmore Road out to about Oskars is quite densely populated. Five hundred metres either side of that road there's a good chunk of population (about 20,000 I seem to remember reading).

All Lisduggan, Ballybeg, etc. is fairly densely populated too. It's suburban, but space is still quite tight. The only area that I would describe as "sprawling" is out around Williamstown and Ballygunner.

Still though, a really good bus system with co-ordinated route numbering, common branding, proper frequencies, bus lanes at bottlenecks, etc. would be the best thing and would be reasonably easily achieved, compared to the disruption that a tram network would cause.

dayshah

fricatus wrote: »

Wouldn't fully agree with you there. The Dunmore Road out to about Oskars is quite densely populated. Five hundred metres either side of that road there's a good chunk of population (about 20,000 I seem to remember reading).

If I was to install one I'd probably put it out the Dunmore Road. The only problem is where is the space? If its to avoid congestion it would need dedicated road space.

If it was up to me I'd get rid of the road, and replace it with tram track and bike lane, but no-one listens to me

fricatus

dayshah wrote: »

If it was up to me I'd get rid of the road...

Good luck with that one... Brendan???