The Pelican
Member
This week, the West Midlands Metro gained an additional branch for the first time, with the reopening of the Wolverhampton St George's tram stop. Northbound trams from Edgbaston Village- the opposite end of the line- now alternate between running to St George's and using the 2023 extension to terminate in front of Wolverhamton station.
Similarly, in 2024 a new branch was opened on the Blackpool tramway, running between a triangular junction on the Promenade and Blackpool North station. Trams currently run on all three sides of the triangle, between the northern promenade, the southern promenade, and the station.
The Birmingham system is planned to expand twice in the next year- once from a triangular junction between Bull Street and Coorporation Street to Millenium point, passing a stop at Albert Square not far from Moor Street, and once from a triangular junction near Wednesbury to Dudley, which will involve a street running section in Dudley itself. This will make it a much more complicated tram system!
Single line systems seem good for keeping frequency up, and probably maximise reliability (apart from cases where mutiple lines allow on street obstructions to be bypassed, as the second city crossing in Manchester sometimes allows). Single line systems are also less confusing for passengers. On the other hand, both the Blackpool and the Wolverhampton extensions improve integration between the tram and the mainline railway, which makes both more useful.
Triangular junctions, served by trams on all three sides, are interesting to compare to the simpler "y" branching of the Croydon and Nottingham networks. The Manchester Metrolink also has most lines diverge as simple junctions, apart from the city center delta and the Mediacity triangle. Sheffield has a triangular junction mainly operated as a simple y junction.
What sort of tram system design do people find most interesting- what sort of rules should guide system design? Are tram systems more interesting when rationally planned in their entirety early on, or when they chaotically emerge from a series of different events and goals?
Similarly, in 2024 a new branch was opened on the Blackpool tramway, running between a triangular junction on the Promenade and Blackpool North station. Trams currently run on all three sides of the triangle, between the northern promenade, the southern promenade, and the station.
The Birmingham system is planned to expand twice in the next year- once from a triangular junction between Bull Street and Coorporation Street to Millenium point, passing a stop at Albert Square not far from Moor Street, and once from a triangular junction near Wednesbury to Dudley, which will involve a street running section in Dudley itself. This will make it a much more complicated tram system!
Single line systems seem good for keeping frequency up, and probably maximise reliability (apart from cases where mutiple lines allow on street obstructions to be bypassed, as the second city crossing in Manchester sometimes allows). Single line systems are also less confusing for passengers. On the other hand, both the Blackpool and the Wolverhampton extensions improve integration between the tram and the mainline railway, which makes both more useful.
Triangular junctions, served by trams on all three sides, are interesting to compare to the simpler "y" branching of the Croydon and Nottingham networks. The Manchester Metrolink also has most lines diverge as simple junctions, apart from the city center delta and the Mediacity triangle. Sheffield has a triangular junction mainly operated as a simple y junction.
What sort of tram system design do people find most interesting- what sort of rules should guide system design? Are tram systems more interesting when rationally planned in their entirety early on, or when they chaotically emerge from a series of different events and goals?