Friday, February 24, 2012

the new Auckland Wynyard Quarter tram


On Monday we checked out the new heritage tram operating in the Wynyard Quarter (to the west of the central area before the marina) and listened to development plans that are underway for the area, which are quite substantial.  The Auckland City Council has taken ideas from the Wellington waterfront redevelopment, but the scale is about 10 times that of Wellington, and it's clear that the population living in new apartment blocks (low rise, unlike in other countries) will eventually be into 5 figures.  It will include a 'technology park', although what that means isn't totally clear.

At present the Dockline Tram runs over a 1.5 km circuit, taking 12-15 minutes, but the intention is to extend a spur east to the central city so that as well as tourists it will provide public transport for those who will live in the area.  The two trams currently comprising the fleet are ex-Melbourne, dating from 1926 and 1927, but have been painted in the former Auckland tram livery (see earlier posts). website

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