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My idea for trams in Worthing

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TrainBoy98

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I was on Super Tram yesterday and I had an idea. What if we could construct a tram line along the sea front in my home town of Worthing?

If anyone knows the area I was going to propose a line running from Brooklands in the east to the sea lane café in the west as there is numerous people that like to go along the beach but always complain that its too far and that’s there’s no transport link.

It would have 7 stops. A terminus at Brooklands (would like to go further but is limited by private land/housing and the A259), a request stop at the Half Brick, a stop near splash point, a Sort of interchange at the pier for buses and a possible tram connection bus to the rail station (would have passing loop), then a couple of request stops (not sure on exact locations) along the beach and a western terminus just before the cafe/goring gap.

I was wondering if anyone knew the sort of cost involved in this idea and whether there was any tram currently available with only one coach and a driving position each end or whether it would just be easier to use a Parry People Mover (PPM)?

Many Thanks,

Callum
 
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Ivo

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Sorry to burst your bubble, but no. Worthing is not busy enough from either a commuting perspective or a tourist perspective.

There are only two tourist areas on the south coast that could even possibly justify such a thing - and both begin with "B".

Although, if Bishop's Stortford think they can do it...
 

TrainBoy98

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Good point damn Bognor and Bosham! :)
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Can you answer my question at the bottom?
 

BestWestern

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Hi TrainBoy, I'd have to agree that it would probably be unlikely to succeed. Even Blackpool, which is far busier than Worthing, has struggled in recent times to attract enough riders onto a seafront tramway to make any money from it, and their system goes a good way out of Blackpool too. The cost would be tens or hubdreds of millions, it always is with rail projects :(

Regarding your trams question, Blackpool have sold off most of their old fleet but some form of single 'railcar' along similar lines would be needed, perhaps a very heavily modified Blackpool car with wheelchair access. Failing that, a PPM might work but would probably be too small.

An idea that might be more likely to happen though would be a miniature railway? Less heavy infrastructure and far less cost.
 
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HSTEd

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I do wonder if Trampower really can build tram systems in the <90,000 people range thanks to things like LR55... which is certainly cool and that low cost OLE thing they have.

At that point long coastal tram lines do become something of a possibility.
 

BestWestern

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But then I guess the question is, would a 'low cost OLE thing' withstand the punishing conditions of an exposed seaside system? Blackpool has certainly taken a battering over the years, and you can't help but feel that it's only the basic design of the previous fleet and the sturdy infrastructure that has kept it going.
 

HSTEd

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But then I guess the question is, would a 'low cost OLE thing' withstand the punishing conditions of an exposed seaside system? Blackpool has certainly taken a battering over the years, and you can't help but feel that it's only the basic design of the previous fleet and the sturdy infrastructure that has kept it going.

Well the tram that the TramPower people have pushed was tested in Blackpool although I can't find any results on that trial.

As for the OLE the only way to find out really would be to test it by putting a length up by the sea and waiting. Although they have apparently had a length that has survived several years with minimal maintenance in an inland location so its not that fragile.
 

BestWestern

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Well the tram that the TramPower people have pushed was tested in Blackpool although I can't find any results on that trial.

Was that not the tram which spectacularly went up in flames in Blackpool Prom?
 

HSTEd

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Was that not the tram which spectacularly went up in flames in Blackpool Prom?

Apparently that was not a problem in the traction wiring, RAIB apparently concluded that there were construction faults in the 24V "hotel" circuit and that such wiring would not be on a production tram anyway.

And if we condemned every design of vehicle that ever caught fire we would be in trouble.
 

BestWestern

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Apparently that was not a problem in the traction wiring, RAIB apparently concluded that there were construction faults in the 24V "hotel" circuit and that such wiring would not be on a production tram anyway.

And if we condemned every design of vehicle that ever caught fire we would be in trouble.

A fair point, but a construction fault in any wiring circuit which leads to the whole vehicle being destroyed is clearly a worry, whether or not that particular circuit might have been omitted from any further versions. The overall appearance of the thing - plus the fire - gave the impression, to me a least, that it was all a bit 'garden shed' :|

A bit like guys who build kit cars from scratch; a nice little project but hardly likely to make it into production!

EDIT - Have just had a look at their website, and I see they now have a City Class tram model on offer. Have any of these actually been built, and could they actually supply any if an order was forthcoming?
 
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VTPreston_Tez

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Surely a tram service from the station to the coast could be justified. It would be similar to the San Francisco trams or diesel operated so there isn't much harm in not running them in the winter, I don't know the layout of Worthing well and presume via Oxford Road would not work due to the amount of houses.
Such a thing could be implemented in most coastal places where their bus/train station is a ways from the coast, if not a fast bus.
 

IanXC

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Surely a tram service from the station to the coast could be justified. It would be similar to the San Francisco trams or diesel operated so there isn't much harm in not running them in the winter, I don't know the layout of Worthing well and presume via Oxford Road would not work due to the amount of houses.
Such a thing could be implemented in most coastal places where their bus/train station is a ways from the coast, if not a fast bus.

Once I've de-constructed your double negative I agree that there is much to be lost by running empty trams in the winter.

The problem is that for a light rail service to be viable there has to be a need for a high frequency service, day in day out. There are very high costs to be paid back, just have a look at the fiasco in Edinburgh for an idea of quite how high the costs can get.

The kind of demand that is required to build a business case for such a scheme just won't exist in Worthing. There are hundreds of cities and towns which have a better case, just look at Liverpool where its unaffordable, or Leeds which is struggling to persuade the government there is a case for a (much cheaper) trolley bus scheme.

All in all the only way that Worthing is going to get trams is if some generous resident wins Euromillions and stumps up for the losses the scheme will make, year after year.
 

VTPreston_Tez

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Once I've de-constructed your double negative I agree that there is much to be lost by running empty trams in the winter.

The problem is that for a light rail service to be viable there has to be a need for a high frequency service, day in day out. There are very high costs to be paid back, just have a look at the fiasco in Edinburgh for an idea of quite how high the costs can get.

The kind of demand that is required to build a business case for such a scheme just won't exist in Worthing. There are hundreds of cities and towns which have a better case, just look at Liverpool where its unaffordable, or Leeds which is struggling to persuade the government there is a case for a (much cheaper) trolley bus scheme.

All in all the only way that Worthing is going to get trams is if some generous resident wins Euromillions and stumps up for the losses the scheme will make, year after year.

True. At least there's the trolley bus idea.
 

ANorthernGuard

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I was on Super Tram yesterday and I had an idea. What if we could construct a tram line along the sea front in my home town of Worthing?

If anyone knows the area I was going to propose a line running from Brooklands in the east to the sea lane café in the west as there is numerous people that like to go along the beach but always complain that its too far and that’s there’s no transport link.

It would have 7 stops. A terminus at Brooklands (would like to go further but is limited by private land/housing and the A259), a request stop at the Half Brick, a stop near splash point, a Sort of interchange at the pier for buses and a possible tram connection bus to the rail station (would have passing loop), then a couple of request stops (not sure on exact locations) along the beach and a western terminus just before the cafe/goring gap.

I was wondering if anyone knew the sort of cost involved in this idea and whether there was any tram currently available with only one coach and a driving position each end or whether it would just be easier to use a Parry People Mover (PPM)?

Many Thanks,

Callum

To save money just extend the track from brooklands. Mini railway and see all the sites like the pier and the lido, the dome cinema errrrrr that's it lol

 
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