(this post is for those who don't like long words - I've kept them all short)
A big day for the trams
If you like trams - the new ones not the old - you might like to know that 10th May is the day they first ran. It was a big year as well, the first to start with a '2'. Up in town the Eye first turned and the Dome was a flop, but down south all eyes were on the sleek wired beasts that had just hit the streets. That birth date means the trams are now ten years old and ten more and three more on top of that, which is a lot, but what a big day it will be in two years' time. I hope there will be cake.
On the first day they waived the fares and let folk ride for free. The first tram left the far end of the line an hour past noon, way out east, and made its way from there to the town best known for ball sports. By a quirk this was in fact Route 3, not route 2 (which took two more weeks) nor Route 1 (which took til the end of the month). How life round here changed. No more did those in the new town need to catch the bus to flee their far flung homes... which would be why the fast 'X' bus route was scrapped the same day.
The trams now cut through a broad slice of the south side of town from zone three to zone six. From your seat you might see cows or a church, sheds or a stream, graves or a golf course, back yards or blocks of flats. Pick the right stop and you can walk in the woods, go watch a film, jump on a train to the coast or buy cut price flat pack shelves. George Street for the shops, Phipps Bridge for the park, Coombe Lane for the hills. And yes, just like the DLR you can go and sit in a seat up front, but in this case the view is through the cab so not so good.
There are two types of tram, the old and the new. The new trams have more doors and two more seats, but there are only twelve of them. A lot of those on board choose to stand, or are forced to at peak times. It's a good plan to bring ear buds if you want to blot out the noise that nags and tells you what you can do, what you can't do and what the next stop is. Nick still reads out all the names, he used to read the news, he's a huge tram fan. But there's no wi fi here, nor will there be, as 4G works fine from end to end.
The hub of this green web is the one way loop in the heart of town. Some trams go right round and some just pass through so you need to know which is which. The tram stop by the mall is the one stop that was not in place when the trams first ran - this took five more years. I'd say the shops get less good as you go down the hill from George Street to Church Street. On George Street there's still a tram shop where you can ask staff for help, get your card topped up or pick up things you might have lost. But it's not well used, you will not see a queue, its time has been and gone.
All tram stops are the same, or at least most of them are. There'll be a seat, a help point, a map, a list of rules, a bin and a pad to tap your card on. Once they all had slots to stick coins in but time has moved on and it's all cash free now. I did see one man touch out at the end of his ride but you don't need to do that - it works like a bus, not a train. At least you won't be charged more if it's been less than an hour since you touched in. But do read those rules if you plan to take a ride. No beer on board, no fags, don’t swear and don’t you dare try to etch.
The trams have their own signs and a lot of them. Some show the speed you can drive (which is not as high as it once was on the sharp bend where that bad crash took place). Some are to keep cars off the tracks or to halt the trams while cars come to a stop. But most of the signs are there to keep those on foot out of harm's way. As a tram draws near what was a safe stretch of street now needs you to watch your step, hence a lot of paint has been used to write LOOK BOTH WAYS on the ground. Trams can brake fast, but don't bet your life on it.
And don't put blind faith in the 'Next Tram' signs. If they say the next tram's a long way off it might not be, plus it might not go where they first said it would. The gaps from one tram to the next can be quite strange too - they don't feel like they run to a plan, more like a dice has been rolled. I bet the cars on the roads round the loop get in the way and muck up all the times, but that won't help if you're at Lloyd Park and the next trams are nine, then ten, then twelve mins off.
We should have more trams in all parts of town, we need more rails in the road and more wires in the sky. For a start all trams are step free, which is more than can be said for a lot of tubes and trains. But funds have long been short so as yet there's still just the one set of tram tracks down south, and the rest of us can just look on and wish we had what they have. So on this big day, ten years on and ten more plus three, why not get down there and ride a big green tram for fun. When a man is tired of trams he is tired of life.
