@@tressteleg1 Try the Gold Coast Railway. After leaving the last city station, repeat every two or three minutes This is an express train to B (? - forget the name of the station) and then all stations to [final destination]. As if anyone who was on the train would need to be advised many times it was the wrong train if he wanted to go to Salisbury - anyway he could do nothing about it. But what I found appalling was the Adelaide tram. Bad yawing, like a Citadis! And what was the grinding noise on the GC tram? Suspension packed up?
I have not been on the Gold Coast train or any others for quite some time I don’t doubt what you say. There needs to be somebody who can be appealed to do stop this nonsense. When I get on a train, or tram for that matter, I want to travel in peace and a simple announcement of ‘we are now approaching XXX station’ is sufficient. And on departure something like ‘this is a Gold Coast train with the next stop at YYY station’. Even the door closing announcement is a waste of time. A few beeps will soon teach people what happens next! At least the tram does not announce that except in Newcastle, but give the idiots time. I believe the Adelaide tram was in fact A Citadis. A driver or two told me that they are murder for the driver being chucked around all the way. You will have to give me an exact time point for that Gold Coast noise.
I agree with you about everything. Unfortunately many ordinary people have lost basic life coping skills. The system its just covering its butt while hoping to prevent a few nasty accidents, which just delay service severely. The problem, I think, is that these announcements are not periodically analyzed and adjusted to changing operating conditions.
The only adjustments made to announcements are to add more and more, unfortunately. The point of the comparisons is that everybody else does a job that’s adequate but much less long winded.
Thank you so much for this. I love the Gold Coast tram, but the announcements drive me insane. I particularly noticed it after spending a week in Perth, where things are done much better. What's worse is the fact that often the speakers are turned up to ear-splitting loud levels.
I have not been to Perth for a while so I will take your word for it. Certainly some trams are much louder than others but management does not seem to care.
@@tressteleg1 I have been on the Gold Coast tram and I think the announcements are too loud!!! Trains at Perth have perfect volume of noise on both rolling stocks. Some announcements are being changed such as train lines you can change for when it is saying the next station but besides that it doesn’t say DING DOORS CLOSING DING BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. I would say the loudest noise on the train is the beeping for the closing doors or or the ding when the doors are closing announcements thing starts playing.
About a year ago for several months I exchanged emails a number of times with the operators, complaining about the quantity and loudness of the announcements. Largely I was wasting my time as they seem to be a rather arrogant lot. The last few times I have ridden them, the announcements were at an acceptable volume, but maybe I just fluked the quieter trams. You’re lucky that Perth announcements are more acceptable.
I think given that the Gold Coast being essentially a tourist city gets a pass with the announcements, but for the locals it would be major noise pollution.
I can largely ignore the blabber when working on my iPad but very annoyed when trying to chat to a friend. Mostly I use it to commute, not joy ride. Even visitors don’t need to be told all the time to validate their tickets. Nowhere offers free rides.
@@tressteleg1 the main thing is that in other countries their systems you only need to touch on, no need to touch off. Although saying that it is still annoying noise pollution.
Maybe so but in most places the fares for transport does not extend 172 km beyond the centrepoint, in this case Brisbane. Should somebody riding 2 kilometres pay the same fare as someone riding to Gympie North? Of course not. And that’s why you have to touch off so the system knows how much to take from your card to pay for the ride you actually took. The bus does not remind you to touch off when you get off. And if you get off without touching off, seniors get charged 5 dollars. Not sure whether full fares get charged $10 for not touching off. This would cover the cost of most rides and more.
@@tressteleg1 yeah the failure to touch off fee is different depending on if you have a concession card and the mode of transport, and it’s quite a lot. Buses don’t have any announcements at all although they did trial it for the cityglider at a point. Although I could imagine in the future for accessibility they might get added as I’ve been told buses In the UK do have announcements. Although they aren’t anywhere near the noise pollution levels of the light rail.
@@thestargateking but I have no problem at all with something like “next stop is Jones Street”. Blabbering about touching on tickets every minute or two, crossing the road safely and welcome aboard are all unwelcome noise pollution.
Really sounds like they got a kiwi to do the "hulunsvale" bit. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, just sounds a bit funny to our ears 😂 edit: It is a bit excessive the amount of time spent on announcements. If I could see a plus side, less time for the american tourists to shout on and on "hey martha! they got those tram things here"
Great to see the speed of the tram on the dashboard. I guess the many announcements are aimed at not only locals ( who may be still getting used to trams) but all the international tourists ( well, apart from covid restrictions) that are on the Coast. The "tap on, tap off" thing is because in some cities ( Melbourne for example) the tap on, tap off is done on the tram itself....not the tram platform.
My main point of disagreement is that most of those announcements should only be given occasionally, and definitely not at every stop, sometimes more than once. People should not need to be told to cross the road safely. Set one of my other GC rides going, turn the volume up LOUD, and try chatting to a friend, especially through Surfers.
@@tressteleg1 yep, I have caught that tram on many occasions, but I guess, as I am usually by myself....it doesn't really worry me. If anything, it stops me dozing off, and missing my stop.
I forgot that you were a neighbour 😊 When by myself, I can mostly ignore the blabber but a friend normally joins me halfway along, and specially through Surfers where the stops are close together, it’s very hard to conduct a conversation especially on some trams which seem to have the volume turned up much louder than others. Management are too silly to realise the more yap yap yap, the less people listen to any of it. All the other Australian tramways seem to manage with a lot less of this nonsense. And the buses operate free of it altogether.
Yes, from memory, entering the free Tram zone I think riders are told there’s no need to use their cards, but most certainly when leaving that zone, riders are told they must use their cards from now. When I know I am going beyond the free area, I touch on upon boarding.
I think they took lessons from Queensland Rail, where the announcements in places are so long winded they get cut off by the next one. Next station is now arriving at if this is your station prepare to disembark.
That's relatively peaceful compared to the Number 96 tram in Melbourne. They do most of the Gold Coast announcements after every stop PLUS tell you which side the doors will open at the next stop (despite that being obvious even for blind and deaf people), plus constant reminders about tickets. It's got so bad that I take the Rathdowne Street bus rather than the Nicholson Street tram (which is closer to me), just so I don't have to put up with the constant "Nanny Nagging" on the tram. *Rant Ends.*
Maybe the 96 has changed since I rode it last February and included a section on it in the video. Their announcements were very much less than on the Gold Coast tram. Maybe you did not watch all the video. I will be using the 96 regularly next month.
You would not call it a tourist route if you rode it in the peak hours like I do when staying in Melbourne. Sure, tourists do ride it more than most other routes but they are not the line’s bread and butter. I also drove that line 1988 to 1994 so have continued to take an interest in it since I left Melbourne.
Adelaide metro has changed there announcements. They say “To stop at South road, stop 6, please request now. Exit on the right in the direction of travel. Do your bit to help stop the spread, keep your distance, where a mask, sanitise your hands and check in using the QR code.”
I certainly sympathise with you! Is that at every stop or just important places like South Rd? I can largely ignore the blather when using the iPad in transit, but it is very annoying when trying to chat with a friend along the way, especially since some trams have the volume up much too loud. Perhaps this is a disease created by the new private operators.
I think the drivers could not hear very much. The glass door to the cab closes quite neatly and there is no hole to talk to the driver. I know that on the trains they can’t hear much.
from 10:16 to 11:07 there is a black line following the tram tracks. do you know what it is? and what is the thing down the middle of the adelaide line for?
Both I believe are to mitigate the effects of a derailment. In Adelaide it is a single rail, not unlike the two pieces of rail commonly used on most railways when crossing a bridge to stop the vehicle falling over the edge. In Sydney and Newcastle and I think on parts of the Gold Coast line I believe the black strip is rubber over a trench in the concrete which is also intended to catch any derailed wheels and stop the tram from the going too far off course. Note that it is near the inner rail on curves.
I find the Gold Coast announcements repetitive but the voice is pleasant. More interestinhly, this seems to be the only consistent gripe about what is in my opinion Australia's best tram line. Respectfully suggest you get some ear buds and boost the value of your travel time.
When I am riding by myself, I usually get busy doing emails or whatever on the iPad and don’t even hear the shit. Halfway to the Seniors club a fellow member joins me, and it is most difficult to conduct a conversation especially through Surfers Paradise where stops are close together and announcements nearly endless. They are a gross and largely unnecessary intrusion in most respects in my opinion.
I don’t have any great problem with that, but as usual what others say in five words, Gold Coast manages to string it out to 10 or 20 words. On top of that, the constant reminders to touch your ticket on and off, get on and off the tram safely, hold on - the tram is leaving and allsorts of other rubbish is just noise pollution and totally ruins your chance to have a pleasant chat, sometimes with a friend you have not seen for ages. The latest Sydney announcements are fine.
I think if I were riding the GC trams, I would be going crazy with the announcements. My transit system just announces the next stop, nothing else!! Loved seeing all those comparisons. In my city, they also only stop when the "cord is pulled" or if someone is waiting to get on.
The yabbering is not so bad when working on my iPad on the ride. But trying to chat it is VERY ANNOYING! Original tramways have request stops, ‘Light Rail’ thinks it is a train so all stops are made. Daytime only Parkwood East sometimes has no riders. Rare elsewhere. What is your town? Philly??
@@tressteleg1 Actually, I am in Toronto, Canada! We are getting a new light rail line, so it will be interesting to see if it thinks it is a train or a tramway (streetcar up here)!
Sorry about that. It’s hard to remember where everyone comes from. Presumably your new line be part of the TTC so should be safe from the delusion of being a railway.
@@tressteleg1 Yes. It will actually be classed as part of the subway system, but will appear to be a streetcar line. It will probably be more like your Metro lines, but with streetcars instead of train cars. Probably clear as mud to you!!
With rail construction these days, there is plenty of ‘spin’ to make the prospective riders think they are getting something new sexy modern etc. The term light rail was coined to convince people they were getting something quite different from the rattling old trams of the past, for example your Peter Witt cars. I’m sure that when it is built you will know precisely how to describe it. Oh, the word Metro is also thrown around willy-nilly these days!
I agree with you on every point. I also have an issue with the quiet carriages on Sydney trains interurban services. The guard makes regular announcements which renders the carriage anything but quiet. I do think Melbourne commuters are more intune with their transport than most other states. Maybe the Glink management are trying to assist tourists but it is certainly overkill. Great comparison clips .
The more people are wrapped in Cottonwool, the less chance they have to think for themselves. Dumbing down of society. And anything they do wrong is always someone else’s fault. If they don’t know how to cross the road safely, they are asking to be run over.
The video was only released five minutes ago and you have watched it already so obviously you did not listen to see what all the other places did. There’s always somebody to help blind people find a door and push the button to open it. I’m sure they don’t need to be told twice on the one leg of the journey to validate their tickets, cross the road safely and all the other blabber that mob puts out.
@@tressteleg1 I watched the whole video but I’ve also ridden every tram line in Australia at length and know how they are. The majority of Gold Coast announcements are absurd yes but the door side announcements are necessary. Maybe they just don’t need to take so long to say them. I would rubbish them so hard. There’s plenty of other stupid shit they say that could be rubbish’s first.
All the video clips were taken by myself so I well know what they are like and for six years was a Melbourne tram driver. Even the door announcement is more long winded than necessary. These did not exist when the tram first opened and on the first day, nobody had trouble working out which side to get on and off. Even Melbourne does not announce the side in the absence of any right hand platforms.
@@tressteleg1 they still had a not, no need to be so defensive it’s just my opinion. Happy to discuss. I agree with a lot of your points. Door closing announcements on the Newcastle system aren’t necessary. Canberra having all different voices annoys me and leaving station announcements is absurd. Every since the first time I rode the Gold Coast system not long after it opened it had door side announcement and constant destination announcements.
I suspect that in Newcastle the drivers shut all the doors at once. In the other tram systems, each door shuts automatically when people stop using it. Once or twice a week I use line as a commuter service, not a tram fan ride and for about half the trip am joined by a colleague. Having the loudspeaker shouting at you for extended periods of time while you are trying to talk is a pain in the arse.
When I’m by myself, I can switch my ears off and am usually busy doing emails on the iPad. But it is a different matter when I am with friends and trying to have a conversation, and every few seconds those loud inane announcements keep blasting into the conversation. I expect to be making my usual return trip to Broadbeach South and back tomorrow.
@@tressteleg1 no, but they probably need to be reminded to touch off as they get off. Some places only require touch on, some both touch on and touch off, and it’s a useful reminder for someone who’s just arrived on the Gold Coast.
That annoying announcement is played much less often since I complained. No luck with the rest. Just try chatting with a friend only to be constantly interrupted by that blabber.
Once or twice a week I ride the line as a commuter, not as a tram fan. For about half the ride I am joined by a colleague and any conversation is too often being interrupted by announcements, at least half of which are irrelevant yip yap. Every other Tramway in Australia has much less verbal noise pollution. Take off your rose coloured tram fan glasses, put on your commuter glasses, meet up with a friend then start this video playing loud. You’ll soon get sick of the interruptions as I do.
@@tressteleg1 I mean I don't necessarily disagree with your sentiments but here's the thing; I honestly could not care less about constant announcements being played every second. Usually I'm always listening to music through my headphones whenever I'm on public transport so this stuff doesn't bother me in the slightest. And I rarely talk to others on public transport if at all. This isn't about rose coloured tram fan bias, I just don't get the big deal in general. It's probably just an age gap thing plus a different outlook on life but for me, life's too short to get worked up about these little types of annoyances; I have bigger issues on my plate.
I grew up in Sydney, worked in Melbourne for seven years, and the Gold Coast line is fairly close to my house now. I normally use it once or twice a week.
@@tressteleg1 and oddly the current sa gov hasnt got money to fix the health system but they got billions laying around for a monorail they plan to start construction on in December 😂
I have not heard of any monorail plans. Perhaps you could give some details. The trouble with this technology is that you are tied to the one manufacturer and if they step away from the concept, like happened in Sydney, you are stuck with junk with no spare parts. Perhaps the choice was based on the fact that it was anything but a tram.
@@tressteleg1 i only found out on thursday just passed. And thought wow really. Like the premier cuts millions of funding from health behind our backs to promise 1. A bridge at hove level crossing that will take homes 2. A monorail 3. A new entertainment center. Total expected cost about 3 billion dollars 😑
I think I heard of the new entertainment centre and wondered what was wrong with the current one at that outer tram terminus? Unfortunately Google gave no information on any monorail proposals. If you do find anything, just leave a comment. I do read them all.
The GoCard announcement seems excessive, but as a Bus Driver who cops it from passengers that can't follow simple instructions, I feel like I need it on my bus, at stops, and at interchanges
@@tressteleg1 Definitely right there. If there going to fare evade, no amount of announcements will work, and Translink does not have enough SNO on the network to make any meaningful enforcement
Sounds pretty useless. I guess the only sensible thing to do is not care about dedicated fare evaders. Not worth getting bashed trying to force the issue.
I think the NSW Government has got the message that 38 minutes is too slow and they've started working on reducing travel times again after a long pause where it seemed like 38 minutes was as good as it got, they've reduced the travel time in the timetable down to 32-35 minutes depending on the trip a week or so ago. Hopefully, there's more to come.
Stage 1 construction was nearly always limited to just the width of the tram tracks with adjacent road lanes still in use for traffic. Occasionally a road lane may have been closed for a few hours to pour concrete, but largely that was all. The entire closure of George St Sydney for years was criminal and hopefully will not occur on future GC works.
While using my iPad, I often don’t notice all the blather, but try chatting to a friend along the way and you may change your mind. expect that using a mobile phone could also be difficult. While a few trams are set at a sensible volume level, most are louder than necessary. There are always cranes around there building something.
Light Rail is no more than a marketing pitch so that people would not think they were getting back the outdated trams of the past. As for the yap yap, I have since found out that it is TransLink which dictates that BS. But currently I am fighting the tramway about excessively loud loudspeakers. May have to go to the EPA.
pmsl about this, about as bad as hong kong buses, ,at newcastle why is someone mopping the floor ,and people running for the tram, bit noisy on that last tram
Unfortunately it has been built since my last visit, and I am not likely to get back there again now. So is it worse than Gold Coast, or does it treat it riders as adults with some brains?
While I would greatly agree with Gold Coast being the worst with announcements, it is a very long way from being the slowest although the academics have dictated slow speeds through this short section likely to have inattentive tourists straggling around, especially drunks at night. Several kilometres of the line regularly run at 70 km/h. Perhaps you have not seen the entire run which goes for 41 minutes. Look for “Driver’s Twilight View Gold Coast Tram Helensvale to Broadbeach. The speedometer is visible all the way. Overall the Canberra tram works out at a bit faster but it is not troubled with a run through a pedestrian area full of tourists. Most of the rest are painfully slow and that includes Adelaide with street running.
The two Sydney George Street tram lines are without doubt the slowest. While there are difficulties with going much faster in George Street, the run from Central to Randwick is slow speeds, long stops, and fairly poor traffic light priority. I hope to ride the Kensington line later in summer. Tram priority in the street section of Adelaide is non-existent or at least was when I was last there, while traffic lights in Melbourne do little to assist trams. There showpiece 96 light rail is somewhat slower today than when I drove it 19 88-1994. Compared with my Gold Coast line, speed-wise, they are all frustratingly slow. Gold Coast covers 20 km in 45 minutes. Randwick officially is 38 minutes I believe for just under 9 km. Enough said?
It seems that the transport department in Sydney has a strong hate for trams which developed in the 1930s. They do as little as they can to assist trams through traffic (unlike Canberra and GC) and the incompetent French operators are babes in the woods.
If you are talking about that while which lasts for about three seconds just as the tram is about to move, that is the electric motor pumping off the hydraulic brakes. This can be heard on most modern trams, some being louder than others.
It's Queensland - they need all the help they can get!
No, just the nannies running the Tramway.
@@tressteleg1 Try the Gold Coast Railway. After leaving the last city station, repeat every two or three minutes This is an express train to B (? - forget the name of the station) and then all stations to [final destination]. As if anyone who was on the train would need to be advised many times it was the wrong train if he wanted to go to Salisbury - anyway he could do nothing about it. But what I found appalling was the Adelaide tram. Bad yawing, like a Citadis! And what was the grinding noise on the GC tram? Suspension packed up?
I have not been on the Gold Coast train or any others for quite some time I don’t doubt what you say. There needs to be somebody who can be appealed to do stop this nonsense. When I get on a train, or tram for that matter, I want to travel in peace and a simple announcement of ‘we are now approaching XXX station’ is sufficient. And on departure something like ‘this is a Gold Coast train with the next stop at YYY station’. Even the door closing announcement is a waste of time. A few beeps will soon teach people what happens next! At least the tram does not announce that except in Newcastle, but give the idiots time. I believe the Adelaide tram was in fact A Citadis. A driver or two told me that they are murder for the driver being chucked around all the way. You will have to give me an exact time point for that Gold Coast noise.
I agree with you about everything. Unfortunately many ordinary people have lost basic life coping skills. The system its just covering its butt while hoping to prevent a few nasty accidents, which just delay service severely. The problem, I think, is that these announcements are not periodically analyzed and adjusted to changing operating conditions.
The only adjustments made to announcements are to add more and more, unfortunately. The point of the comparisons is that everybody else does a job that’s adequate but much less long winded.
Thank you so much for this. I love the Gold Coast tram, but the announcements drive me insane. I particularly noticed it after spending a week in Perth, where things are done much better. What's worse is the fact that often the speakers are turned up to ear-splitting loud levels.
I have not been to Perth for a while so I will take your word for it. Certainly some trams are much louder than others but management does not seem to care.
@@tressteleg1 I have been on the Gold Coast tram and I think the announcements are too loud!!! Trains at Perth have perfect volume of noise on both rolling stocks. Some announcements are being changed such as train lines you can change for when it is saying the next station but besides that it doesn’t say DING DOORS CLOSING DING BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. I would say the loudest noise on the train is the beeping for the closing doors or or the ding when the doors are closing announcements thing starts playing.
About a year ago for several months I exchanged emails a number of times with the operators, complaining about the quantity and loudness of the announcements. Largely I was wasting my time as they seem to be a rather arrogant lot. The last few times I have ridden them, the announcements were at an acceptable volume, but maybe I just fluked the quieter trams. You’re lucky that Perth announcements are more acceptable.
Melbourne and Adelaide have experienced tram passengers hence basic announcements. I love your black humour;)
😊👍
I think given that the Gold Coast being essentially a tourist city gets a pass with the announcements, but for the locals it would be major noise pollution.
I can largely ignore the blabber when working on my iPad but very annoyed when trying to chat to a friend.
Mostly I use it to commute, not joy ride. Even visitors don’t need to be told all the time to validate their tickets. Nowhere offers free rides.
@@tressteleg1 the main thing is that in other countries their systems you only need to touch on, no need to touch off.
Although saying that it is still annoying noise pollution.
Maybe so but in most places the fares for transport does not extend 172 km beyond the centrepoint, in this case Brisbane. Should somebody riding 2 kilometres pay the same fare as someone riding to Gympie North? Of course not. And that’s why you have to touch off so the system knows how much to take from your card to pay for the ride you actually took. The bus does not remind you to touch off when you get off. And if you get off without touching off, seniors get charged 5 dollars. Not sure whether full fares get charged $10 for not touching off. This would cover the cost of most rides and more.
@@tressteleg1 yeah the failure to touch off fee is different depending on if you have a concession card and the mode of transport, and it’s quite a lot.
Buses don’t have any announcements at all although they did trial it for the cityglider at a point. Although I could imagine in the future for accessibility they might get added as I’ve been told buses In the UK do have announcements.
Although they aren’t anywhere near the noise pollution levels of the light rail.
@@thestargateking but I have no problem at all with something like “next stop is Jones Street”. Blabbering about touching on tickets every minute or two, crossing the road safely and welcome aboard are all unwelcome noise pollution.
Really sounds like they got a kiwi to do the "hulunsvale" bit. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, just sounds a bit funny to our ears 😂
edit: It is a bit excessive the amount of time spent on announcements. If I could see a plus side, less time for the american tourists to shout on and on "hey martha! they got those tram things here"
Great to see the speed of the tram on the dashboard.
I guess the many announcements are aimed at not only locals ( who may be still getting used to trams) but all the international tourists ( well, apart from covid restrictions) that are on the Coast.
The "tap on, tap off" thing is because in some cities ( Melbourne for example) the tap on, tap off is done on the tram itself....not the tram platform.
My main point of disagreement is that most of those announcements should only be given occasionally, and definitely not at every stop, sometimes more than once. People should not need to be told to cross the road safely. Set one of my other GC rides going, turn the volume up LOUD, and try chatting to a friend, especially through Surfers.
@@tressteleg1 yep, I have caught that tram on many occasions, but I guess, as I am usually by myself....it doesn't really worry me.
If anything, it stops me dozing off, and missing my stop.
I forgot that you were a neighbour 😊 When by myself, I can mostly ignore the blabber but a friend normally joins me halfway along, and specially through Surfers where the stops are close together, it’s very hard to conduct a conversation especially on some trams which seem to have the volume turned up much louder than others. Management are too silly to realise the more yap yap yap, the less people listen to any of it. All the other Australian tramways seem to manage with a lot less of this nonsense. And the buses operate free of it altogether.
Great vid tresselteg, much enjoyed.
From my limited riding time, melboune trams do talk about the Myki card but i think that is only when the tram is near/in the free tram zone
Yes, from memory, entering the free Tram zone I think riders are told there’s no need to use their cards, but most certainly when leaving that zone, riders are told they must use their cards from now. When I know I am going beyond the free area, I touch on upon boarding.
I think they took lessons from Queensland Rail, where the announcements in places are so long winded they get cut off by the next one. Next station is now arriving at if this is your station prepare to disembark.
😡😡😡. I suppose it is health and safety idiots justifying their jobs.
That's relatively peaceful compared to the Number 96 tram in Melbourne. They do most of the Gold Coast announcements after every stop PLUS tell you which side the doors will open at the next stop (despite that being obvious even for blind and deaf people), plus constant reminders about tickets. It's got so bad that I take the Rathdowne Street bus rather than the Nicholson Street tram (which is closer to me), just so I don't have to put up with the constant "Nanny Nagging" on the tram. *Rant Ends.*
Maybe the 96 has changed since I rode it last February and included a section on it in the video. Their announcements were very much less than on the Gold Coast tram. Maybe you did not watch all the video. I will be using the 96 regularly next month.
96 is more of a 'tourist' route especially between city and St Kilda
You would not call it a tourist route if you rode it in the peak hours like I do when staying in Melbourne. Sure, tourists do ride it more than most other routes but they are not the line’s bread and butter. I also drove that line 1988 to 1994 so have continued to take an interest in it since I left Melbourne.
Adelaide metro has changed there announcements. They say “To stop at South road, stop 6, please request now. Exit on the right in the direction of travel. Do your bit to help stop the spread, keep your distance, where a mask, sanitise your hands and check in using the QR code.”
I certainly sympathise with you! Is that at every stop or just important places like South Rd? I can largely ignore the blather when using the iPad in transit, but it is very annoying when trying to chat with a friend along the way, especially since some trams have the volume up much too loud. Perhaps this is a disease created by the new private operators.
The constant announcements must drive the GC drivers nuts. I hope the operator doesn't do the same thing in Melb. 🎄✨🎅
I think the drivers could not hear very much. The glass door to the cab closes quite neatly and there is no hole to talk to the driver. I know that on the trains they can’t hear much.
from 10:16 to 11:07 there is a black line following the tram tracks. do you know what it is? and what is the thing down the middle of the adelaide line for?
Both I believe are to mitigate the effects of a derailment. In Adelaide it is a single rail, not unlike the two pieces of rail commonly used on most railways when crossing a bridge to stop the vehicle falling over the edge. In Sydney and Newcastle and I think on parts of the Gold Coast line I believe the black strip is rubber over a trench in the concrete which is also intended to catch any derailed wheels and stop the tram from the going too far off course. Note that it is near the inner rail on curves.
@@tressteleg1 ,thanks for answer. i suspected this. the adelaide method lets the tram slip further from where its supposed to be.
I find the Gold Coast announcements repetitive but the voice is pleasant. More interestinhly, this seems to be the only consistent gripe about what is in my opinion Australia's best tram line. Respectfully suggest you get some ear buds and boost the value of your travel time.
When I am riding by myself, I usually get busy doing emails or whatever on the iPad and don’t even hear the shit. Halfway to the Seniors club a fellow member joins me, and it is most difficult to conduct a conversation especially through Surfers Paradise where stops are close together and announcements nearly endless. They are a gross and largely unnecessary intrusion in most respects in my opinion.
Have you ever thought about the reason of G:link & Canberra annoucing which side the doors are on the the blind/vissualy impaired
I don’t have any great problem with that, but as usual what others say in five words, Gold Coast manages to string it out to 10 or 20 words. On top of that, the constant reminders to touch your ticket on and off, get on and off the tram safely, hold on - the tram is leaving and allsorts of other rubbish is just noise pollution and totally ruins your chance to have a pleasant chat, sometimes with a friend you have not seen for ages. The latest Sydney announcements are fine.
I think if I were riding the GC trams, I would be going crazy with the announcements. My transit system just announces the next stop, nothing else!! Loved seeing all those comparisons. In my city, they also only stop when the "cord is pulled" or if someone is waiting to get on.
The yabbering is not so bad when working on my iPad on the ride. But trying to chat it is VERY ANNOYING! Original tramways have request stops, ‘Light Rail’ thinks it is a train so all stops are made. Daytime only Parkwood East sometimes has no riders. Rare elsewhere. What is your town? Philly??
@@tressteleg1 Actually, I am in Toronto, Canada! We are getting a new light rail line, so it will be interesting to see if it thinks it is a train or a tramway (streetcar up here)!
Sorry about that. It’s hard to remember where everyone comes from. Presumably your new line be part of the TTC so should be safe from the delusion of being a railway.
@@tressteleg1 Yes. It will actually be classed as part of the subway system, but will appear to be a streetcar line. It will probably be more like your Metro lines, but with streetcars instead of train cars. Probably clear as mud to you!!
With rail construction these days, there is plenty of ‘spin’ to make the prospective riders think they are getting something new sexy modern etc. The term light rail was coined to convince people they were getting something quite different from the rattling old trams of the past, for example your Peter Witt cars. I’m sure that when it is built you will know precisely how to describe it. Oh, the word Metro is also thrown around willy-nilly these days!
Here, MRT Jakarta always repeat the last stop is... announment after announcing the next stop
While some announcements are necessary, some sound like they are intended for little children and are quite unnecessary.
I agree with you on every point. I also have an issue with the quiet carriages on Sydney trains interurban services. The guard makes regular announcements which renders the carriage anything but quiet. I do think Melbourne commuters are more intune with their transport than most other states. Maybe the Glink management are trying to assist tourists but it is certainly overkill. Great comparison clips .
😊👍. I suspect that Brisbane suburban trains are becoming increasingly yappy.
@@tressteleg1 Unfortunately it is supposedly progress. A society that has no common sense and can't think for themselves.
The more people are wrapped in Cottonwool, the less chance they have to think for themselves. Dumbing down of society. And anything they do wrong is always someone else’s fault. If they don’t know how to cross the road safely, they are asking to be run over.
@@tressteleg1 - I agree with you.
😊👍
wow thats good. by the way how old are you
75, enough to be old and grumpy with BS.
Thanks M8. Comedy Gold!
😊👍
What about blind people? They can’t see which doors are opening?
The video was only released five minutes ago and you have watched it already so obviously you did not listen to see what all the other places did. There’s always somebody to help blind people find a door and push the button to open it. I’m sure they don’t need to be told twice on the one leg of the journey to validate their tickets, cross the road safely and all the other blabber that mob puts out.
@@tressteleg1 I watched the whole video but I’ve also ridden every tram line in Australia at length and know how they are. The majority of Gold Coast announcements are absurd yes but the door side announcements are necessary. Maybe they just don’t need to take so long to say them. I would rubbish them so hard. There’s plenty of other stupid shit they say that could be rubbish’s first.
All the video clips were taken by myself so I well know what they are like and for six years was a Melbourne tram driver. Even the door announcement is more long winded than necessary. These did not exist when the tram first opened and on the first day, nobody had trouble working out which side to get on and off. Even Melbourne does not announce the side in the absence of any right hand platforms.
@@tressteleg1 they still had a not, no need to be so defensive it’s just my opinion. Happy to discuss. I agree with a lot of your points. Door closing announcements on the Newcastle system aren’t necessary. Canberra having all different voices annoys me and leaving station announcements is absurd.
Every since the first time I rode the Gold Coast system not long after it opened it had door side announcement and constant destination announcements.
I suspect that in Newcastle the drivers shut all the doors at once. In the other tram systems, each door shuts automatically when people stop using it. Once or twice a week I use line as a commuter service, not a tram fan ride and for about half the trip am joined by a colleague. Having the loudspeaker shouting at you for extended periods of time while you are trying to talk is a pain in the arse.
The Canberra tram announcer sounded like a child. Lol
Yes. A bit odd!
ngl my head just blocks the anouncements out, Im always going past Broadbeach south so i don't need to pay attention to the stops
When I’m by myself, I can switch my ears off and am usually busy doing emails on the iPad. But it is a different matter when I am with friends and trying to have a conversation, and every few seconds those loud inane announcements keep blasting into the conversation. I expect to be making my usual return trip to Broadbeach South and back tomorrow.
The reason is that the tram was designed for tourists, not local residents.
Whereas for the doorside, it’s for blind passengers. Accessibility for people with disabilities has become a consideration.
So you think tourists are so stupid that they need to be told at every stop to leave the tram stop safely? Just noise pollution for everyone.
Even that is long winded. “Left/ right doors open” would suffice.
@@tressteleg1 no, but they probably need to be reminded to touch off as they get off. Some places only require touch on, some both touch on and touch off, and it’s a useful reminder for someone who’s just arrived on the Gold Coast.
That annoying announcement is played much less often since I complained. No luck with the rest. Just try chatting with a friend only to be constantly interrupted by that blabber.
WOW! You really have some strong grudges don't you? lol!
Once or twice a week I ride the line as a commuter, not as a tram fan. For about half the ride I am joined by a colleague and any conversation is too often being interrupted by announcements, at least half of which are irrelevant yip yap. Every other Tramway in Australia has much less verbal noise pollution. Take off your rose coloured tram fan glasses, put on your commuter glasses, meet up with a friend then start this video playing loud. You’ll soon get sick of the interruptions as I do.
@@tressteleg1 I mean I don't necessarily disagree with your sentiments but here's the thing; I honestly could not care less about constant announcements being played every second. Usually I'm always listening to music through my headphones whenever I'm on public transport so this stuff doesn't bother me in the slightest. And I rarely talk to others on public transport if at all. This isn't about rose coloured tram fan bias, I just don't get the big deal in general. It's probably just an age gap thing plus a different outlook on life but for me, life's too short to get worked up about these little types of annoyances; I have bigger issues on my plate.
The first @@tressteleg1 sr as sheer As Eww
So much footage, in which of those cities do you live nowadays?
I grew up in Sydney, worked in Melbourne for seven years, and the Gold Coast line is fairly close to my house now. I normally use it once or twice a week.
@@tressteleg1 That explains the video then, a built-up agitation 😂
Riding alone working on my iPad it’s no great problem. But a friend joins me halfway along and we try to chat, and that’s when it is infuriating.
At least they don't do it on the trains here! Just keep it as simple as possible. Tourists don't require that much information.
Yes, luckily nowhere else goes to this extreme. The babble makes chatting with a friend very distracting.
Adelaide trams dont only stop if passengers pull cord they also stop if ppl are at station
Obviously!
@@tressteleg1 and oddly the current sa gov hasnt got money to fix the health system but they got billions laying around for a monorail they plan to start construction on in December 😂
I have not heard of any monorail plans. Perhaps you could give some details. The trouble with this technology is that you are tied to the one manufacturer and if they step away from the concept, like happened in Sydney, you are stuck with junk with no spare parts. Perhaps the choice was based on the fact that it was anything but a tram.
@@tressteleg1 i only found out on thursday just passed. And thought wow really.
Like the premier cuts millions of funding from health behind our backs to promise
1. A bridge at hove level crossing that will take homes
2. A monorail
3. A new entertainment center.
Total expected cost about 3 billion dollars 😑
I think I heard of the new entertainment centre and wondered what was wrong with the current one at that outer tram terminus? Unfortunately Google gave no information on any monorail proposals. If you do find anything, just leave a comment. I do read them all.
The GoCard announcement seems excessive, but as a Bus Driver who cops it from passengers that can't follow simple instructions, I feel like I need it on my bus, at stops, and at interchanges
Certainly excessive re fare evasion. Even with announcements on your bus, they still would not listen.
@@tressteleg1 Definitely right there. If there going to fare evade, no amount of announcements will work, and Translink does not have enough SNO on the network to make any meaningful enforcement
G:Link does their own ticket checking and sometimes I have been checked going south and north. A checker told me that 99% of evaders are intentional.
@@tressteleg1 Yep, but on Buses, we don't get Austhorised Officers, we gotta wait for Translink to maybe send SNOs
Sounds pretty useless. I guess the only sensible thing to do is not care about dedicated fare evaders. Not worth getting bashed trying to force the issue.
HAHAHHA YAP YAP BLAH BLAH
The main thing I got from this video was that Sydney's L2 is aggravatingly slow.
(Edit: Fixed T2 -> L2)
Yes. 38 minutes for under 9km. GC 45 minutes for 20 km.
T2? You mean L2 right?
Yes.
I think the NSW Government has got the message that 38 minutes is too slow and they've started working on reducing travel times again after a long pause where it seemed like 38 minutes was as good as it got, they've reduced the travel time in the timetable down to 32-35 minutes depending on the trip a week or so ago. Hopefully, there's more to come.
Good news if they succeed. I hope to check it later in Summer.
Love the tram can’t wait for it to come to palm beach
You will have to make do with Burleigh first. Just a short bike ride over the hill for a fit young guy. 😊😄
@@tressteleg1 ofc I’m basically on the headland so it’s fine... it’s gotta open yet
Yeah. They have been talking long enough. Get on with it!
@@tressteleg1 I’m not looking forward to the traffic disruptions it’ll cause tho during construction
Stage 1 construction was nearly always limited to just the width of the tram tracks with adjacent road lanes still in use for traffic. Occasionally a road lane may have been closed for a few hours to pour concrete, but largely that was all. The entire closure of George St Sydney for years was criminal and hopefully will not occur on future GC works.
Nice video!!
😊. Not as fast as your Shinkansen 😄
just passing our Resort ! Sometimes Dont hear all this blah blah !!! see new appartments being built opposite resort
While using my iPad, I often don’t notice all the blather, but try chatting to a friend along the way and you may change your mind. expect that using a mobile phone could also be difficult. While a few trams are set at a sensible volume level, most are louder than necessary. There are always cranes around there building something.
What about people getting on at the next stop who didn’t hear it at the last stop it’s nessessary
The same tourists will catch buses to SeaWorld, Dreamworld etc and won’t be spoon fed or nagged all the way.
@@tressteleg1 true
The title is “light rail” is’nt it? Sometimes there is no difference at all, look at Sydney & Canberra.
Light Rail is no more than a marketing pitch so that people would not think they were getting back the outdated trams of the past.
As for the yap yap, I have since found out that it is TransLink which dictates that BS. But currently I am fighting the tramway about excessively loud loudspeakers. May have to go to the EPA.
pmsl about this, about as bad as hong kong buses, ,at newcastle why is someone mopping the floor ,and people running for the tram, bit noisy on that last tram
Mopping appears to be just routine cleaning. Who doesn’t run for a tram if it will save 10 minutes waiting for the next?
compare to the NJ transit tram
Unfortunately it has been built since my last visit, and I am not likely to get back there again now. So is it worse than Gold Coast, or does it treat it riders as adults with some brains?
Ear bashing is sure going to far these days mate
😊👍 The biggest problem is when you are trying to chat to a friend. It can largely be ignored in other situations.
The Gold Coast seems to be the worst (and the slowest).
While I would greatly agree with Gold Coast being the worst with announcements, it is a very long way from being the slowest although the academics have dictated slow speeds through this short section likely to have inattentive tourists straggling around, especially drunks at night. Several kilometres of the line regularly run at 70 km/h. Perhaps you have not seen the entire run which goes for 41 minutes. Look for “Driver’s Twilight View Gold Coast Tram Helensvale to Broadbeach. The speedometer is visible all the way.
Overall the Canberra tram works out at a bit faster but it is not troubled with a run through a pedestrian area full of tourists. Most of the rest are painfully slow and that includes Adelaide with street running.
Which tram system is the slowest?
The two Sydney George Street tram lines are without doubt the slowest. While there are difficulties with going much faster in George Street, the run from Central to Randwick is slow speeds, long stops, and fairly poor traffic light priority. I hope to ride the Kensington line later in summer.
Tram priority in the street section of Adelaide is non-existent or at least was when I was last there, while traffic lights in Melbourne do little to assist trams. There showpiece 96 light rail is somewhat slower today than when I drove it 19 88-1994. Compared with my Gold Coast line, speed-wise, they are all frustratingly slow.
Gold Coast covers 20 km in 45 minutes. Randwick officially is 38 minutes I believe for just under 9 km. Enough said?
@@tressteleg1 I suppose that they have to contend with Sydney's incredible traffic. Thanks, interesting.
(I live in Canberra)
It seems that the transport department in Sydney has a strong hate for trams which developed in the 1930s. They do as little as they can to assist trams through traffic (unlike Canberra and GC) and the incompetent French operators are babes in the woods.
The squeal at the start. Is quite annoying.
If you are talking about that while which lasts for about three seconds just as the tram is about to move, that is the electric motor pumping off the hydraulic brakes. This can be heard on most modern trams, some being louder than others.
@@tressteleg1 Okay thanks very interesting to know.