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The South Australian government set to boost public transport in Adelaide with an extra $20 million investment to purchase three additional trams and the construction an additional stop at Festival Plaza in central Adelaide.
The new stop was recommended to ensure better value for taxpayers and minimise future disruption at one of Adelaide’s busiest intersections, following an extensive planning investigation for the first stage of the EastLINK and CityLINK to the East End and is part of the state’s 2016-17 Mid-Year Budget Review.
The new stop will also improve access to the Festival Plaza which is being transformed into a world-class destination which will be the heart of Adelaide’s Riverbank entertainment precinct.
The planned expansion of the state’s tram fleet will help Adelaide Metro’s ability to cater for further increases in patronage once the new extensions, slated for completed at the end of next year.
The three additional trams will boost capacity on the tram network and complement the existing modern fleet of 21 Flexity and Citadis trams.
With three additional trams, a 10-minute free shuttle service could transport more than 2000 people an hour between the educational, cultural health and entertainment precincts along the Riverbank.
Together the tramline extension to the East End and new stop at Festival Plaza are expected to support about 83 jobs during construction.
According to the South Australian Treasurer, Tom Koutsantonis, the new trams and additional stop come after the government committed to a $50 million tram extension along North Terrace to the East End as part of the State Budget handed down in July.
“This announcement builds on that commitment, which is the first stage of the AdeLINK tram network and part of the State Government’s plan to massively expand our tram network to the north, south, east and west,” he said.
“These new trams will increase the frequency of services, while the new stop will limit disruption to the North Terrace intersection and bring passengers right to the doorstep of the Festival Centre.
This will be the Labor Government’s third new order of trams, with orders in 2006 and 2009, and the third tram extension, after the 2007 extension to the Adelaide Railway Station and in 2010 to the Entertainment Centre.
These extensions will see an additional four new stops added to the network – at the redeveloped Festival Plaza, SA Museum, Adelaide University and the old Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Adelaide Metro has already achieved record patronage on the tram network with more than 9.2 million trips taken in 2015/16, compared to just 2.06 million in 2005/06.
According to the South Australian Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Stephen Mullighan the expansion will attract investment, boost economic growth and encourage urban renewal and jobs, and bring residents and visitors to the city centre.
“While a majority of benefit will be to public transport customers, expanding our tram network will also play a crucial role in addressing the congestion challenges we face across the metropolitan area,” he said.
