Some of Melbourne’s oldest trams are being retired after close to 40 years of service as more next generation E-Class trams are added to the network, Yarra Trams said on Monday.
“The retirement of Z-Class trams is part of Yarra Trams and Public Transport Victoria’s cascade plan, which redeploys high-capacity, low-floor trams to routes where they are needed most,” the operator said.
22 E-Class trams are now in service on Yarra Tram’s Route 96, but the operator said the benefits of the E-Class are being shared across the world’s largest tram network.
“A further 28 E-Class will be delivered as part of the current Tram Procurement Program, and the Victorian state government has recently committed funding for an extra 20 E-Class trams.”
The government’s ‘Tram Procurement Program’, which is facilitating the new trams, also includes the redevelopment of Preston Workshops into a modern depot, as well as other network upgrades.
Z-Class trams were first introduced to the network in 1975 and those that have recently retired had each travelled close to 1.8 million kilometres, equivalent to four and half trips to the moon, Yarra Trams said.
“In December 2014, the first three Z-Class trams were retired from passenger service. An additional five trams have been retired since the start of this year.”
More older trams will be retired as more of the new E-Class trams are added, under a commitment made by Yarra Trams and Public Transport Victoria.
Before being sent to scrap for recycling, all the “useful” parts from the trams will be removed so they can be used on other trams, the operator ensured.
The new E-class trains are built by Bombardier at its Dandenong facility.
How can Melbourne even think of getting rid of any trams. Everything on their tracks is so jam packed full of people they should be hanging onto everything they have. Join two of these together and make one team for every new team they get and boost the capacity of the network.