Hop on

'Hop on' says the pamphlet they hand out. 'Discover all 23 light rail stops'. So I did. It made for a nice little morning out.

Sydney's currently sole tram route (light rail? tram? I think we can say either) was extended last week. It's been running for a few years now along what used to be a goods only line, from Central to Lilyfield, and now you can go on further through the inner west to Dulwich Hill. You get to pass through the suburbs of Leichhardt, Lewisham, Summer Hill, and 'Arlington' (not really a suburb, but maybe it should be - there's a nice little park there).

There seemed to be a tram every ten minutes or so, they're roomy and comfortable, they have (friendly) conductors, and it's altogether quite a positive experience. As before, the busiest section of the route is the short hop between Central and the Star City casino. After that the customers thin out somewhat, and towards the end of the line most of them seemed to be sightseers and investigative reporters like me, with their backpacks and their $2.50 excursion tickets (without which it would be a bit on the expensive side).

Most of the sightseers stayed on the tram for the ride straight back, but they missed out on the delights of Dulwich Hill. I remember there used to be an Egyptian restaurant there with a bellydancer. That's disappeared, but dozens of dining establishments have arrived to take its place, establishments of Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Lebanese provenance. And there are lots of very pleasant street cafes. I also stumbled upon the Jack Shanahan Park, with an advertised mountain bike track. The park was closed for renovation, but I'll get back there with my bike one day for a closer inspection.

The Inner West extension only happened after years of campaigning by EcoTransitSydney and the Greens. Eventually the then state Labor government took it up, and the incoming Liberal one decided not to sabotage it (unlike the new federal Liberal government, which is evangelically sabotaging anything progressive or ecologically sustainable. Here's a nice little video about the opening day, which tells the story well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3Zeq1iKOVM  


We're promised a tram service down George St to Circular Quay next, one to the south east, through Surry Hills to UNSW, and maybe even one to Sydney Uni. Nowadays these sorts of projects tend to take decades rather than months (like they would have done first time round, a century or so back). So don't hold your breath, but I do look forward to reviewing these other lines for you one day too!