City leaders in Dundee have rejected plans put forward by consultants to introduce a small tram system in the city. The £20 million scheme would have seen a circular route introduced around the city, similar to the one in San Francisco but the consultants plan has been rejected outright by Councillors saying it was expensive and limited.
Mike Galloway, Dundee development director, said that not only would it be too expensive for the city it was too limited in its scope and Dundee already had a first class transport system. He said: “The local bus network is a commercial success and operates in excess of 95% of journeys without any operating subsidy and very limited infrastructure costs.”
The consultants had said that the scheme, which would have been a two mile circular route, would have seen limited disruption as leftover tracks from the old tram system, which closed in 1956, would have been used.
Maybe they took a look at the farcical last six years in Edinburgh and thought better of it….
The consultants had said that the scheme, which would have been a two mile circular route, would have seen limited disruption as leftover tracks from the old tram system, which closed in 1956, would have been used. Wow, why didn’t anyone else think of that. Apart from being the wrong profile for today’s trams and in all probability worn out, Dundee’s tracks were too close together to allow the Corporation to buy more modern second hand replacements from the post WWII scrap market. It was a principal reason for Dundee being the last remaining network with no up to date vehicles. This is a classic example of how consultants all to often do not understand the subject.