Trams.

Well, as it runs on the public highway, arguably you are...
Also, seems pretty sensible to me, the idea of a tram driver who didn't know how traffic behaved would seem somewhat worrying to me.

What mystifies me about trams is the opposition based on noise. They are the quietest things on the road (and like any railway vehicle, I find the sound comforting)

When they first started running they were very poorly paid. I know that some left to become LU SAs. I think they have become better paid, maybe in line with bus drivers. I don't know what their current T&Cs are though.

First Group still operate/control the trams, just under contract to TfL now rather than TCL (the PFI vehicle). Hopefully it will be re-tendered at some point to get the best value for money.

When Tramlink was being built in Croydon there was lots of chopping and changing with roads being closed and buses being diverted (often a long way), changing each week sometimes. New roads, bridges and road layouts were put in and some roads became tram only or single carriageway.

I'd have hoped they're on more than approx £7/8 an hour if they're in charge of a tram with several hundred passengers on!

We're currently undergoing major chaos - to put trams in on a route which is rather foolish as there's an excellent bus service there anyway, including express buses, all of which are well used - but are now dropping because of the tram!

Okay guys,

Thanks for all your useful information!

I imagine it did not have any public consultations, there were no environmental assessment, it was built solely on government money, and it is not expected to bring any profit?

"wow thankyou, 1951 I was mere 5, but I can remember the last tram going over the bridge at phipps bridge, there was I believe a big factory coming from colliers wood going to mitcham left hand side, and I remember seeing this travelling slowly down the hill towards Wesstern Road area. I remember though the trolley buses at Mitcham

Oh you brought so many memories to me, "Bunces meadow" havent heard that for years. My school used to be Western Road Secondary Modern, now its some other name. So is the old railway line on the beddington lane used by this tramlink? I vaguely rembember the pub, too young to drink there, and I can remember the paper mill, but what was the big building going towards mitcham on the phipps bridge left hand side, was that to do with thepaper trade or was it to do with the old gas works/railway in that area.

Oh I know the one you mean....Christchurch Rd,just after the Railway bridge,in fact hard alongside the railway line,yellow brick,loads of windows,victorian....I think it was some firm in electrical manufacture but don't quote me on that....
As far as I know the factory is still there,as is the formation of the railway,on that side of the roadbridge,up towards Tooting Jct.
The bridge is gone,though,and replaced by a small roundabout.The new road is built over the railway,through Merton Abbey station,as far as Morden Rd,where a set of traffic lights replace the roadbridge there.
Tramlink took over the whole branchline from Wimbledon to West Croydon,although instead of going into West Croydon station,it goes onto the street at Reeves Cnr via a flyover.It has its own bay platform in Wimbledon station.So yes,it includes Beddington Lane Halt,Mitcham,Morden Rd Halt and Merton Pk,and it has a lot of extra stopping places added on between the old stations.
The trams are built for street running so where it runs on the old railway alignment,platforms have been replaced by simple concrete hardstandings either by raising the track,or demolishing the platforms.It has also made it easy to plonk in new stops at low cost,but most of the old platform buildings have gone.
And of course the signal boxes were redundant,too.
I explored that area in the mid-70s,and was struck then by the "back in time" atmosphere of the old railway there,and Beddington Lane box,weatherboarded,painted green and cream,hard up by the wooden level crossing gates,with its green enamel signs was a real picture.

I vaguely remember Melrose Avenue, I cant remember anything else though, the river graveny ran I think as a stream near the wandle, bottom of haslemere road, I remember falling in it with a new red bike, I could be totally wrong

I don't know any of the details, but taking your points in turn
public consultations
A single, focused public inquiry into all aspects of the proposed route shouldn't take more than a couple of months at most. As extension to a proven existing system I'd expect there to be much less FUD^[1] and other intricate and obtuse "why a tram" than for a new system in Britain. Political will to get it built

environmental assessment
Again I don't see why this would not happen. Perhaps done differently to Britain if the benefits of tramways didn't have to be repeatedly determined for each section of tramway. Once the environmental impact of a tramway on one section of street is known, it doesn't require much effort to determine it for another section. Off-street it would be different of course, but if the terrain is fairly uniform then relatively little effort is needed than for a patchwork of different habitats. Running it so that multiple sections could be assessed concurrently would reduce the time needed as well.

Government money
Quite probably it was entirely government funded, although I don't see this as the bad thing your comment seems to imply. Even if private capital was involved, securing this concurrently to planning and inquiries would speed up matters.

Profit
I really don't understand the relevance of this to the speed something takes to plan and build?
The existing tramway is obviously successful, otherwise they wouldn't be extending it, although quite why all public transport has to be about making a profit rather than providing a service is something I've never understood. Obviously making a huge loss is not sustainable, but if something provides a service round about breaks even, or if it makes a financial loss that is off-set by allowing other areas to make a greater profit, or if it gives benefits in other ways that outweigh the losses then imho it shouldn't be penalised. For example, if the tramway operates at a slight loss, but allows businesses in the town to make greater profits, thus gaining more income from taxes this is a benefit. Also, things such as traffic congestion, quality of life, environmental quality, social mobility, etc which are not always directly measurable in terms of figures on the bottom line need to be taken into account.

The Wandle ran (runs) by the end of Haslemere,then North,it went underground in a number of streams coming out by the board factory on the High St. Graveney is a little stream which crosses Streatham Rd by the railway bridge,Melrose Ave is a little South of this.It joins the Wandle in the old sewage works near Blackshaw Rd.
One road in that area,Runnymeads (?),had a stream running down the side of the road with little bridges to get to the houses....was it still like that when you were there?
I seem to remember this was a tributary of the Wandle,filled in in living memory.

Working the lane with its levers all shiny and the big wheel cranking the gates open, the fire in the back ground the tea pot whistling, and bells going off, yes those were the days. A wire braking in the outer home sent yo crashing back to the seat and curses under ones breath, having to tell the drivers pass at danger but with caution. The clanking of the points levers, no electrical easiness as now, sheer physical hard work, but oh then signalling on a single line, so different than double line working

Yes changes, it had to happen, but no beddington lane only a tram way what a shame. even the power stations at Waddon Marsh gone! is the station still there then! All gone has it! my wife and I were talking about coming back for a couple days to retrip down memory lane, guess it wont be happening, though we could call into Morden Underground to see if any old faces are around. Such a shame pull old things down to build superstores. If the signal box has gone is the station still there, and the level crossing as such.