The suspension of tram services in Newcastle is another headache for Spanish manufacturer CAF. It was built as a replacement for the heavy rail which used to travel into the heart of the city but now terminates at the CBD’s western fringe. The Newcastle Light Rail network opened in 2019 and operates along a single 3km route between the Newcastle Interchange railway station then through the CBD to Newcastle Beach. “As if we needed more evidence to build transport infrastructure here in Australia.” “This is the NSW government’s second light rail fail in a month,” she told the Newcastle Herald. Shadow transport minister, Labor’s Jo Haylen, laid the blame at the government. Passengers can also use bus routes 11 and 13 to travel in the Newcastle CBD. “Keolis Downer is working to urgently investigate and repair the fleet to restore passenger service as soon possible and at this stage the aim is to have some trams back in services by Monday,” the statement said.īus services are replacing light rail services along Hunter and King streets. “The six CAF Urbos 100 vehicles which are operated in Newcastle are the same baseline tram as those operated in the inner west L1 line, however these are newer and have some differing components and systems,” the spokeswoman said. “This issue is unrelated to the cracking issues identified in the inner west light rail fleet,” a TfNSW spokeswoman said. “The fleet has been suspended temporarily as a precaution until inspections are completed. Transport bosses said it was an unspecified “mechanical issue” but was unrelated to the cracking found on the wheel arches of the trams found in Sydney and other cities around the world including Birmingham. Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has said all services on the Newcastle Light Rail network had been “temporarily suspended” until at least Monday.
Just weeks after services on a large chunk of Sydney’s light rail network were suspended due to cracks found on trams, Newcastle’s network – which uses the same Spanish built vehicles – has also been shut down.