Teething troubles expected for tram
Fears have been aired that Tram SA will not be able to build a tramway that is fully autonomous along its entire length and all indications are that traffic police, once again, will be called upon to direct traffic. «The two months provided for by Tram SA are not enough,» experts told Kathimerini. «The equivalent amount of time in European cities for a tramway of this length would be four months. «During this period, the carriages are tried out, but mostly the huge problems of implementing modifications to traffic arrangements are sorted out.» For the trams to move freely without the assistance of traffic police officers – which is the issue – they need to be given priority at traffic lights, time for passengers to get on and off and time for the road to clear and enable the movement of vehicles and pedestrians. No one disputes the fact that equipment and infrastructure will be ready by the end of February 2004, as Tram SA says. At the same time, 250 cameras will have been positioned to monitor and record the movement of passengers at tram stops and crossroads to give the traffic control center in Alimos a complete picture. However, because no one knows what the changes in traffic volume will be, nor how many people, and at what times, will use the tram, all these questions remain unanswered.
