Back in 2008, I was a tourist visiting Australia for the first time.
And back then, Sydney had the monorail that circled around Chinatown, Darling Harbour, and Town Hall. I rode it a few times, enjoyed it, and that was pretty much it.
Sadly, it was removed in 2013 and it sucks since it took away something that made Sydney’s transport unique. Like Melbourne had their free tram system (that I’m slowly learning), Adelaide has their tram system as well, and Tasmania is known for boats. Sydney just soon became… eh.
Now comes the new tram system that took SO LONG to create. When it was first announced, my first thought was “is this really necessary?! Especially since you just got rid of the monorail”. But it was an ongoing project that caused so many traffic issues, ruined Vivid Sydney 2017 and onwards due to construction making the walk to Circular Quay bland af, and according to my friends who study in UNSW, made going to university worse.
But after years of delays and construction… the Light Rail is open and riders were given free rides as part of the “final test run” for the L2 line (L3 is later in 2020).
The L2 Route – Circular Quay to Randwick
What I love about this route is that it makes returning to Randwick much easier for me.
You see, before I moved to Western Sydney, I lived in Randwick for a year and what was good about it was that we were near EVERYTHING! Shopping centers, library, church, schools, beach, bus stops, EVEN THE UNIVERSITY!!! It was very convenient but sadly… also getting expensive to live in. But I do return once or twice whenever I can.
So the fact that there is a tram line that can take me back to where I used to live is really convenient. Especially since… I kinda forgot the bus route (they have like 3 buses!!!).
The L2 Route is basically Circular Quay to Randwick so… I’d call it the route of my past since it’s like taking a journey to places from when I was a tourist to ‘permanent resident’. I just love the convenience of it since there are stops in between to locations I’d love to revisit such as Centennial Park.
Thoughts on the light rail
It’s really slow.
Like I rather ride the bus than ride the tram.
Apparently, the journey from Circular Quay to Randwick is around 40 – 50 minutes. To put into comparison, a train ride from Blacktown to Central Station is around 45 minutes (if it’s the non-express trains). Are you saying that travelling from Randwick to the city is equal to travelling from my place to the city???
Yeah… no.
I feel bad for the future UNSW students (which I was almost one since I was considering doing my master’s degree next year) since they need to put in AN EXTRA HOUR in their travel time. That’s just as worse as waiting in line for their buses.
I do hope the light rail operates faster because seriously… just take the bus. The bus will take you to your destination faster.
Other than its speed, it’s alright. I didn’t mind riding it. It’s convenient, it’s new and shiny, but are they worth the slow speed?
Overall
Obviously, what I rode was the public trial run so there will be improvements soon. But I just hope that travel time doesn’t get jeopardized once the light rail is fully operational. Conveniency is a huge plus here so that’s at least one thing they got right.
But if you have to ask me, I think it’s sorta a waste of money. Like years of construction and delays just to have a slow train move around Sydney? Did Vivid Sydney have to be jeopardized for this? I rather have the monorail. A light rail ain’t gonna set Sydney’s transport system apart from the other states. But at least that’s my opinion.
I do hope things improve further on and I can’t wait to ride the L3 line that goes to the main entrance of UNSW if I do decide to take on my master’s degree in the future.
For now… the light rail gets an “eh”… so a 3/5 stars.
Leave a Reply