Tram pulls out all the stops
Kalgoorlie-Boulder's newest form of public transport had its first chance to roll down the city's streets yesterday.
Operated by the Golden Mile Loopline Railway Society, the $200,000 replica tram, which runs on tyres instead of rails, will run tourist rides through the city four times a day, seven days a week.
Each hop-on, hop-off circuit will be an hour and a half long, running from Loopline Park and heading through Boulder, past the RFDS base, along Hannan Street, up to the Hannans North Tourist Mine and back to the Super Pit lookout.
Loopline general manager Mike Lucas said the tram would also swing past all of the caravan parks along that route, with hopes of boosting tourism.
"When I first went through the route and looked at all the places to note, I found if you went to everything … there are three-and-a-half days' worth of time to spend in the city," he said.
"We are hoping people are going to embrace that.
"Hopefully we will get people who are potentially staying in the town for one day or night to have a good look at the city and see that we are not just an accidental tourist destination."
While not a lot of people hopped on board during the tram's first journey yesterday, Mr Lucas said he was confident it would pick up over the next few days.
"A lot of people have always said they would love to see trams back in the city, which would be great, but to put tram tracks down through the streets now - it just wouldn't happen," he said.
"So rubber tyres are ideal."
The organisation is confident enough in the venture that the possibility of future expansion is already being discussed.
"We do have the ability to expand the fleet … there are fully licensed second vehicles that hook on the back, completely legal," Mr Lucas said.
"We like to think there is the demand for them and I believe there will be … everyone is really rapt with the idea of having trams here."
The Loopline Tram is also available as a charter service or wedding vehicle, with a few weddings and birthdays already booked.
