Transport
Council approves new tram line linking the harbour to the university
The Meridian Daily ·
Tuesday, 20 October 2026 ·
Page 2
Harbour City Council last night approved a 9.4-kilometre tram line that will connect the ferry terminal with the university campus on Ridge Hill, ending a debate that has run for almost a decade.
The line will have fourteen stops and is expected to carry 38,000 passengers a day once it opens. Construction is due to begin next spring, with the first trams running in about three years.
Mayor Elena Brandt called the vote "the most important transport decision this city has made in a generation" and said the route had been redrawn twice to protect the old market streets.
Shop owners along Canal Road, where the tracks will run down the middle of the street, asked for support during the works. The council promised a fund for affected businesses and night-time work on the busiest stretch.
The cost, estimated at 410 million, will be shared by the city, the regional government and a long-term loan. Opposition councillors voted against the plan, saying the budget leaves too little room for rising building prices.
Students welcomed the decision. "Today it takes me fifty minutes and two buses to reach my lectures," said Amira Costa, president of the student union. "This will change daily life for thousands of us."
The deputy mayor said the plan had been shaped by hundreds of comments from residents. "This is a better project because people told us what they needed," she said.
Local schools will be invited to follow the work, and a small exhibition about the plans will open in the central library next month.
The line will have fourteen stops and is expected to carry 38,000 passengers a day once it opens. Construction is due to begin next spring, with the first trams running in about three years.
Mayor Elena Brandt called the vote "the most important transport decision this city has made in a generation" and said the route had been redrawn twice to protect the old market streets.
Shop owners along Canal Road, where the tracks will run down the middle of the street, asked for support during the works. The council promised a fund for affected businesses and night-time work on the busiest stretch.
The cost, estimated at 410 million, will be shared by the city, the regional government and a long-term loan. Opposition councillors voted against the plan, saying the budget leaves too little room for rising building prices.
Students welcomed the decision. "Today it takes me fifty minutes and two buses to reach my lectures," said Amira Costa, president of the student union. "This will change daily life for thousands of us."
The deputy mayor said the plan had been shaped by hundreds of comments from residents. "This is a better project because people told us what they needed," she said.
Local schools will be invited to follow the work, and a small exhibition about the plans will open in the central library next month.
