Modern twist on heritage tram tested
The ding of a tram bell ringing will be heard on the streets around Palmerston North’s Te Marae o Hine/The Square from today to Saturday.
A van wrapped in tram livery will be circuiting The Square in a trial arranged by the Manawatū Tram Trust with support from the city council and the Horizons Regional Council.
For tram trust spokesman Paul O’Brien, the trial brings a long-held vision a step closer to reality.
His involvement with the project dates back more than 20 years, but the idea of having a tram service in the city goes back a century further.
O’Brien said the van provided by Manawatū Toyota would follow a loop from The Plaza shopping centre: along Church St, past the civic administration building, into Main St for a turn around the driveway entrance into the Conference and Function Centre, out to The Square to Broadway and back to The Plaza.
Seven loading zones would be temporarily rebranded as tram stops, and it would be free for people to hop on board.
O’Brien said the vision for a tram service, shared by a collection of trustees, businesses, scientists and citizens, was to have an all-electric, trackless, heritage-looking vehicle running the route.
He said the last thing the trust wanted to do was dig up the road to lay tracks or string up unsightly overhead wires.
The trust continued to work with Zero Emission Vehicles on the design of the modern tram, which would be dressed up to look like a heritage vehicle.
The actual tram would be bought by private fundraisers and donors and then gifted to the city, with potential for it to be used in other places for special events.
Public feedback would be collected during the trial, which would be used to test whether people would use a novelty vehicle to move them from place to place around The Square.
O’Brien said the idea had in the past been welcomed by many people, especially parents with young children trying to herd them from one corner of the central city to another.