XVIII Commonwealth Games Blog

XVIII Commonwealth Games
Blog: 21st March 2006

XVIII Commonwealth Games Blog: 21st March 2006

Getting around Melbourne is almost startlingly easy. The city has one of the most extensive tram networks in the world, and there are very few places you can’t get on them. And beyond this there is a good train service and a lot of busses on side roads. As an accredited journalist at the Commonwealth Games, I have free transport in the city throughout the competition (spectators get free transport on the dates printed on their tickets), so I’ve been using the system to explore.

The first thing you notice is how slow Melbourne’s traffic lights are. Not only do they take ages to switch from the little red man to the green guy, but there’s actually a law here that prevents pedestrians from crossing on red. Police sit at the junctions with bullhorns ready to shout, "Wait for the green!" at unsuspecting tourists. For those of us from places like cross-anywhere/anytime Britain, it’s a bit terrifying and Big Brother-like.

And it can also be annoying when you stand there for 10 minutes and watch two trams go by. Anyway, once the light is green and the distinctive electronic chirping sound informs you it’s OK to cross, you dart to a narrow strip of space in the middle of the road called the "safe zone", where you wait for the tram, which practically grazes your cheek when it arrives.

Inside, the trams are roomy and amazingly clean. Although they also have rather alarming acoustics. I have discovered now that the most horrific sound on earth comes from a group of hyperactive teenage Australian girls on a late-night tram, all shrieking at once and demonstrating their abilities at what looks like Riverdance in the aisles. I wondered how long it would take for the driver to lose his cool. Answer: about five minutes.

During the Games the trams are running with extra frequency and later into the night, although me Melburnian friends assure me they’re extremely reliable all the time. I’ve been impressed with the smoothness of the system as the trams slide smoothly through traffic, navigate complicated turns and somehow even get cars to stop before they run down disembarking passengers (especially clueless tourists). I’ve even managed to get on a few express trams (purely by accident) that rocketed me straight to the venues.

Last night I was prepared for a walk to the MCG for athletics after my tram ride, but the express tram veered right to the foot of the stadium. Very handy. Kind of makes a visitor feel special. No wonder they call these the Friendly Games.

Rich Cline.

Blog entries:
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