Couple of questions about tram stops

AntonyVW

Active member
On average - how far apart are tram stops? what is the average distance of a tram route in the UK? Thanks
 
The Manchester Metrolink is about 45 miles long in total, and stops are usually about 1 mile apart. I have to make this clear, the Manchester Metrolink isn't really a tram way, it's more a Light Rail line, but the principles are similar :)
 
Traditional trams, rather than the modern Metro-style, appear to have had about 8 stops per route mile - based on what I have read recently. That is, about 220 yards/one furlong apart.

There would be no such thing as an average route length - it depended on the size of the city and how far into the suburbs the trams went. In Norwich, for example, a cross-city route might have been about five miles - but they were withdrawn in 1935 so I have only a vague memory of them plus a lot of reading.

Ray
 
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Eight stops per mile as suggested by Ray sounds about right for dense urban areas with longer distances between stops in the outer suburbs where there may be occasional fields between housing. It's worth remembering that some tram routes even extended into rural areas on the edge of cities much as bus routes do today. Here the distances between stops may be a mile or more.

As Jack has commented, Light Rail is a rather different matter with tram stops/ stations usually half mile or a mile apart. Also the trams run much quicker between stops than the old fashioned tram and are usually on their own private right of way except perhaps in city centres.

Alan
 
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