November 19, 2016
Almost six decades after the last of Sydney’s extensive tramway system was ripped up, the opening to passengers at 11am of the new light rail line from Circular Quay to Randwick – dubbed L2 – marks a shift towards greater use of public transport in the city.
It has allowed a large part of George Street to be turned into a “pedestrian boulevard” as trams replace buses that once formed conga lines along one of the CBD’s best-known strips. Yet amid the celebration of trams carrying passengers will come the next big test of a promise born out of the NSW Coalition’s return to government in 2011.