"R.C. Payne" wrote in message
...

The lines are also on the sides of buildings too. This creates problems
in itself for building maintenance and when some drop down - or teenagers
pull them down.

Has this ever happened? Teenagers pulling them down, I mean.

Yes. Regular in NZ.

They shake adjacent buildings

The pertinent question is whether they shake the buildings more or less
than the alternatives. One tram can replace 3 buses, or about a hundred
cars.

They still shake buildings.

and the overhead lines are ugly.

If they are really a problem, adopt the Bordeaux solution. Personally, I
don't find them too bad, especially if care is taken with the supports
(the Nottingham approach rather than the Croydon one).

The Bordeaux system with rubber wheels is the way.

Trams are fine in principle in some cities an can fill in gaps where
underground and overground rail does not reach. They are getting to be
trendy because they are visual. Politicos can be seen to be doing something
as they are highly visual. Realistically the implementation of trams is
poor, for the reasons I outlined. The likes of Liverpool is looking at
trams for this reason when they have an underground and disused rail tunnels
and stations to connect onto the system. Madness!! Saying that, Liverpool
has boulevards with wide central reservations built for trams - they
abandoned trams like every other city 50 years ago. These routes can be
re-used. The man who designed the boulevards was commissioned to design
those in New Deli.

But the best is a rapid transit underground as the stations reach the centre
of districts without any hindrance to the district. Look at London and the
centres where there is a tube station - vibrant. The likes of Liverpool
should focus on expanding their easily extended underground, and overground,
not trams. Many cities have overground track, or disused track or
track-bed, that can easily be brought back to rapid transit use. Many
stations can have retail built on top like Tesco are doing at Gerrards
Cross, bringing the trains right to where people want to go.