Melbourne’s Tram Restaurants Have Been Taken Off The Road After Failing Safety Tests
Imagine the movie Speed, but with an old wooden tram.
Melbourne’s iconic tram restaurants, which are literally fully operational old trams that are also restaurants, have been taken off the road after failing recent safety tests. Which it turns out was a lot less dramatic than the Speed-style scenario I was imagining in my head, but whatever.
The trio of Colonial Tramcar Restaurant trams will continue to operate as stationary restaurants until they can be brought in line with Yarra Trams safety requirements. According to a report by Fairfax Media, an assessment of the fleet found that the “wooden structural elements of these vintage trams are badly weathered, compromising their integrity in an collision”.
The trams were built between 1947 and 1950, so this seems like it’s probably a pretty good call.
“While we appreciate that this decision is difficult for the restaurant tram patrons and employees, we cannot allow trams to run on the network that do not meet safety standards,” Yarra Trams CEO Nicolas Gindt said of the decision.
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Feature image via The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant/Facebook.