Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1459407
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 MARCH 2022 NEWS ELECTION 2022 B ' V I Ż J O N I G Ħ A L L - F U T U R KANDITAT TAL-PARTIT LABURISTA GĦALL-10 U GĦAT-12 DISTRETT F L I M K I E N N I B N U F U T U R dariovella014 +356 77 220 203 info@velladario.com VelDario LUKE VELLA THE PN proposal for a trackless tram would run on a circular six- line system, from Birżebbuġa to Ċirkewwa for a total of 48 locali- ties, 24 hours a day. In a press conference yester- day morning, PN candidate Toni Bezzina explained there would be nine hubs, 13 inter- changes and 47 stops. The PN is proposing a track- less tram of the latest technol- ogy for a mass transport sys- tem, explaining it would only be going through arterial and distributional routes, through a dedicated lane. "A new study would be con- ducted to redistribute the car- riage ways and make out a ded- icated lane through the existing ones," Bezzina said when asked whether further lanes would have to be constructed. The tram reaches a velocity of 70-75 kilometre per hour but according to Bezzina the idea is for them to go at around 50km/ hr, in order to project the time taken between one stop and the other. Bezzina also said the tram could carry around 300 to 500 people at one go. "The idea is to reduce the traffic problem in the country and to reach everyone, those going to work in the morning, students and those going to hospital. "We are encouraging more people to make use of public transport instead of using their private car," Bezzina said. He emphasised that the track- less tram system provides con- trol over the routes and would keep working for 24 hours a day. Bezzina said there would be a system of feeder lines based on regions and would be picking up passengers from the village cores and stops, to transport them onto the tram. He sounded confident that when people would use the service, they would be ditch- ing their cars. Bezzina stated the current public transport service was not offering the most reliable service. "There is a stark difference between the tram we are proposing and the metro system proposed by the Labour Party, since the tram would not be generating the amount of waste the metro would. Our system is more en- vironmentally friendly." PN candidate Janice Chetcu- ti, who chairs PN Greens, em- phasised the tram proposal was offering an economic, quiet, efficient and environmental- ly-friendly solution to Malta's traffic problems. "The trackless tram will not be generating any noise pollution and would be alleviating anxiety that comes with traffic congestions," Chet- PN tram to run on six circular lines from Birzebbuga to Cirkewwa System to incorporate nine hubs, 13 interchanges and 47 stops, covering 48 localities