TBILISI, July 16 – Tbilisi is moving ahead with plans to bring trams back to the city, but transport specialists say the new line to Didi Dighomi must be carefully designed or it could make one of the capital’s busiest entrances even worse.
The planned tram line will connect the third and fourth microdistricts of Didi Dighomi with Didube metro station. The line will run for 7.5 kilometers along Mirian Mepe Street and Aghmashenebeli Alley to Didube, Rezonansi reported on Wednesday, July 15.
Tbilisi City Hall has selected Turkish company Emre Ray for the design-and-build contract. The estimated project cost is 516.6 million GEL, while Emre Ray is expected to carry out the works for 287.6 million GEL (USD 110 million).
The route will have 11 passenger stops and a tram depot. Ten trams are planned for the line, each with capacity for 300 passengers.
Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has said the project will have three stages: a concept design, a detailed design and construction. The three stages are expected to take 36 months. With all related procedures included, the project is planned for completion within the next four years.
But some question the real life impacts of the plans. Mevlud Meladze, vice president of the Georgian Automobile Federation, told Rezonansi that rail transport is generally a good form of public transport because it has its own route and does not interfere with other traffic. But he warned that one tram line alone will not solve Tbilisi’s traffic problems, especially as construction in Didi Dighomi continues and may increase demand on the route.
Meladze said City Hall needs to be clear about its goal: whether it is building a tram to reduce traffic jams, or building it in a way that worsens traffic.
Giorgi Japaridze, founder of the Facebook group “My city is killing me”, said the key issue is where the tram will run. If it shares a lane with buses, he said, traffic problems should not increase. But if a separate tram road is built by narrowing the car lanes on Robakidze Avenue or other main roads, it could cause serious congestion.
Japaridze welcomed the idea of a tram, calling it environmentally clean transport. But he said the best long-term solution for Tbilisi remains metro expansion, both underground and above ground.
