In what can truly be described as a Christmas miracle, the first passenger services commenced this morning – bringing a five-year period of confusion and delays to a sudden end.

Although I have been an outspoken critic of how long it took to complete this important project, my mission for today was to be one of the first people to ride on the new service and give an honest and fair assessment.

I will get straight to the point: – This was an excellent experience!

The stations were simple yet slick and stylish – and all the Opal tap-on machines were working – with plenty of staff around to answer any questions. Trams were running on time, with one arriving every seven minutes on average as per the timetable.

As a proud Parramatta local – it’s a big ‘thumbs up’ from me!

For those not familiar with this new tram line, it runs from Westmead to Carlingford (in the Western Suburbs of Sydney) – through the Parramatta CBD – as outlined in the map below.

To wrap up this glowing report on the Parramatta Light Rail, I did create two videos of my inaugural ride on the new trams and they can be watched via the YouTube links below.