in the city. Patronage peaked at over 400 million people per annum in 1945. The use of trams in Sydney declined in the 1950s and the system was closed entirely in 1961, replaced by buses. It had a maximum street mileage of 181 miles (291 km) in 1923 making it the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and second largest in the British Empire after London. In 1997, more than 30 years after trams disappeared from Sydney streets, they were reintroduced in the form of a small light rail system. A single line was opened between Central station and Pyrmont, mostly utilising a former goods railway, which was extended along the remaining section of disused railway to Lilyfield in the Inner Western Suburbs in 2000. Following a further cut back to the city's freight rail network, a south-western extension to Dulwich Hill opened in 2014. A second line from the CBD and to Randwick opened in December 2019, with an additional branch to Kingsford having opened in March 2020. Two lines have been announced in Western Sydney. Both lines feature a shared core through Parramatta before one line travels east to Strathfield and the other north-east to Carlingford. Stage 1 of the Parramatta Light Rail between Westmead and Carlingford is currently under construction. Queensland Brisbane The Brisbane Tram System was operational from 1885 to 1969. Brisbane's tram system ran on standard gauge track. The electric system was originally energised to 500 volts, this was subsequently increased to 600 volts. Most trams operated with a two-person crew – a driver (or motorman) and a conductor, who moved about the tram collecting fares and issuing tickets. The exceptions to this arrangement were on the Gardens line (Lower Edward Street) where the short duration of the trip meant it was more effective for passengers to simply drop their fare into a fare box as they entered the tram; and the "one man cars" which operated in the early 1930s (see below). The network reached its maximum extent of 109 kilometres in 1952. The total track length was 199 kilometres, owing to many routes ending in single, rather than double, track. Single track segments of the track were protected by signalling which operated off the trolley wire. By 1959, more than 140 kilometres of track were laid in concrete, a method of track construction pioneered in Brisbane. The last track opened was in O'Keefe Street