Transit lessons unlearned – Lesson #1

In the very early 1980’s, the Ontario Conservative Party (the William Davis Government) tried to force the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to build with theAi??Ai??new Intermediate Capacity Transit System or ICTS, now known as SkyTrain; produced by the Urban Transit Development Corporation (UTDC) an Ontario crown corporation. The TTC commissionedAi??Ai??a comprehensive studyAi??Ai??comparing streetcars/LRT and metro […]

The wheezy SkyTrain – a real snow job!

Again, SkyTrain embarrassed itself during the snowy Christmas holiday. For over a week TransLink announced fewer, longer trains, manual operation, service disruptions and complete systems shutdowns. SkyTrain is not a new system, being in operation 23 years, there should be no ‘Gremlins’ to fix, but SkyTrain proved again, when it snows in Vancouver DO NOT […]

The case for Diesel LRT for the metro Vancouver region.

Diesel light-rail is a light-rail vehicle which is powered by a diesel engine, rather than electricity, conforming to the operational parameters of modern LRT. ThisAi??Ai??meansAi??Ai??Diesel LRTAi??Ai??can be installed very cheaply on routes that would otherwise not be considered for ‘rail’ transit, as itAi??Ai??forgoes the expense of the ‘overhead’ for electric transmission,Ai??Ai??giving large cost savings on […]

The seamless (no transfer) journey – Transit’s Holy Grail!

It has been long known that the seamless or no transfer journey is the ‘ticket’ to attract customersAi??Ai??to public transit asAi??Ai??itAi??Ai??is well understoodAi??Ai??that oneAi??Ai??could lose upwards of 70% of ridership per transfer, even inter modal. On older tramways and streetcar systems, many lines offered more than one service, providingAi??Ai??the all importantAi??Ai??seamless journey toAi??Ai??many destinations. Cities […]

Can TransLink’s business cases be trusted?

Since last spring, the Light Rail Committee has circulated an E-Mail sent by American transit and transportation expert, Gerald Fox to a Victoria transit group that wants to promote LRT and diesel LRT into the Capital Region. Mr. Fox easily shreds TransLink’s business case for the Evergreen Line which shouldAi??Ai??forewarn transit groups in the Fraser […]

Diesel light-rail to Chilliwack – What will it cost?

One Canadian transit line, seldom mentioned by TransLink or the Minister for Transportation is Ottawa’s 8 km. diesel LRT line, called the O-Train. The five-station route connects to Ottawa’s existing east-west bus Transitway system with simple stations at its north and south ends. Because it uses an existing rail line, it cost only about $4 […]

Trams on the cheap – Part 2

Another news item from the Light Rail Transit Association (www.lrta.org), dispels the myth that light-rail or streetcars are very expensive to build. Here we have 5 km. of double track, including overhead, costing EUR 15 million or EUR 3 million per km. to build. In Canadian funds, EUR 15 million = CAD $27.75 million or […]

Trams on the cheap!

The following newsAi??Ai??item from the Light Rail Transit Association, in October 2006, should dispel any notion that modern light rail is too expensive to build, with construction costs approaching that of SkyTrain.Ai??Ai?? The equivalent cost of the VA?Ai??lA?Ai??z Malaga tramway today in Canadian fundsAi??Ai??is $30.5 Ai??Ai??million or about $6.6 million per km. to build, including […]

Streetcars – light-rail, what’s the difference?

With the ongoing transit debate, there is some confusion between streetcars and LRT, so what’s the difference? Streetcars are just that, a rail guided transit mode that has the legal right to operate on the public highway. Streetcars in Europe are known collectively as trams, a term dating back over two hundred years, where ‘trams’ […]

Transportation improvements not fast enough

Another column in the Province newspaper today: Transportation improvements not fast enough (Jon Ferry) …And so far the story of Fraser Valley light rail hasn’t been made to sound too compelling, at least to folks in Victoria. The platform hasn’t collapsed, but the train’s still stuck in the station. That’s a pity because, while governments […]