Hey, Mr. Falcon, why do you love SkyTrain?

BC politicians have had a long love affair with SkyTrain and one wonders why? British Columbia’s politicians love spending billions of dollars on the prestigious SkyTrain light-metro and the mind set is the more you spend on SkyTrain, the better it must be. Friends of the government love SkyTrain/light-metro (oh yes they are the same types that balk at raising or [...]

Surrey Leader Editorial: Keep the pressure on

Frank Bucholz’s Surrey Leader editorial offers strong encouragement to us who are pushing hard for passenger rail service, and holding our government’s feet to the fire. Excerpts: TransLink is starting to get the message, thanks to relentless pressure from South Fraser mayors and community leaders… …There has been a smattering of interest in the idea [...]

What is SkyTrain?

Provincial politicians since 1980 have forced SkyTrain construction on the Expo Line, the Millennium Line, the Evergreen Line, and now a billion dollar plus extension in Surrey, yet very few people clearly understand what SkyTrain is, or why SkyTrain is built. Even fewer know that SkyTrain is a light-metro and able to give a definition of the transit [...]

Transit study set up to fail? Editorial from the Province.

Transit study set up to fail? Editorial, the Province newspaper, Dec. 17 I f the B.C. government thinks it will score political points with voters south of the Fraser River for its $400,000 Fraser Valley transit report, it should think again. Not only will the study’s results not be ready until long after the May [...]

Wally

This excellent post is taken from Nathan Pachal (South Fraser On Trax): In Michigan state, all levels of government and the private sector are coming together to upgrade a 44km section of single track rail to serve as a commuter line between Ann Arbor, Michigan (POP: 341,000) and Howell, Michigan (POP: 9,232). These communities are [...]

Canada asks provinces to suggest stimulus projects

Canada asks provinces to suggest stimulus projects As we’ve long pointed out, regular Interurban rail service could be up and running the whole distance between Chilliwack and Vancouver within 2 years, with political will. The Fraser Valley has been clamouring for this service for long enough. It is now time for our provincial politicians to [...]

Light rail cheaper than buses – study

UBC Prof. Patrick Condon and Kari Dow have come to the startling conclusion that when you add capital costs together with operating costs, light rail is actually cheaper, per passenger per km, than any type of bus, and that Skytrain is the most expensive by far. This is very significant for the Fraser Valley, because [...]

Karlsruhe Light/Heavy Rail Track-Sharing System

Here is a good article, from Railway-technology.com, that describes the Karlsruhe Model of track-sharing: Karlsruhe Light/Heavy Rail Track-Sharing System, Germany “Close to the French border in south-west Germany, Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg was the first European city to implement track-sharing for light and heavy rail vehicles. The ‘Karlsruhe Model’ is considered the reference point for similar [...]

Langley left out

More coverage today, in the Langley Times: Rail group pans TransLink plan and this very blunt editorial by Frank Bucholtz: Langley left out.

Why we build with LRT

What is Light Rail Transit or more commonly known as LRT? According to the Light Rail Transit Association (www.lrta.org) Light rail is a mode that can deal economically with traffic flows of between 2,000 and 20,000 passengers per hour per direction, thus effectively bridging the gap between the maximum flow that can be dealt with [...]