Rail for the Valley blog has topped 3,660 visits for July! Congradulations John!

When John Buker asked me to add some items for the fledgling Rail For the Valley blog, I don’t believe he thought I would such a stormy Petrel. As I write this item, the blog has now recorded over 3,660 visits for the month of July, which I believe is very good. The blog is a mixture [...]

The many faces of tramtrain; how soon will the Fraser Valley see one?

It has been a long established transit maxim, long ignored by TransLink and BC Transit before, “use existing rail routes first“. Why? Because existing rail routes are much cheaper to build and install light rail, rather than going ‘greenfields’ construction.  Of course, SkyTrain and RAV are the epitome of ‘greenfields’ construction! The cost to build [...]

From the LRTA blog: LRT, very user-friendly & tourist friendly transit!

On the eve of RAV/Canada Line operation, with it’s premium fares to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), one reads with interest the following posting from the LRTA blog site. Now could it be, if the ‘powers that be’ opted for much larger, yet less costly light rail network instead of the  now almost $3 billion RAV/Canada [...]

How other countries see light rail and appraise light rail investments? From the Light Rail Transit Association

Article from the March 1999 edition of Tramways & Urban Transit As anyone involved in a British light rail scheme knows, the appraisal system is rigorous and, many feel, fatally flawed, oriented as it is to short term and financial criteria rather than a properly broad social cost-benefit analysis. It is now also heavily influenced [...]

NEWS FLASH – Province launches review of BC Ferries and TransLink – From News 1130

Of course the province and Transportation Minister, Shirley Bond will not look at the real reasons of Translink’s financial problems: building light-metro (RAV & SkyTrain) on routes that do not have the ridership to sustain them. It seems the newly announced combined GST/PST (now known as HST) and potential massive new TransLink taxes and auto [...]

What is guided bus? Is it B-Line BRT?

Guided buses are buses steered for part or all of their route by external means, usually on a dedicated rights-of-ways, though not to be confused with a busway. This track, which often parallels existing roads or railways, excludes all other traffic, permitting the operation of reliable schedules on heavily used corridors even during peak hours. Guidance systems can [...]

From the BBC – Wales Southwest: The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, the first public railway that ended as LRT!

A little history lesson today: The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, the first public railway which operated from 1807 to 1960. Starting from horse drawn converted rail carriages, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway ended up as a light rail/interurban line, using rather large double-deck electric trams.     Early Days of Mumbles Railway   From a four-wheeled dandy attracting international [...]

B.C. Rail, C.N. Rail & Gordon Campbell – Why it is important for 'Rail for the Valley' to understand the current situation.

The following item on David Berner’s blog…… http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/2009/07/really-big-smell.html ……is well worth a read, to understand the politics of TRIANGULATION, including Mr. Campbell, his family and the hierarchy of CN Rail. It seems that the Premier regards ‘rail’ transit issues as a political plum, for his own amusement, phony environmental claims and multi billion dollar reelection [...]

TransLink mired in political standoff – Francis Bula, Globe and Mail

Ten years on, and TransLink remains stuck on the road to nowhere Frances Bula Vancouver “Premier Gordon Campbell and Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon unveiled a $14-billion public transit plan to be completed by 2020 today. It is a key measure in the province’s greenhouse gas reduction plan, touching every region of the province.” Those were [...]

From the BBC – "Drivers 'distrust' road tax spend". Will regional mayors 'here' impose the auto levy?

And TransLink wants to add more taxes on cars. Local politicians take note. A note added re comment, as the title states, this article comes from the BBC. Motoring taxes have been handled so badly that drivers no longer trust what ministers say the charges pay for, an MPs’ report says. Inconsistency over justification for [...]