European Rail Boom Continues – Canada/BC Flounders

As Canada flounders, with BC in particular, with any sort of passenger rail revival, Europe is leading the way with the current passenger rail renaissance. HST, on the Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal route is being built more for politcal prestige, than anything else. If any government is truly interested in mitigating the effects of Global Warming […]

Lies, Damned Lies And The Broadway Subway

Translink, Metro Vancouver, and the provincial NDP, especially Minister of Transportation, Mike Farnsworth, are “flooding the zone”, with the Broadway subway, “nearing completion“, “on time and on budget“, “with change how people commute“, and the goody, “the line will be soon extended“. Why all the hype and hoopla? Like all big ticket items, politcans want […]

A reality check for the Broadway Subway – Are you Listening Mike Farnsworth?

The following is a letter received from Rail for the Valley www.railforthevalley.com, a great source of information, commentary, and analysis on transportation planning issues, with a special focus on the Metro Vancouver region. This is in partial response to recent media coverage, including almost non stop postings in the media and on YouTube and other […]

Telling The Truth About Transit In Metro Vancouver, Is A Revolutionary Act

The problem with the current transit system is simple, those in charge are doing the same thing over again, expecting different results. Not working! What is needed is a complete rethought how transit service is provided, based on customer needs and not TransLink’s or Victoria’s political needs. TransLink’s ridership has been in decline for almost […]

Lausanne’s New Tramway

Lausnne, Switzerland, with a population 144,000 and a regional population of 420,000, is building a new tramway, The city also has a two line metro system, with one line using rubber tired metro’s based on the Paris metro and the other metro line using light rail vehicles. The high cost of metro construction has now […]

The Pied Piper of SkyTrain

Evidently, the 16km Expo Line to Langley is in trouble, so who else to defend this hugely expensive project but the folks at SkyTrain for Surrey, otherwise known as FOX Entertainment North. The claims made by SFS are breathtaking and needs serious comment. True to form, the deliberate misinformation by SkyTrain for Surrey is again […]

Toronto Reboots Scarborough LRT Plans

Eglinton Further East: City Council Reboots Scarborough LRT Plans Why Light Rail? The answer is simple: FLEXIBILITY Despite a sort of “character assassination” by the media and metro crowd, LRT still remains the most built rail urban and suburban transit mode in the world. The reason is simple as it provides the best bang for […]

Regional Railways – Chaux-de-Fonds–Glovelier line

The La Chaux-de-Fonds–Glovelier line is a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) railway line in the cantons of Jura, Bern, and Neuchâtel in Switzerland.[2] The line was originally built by two companies, the Chemin de fer Saignelégier-La Chaux-de-Fonds and Régional Saignelégier–Glovelier, and has been owned and operated by the Chemins de fer du Jura since […]

Regional Railways – Clermont-Ferrand

Clermont-Ferrand -Nîmes: 303 kilometers, double track to Arvant, single track then to Alès then double track between Alès and Nîmes, diesel traction in total. Another French regional railway which also accommodates several express passenger train routes.

Regional Railways – Tavannes–Noirmont Railway Line

Regional railways are far more important than one would think. Regional railways offer an alternative to road travel and help mitigate the issues of pollution and traffic congestion. Regional railways, unlike buses, do not create the demand for larger roads and highways, which is important in the current era of Global Warming and Climate Change. […]