4 light rail lines expected to be running by 2020

Metrolinx favours provincial body taking control of projects posted: Apr 24, 2012 1:23 PM ET http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/04/24/toronto-light-rail659.html Four new light-rail lines could be up and running in Toronto by 2020, as a modified version of the Transit City plan that Mayor Rob Ford has vigourously campaigned against comes to fruition. The provincial agency, Metrolinx, revealed the [...]

A Canuck expat in Geneva on the virtues of light rail

from Now Toronto http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=186287 In the flap over Toronto’s transit future, we have to recognize that few have had any kind of exposure to light rail. For most of us, subways are our only experience of public transportation that works well and doesn’t get bogged down in traffic. I can see why there’d be a [...]

TransLink eliminates planning VP – The Sacrificial Lamb

It seems that transit planning is/was not a TransLink forte, in fact the move to remove the VP of Planning certainly indicates that the Premier’s office is in full control of Metro Vancouver transportation planning and no encumbrances from the TransLink bureaucracy is needed. TransLink’s VP of planning has been determined to be the sacrificial lamb with [...]

Where’s The Density? Oh, I Guess Density Is Not An Issue With TramTrain.

Ever wanted to see what the Rail for the Valley/Leewood tramtram ride would be like, well the following video from U-Tube gives the feel of what a Vancouver to Chilliwack servcie would be like. The following is a cab-eye view of a German regional railway, not unlike the former BC Electric line from Vancouver to [...]

Utterly ignorant about transit, come to Vancouver and join the club!

The author of the following article in the Toronto Sun is utterly ignorant of transit mode and operation and would make a great addition to the Vancouver Sun newspaper. The very nature of modern LRT with the concept of “reserved rights-of-ways” or RoW’s that are exclusively for the use of streetcars or trams, has made modern [...]

Adiós Transit Improvements?

A hint of the shape of things to come. TransLink is imploding under its weight of inefficiencies and there is more to come; $30 million must be carved from the TransLink budget to cover the loss of the denied fare increases. Zwei has a few hints where these cuts could come from. Get rid of [...]

The Fare Evasion Game – Let’s Not Deal with The Real Transit Issues!

What is interesting about this story is that there were only 440 respondents to TransLink’s survey, which is hardly a drop in the bucket compare to the numbers of passengers using the transit system on a daily basis. Why is this so? Well two answers come to mind; The vast majority of people use the [...]

As predicted! TransLink is in the red.

As predicted, TransLink has some finacial problems and they are not going to be getting better any time soon. As gas taxes rise, cheaper gas in the USA becomes more attractice to a larger ever larger radius of audience; as bus fares rise, fewer full revenue passengers will use the transit system; as more cheap fares [...]

TransLink’s Executives Slurpin’ At The Public Trough

I don’t know why Transportation Minister Blair Leckstrom is so upset about TransLink executives getting expensive bonuses as it was his own government that laid the foundation for TransLink as it is today. The TransLink of old had mediocre public oversight at best with regional mayors, many of whom with little or no knowledge of public transit, running the show. [...]

Florida East Coast Industries Announces Ambitious Plan For Private Passenger Rail Service

Informative article and one worth reading. Zwei has always felt that if TramTrain service is to be revived in the Fraser Valley, that the Southern Railway of BC should operate the service and not TransLink. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/321480/20120329/florida-east-coast-railway-private-passenger-rail.htm Florida East Coast Industries Announces Ambitious Plan For Private Passenger Rail Service By STEPHEN SMITH: Subscribe to Stephen’s RSS [...]