A Comment Worth Reading – Costs!

The chap who uses the avatar Haveacow is a transit and transportation expert and it is a must, reading his comments; I certainly do! I have been in this game for almost 35 years and the song sung by the SkyTrain lobby never changes. Those defending light metro in Metro Vancouver never deal with costs. [...]

It Is Essential That LRT Is Designed By Consultants With Expertise In Modern LRT!

TransLink has absolutely zero expertise with modern light rail, yet continually plans for grossly inferior light rail lines which under scrutiny shows so many flaws that their plans become laughable. The latest was then Surrey LRT, which was so over engineered and so gold-plated, it became unafordable and was easily pushed aside by the SkyTrain [...]

Chemnitz Tram-Train Passenger Traffic Doubles

  Chemitz TramTrain, using the Stadler Citylink has more than doubled ridership since operation commenced in 2016 by allowing, as in Karlsruhe, unimpeded service (no transfer) to the city centre by using light rail vehicles that can act both as a mainline EMU’s or as a streetcar. This is the lesson TransIink doggedly refuses to [...]

OK Mr. Horgan and Translink, Why not TramTrain?

  It has now been 10 years since Rail for the Valley commissioned the Leewood Study on reestablishing a passenger rail service from Vancouver to Chilliwack and all the public got was invented excuses from all levels of government. Light rail doesn’t work; no one will take it, too circuitous a route; etc., were the [...]

France Opens Its 24th Tramway In 35 Years!

As Metro Vancouver blunders along opening a new light metro line every decade or so, France has just opened their 24th tramway, in just 35 years! While Metro Vancouver is spending $4.6 billion to build 12.8 km of the obsolete Movia Automatic Light Metro system, the City of Caen, just opened a 16 km, 3 [...]

Rorschach Test

The Zurich tram system. Overview: The tram network serves most city neighbourhoods, and is the backbone of public transport within the city. Open: 1882 Cauge: Metre Number of routes: 15 Route length: 118.7 km (73.8 mi) Owner: Zürich Propulsion system(s): Electric Track length (total): 171.9 km (106.8 mi) Track length (double): 72.9 km (45.3 mi) [...]

Seriously Deluded, Or…….?

Really? Is this the best we can expect from TransLink, deception? Two quotes from TransLink CEO, Kevin Desmond, are very disturbing: Desmond called the Canada Line, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary, a “smart investment”. “But, he said, he hopes the region has learned that lesson, adding that “help is on its way” for the [...]

Future Funding Implications Threaten Regional Transit Projects.

With the clear evidence that transportation authorities around the world opting to build with LRT, one must pose, again, the question; Why does TransLink inflate the cost of light Rail? The simple answer is, “they don’t want to build with light rail, so they inflate the cost to match that of SkyTrain. From the Briefing [...]

The SkyTrain Dream Collapsing

So, despite the hype and hoopla of SkyTrain being a driver for increased density, it is now being seen as the harbinger of urban sprawl as affordable housing is demolished and in its place unaffordable condos in towers are built. As rents exceed income and combined incomes of families (one now needs an income of [...]

Ottawa’s LRT Is Opening

Ottawa’s LRT is Opening. The term choo-choo, used by ill informed opponents of light rail is standard across the country but really has no basis as LRT remains one of the most effective way to move people. The problem in North America is that our universities are still mired in the 1950′s and all subjects [...]