The Cost of Tunneling

The huge cost of tunneling for subway projects are barely mentioned in the media. €4.4 billion for 6 km of twin bore tunnel and seven stations equals CAD $6.08 billion or CAD $1.o1 billion per km to build. This should give pause for thought to BC and regional politicians that the high cost of subway […]

Observations On A Broken Regional Transit System

The past few month, Zwei has been on the road, throughout the lower mainland attending rugby games (my son plays first div.) and has made a very depressing observation. Despite over $30 billion invested or will be invested in the regional light metro system, traffic is getting worse and congestion, spiced with gridlock is endemic. […]

The End Of The SkyTrain “Gravy-Train?

Gravy Train: Used to refer to a situation in which someone can make a lot of money for very little effort. Mr. Cow’s comment in the previous post, deserves a post of its own, because it could be a game changer in regional transit planning. Criticizing regional transit planning has been somewhat taboo with the […]

What Is The Real Cost For The Expo & Millennium Line Extensions?

It is the civic election season, or more fondly called the “silly season” and all sorts of claims and promises are made. Recently on a local radio talk show a politcal wannabe claimed that; “SkyTrain operates almost free because it does not have any drivers and is cheaper than LRT” and the host agreed with […]

Reality Check: Has TransLink Again Mislead The Public?

It is hard to surprise ole Zwei these days, but the following has somewhat astounded me. Expo and Millennium Upgrade Program The Expo and Millennium Line are the region’s Rail Rapid Transit Lines that connect key locations across Metro Vancouver. The Expo Line opened in 1985 and was the region’s first rail rapid transit line. […]

Quebec city Tram Will Be A Reality

It will be interesting in Quebec, comparing Montreal’s  REM light-metro to Quebec city’s European style tram. Quebec City Tramway details The Quebec City $4 billion tramway project will involve the construction of tunnel sections and 36 stations, five of which will be underground. The proposal includes incorporating an integrated system of tramways, electric tram bus […]

Rail For The Valley Knew

Well, Rail for the Valley has been sounding alarm bells on this issue for at least seven years, but we were mocked and then ignored by the powers that be.  From January 28,2022: The Mayor’s Council’s Delusions Of Grandeur in 2050 – Where Is The money? January 12, 2022: Troubles At TransLink? December 10, 2021: […]

Six operators award joint contract for up to 504 tram-trains

This is big news and certainly shows the European confidence in TramTrain. The cost per car is somewhat steep (CAD $9.85 million) but it includes 16 years (and up to 32 years) of maintenance. This means the operators would be saved the cost of a mid life rehab! Also this highlights the advantages of group […]

A Comparrison Of Operating Costs – Revisited

If one took the ‘Way-back’ machine to the late 1980’s, the argument that SkyTrain was cheaper to operate than LRT would show the massive propaganda campaign to give the public a positive view of the proprietary ALRT light-metro. This is because it was forced upon the region by the Social Credit government of the day. […]

Tram, Streetcar, LRT – Why The Confusion?

The big problem with light rail is that there are so many definitions that the public get confused. In Metro Vancouver, unscrupulous politicians, planners, and academics deliberately confuse light rail and what is called a streetcar. The article included is now seven years old or seven years and somewhat out of date, as what we […]