All highways and no rail

There’ll be an “announcement about the South Fraser Perimeter Road” tomorrow. Probably a funding announcement. The SFPR is a new proposed highway from Deltaport to the Trans Canada Highway, primarily for trucks. It’s a major part of BC’s $10 billion Gateway project, which is focused entirely on road-building to the exclusion of rail. Looking at […]

A Question of Capacity – A LRTA Topic Sheet

A QUESTION OF CAPACITY THE CAPACITIES of different modes of transport are generally quoted as 0-10 000 passengers per hour for bus, 2000-20 000 for light rail, and 15 000 upwards for heavy rail. A?A?A? Maximum capacity is only likely to be required for a few hours during peak hours, and even here there are […]

Calling all passenger rail advocates – PLEASE WRITE YOUR MAYOR!

Calling all passenger rail advocates – PLEASE WRITE YOUR MAYOR! (spread the word) regarding the upcoming federal budget: You may have heard, with the economic turmoil, that the federal government is planning a massive amount of new infrastructure spending for their next budget, supposedly for projects that are useful, ideally sustainable, and can be started […]

West Broadway Business Association calls for light rail

A new group, the West Broadway Business Association, has been formed: The WBBA is a non-profit society representing the local interests of businesses along West Broadway, from Alma to Burrard, and beyond to Cambie. They’re calling for a surface-level light rail or tram system along Broadway instead of the current plan to build a subway: […]

Why it is important that SkyTrain not be built on the Evergreen Line

A letter in todays Vancouver Sun ~ SkyTrain extension not an astute investment Vancouver Sun January 8, 2009 The case for SkyTrain’s $1.4-billion Evergreen Line is terribly weak. Despite the hype and hoopla from local politicians, this version of a public-private partnership is more like a Ponzi scheme than an astute investment. David Gillen, director […]

TramTrain, the interurban of the 21st century!

With the ongoing campaign for the “return of the interurban” in the Fraser Valley, an understanding of what the 21st century interurban is needed. The old Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban,Ai??Ai??ran from downtown Vancouver along streetcar tracks, up Main St. and down KingswayAi??Ai??to the beginning of the Central Park Line, just past Commercial drive. Then the […]

Does light-rail make the grade?

There is a common misconception, especially with loal transit planners, that light-rail can’t climb steep grades. The industry standard (crush capacity or all seats taken and 8 persons per square metre standing) for the maximum gradient that modern LRT can climb is 8%. Sheffield’s trams (streetcars) because all axles are motorized, can climb 10% grades […]

Bus Rapid Transit or BRT – Does it deliver?

The bus lobby are quick to jump on the Bus Rapid Transit or BRT bandwagon, yet fail to point to any one BRTAi??Ai?? that has attracted the all important motorist from the car. While new LRT/tram operations have seen major jumps in ridership, ridership figures for newAi??Ai??BRT systemsAi??Ai??have been disappointing. Ottawa is on record though […]

SkyTrain – Eight myths and the facts;Oh what tangled webs we weave, when we first practice to deceive!

Since 1980, when SkyTrain was imposed on the region, the SkyTrain lobby abetted by politicians, bureaucrats, and the media, have created a grand SkyTrain myth which is now taken as fact. Lenin’s quote, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth“, is certainly true of the SkyTrain lobby, when defending their beloved light-metro system. Despite […]

In the snow, go Diesel LRT! The E & N’s RDC’s (D-LRT’s big cousins) had no problems!

  Snow pulls Islanders onto E&N trains   Ridership jumped nearly 50% since snowstorms hit   by Darrell Bellaart, Times-Colonist, December 30, 2008   More Vancouver Islanders are choosing to travel by train when the roads get too slushy and slippery to drive. Southern Rail, which operates the E&N railway from Victoria to Courtenay, saw […]