SkyTrain – The Multi Billion Dollar Voter Bribe

Originally posted in 2016, ten years and an estimated $16 billion later, the true costs of building SkyTrain does not resonate with our local politcans. I will add comments and give 2026 dollar figures where necessary. The graph is from Ontario’s MetroLinx, and our SkyTrain light metro system, falls in the “subway” category of 50 year costs.

Three Minutes Into The Future!

Posted by zweisystem on Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Originally published August 30, 2016 

Our politcans seem to have fallen asleep in their arithmetic classes as their “back of the envelope” planning will cost both transit users and taxpayers dearly.

More wise words from Mr. ‘Haveacow’ who is an extremely experienced transit planner working on Ottawa’s new regional light rail line.

This was originally a post from the recent Calgary blog and contains a wealth of information that the powers that be don’t really want in the public realm.

Zwei replies: it is estimated that a minimum of $16 billion will be spent extending the Expo and millennium Lines a mere 21.7 km.

What this boils down to is that the Expo and Millennium Lines need a lot of investment for modernization, investment that will come from the expense of the Metro and Fraser Valley region.

As one transit expert told Zwei decades ago,”you can get any transit system to do anything you want , if you throw enough money at it.” The problem is, of course, the money thrown at the transit system generally comes from other transit projects.

This begs the question; “How much money is the taxpayer willing throw at SkyTrain”?

An Historical note: The initial ALRT line from Vancouver to New Westminster was originally designed to have a third “express line” through less well used stations, such as Royal Oak or 22nd Ave., to decrease travel time. Zwei was told by a retired GVRD planner some years ago that there were supposed to be five such stations along the route and the plan was to cut almost 10 minutes off the travel time in the peak hour, end to end. Cost constraints and signalling issues sidelined any thought of this type of operation.

Over to you, Mr. Cow!

Technically Skytrain can be expanded to do 28,000+ p/h/d. Actually any existing rapid transit system can be expanded to handle much greater passenger capacities. The real issue is how much you want to spend to do that.

Skytrain could with existing technology upgrade its signaling systems to a state of the art, high capacity multiple independent moving blocks signaling system with the newest version of Bombardier’s City Flo 650 Automation System operating as the system governor. But that’s expensive and Translink is only and very begrudgingly doing some of this, mostly because of cost issues and the time required.

Problem/Issue#1:

The electrical handling capacity of the system needs to be upgraded. Meaning, the existing electrical transformers (hidden behind the doors at nearly every station and what is mostly responsible for the mysterious size of most stations on the ground floor) needs to be upgraded in capacity or new ones have to be built and the corresponding cabling replaced, as well as the replacement of many of the system’s third rails and third rail connecting joints with each other and the cabling (can’t remember the technical name right now). Translink is trying to do this but its expensive and very time consuming however, it can easily be done at night when the system is closed and doesn’t necessarily. This is the first step in signal upgrades. Comment by Zwei: To date there has been no real hint of an electrical upgrade and now with the promised Rootin Tootin Newton extension, I would think an electrical upgrade would be mandatory. One wonders is there a budget for this or a cheap bandaid solution? Back of the envelope costing for transit promises tend to backfire on the taxpayer.

Problem/issue #2:

Next spending at a minimum of $500-700 Million ($660 to $910 million in 2026 dollars) and about 2-5 years with multiple daytime shutdowns to completely replace all the existing signaling software and hardware as well as the signals themselves. Toronto is replacing its 60 year old signaling system on line#1 (Yonge-University Spadina-York Subway Line). Its taken 4 years so far with major portions of the line getting shutdown on the weekends. This weekend its Lawrence Station to Yonge and Bloor, (the busiest stretch of rapid transit line in Canada and 2nd busiest in North America during peak hours). But it must be done to improve the lines top capacity limit and to keep the overall network in good repair. The traditional time the TTC does maintenance projects, the 6.5-7 hours a week from closing time Saturday night/Sunday morning to the traditional late start Sunday morning at 9am is just not enough time. So every weekend or at least every second weekend a section of the line is taken out of service to replace the thousands of km’s of cables and signaling infrastructure. Fall 2017 is the expected completion date.

Next, add new centre platforms to existing stations and or adding centre tracks with new passenger platforms either side and move the existing tracks to the outside wall limit which is also expanded. Except for the highest use stations, this eliminates the need to lengthen platforms and is cheaper option when dealing with an above grade rapid transit system.

Problem/Issue #3:

Man this time consuming and expensive and you really have to do step 1 and 2 first but it can work. Translink is doing a station by station approach which means it may have most of the original stations on the Expo line upgraded by 2041. Time to do all the stations depends on budgets and assuming we survive the asteroid impact we will be subject to in 2048 (I’m a back yard astronomer each time a particular well know asteroid passes by us it keeps getting closer and closer, I’m not kidding). However, after several expected close fly bys in 2020’s and 2030’s due to gravitational sheer, may change the final date or it may cause it to miss us altogether, we will see. Anyway back to point.

There are other issues such as, as your above grade Skytrain lines age, the structure between the stations will need significant structural upgrade. The longer you wait the bigger the bill. Translink has no budget or plan to deal with this issue. As we (me and employees of the company I was consulting with at the time) asked during our visit to there control centre a few years ago while we presented to the staff pieces of concrete right of way we found around Metrotown Station. What is your long term plan to deal with Expo line’s above grade structural renewal proposals we asked? Their answers were polite and diplomatic but you could tell we caught them off guard. It all depends on budgets and the availability time capital was the answer, so no plan until they have enough cash I guess.

Lastly, as any rapid transit system gets bigger and bigger, the cheap and easy to build lines will generally get built first. Each extension or new line becomes relatively speaking more and more expensive (regardless of inflation). Its not Translink’s fault this generally happens on any system, you pick the low hanging fruit first! Many of the new lines like the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension to Arbutus and eventually UBC, are very expensive (because of the tunnel) and will only produce for now and even into the future, meager passenger numbers. In my humble professional opinion, the overly optimistic predictions of Translink will never produce the numbers really needed to justify a below grade Skytrain line that costs only 20% less per km than a late, over budget, subway line in Toronto that will daily handle twice the capacity of the planned Skytrain line, using the present 60 year old signaling system not the new one which is being installed on the rest of the line and that will be ready to go when this extension is complete. All these cost predictions for the Broadway Extension are based on 6 year old planning data which needs to be seriously upgraded and will most likely go up in cost per km as well. (Comment by Zwei: The Broadway subway is now estimated to cost around $3.5 to $4 billion. The UBC subway around $8 billion)

There are very few other justifiable new line opportunities for the Skytrain System given current ridership and corridor passenger levels. There are some extensions planned or being discussed. One is the killing of the very poorly thought out LRT line in Surrey and replacing it Skytrain extension (Comment by Zwei: Well TransLink and the Provincial NDP killed off the planned light rail in 2017 and replaced it with the now $7 billion plus Langley extension (guideway only). One cannot, but opine that the surrey LRT was so designed to get cancelled in favour of more SkyTrain) but it brings about another issue that is not thought about in Vancouver yet but Toronto and Montreal have been facing for a while, that is the geographic scale of the service area. You can extend the Skytrain in Surrey but even Skytrain’s for Surrey, “Daryl”, missed this little issue. If you build the extension of the Skytrain as designed by Translink and Daryl you will have to sit for an hour just to get to the other side of the line, which is downtown. This still seems to be the largest passenger destination for the system. It will take an hour because of all the other existing stops you already have in between Surrey Skytrain extension and downtown Vancouver. You could have a local/ express train system operation but unless track infrastructure is severely upgraded, it just can’t happen. So a change in operational technology is needed, more commuter rail/regional rail or Zwei’s Tram Trains operation. Both Toronto and Montreal learned a long time ago you can’t extend subway/metro lines outward until they are 30-40 miles long its just too expensive to build and operate. Not to mention there would be just too many stations stops between where people want to go and where they will be getting on. Adding express services is expensive and difficult and ultimately lowers capacity. Even heavier capacity LRT lines have a distance/travel time limit. So soon a new form of longer distance rapid transit will be needed for Vancouver’s outer areas you can’t keep building Skytrain further and further out its also way too expensive to build and you still suffer the distance/time penalty for potential passenger numbers. So yes a change in rapid transit operating technology, due to the geographic operating scale, for the outer portions of your region is most likely imminent.

Final comment by Zwei: Both provincial and civic politcans have shown that they do not give a damn about the cost of SkyTrain, or the taxpayer as SkyTrain is built to win elections and the cost be damned, “we will just raise taxes on the rubes, they were the suckers that voted for this”.

SkyTrain To Rootin Tootin Newton? It Must Be Election Time

It is the silly season folks and the NDP and Conservatives have made promises to build more SkyTrain and why not, as politcal promises are easily made but much harder to keep.

The first question I will ask is the cost?

Based on the Langley extension, around $3.2 billion, not including cars, signalling, added electrical supply and more.

Second question I will ask, Funding?

Ah yes funding, a pesky little question to ask because Bombardier no longer owns the propitiatory cars that operate on the Expo Line and Alstom, who now owns the proprietary system, is in the process of selling the production facility (and the all important test track) in Kingston; with Ottawa opting out funding this line altogether. Ceasing production are they?

Do I hear ALTO, that $80 billion, 300km high speed rail line connecting Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City.

Then there is Vancouver, with a current $3.5 billion subway to nowhere under Broadway, with provincial promises to complete it to UBC. Oh and that is another $8 billion – chump change at election time.

For the same cost of a 8 km extension to Rootin Tootin Newton, we could build around 60km of modern LRT for Surrey, but of course its the photo ops and 10 second sound bites that come with SkyTrain that is important, especially around election time.

Does anyone remember former Vancouver mayor, Kennedy Stewart’s SkyTrain loop line for Vancouver?

Remember, promises, promises…………….

BC NDP, BC Conservatives support expanding SkyTrain to Newton

By Amy Judd Global News

Posted October 20, 2026

Surrey is shaping up to be a major battleground in the upcoming provincial election and now B.C.’s two biggest parties are expressing support for expanding the SkyTrain to Newton.

The city’s newly elected mayor, Doug McCallum, said in a statement that only the BC Conservatives have committed to the expansion, while the BC NDP “offered a meeting.”

One of McCallum’s campaign promises was to connect Newton on the SkyTrain line.

Eby was asked about the mayor-elect’s comments during a press conference on Tuesday morning.

“It’s important for British Columbians to know that whether it’s our commitment to work with the new mayor in Surrey, to build that SkyTrain in Newton, or whether it is the Massey Tunnel Project in the Lower Mainland, or whether it’s right here in Kelowna, to build up that sixth floor of the hospital, that we’re building this province,” Eby said.

He added that the BC NDP has set aside $250 million in their platform for a transit expansion to Newton and they have set that money aside.

The city’s newly elected mayor, Doug McCallum, said in a statement that only the BC Conservatives have committed to the expansion, while the BC NDP “offered a meeting.”

One of McCallum’s campaign promises was to connect Newton on the SkyTrain line.

Eby was asked about the mayor-elect’s comments during a press conference on Tuesday morning.

“It’s important for British Columbians to know that whether it’s our commitment to work with the new mayor in Surrey, to build that SkyTrain in Newton, or whether it is the Massey Tunnel Project in the Lower Mainland, or whether it’s right here in Kelowna, to build up that sixth floor of the hospital, that we’re building this province,” Eby said.

He added that the BC NDP has set aside $250 million in their platform for a transit expansion to Newton and they have set that money aside.

Just as a reminder for the cost of a 8 km SkyTrain line, Surrey could build around 60 km of modern light rail, but politcans only care about transit at election time!

3 dead, several injured after fiery bus crash in Calgary

I am posting this very sad news report to illustrate accidents on public transit systems happen, but it seems if an accident is involving a streetcar or tram, it gets wide coverage, but with a bus, not so much.

From what I have gleaned from other news reports, there seems to have been a fire on a compressed gas fueled bus, which caused a fire and injuries.

Please watch further news reports for more details.

3 dead, several injured after fiery bus crash in Calgary

Fire involving city transit bus occurred Thursday afternoon in Saddle Ridge neighbourhood

Kelsea Arnett · CBC News · Posted: Oct 15, 2026

Three people are dead and 16 others were injured in a collision involving a city bus in Calgary on Thursday, according to officials.

The fiery, fatal crash happened just after 1 p.m. in the city’s northeast community of Saddle Ridge.

Three people were declared dead at the scene. Ten were transported to hospital via ambulance, with one in life-threatening condition and nine others in non-life-threatening condition.

Five others were assessed for non-life-threatening injuries at the scene, and were later transported to hospital for further assessment.

A Calgary Police Service member also sustained minor injuries.

The fire occurred on the 800 block of Saddletowne Circle N.E., near the neighbourhood’s fire station.

The collision involved two city buses and multiple vehicles, Calgary Police Staff Sgt. Andy Woodward said during a press conference on Thursday.

“I’ve been a police officer 36 years, and I think this is probably the biggest scene I’ve worked on in relation to the collision that we’ve got here,” he said.

WATCH | Witness captures video of city bus on fire:

3 killed in bus fire in northeast Calgary

A City of Calgary bus fire on Oct. 15, 2026, left three people dead and several others injured. Maxwell Calinisan was nearby when the incident occurred and captured this video.

Fire crews initially responded to reports of a motor vehicle collision, but pivoted to a fire response when they realized one of the buses was aflame, Calgary Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said. In total, 12 units responded.

A hazardous materials unit was also called to the scene, Dongworth said, as the bus on fire ran on compressed natural gas.

“It was fairly involved,” Dongworth said. “It wasn’t a catastrophic fire, but it was a serious fire inside … there was also a small fire in the other bus.”

The driver of the second bus was trapped and needed to be extricated, Dongworth added.

‘It was just burning everything’

Maxwell Calinisan was in a nearby Shoppers Drug Mart when store staff told him and other customers there was a fire nearby and they would need to evacuate to the store’s parking lot. 

“When we first came out, I looked to my left and the fire was just on the bus, and then we just ran as far as possible in the parking lot,” he told CBC News.

“The fire was pretty much on top of the bus,” he said. “It was just burning everything.”

Emergency crews arrived soon after, he said.

Both Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas offered their condolences in separate social media posts.

Police continue to investigate the cause of the incident.

Access to Saddletowne Circle is closed for “a significant amount of time,” police said, advising people to avoid the area.

Corrections

• In quoting the Calgary Fire Department chief, a previous version of this story incorrectly described the type of bus involved in the collision. It runs on compressed natural gas.

OK Premier Eby, Why not TramTrain?

Posted by zweisystem on Saturday, October 10, 2026 ·

In Germany, TramTrain operates on mainline railways with mixed passenger and freight service, with little problem.

It has now been 16 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 excuses of TransLink’s gold plated bureaucracy, most politicians and armchair experts.

Yet, TramTrain has become a powerful tool in affordably bringing rail transit to areas otherwise underserved by public transport.

What is TramTrain?

TramTrain is part of the light rail family that modern streetcars have the ability to operate as a streetcar or tram on-street track;  as light rail transit on a reserved or dedicated rights-of-way; and on mainline railways.

First used in Karlsrhue, Germany, since 1992, TramTrain, due to its low cost, has become an essential tool in providing the all important “seamless journey” that has proven to attract the motorist from the car.

A TramTrain in the city of Chemitz.

Consider the following:

• TransLink is spending well over the advertised cost of $6 billion to extend the SkyTrain light-metro 16 km.
• The total cost to extend both the Expo and Millennium Lines is now well over $18 billion. The government only gives ‘guideway’ costs, which the federal government is paying 40% all other costs are paid for by the province (Us)!
• The French city of Caen opened a 16 km tramway in 2019 for CAD $472million. in 2026 dollars.
• The region could spend under two billion to provide a 130 km.,  thrice hourly Marpole to Chilliwack TramTrain service, which would connect Vancouver directly to Cloverdale, Langley, Abbotsford, Sardis and Chilliwack.

To put this another way, the region could spend under $2 billion to build both LRT and a TramTrain that would provide a direct from Chilliwack to Marpole service, which in the future could be affordably extended to Richmond and downtown Vancouver!

Sadly, the concept building affordable transit in not in the NDP’s, lexicon as SkyTrain is built to win votes, win elections, not to affordably move people.

Telling the truth about SkyTrain is a revolutionary act in BC!

Buddy, Can You Spare $25 Billion…………

It has been brought to Zwei’s attention than another group is wanting to build more SkyTrain, this time calling itself Crosstown SkyTrain , a 38km light-metro line from Downtown Vancouver to Surrey.

Well, that sounds good doesn’t it, how about the cost?

A bare minimum cost for an elevated SkyTrain would be $19 billion, based on the cost of today’s cost of the Expo Line extension to UBC, including cars and other costs not included with the Langley extension program.

But it will not be elevated in Vancouver, oh no, the ‘creme de la creme’ will not have it.

So if 50% of the line is in a subway (in Vancouver of course), the cost would top $29 billion!

But of course there is more, the line would need Operations and Maintenance Centre number 6, costing around $1 billion and a new bridge crossing the Fraser River, $3 billion ( I am being extremely generous here) and the total cost for this line would top $33 billion.

The Rail for the Valley Marpole (Vancouver) to Chilliwack, Leewood Study proposal would cost under $2 billion and extending the line to Vancouver, via the Arbutus corridor would be around $300 million.

As BC is cash strapped at the moment and the $8 billion Broadway subway to UBC would be the next line to be built, then the North Shore transit has to be dealt with; I would say that the Crosstown SkyTrain Line to Surrey is nothing more than a pipe-dream.

Contrary to the hype and hoopla about SkyTrain, modern light rail is the only transit mode that can affordably deal with today’s traffic and transit woes, but we can’t have that, can we, as the politcans and bureaucrats who support SkyTrain would be extremely embarrassed at how modern light rail out performs SkyTrain at every level.

40 years of telling SkyTrain porkies would be embarrassing!

Gerald Fox’s 2008 shredding of the BC’s Auditor Generals Business Case for the Evergreen Line deserves a reread .

He leaves this little gem:

But, eventually, Vancouver will need to adopt lower-cost LRT in its lesser corridors, or else limit the extent of its rail system. And that seems to make some TransLink people very nervous.

Telling the truth about SkyTrain in Metro Vancouver is a revolutionary act!

Movia Automatic Light Metro is the Brand Name And SkyTrain Is The name Of The Light-Metro System

So back into the archives I go.

As the hype and Hoopla of the provincial election shudders along, there is a lot of postings in the various Social media outlets about the SkyTrain Line, now called the Dave Barrett Extension (strange that as former Premier Dave Barret was very pro light rail and not too fond of SkyTrain) confirms that SkyTrain is being built more to win elections that provide an affordable and user friendly transit alternative.

And yes, since this was published, it seems a Brazilian company has trademarked the name SkyTrain for their proprietary transit system, as their Emails remind me.

The old saw dating from an Email from 2019, proclaiming to all that SkyTrain is the brand name of the transit system and that the LIM powered trains are made by various companies, is coming back to haunt transit issues in 2026.

Sorry, but Alstom now owns the patents for the proprietary MALM system and SNC Lavalin may still hold engineering patents, inherited when Lavalin owned the system and then promptly went bankrupt.

Yes, the Chinese Railway Corporation produced compatible cars for the Kuala Lumpor system but they were cloned cars of the Beijing MALM system and the design is 30 years old. As the CRRC doesn’t believe in intellectual property (patents) such cars could be illegal to operate in Canada or cause huge extra penalty costs to the operator.

No other company produced LIM powered cars that are compatible with the trains used on the Expo and Millennium Lines. There is no market for the system, therefore no investment for what is now considered an orphaned system.

The name SkyTrain is used on a lot of elevated transit systems, simple because it is railway is in the Sky, so to speak. SkyTrain is not a brand of transit, it is a name only!

Miami’s Airport SkyTrain People Mover, No Relation to Vancouver’s SkyTrain!

BTS Bangkok is a conventional railway, operating as a regional metro system and is no relation to the proprietary “SkyTrain” light-metro system in Vancouver.

The Kuranda SkyTrain or Sky-rail in Australia, is an aerial tramway.

In Taiwan, the Taoyaun airport people mover is called SkyTrain.

And I can go on.

It seems the SkyTrain “brand”, is nothing more than the local names for elevated transit lines.

Then of course the is Bombardier’s SkyTrain, a rubber tired airport people mover. As reported in RftV two years ago:

Bombardier Is Building SkyTrain at LAX…..But, It ain’t Our SkyTrain!

Bombardier’s Airport People Mover system was called SkyTrain, no relation to MALM.

Why the deliberate misinformation?

Sadly it is the old “if you repeat a lie often enough, the people are bound to believe it.”

What they are calling the SkyTrain brand in Vancouver, is not a brand, rather the name of the regional light-metro system, chosen via radio contest by CKNW in 1985.

So, as a refresher, I will start with the brands that our light-metro system has been marketed under.

1. Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS)
2. Advanced Light Rail Transit (ALRT)
3. Advanced Light Metro (ALM)
4. Advanced Rapid Transit (ART)
5. Innovia Rapid Transit
6. Movia Automatic Light Metro (MALM)

The various brands have been owned by four companies:

1. The Urban Transit Development Corporation (UTDC)
2. Lavalin
3. Bombardier Inc.
4. Alstom

Powered by Linear Induction Motors, MALM certainly is, as most unconventional railways are proprietary. The MALM system is not compatible in operation on any other railway, other than its family of now six systems (Toronto abandoned their ICTS system) and no other company has ‘off the shelf’ vehicles that can be used on the MALM system.

As stated before, Alstom now hold the technical patents and SNC Lavalin hold engineering patents.

One should be wary of politcans pretending they are transit experts and their blatant attempts to mislead the public may come back and haunt them in the future.

Lysenkoism – TransLink’s Doctrine

The SkyTrain Lobby Is Watching You!

.This is a repost and in light of both provincial and civic elections, Lysenkoism will reign supreme!

Lysenkoism: describes the manipulation or distortion of the scientific process as a way to reach a predetermined conclusion as dictated by an ideological bias, often related to social or political objectives

Transit is about moving people, not building high rise condos and towers!

Really, not in Vancouver, where the SkyTrain light metro system is designed to shape land use, ensuring big profits for politcal friends and insiders.

Ignoring the fact that the proprietary SkyTrain mini-metro system has been rejected by transit planners around the world as being extremely expensive for what it does and just being poorly designed, many local politicians, planners and engineers still hail SkyTrain as a ‘wonder system‘ despite the fact that only seven such systems have been built in almost years and only three are seriously used for urban transport.

Ignoring facts has been the mainstay of TransLink, countless provincial ministers of transportation, professional engineers, planners and academics, in transit debates and regional transit planning in general. Why have so many people have stained their reputations, supporting a proprietary mini-metro, when the rest of the world has moved on, regarding SkyTrain as a historic footnote?

There are two reasons for so many local so-called professional and academic people remain willfully blind on regional transit issues.

1. Many people have made small fortunes by supporting SkyTrain and the SkyTrain planning and building process. Making large sums of money by doing very little is a very hard habit to give up, especially when the taxpayer is footing the bill.
2. Many people have just been bamboozled by the SkyTrain lobby and are embarrassed to acknowledge it. Like sheep, they continue to baa, baa, the SkyTrain line for fear that they would be shown ignorant of transit issues.

Greed, ignorance and fear are the main ingredients of our regional transit planning and until that changes, the powers that be will still plan for SkyTrain. The continued building and operating SkyTrain is bankrupting TransLink, taxes will continually rise, further feeding greed, ignorance and fear.

Lysenkoism is the doctrine and it is practiced by the provincial government, Metro Vancouver and TransLink.

The VIA Rail Car Order

There has been a lot of comment on the recently announced VIA Rail car order.

Many people complain about the cost, but the ordered cars comes with a maintenance package, which means VIA does not have to invest in several maintenance centers across Canada. to give one the idea at the cost of a maintenance centre, the proposed Operations and Maintenance Centre #5, to be located on the Expo Line extension to Langley is around $1 billion!

As well, these will be newly designed cars with 9 different interiors, which again is quite expensive and the new cars must be “safety cased” by Transport Canada, which in itself is no easy or cheap task.

Depending on the maintenance package, $4.7 billion may prove to be a prudent decision and time will tell.

On another note, Alstom winning the contract (if there was a contract to win), this order will keep Ontario and Quebec jobs as Alstom is about to abandon production of SkyTrain capable cars and there is zero interest in the proprietary system, with no sales in a quarter of a century.

Alstom to build new passenger cars for VIA Rail Canada in Ca$4.7 billion deal

David Lassen

September 3, 2026

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THUNDER BAY, Ontario – The Canadian government will provide Ca$4.7 billion (U.S. $3.41 billion) for 313 new VIA Rail Canada passenger cars, which Alstom will build in Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced today (Thursday, Sept. 3).

Alstom Canada will produce the cars, with design and engineering work to be done at Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, and construction at Thunder Bay, Ontario, and La Pocatière, Quebec.

The announcement comes at a time when tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump have increased efforts by the Canadian government to support industry in Canada.

“In the face of strong headwinds, a confident Canada is choosing to build,” Carney said in a statement. “For the first time in four decades, VIA’s passenger cars will be built in Canada. Cars that used to be made in the United States will now be made here at home. This means new contracts for Canadian suppliers, good jobs for Canadian workers, and paychecks that stay in Canadian cities and towns. That’s how we build Canada strong.”

It is the largest single investment in VIA Rail Canada in the Crown corporation’s history, officials said, and in Canadian intercity passenger rail in generation. The new cars will replace a long-distance and regional railcar fleet largely dependent on Budd-built stainless steel equipment built for Canadian Pacific in 1954 and 1955.

A press release from the Prime Minister’s Office said that replacing the existing fleet will deliver safer, more reliable, and more modern service. The project will support nearly 700 jobs and generate more than Ca$1.6 billion in economic benefits, according to the release.

“Today’s announcement marks a defining step in shaping the future of VIA Rail’s pan-Canadian fleet,” VIA Rail Interim CEO Mathieu Paquette said. “These new Canadian-built passenger rail cars will retain signature features such as dome cars, full-service dining, and social areas, while incorporating modern amenities, improved accessibility, and greater reliability. They will help us preserve essential services to remote communities and elevate the unique onboard experience that allows passengers to discover Canada in a way that only train travel can offer. We thank the Government of Canada for this historic investment in the future of passenger rail.”

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The order will include:

• 78 sleeping cars.
• 58 coaches.
• 38 panorama cars.
• 29 baggage cars.
• 26 accessible sleepers.
• 25 dome cars.
• 20 dining cars.
• 20 Prestige class sleepers.
• 19 berth sleepers.

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The order is intended to maintain all current classes of service and preserve the signature features of VIA’s long-distance service. The first cars are projected to enter service in 2031, with the order completed by 2035.

Today’s announcement brings recent government investments in VIA to more than Ca$6.6 billion (U.S. $4.79 billion). In July, the government announced it would provide Ca$1.6 billion to purchase 45 new VIA locomotives from Stadler, as well as Ca$357 million to fund a new locomotive factory in Montreal.

User Friendly You say?

User friendly a term scoffed at locally is really a big deal for transit customers.

The new MK.5, Innovia 300, 5-car train-sets have few seats as TransLink is playing a numbers game with capacity, due to counting more standing customers. The trains, despite the millions of dollars spent on You Tube videos and advertising saying how great the SkyTrain light-metro system is; declining ridership tells a different story.

User-friendless is the key to attracting ridership, something that TransLink refuses to understand.

Mk.5 SkyTrain stock ………………….

………….. Stadler Tram Train interior.

Government to banish 60,000 ‘ironing board’ seats on busy commuter trains

The transport secretary has promised ‘more comfortable alternatives’ for rail passengers

Natalie Wilson Friday 28 August 2026

More than 60,000 “ironing board” Thameslink seats are set to be upgraded as part of ongoing government rail reforms.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander has announced plans to replace the seat base cushions on all 115 Thameslink trains with “more comfortable alternatives and improved backrests”.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said the move marked “an end to the notorious ‘ironing-board’ seats that have long frustrated commuters on one of Britain’s busiest rail routes”.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Britain’s largest train operator, transferred to public ownership in May.

GTR will move forward with plans to fit upgraded standard class seats as part of the government’s “drive to ensure Great British Railways delivers tangible improvements for passengers”.

Proposed improvements will be rolled out over two years starting in 2027.

First class seats will benefit from improved seat base cushions, but will keep their existing backrest design, said DfT.

The 70 trains currently not fitted with a seat back table will also be fitted with them.

Ms Alexander said: “This is what public ownership looks like in action. Less than 100 days since GTR transferred into public control, we’re delivering on the improvements commuters have been asking for.

“From next year, we’ll start getting rid of the dreaded ‘ironing board seats’ so passengers can enjoy comfier, more pleasant journeys on some of Britain’s busiest commuter routes.”

John Whitehurst, CEO at GTR, which operates Thameslink, said: “Our customers tell us that comfort matters, which is why we’ve been working on plans to improve seating on Thameslink services and give the millions of people who use our extensive network a better experience.

“Through customer research with everyday commuters, we’ve gathered valuable insight to help us shape the best possible solution for cushion comfort onboard our high-capacity trains. We’re pleased to move forward with plans and bring about those much-expected improvements.”

Battery Trains For “Rail for the Valley”?

Battery trains have been around a long time.

In New Zealand, a battery-electric Edison railcar with a range of 160 km (99 mi) operated from 1926 to 1934 on the 34 km (21 mi) long Little River Branch line. The Drumm nickel-zinc battery was used on four 2-car sets between 1932 and 1949 on the Harcourt Street Line in Ireland. British Railways used lead-acid batteries in a British Rail BEMU from 1958 to 1966 on the 38 mile long Aberdeen to Ballater line in Scotland. The BEMU was a success, but decommissioned as the line was closed.

Battery trains are more expensive than diesel trains or overhead line electric vehicles

Although battery trains are considered to be more environmentally friendly than, for example, diesel railways, are significantly more expensive to purchase than diesel multiple units or pure electric multiple units – precisely because they have heavy and large batteries on board. On average, investments of around CAD $256,600 per train meter are to be expected, while standard electric multiple units cost about CAD $120,300 to CAD $160,300 per meter. A battery train with a usual length costs about CAD $$10.4 million according to “German Aerospace Centre”. “Diesel-powered trains (DMU) and overhead line multiple units (EMU) with the same seat capacity” cost about CAD $6.4 to CAD $8 million. For small batteries – such as those that are sufficient on routes that have partial overhead lines – “the additional costs of a BEMU are likely to be rather low compared to a pure overhead line train, however, required infrastructure costs for recharging must be included.

The running costs depend on the current electricity prices, which are currently below the diesel prices – but are still very high in international comparison in Germany. The batteries are usually recharged both at charging stations and on the contact wire, as far as it is applied.

The CAF trains are the latest example of the ongoing evolution of the Battery train and certainly the range fits well with both the Rail for the Valley Marpole to Chilliwack modern interurban servcie and the restatement of passenger servcie on the E&N.

CAF battery train achieves 273 km in test runs ahead of German deployment

By Railway Gazette International | September 2 2026

GERMANY: CAF has demonstrated a battery-only range of 273 km with its Class 557 BEMU. The manufacturer hopes that this will enable the production fleet to run further than they will typically need to without overhead power on the Niederrhein-Münsterland network.

CAF announced in late August that its Class 557 battery-electric multiple unit had achieved a range of 273 km during testing at the Siemens Mobility-owned test circuit at Wildenrath in the northwest of the country. The Civity BEMU, equipped with lithium-titanate-oxide batteries, operated entirely on battery power during the trials. The result is around 24% above the 220 km range specified by Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr for the batch of trains it has ordered for RE10 and RB37 services.

The 220 km requirement applies to the longest sections that the trains are expected to cover on battery power, with a 10 min recharge permitted after 110 km. On RE10, which runs from Kleve through Krefeld to Düsseldorf, the approximately 65 km section between Krefeld and Kleve is non-electrified; an overhead charging facility is being provided at Kleve to supplement the batteries. Other services require battery ranges of 90 km or 65 km, depending on the operating diagram.

VRR and Zweckverband Nahverkehr Westfalen-Lippe ordered 63 Civity BEMUs from CAF in 2021, comprising 15 short units of 45 m in length and 48 long units of 55 m. CAF is also responsible for maintenance for 30 years. NWL subsequently ordered a further 10 trains for routes RB68 and RB76, with later additions taking the fleet to 76, including 15 short and 61 long units, making this Germany’s largest BEMU procurement to date.

Delayed entry

The trains were originally due to begin entering service in 2025, but the programme has since been pushed back. The first Class 557s are now scheduled to enter passenger service in December 2027, with the rollout continuing in stages until December 2029. The revised programme followed a decision by CAF, VRR and NWL to equip all 76 trains so that their traction batteries can also be charged from a 400 V low-voltage supply while stabled, reducing their dependence on overhead charging infrastructure.

Alongside the range test, CAF has assessed traction performance under extreme operating conditions and collected data on energy management, vehicle control and battery behaviour, which will be compared with the simulation models used during the design phase.

A battery-electric Class 557 multiple unit will be exhibited at InnoTrans 2026 in Berlin, where CAF says it will be presented to the international rail industry for the first time.