Rail group: Provincial report biased – News1130
Rail group: Provincial report biased
Sheila Scott Feb 22, 2011 05:20:09 AM
FRASER VALLEY (NEWS1130) – The group Rail For the Valley says an independent firm has taken a look at a provincially commissioned transit study into light rail released in December, and found the government report was biased.
The study commissioned by the Ministry of Transportation found interurban light rail wasn’t a viable option for the area.
John Vissers with Rail For the Valley says the analysis the group commissioned with British companyAi??Ai?? Leewood Projects found the government didn’t look at all of the available information. “What they saw was a clear agenda dismissing light rail.”
Quotes from the Leewood analysis:
“The MoTi had formed their conclusion prior to commissioning the report, and the evidence in the report has been selectively incorporated, in order to substantiate the conclusion that they wanted to see.”
“The BC MoTI and TransLink appear to have predefined that Bus Rapid Transit was the only option and the report was to prove that point of view.”
Vissers is hoping Liberal Leadership candidates will take another look at the viability of light rail.
via Rail group: Provincial report biased – News1130.
False assumptions worry rail expert
False assumptions worry rail expert
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON, THE TIMES FEBRUARY 22, 2011
The provincial government’s lack of interest in interurban light rail from Chilliwack to Surrey is biased and based on a number of false assumptions, according to a British light rail consultant.
At the request of the Rail for the Valley advocacy group, David Cockle of UK-based Leewood Projects analyzed the provincial government’s Strategic Review of Transit in the Fraser Valley. Cockle found that the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and Translink “appear to have predefined that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was the only option and the report was to prove that point of view.”
Chief among the criticisms is that a maximum of 250 passengers per day was assumed when the province considered daily interurban rail service. But when it came to equivalent bus service, the number of 800 boardings was assumed.
Cockle also said the province’s report uses false assumptions to extrapolate costs of $18.6 million per kilometre for light rail. That dollar figure was based on double-tracking the entire line with stations every 1.6 kilometres “and other costs entirely unnecessary for Light Rail Transit.”
“The MoTi had formed their conclusion prior to commissioning the report, and the evidence in the report has been selectively incorporated, in order to substantiate the conclusion that they wanted to see; despite the proven facts that the light rail option, for the Fraser Valley, would have an annual cost of less than a quarter of the figure quoted in the FVTS report.”
Cockle pointed out that while B.C. seems set against passenger rail, in the first few weeks of 2011 seven new, and three extensions, of UK and European light rail systems were announced as were three new and three extensions in the U.S.
Ai??Ai?? Copyright (c) Chilliwack Times
via False assumptions worry rail expert.
First tram-train arrives in Lyon
France: Lyon Tram-Train
Railway Gazette 22 February 2011
http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/first-tram-train-arrives-in-lyon.html
The first of 24 Citadis Dualis tram-trains for the TER network west of Lyon arrived at the L’Arbresle maintenance centre on February 18, having left Alstomai??i??s assembly plant in Valenciennes two days earlier.
Two more vehicles will be delivered to SNCF in Lyon during the next few weeks. The three trains will then undergo trials to test current intake and measure electromagnetic emissions. The first vehicles are expected to enter service this year on the newly-electrified route from Lyon Saint-Paul to Sain-Bel.
In May 2007, SNCF ordered 31 Alstom Citadis Dualis tram-trains, seven for the Pays de la Loire region and 24 for RhA?ne-Alpes, under a ai??i??650m framework agreement for 200 vehicles. Pays de la Loire placed a conditional order for another eight trains in March 2009; options for the remaining 161 are still open.
Parts are being supplied by various Alstom sites; the bogies are being manufactured at Le Creusot, the motors at Ornans and the traction equipment at Tarbes, while Villeurbanne and Saint-Ouen are providing on-board computer systems.
French news article
http://www.paperblog.fr/3891206/le-tram-train-de-l-ouest-lyonnais-s-essaye-en-allemagne/
Alstom Technical Specification:
French newspaper article
http://www.urbanews.fr/le-tram-train-de-louest-lyonnais-sessaye-en-allemagne.html
LIGHT RAIL FIRM RELEASES INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OF KEVIN FALCON TRANSIT STUDY
UPDATE:
Media so far
News1130Ai??http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/187220–rail-group-provincial-report-biased
Chilliwack TimesAi??http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/news/False+assumptions+worry+rail+expert/4325083/story.html
Laila Yuile (2nd item in the post) Ai??http://lailayuile.com/2011/02/22/government-is-as-government-does/
LIGHT RAIL FIRM RELEASES INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OF KEVIN FALCON TRANSIT STUDY
“The MoTi had formed their conclusion prior to commissioning the report, and the evidence in the report has beenAi??selectively incorporated, in order to substantiate the conclusion that they wanted to see.”
“The BC MoTI and TransLink appear to have predefined that Bus Rapid Transit [BRT] was the only option and theAi??report was to prove that point of view.”
BC Liberal Responses to Fraser Valley Transit Survey
Flagship BRT Fizzles in the USA
Bus Rapid Transit or BRT is the transit flavour ‘du jour’ of BC politicians. Any mention of transit in the region ultimately leads to BRT, as if it was the grand panacea to solve our transit woes. The trouble is, our politicos have never read a book about public transit,Ai??let aloneAi??perused the chapter on buses.
A bus can never compete against rail transit unless it is guided or operates on a specially created busway, but when such investment is made for buses, the costs rise significantly and nears that of light rail. When one compares the benefits of “rail’ versus bus, transit experts will usually recommend a slightly more expensive ‘rail‘ line as it would provide more bang for ones buck.
For over fourty years, bus manufacturers have tried to provide a bus alternative to light rail and to date have not found the winning formula. From busways andAi??guided-bus in the 70’s and 80’s, to Guided Light TransitAi??Ai??in the 90’sAi??until now, except for small installations here and there around the world, the BRT transit alternative has stalled.
BRT, like light-metro, isAi??a niche market transit systemAi??simply because for a few dollars moreAi??in the case of BRT orAi?? for a whole lot of dollarsAi??less, as in the case of light metro, one gets a bigger bang for ones investment with light rail.
In BC,Ai??the Bus Rapid Transit being talked about isn’t even BRT, but TransLink speak for express buses, asAi??BRT or rapid bus seemsAi??more grand when one says it. Sadly, for many transit customers a bus, is a bus and taking the care is just easier.
Bristol withdraws busway support
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 11:15 PM EST
http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2011/02/09/news/doc4d535ee5dd51d826362666.txt
By Steve Collins
Staff Writer
BRISTOL ai??i?? Convinced that commuter rail is key to Bristolai??i??s future, the city has taken a formal stand against the proposed $573 million busway between Hartford and New Britain.
ai???Connecticut has got to stop spending money, our money, on short-sighted solutions that arenai??i??t really solutions at all but more like a finger in the dike,ai??? said Mary Alford, a member of Bristolai??i??s Transportation Commission.
ai???We need a long-range plan for transportation here and the busway isnai??i??t it,ai??? she said.
The move to endorse commuter rail instead of the busway reverses the cityai??i??s 2004 endorsement of the busway project. It follows the lead of Newington, whose town council recently yanked its support for the busway as well.
The only opponent of the City Councilai??i??s decision was Mayor Art Ward, who did nothing to try to convince colleagues they were wrong.
Instead, Ward said he was obligated to continue his support for the busway after promising New Britain Mayor Tim Stewart and others last winter that he would go along with the project out of a spirit of regional cooperation.
Mike Nicastro, head of the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, said Wednesday he was ai???absolutely thrilledai??? to have the cityai??i??s backing for the rail alternative.
ai???Iai??i??m very, very proud of that,ai??? Nicastro said.
Supporters of the busway argue that itai??i??s crucial to the economic development of New Britain and Hartford, important to Central Connecticut State University and a good way to use lots of federal money to create construction jobs in the region soon.
But Bristolai??i??s Transportation Commission, after reviewing the plans, said that its use of the old Highland rail right of way between New Britain and Newington would gut hopes for the revival of rail travel between Hartford and Waterbury.
In a statement endorsed by city councilors, the panel said the busway ai???will negatively alter the ability to improve the transportation landscape of the City of Bristol and adversely affect its future; especially its economic future.ai???
Alford said that creating the busway would ai???hurt Bristol while not building the busway will not hurt New Britain.ai???
She also questioned its cost and whether promised federal funds would ever arrive.
City Councilor Kevin Fuller said the cityai??i??s position would be delivered Thursday in person to Gov. Dannel Malloy, who has the power to kill the busway.
New French Tramways
Reims Tramway is under test:-
http://www.lunion.presse.fr/article/marne/le-tram-a-lepreuve-du-feu
http://www.tramwaydereims.fr/start.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reims_tramway
and http://www.lineoz.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10893&sid=66eedf4b75d814adaceb51ca2f60e00f&p=306994#p306994
Map of the system:-
http://www.mars-reims.fr/images/Panneau%20CITURA%20(800×1200).pdf
Information on French Light Rail/Tram systems at:
http://www.transbus.org/dossiers/tramway_projet.html
Images of the new Alstom Citadis 302Ai??LRV’s
Worlds 1st NGV Tram system to open in 2012
Melaka [Malaysia] Tram to open to public in 2012
AYER KEROH — Train maker, Mrails International Sdn Bhd expects its RM272 million Melaka Tram, the first natural gas vehicle (NGV) powered tram in the world, to open to the public in May next year.
New Strait Times 19 February 2011
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/MelakaTramtoopentopublicinMay2012/Article/#ixzz1EUjwyIAq
Susan Heyes and the Canada Line fiasco – Justice denied!
The Canada Line was never about providing good public transitAi??for the region, rather the metro was all about political and corporate prestige. The Vancouver International Airport gang wanted a prestigious metro to connect YVR to downtown Vancouver, for corporate prestige because they thought that a metro would make YVR ‘world class’; the City of Vancouver wanted a subway for political prestige because the city fathers thought that a subwayAi??would makeAi??the city ‘world class’; and the Premier of the province, wanted a P-3 project, for political prestige, to sell voters on a ‘world class’ financing system. Anyone who got caught in the way of this prestigious ‘world class’ runaway train, were simply steamrollered -Ai??such was the fate suffered by Susan Heyes.
Despite the hype and hoopla by TransLink and their allies in the mainstream media, theAi??$2.5 billion to (according to some sources) $2.8 billion Canada Line’s performance is somewhat mediocre, with much of its ridership made up of previous bus customers, $1 a day U-pass students and YVR workers riding free on Sea Island. To add more insult to the regional taxpayer, for about $1.5 billion less, the region could have got a longer and more flexible light rail line from Steveston & YVR to downtown Vancouver, offering more customer benefits than the present metro.
The political chicanery with the Canada Line started at the beginning, with a totally unrealistic price of $1.3 billion for the 19 km.Ai??subway line andAi??as costs spiraled out of controlAi??the scope of the metro project was greatly reduced to contain costs.
- Stations were designed to accept only three car trains.
- The switch from SkyTrain to a conventional metro was made to save money on the reaction rail, made necessary by the Linear Induction (LIM)Ai??motors used by the proprietary SkyTrain system.
- The terminal stations in Richmond and YVR are single track stubs that can handle only one train at a time and there is no runawayAi??tunnel in Vancouver with a cement wall only metres away from where the train stops.
- The switch was made from bored tunnel to cut and cover construction, with savings made from not paying any compensation to businesses affected by a great trench in front of their place of business.
As built, the Canada line has less potential capacityAi??than modern LRT were to have been built instead. This embarrassingAi??fact has been camouflaged by TransLink by arbitrarily lowering theAi??industry standard for capacityAi??of LRTAi??by 50%. from 20,000 persons per hour per direction to 10,000 pphpd! Pork pies all around for the Canada Line and TransLink!
The cost estimated to increase the capacity of the Canada Line to a proper metro standard – $1.5 billion to $2 billion!
The result is now history andAi??to nobody’s surprise, theAi??merchants and businesses adjacent to the cut and cover construction suffered greatly, with many going out of business. Cries for help fell on deaf ears and one merchant, Susan Heyes, bravelyAi??took TransLink to court for compensation and won. TransLink appealed and the BC court of Appeal overturned the judgment and the $600,000 thousand in compensation.
I will not state myAi??opinion on the BC Court of Appeal decision, except I belive the judgement is flawed and politically inspired, just as the entire RAV/Canada line scheme was, for BC is alone in the world for not paying compensation to those adversely affected by transit construction, especially cut and cover subway construction.
A news release by Susan Heyes
We have a Legal System here in BC ai??i?? but do we have Justice?
On May 27nth, 2009, after four years of litigation, BC Supreme Court Justice, Ian Pitfield, awarded $600,000 in damages to my company Susan Heyes Inc. as compensation for business losses caused by the construction of the Canada Line.Ai?? The appeal of this ruling in my favour was heard April 15th, 2010. Ai??
Today, the decision was finally announced contradicting the findings of the lower court.Ai??
In upholding this appeal, the legal system has supported the confiscation of individual citizenai??i??s livelihoods by government funded private, for profit ventures. This shocking ruling has failed to protect the rights of citizens, and has failed to uphold justice and fairness in a democratic society.
The Canada Line project was built on the backs of hundreds of blindsided small business people along the Cambie corridor.
The project chose the most disruptive of several methods of construction.Ai?? This discretionary and confidential decision alone should have negated the defence of Statutory Authority which the Appeal Court Justices used today as the basis for their ruling.Ai??
Under the law, the defence of Statutory Authority can only be used when it is proven in court that no other less disruptive method of construction was available. Instead of the devastating cut-and-cover construction, a bored tunnel method was not only available, but it was the basis of all public consultations and years of engineering reports and studies.
This project was enabled by the strategic use of confidentiality agreements at every stage, leaving citizens and even municipal officials misinformed and out of meaningful consultation. The last minute secret switch from underground bored tunnel to cut-and-cover, was never approved by Vancouver City Council, as a decision making body. They had authorized the Cityai??i??s Engineering Department to negotiate the agreement that provided access to Vancouverai??i??s streets for the project in a vacuum.Ai?? The engineers were forced to sign confidentiality agreements that prohibited them from informing their bosses ai??i?? City Council ai??i?? of this critical switch.Ai??
I question the validity of any contract or agreement that allowed this project to proceed, that was obtained in the absence of the whole truth about the project and its impacts on citizens and small businesses. Compensation should have been factored into the business plan.
I am appalled that our legal system has failed to support the rights of citizens, and has attempted to provide a legal justification for the excessive harm caused by this P3 project. I further wonder how many tens of millions of dollars have been spent to legally defend the project, instead of fairly compensating the victims. Ai??
The May 27th 2009 ruling from Justice Pitfield must be upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada. The outcome of this litigation will set a precedent for all small businesses across Canada. The precedent that it sets should be just and fair, and reasonable. When governments use their powers to confiscate value for the common good ai??i?? individuals must be compensated.
Ai??
Susan Heyes
HAZEL&CO
4255 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
V5V 3P9
Ai??
604 687-0721 w
604 551-8852 c
From the Vancouver Sun
Now we know why SkyTrain is so expensive to operate.
SkyTrain workers vote to strike but talks continue
SkyTrain workers have voted 96 per cent in favour of strike action if necessary to back their union's demands in contract talks with TransLink.
Gerry Cunningham, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 7000, said no job action is planned and he's hopeful a deal can be reached without disrupting rapid transit service.
"It's too early for that kind of stuff," he said. "We don't want to inconvenience the thousands of commuters who rely daily on the services we provide."
A new round of mediated talks are slated to begin Feb. 22 with the assistance of mediator Grant McArthur.
CUPE represents 530 members who work on the SkyTrain Expo and Millennium Lines, including attendants, control room operators, administrative staff and other workers who maintain trains, tracks and stations.
The union's current contract with TransLink's SkyTrain subsidiary, B.C. Rapid Transit Co., expired last Aug. 31 and bargaining has been underway since then.
SkyTrain management tabled a final offer that was rejected by CUPE's bargaining committee, which then asked members for a strike mandate.
B.C. Rapid Transit spokesperson Jennifer Siddon would not discuss the company's response in the event of a walkout, saying management are looking forward to mediation.
"A strike vote is a regular part of the negotiations process," she said. "It's business as usual for our staff and our customers."
It's a similar situation for 180 Canada Line workers, whose negotiators have been in talks with operator Protrans BC after a strike vote was staged in early January. Canada Line employees are seeking a first collective agreement after unionizing last summer.
Talks with the assistance of a mediator broke of Monday (Feb 14) with no agreement.
B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union rep Oliver Rohlfs said it will likely be a few weeks before the mediator reports back with recommendations, if any, to avert a Canada Line walkout.
Until that happens, the union is barred from issuing 72-hour strike notice.
The mediator could seek binding arbitration, he said, or clear the way for strike or lockout action.
Labour negotiations also get underway soon between TransLink and its bus drivers across Metro Vancouver. Their contract expires March 31.
Previous contracts reached with transit workers ensured labour peace during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/surreyleader/news/116353819.html
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