Light Rail & Tram systems do not stop for snow!
From Thursday 17 December 2009 to Friday 15 January 2010 the United Kingdom experienced a spell of very low temperatures and significant snowfalls which affected almost the whole country. This was the most widespread and prolonged spell of this type across the UK since December 1981/January 1982. Large areas of England, Wales and Northern Ireland regularly saw night-time temperatures falling well below freezing, and on occasion below -10 °C, while in Scotland night-time temperatures in the Highland glens regularly fell to -15 °C or lower. Daytime temperatures in many areas frequently struggled to rise above freezing, often remaining several degrees below.
The freezing temperatures were accompanied by widespread snowfalls on many days throughout the period. With daytime temperatures often failing to rise above freezing, little thawing occurred so fresh snowfalls added to previous accumulations. Depths of 10 to 20 cm were widespread across England and Wales, whilst across upland areas of northern England and in the Scottish Highlands, depths exceeded 30 cm in many areas.
The snowfalls and widespread freezing conditions caused very significant disruption across the United Kingdom through this period. Transport was particularly badly affected with snowfalls causing numerous road closures, and train and flight cancellations.
The British transport system, is not usually noted for coping with winter snowfall and with that in mind the Light Rapid Transit Forum [LRTF] recorded UK Light Rail systems operating faultlessly over the month:-
Nottingham Express Transit
Manchester Metrolink
Sheffield Supertram
There are many lessons that Transit advocates and planners in BC could learn from Europe; the challenges of designing and planning systems that will operate in reliably in all conditions. The imperative is for implementing solutions to reduce human-caused additions to greenhouse gases and slow down the rate of climate change.
Croydon Tramlink in the Snow
The bad weather of January 2010 presented an excellent opportunity to photograph Britains premier Tram system coping with the adverse weather conditions. Despite huge amounts of chaos on the roads and railways throughout the south east of England, the trams were running normally and were very well used .
http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Photoblog_20100106_Croydon.html
The Canada Line Fizzles In The Snow
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| The $2.5 billion Canada line fizzled today in the 10 cm of snow that fell in the Richmond area. Unlike the SkyTrain proprietary light-metro system, which had a small army of attendants stationed on trains and station platforms to prevent the snow shy SkyTrain from stopping, TransLink seemed unprepared with the weather related problems on the Canada Line.
SkyTrain’s problems in the snow range from snow accumulation on the anti-intrusion strips at stations, setting off alarms, to snow egress into the Linear Induction Motors which hang a mereAi??one centimetreAi??above the reaction rail located between the running rails. The problem with snow shorting out the LIMs have plagued not only Vancouver’s SkyTrain but SkyTrain operations in Toronto Detroit and New York. The RAV/Canada line is a standard subway line, powered by conventional “squirrel cage” style of motors and should not have posed a problem in todays rather light dusting of snow. The claims that snow and ice on the Skybridge over the Fraser River just doesn’t make sense at all as the icy arctic weather has been around for a week and only 10 cm of snow fell. Obviously there is a more serious problem afoot and probably akin to the lost traction problem plaguing the RAV Line in Richmond. What today’s problem as shown is the silliness of TransLink policy forcing all bus customersAi??from South Surrey and South Delta to transfer to the metro, because if the metro goes down, there is no public transit alternative to Vancouver and everyone must use a time consuming and inconvenient bus bridge to cross the river. It is this type of bad planning that makes TransLink unfit to plan for regional transportation. Canada Line update 11/25/2010
It’s been a messy morning on the Canada Line. Trains on that line have been struggling in the snow and ice. The latest from Translink is the Canada Line is still running only as far as Marine Drive station and Bridgeport Station with a bus bridge in-between. That’s because of a weather-related problem with the power rail on the bridge over the Fraser River. The train that had been stuck on the bridge for about an hour was recovered and brought into Bridgeport just before 10:30. A de-icing train has been dispatched: no indication yet when that job will be finished and service across the bridge restored. http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/148567–canada-line-fails-to-stand-up-to-snow UPDATED at 1:12 p.m.: Canada Line service is running across the Fraser River Bridge again. Service is running normally to YVR-Airport, but is “limited” between Bridgeport and Richmond-Brighouse.Ai?? Jason Chan with Protrans BC, the company that operates the line, says there wasn’t much they could do. “Basically, it’s just snow and ice build-up.” The big problem was on the bridge that runs over the Fraser from Richmond-Brighouse to the Marine Drive station. Chan says they ran trains all night hoping to prevent stoppages like this morning’s, but it was something that was unexpected. Chan promises they’ll be reviewing their policies but has no promises for commuters. “We’re working hard to find a reliable solution to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” However, that might not go far enough for the people who were stuck. One woman tells us, “I’m not impressed. I just don’t know what they would do if we were in Toronto or Montreal… if we had real snow.” Another man says, “This is the first time I’ve taken transit to work. I’m not impressed.” |
Peak Travel on SkyTrain
Ai??Ai??http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUKa_NnFQHA
TransLinkAi??Ai??apparatchiks on their morning commute
Vancouver’s Olympic Streetcar Line Wins The LRTA’s Worldwide Project Of The Year Award!
Good news everyone, Vancouver’s Olympic LineAi??has wonAi??the Light Rail Transit Association’s www.lrta.org Worldwide project of the year award. There were two winners in this category, the Olympic Line and the new LRT line in Kayseray, Turkey, which both came in on time and on budget..
Below, the now disused Olympic Line in Vancouver.
Below, theAi??award winning LRT Kayseray LRT
Rail For The Valley In The International News Again!
Rail for the Valley and the RftV/Leewood report is featured again in an international publication. In the December issue of Tramways & Urban Transit (the official magazine of the Light Rail Transit Association) is a two page feature of the RftV/Leewood report. As the magazine is distributed not only to LRTA members but internationally as well, the efforts of the RftV team will be widely read.
There is growing support in the South Fraser communities for the RftV tramtrain, but not one provincial or federal politician has endorsed the project, instead they still back multi billion dollar light-metro construction on routes that do not have the ridership to justify construction. The fallacy that we can build ourselves out of car dependency by increasing taxes and spending more on dubious transit projects is still holding sway with planning bureaucrats, who are misleading regional politicians that by spending more money on SkyTrain will solve regional transit problems. One is hoping that regional mayors will tell TransLink in the near future, that their transit plans are dated and too expensive and to go back to the drawing board. Mayors from South of the Fraser should remind TransLink of the RftV/Leewood report and that age of SkyTrain is drawing to a close.
Isn't it so BC'ish, that a transit plan that is well regarded internationally is ignored by the local powers that be, while at the same time local politicians and transit planners still want to build with the obsolete SkyTrain light-metro system that has been virtually rejected as a viable transit mode around the world.
Surrey’s main issue is simple: better transit
Surrey’s main issue is simple: better transit
Seven of every 10 people moving to the region in the next 30 years will settle south of the Fraser
BY KELLY SINOSKI, VANCOUVER SUN NOVEMBER 20, 2010
Light rail and streetcars will be the talk of Surrey over the next year, as Mayor Dianne Watts and her Surrey First slate-mates attempt to beef up transit south of the Fraser.
Transit is getting a big push from the city council, which has already made headway on most of its campaign goals after being elected in 2008, but has been hamstrung in its bid to get light rail because of TransLinkA?ai??i??ai???s financial woes.
But with Surrey finally considered a priority for transit by Metro Vancouver A?ai??i??ai??? and the focus of a rapid-transit study by TransLink A?ai??i??ai??? Watts hopes her city will soon see some improvements.
City council recently toured Portland, Ore., which has a mix of streetcars, light rail and buses, something Watts would like to see for Surrey.
A?ai??i??Ai??We have to make sure our voice is heard at the table around transportation,A?ai??i??A? Watts said. A?ai??i??Ai??We have to make sure we can manage the influx of people coming into the region.A?ai??i??A?
Another one million people are expected to move to Metro Vancouver in the next 30 years, with 70 per cent of those settling south of the Fraser. Yet despite its growing population, Surrey is still underserved when it comes to transit, councillors say.
During the 2008 election, all but one of the Surrey First team members listed transit as a priority, pointing out that while Surrey pays a hefty chunk of money to TransLink, it doesnA?ai??i??ai???t see any rewards.
Their preference is for light rail, which has an estimated cost of $27 million per kilometre versus $127 million per km for the Evergreen Line and $233 million per km for the UBC/Broadway Line.
Coun. Judy Villeneuve said following the visit to Portland, city councillors will be A?ai??i??Ai??building a case that putting light rail or streetcars in certain neighbourhoods in our city will be affordable in the long run.A?ai??i??A?
Watts said city staff is in the midst of developing an integrated transit plan, which would consider all the options. Council is also in discussions with the province and TransLink.
Her view is that light rail is better for economic development and not as unsightly as SkyTrain.
It is also a core plank of the cityA?ai??i??ai???s vision to create a safe, more connected metropolitan core where people can live, work and play. Other goals include preserving park space, getting the homeless off the street and boosting jobs and investment.
A?ai??i??Ai??ThereA?ai??i??ai???s certainly a long way to go,A?ai??i??A? Watts said, but added: A?ai??i??Ai??My concentration is on making a livable community and building the second metropolitan core of the region.A?ai??i??A?
Watts noted the city has already set up a homelessness and housing foundation, which has significantly reduced SurreyA?ai??i??ai???s homeless count by using permanent housing and not shelters. It has reduced crime and planted 200,000 trees around the city. A Build Surrey project has boosted investment, while Watts plans to lead a contingent of business people to India next year to market the city and try to drum up new business in B.C.A?ai??i??ai???s second-largest city.
A?ai??i??Ai??Ultimately, the thrust is taking the city from being planned as a suburb to becoming the next metropolitan core and an economic generator for the region,A?ai??i??A? Watts said.
A?ai??i??Ai??I donA?ai??i??ai???t particularly make election promises. It is important to lay out the vision and lay out how to get there.A?ai??i??A?
Villeneuve said Surrey is A?ai??i??Ai??right on trackA?ai??i??A? in reaching many of its goals, pointing out that instead of shelving reports like the crime reduction strategy, Surrey is acting on the recommendations. Its Build Surrey project, for instance, will result in new recreation and arts facilities across the city, while 512 homeless have been placed in permanent homes over the past two years.
Coun. Bob Bose, who doesnA?ai??i??ai???t belong to the Surrey First slate, said the Surrey First slate has been A?ai??i??Ai??very cohesiveA?ai??i??A? and canA?ai??i??ai???t be faulted for not achieving its plans for light rail.
A?ai??i??Ai??Transit is a big challenge,A?ai??i??A? he said. A?ai??i??Ai??The question is whether theyA?ai??i??ai???re making the best use of their resources.A?ai??i??A?Bose said while heA?ai??i??ai???s a big supporter of moving City Hall to Whalley, council could have spared the expense and put some of the $150 million cost into streetcars or other transit in neighbouring communities.
He also complained that city council was buying and developing land in Campbell Heights to pay for the new City hall facility.
ksinoski@vancouversun.com
Ai??Ai?? Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
via Surrey’s main issue is simple: better transit.
Surrey’s main issue is simple: better transit – From the Vancouver Sun
Kudos’ for Surrey mayor Diane Watts to think “out of the SkyTrain box” and think light rail, but to do so requires hiring real light rail experts to assist local planners and engineers in planning a usable and efficient LRT/tram network in Surrey.
Our local transportation planners still do not get it that the difference between a streetcar and light rail is the quality of rights-of-way, which a streetcar operates on-street, with little or no priority at intersections and LRT operates on an exclusive (reserved)Ai??R-O-W, which could be on a grassed median or an HOV lane (with rails) on a street with full priority signaling at intersections.
As recounted many times on this blog, the advantages of LRT/streetcar far outweigh any advantage by SkyTrain and this is what makes the SkyTrain lobby so nervous; if a stand alone light rail/streetcar operation opens in Surrey, then there will be an equal (oranges on oranges) comparison between the two modes. If a direct coma prison between SkyTrain and LRT happens in the region, regional politicians and bureaucrats will understand in short order why no other city in North America and Europe build with or rely on SkyTrain for urban transit. Modern LRT operating in surrey would show 30 years of professional misconduct in the regions transportation planning and the consequences of such planning.
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Ai??Light rail is simply a streetcar which operates on a reserved rights-of-way with priority signaling at intersections
Surrey’s main issue is simple: better transit
By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun
Light rail and streetcars will be the talk of Surrey over the next year, as Mayor Dianne Watts and her Surrey First slate-mates attempt to beef up transit south of the Fraser.
Transit is getting a big push from the city council, which has already made headway on most of its campaign goals after being elected in 2008, but has been hamstrung in its bid to get light rail because of TransLinkai??i??s financial woes.
But with Surrey finally considered a priority for transit by Metro Vancouver ai??i?? and the focus of a rapid-transit study by TransLink ai??i?? Watts hopes her city will soon see some improvements.
City council recently toured Portland, Ore., which has a mix of streetcars, light rail and buses, something Watts would like to see for Surrey.
ai???We have to make sure our voice is heard at the table around transportation,ai??? Watts said. ai???We have to make sure we can manage the influx of people coming into the region.ai???
Another one million people are expected to move to Metro Vancouver in the next 30 years, with 70 per cent of those settling south of the Fraser. Yet despite its growing population, Surrey is still underserved when it comes to transit, councillors say.
During the 2008 election, all but one of the Surrey First team members listed transit as a priority, pointing out that while Surrey pays a hefty chunk of money to TransLink, it doesnai??i??t see any rewards.
Their preference is for light rail, which has an estimated cost of $27 million per kilometre versus $127 million per km for the Evergreen Line and $233 million per km for the UBC/Broadway Line.
Coun. Judy Villeneuve said following the visit to Portland, city councillors will be ai???building a case that putting light rail or streetcars in certain neighbourhoods in our city will be affordable in the long run.ai???
Watts said city staff is in the midst of developing an integrated transit plan, which would consider all the options. Council is also in discussions with the province and TransLink.
Her view is that light rail is better for economic development and not as unsightly as SkyTrain.
It is also a core plank of the cityai??i??s vision to create a safe, more connected metropolitan core where people can live, work and play. Other goals include preserving park space, getting the homeless off the street and boosting jobs and investment.
ai???Thereai??i??s certainly a long way to go,ai??? Watts said, but added: ai???My concentration is on making a livable community and building the second metropolitan core of the region.ai???
Watts noted the city has already set up a homelessness and housing foundation, which has significantly reduced Surreyai??i??s homeless count by using permanent housing and not shelters. It has reduced crime and planted 200,000 trees around the city. A Build Surrey project has boosted investment, while Watts plans to lead a contingent of business people to India next year to market the city and try to drum up new business in B.C.ai??i??s second-largest city.
ai???Ultimately, the thrust is taking the city from being planned as a suburb to becoming the next metropolitan core and an economic generator for the region,ai??? Watts said.
ai???I donai??i??t particularly make election promises. It is important to lay out the vision and lay out how to get there.ai???
Villeneuve said Surrey is ai???right on trackai??? in reaching many of its goals, pointing out that instead of shelving reports like the crime reduction strategy, Surrey is acting on the recommendations. Its Build Surrey project, for instance, will result in new recreation and arts facilities across the city, while 512 homeless have been placed in permanent homes over the past two years.
Coun. Bob Bose, who doesnai??i??t belong to the Surrey First slate, said the Surrey First slate has been ai???very cohesiveai??? and canai??i??t be faulted for not achieving its plans for light rail.
ai???Transit is a big challenge,ai??? he said. ai???The question is whether theyai??i??re making the best use of their resources.ai???Bose said while heai??i??s a big supporter of moving City Hall to Whalley, council could have spared the expense and put some of the $150 million cost into streetcars or other transit in neighbouring communities.
He also complained that city council was buying and developing land in Campbell Heights to pay for the new City hall facility.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Surrey+main+issue+simple+better+transit/3858758/story.html
Tramway Turnkey Solutions
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The urban fabric now extends well beyond the city centre, with regional and urban networks tending to merge. Users’ needs are changing. They want to be able to move with ease from the city centre to neighbouring towns without having to change their transportation mode.
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Uneven project management typically leads to scheduling delays,
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Streetcars – The missing Link Symposium
The following is for the links for the speaker's presentations and the audio for the townhall meeting. Other that not one of the presenters could define what a streetcar is, the following should be of some value. For Zweisystem's view of the streetcar symposium http://www.railforthevalley.com/latest-news/zweisystem/the-streetcar-symposium-translink-doesnt-get-it/
Streetcars: The Missing Link?
29 September 2010
Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside
Vancouver BC
The Streetcars: The Missing Link? symposium brought together over 150 professionals, academics, advocacy groups, and politicians to learn about and discuss the potential role of streetcar networks in shaping Vancouver and other Metro Vancouver communities through mobility, accessibility, and system efficiency. Presentation topics ranged from historical context discussions, to the links between urban design and modal integration, to specific case studies in Vancouver and abroad.
The event was hosted by Dr. Lawrence Frank, Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Transportation at the University of British Columbia. Support for the event was provided by Bombardier Transport and Stacy and Witbeck, Inc.
Presentations from symposium speakers are available for download below. Audio and video will be available soon.
Keynote Presentation
Mr. Jack Collins
Vice President, Project Implementation, Metrolinx
"Streetcars: The Missing Link?"
Session 1: Vancouver’s Historical Development Around Streetcars and Future Growth Implications
Gordon Price
Director, The City Program, Simon Fraser University
"Historical Context"
Michael J. Shiffer
Vice-President, Planning Strategy & Technology, TransLink
"Mass Transit Modes: How They Fit"
Christina DeMarco
Division Manager, Regional Development, Metro Vancouver
"Are Streetcars a Missing Link in Metro Vancouver? Exploring the Question from a Place-making and Regional Planning Perspective"
Session 2: The Olympic Line Experience
Dale Bracewell
Director, Olympic Transportation Branch, City of Vancouver
"The Olympic Line Experience: A Demonstration of the Downtown Streetcar"
Silas Archambault
School of Community & Regional Planning, University of British Columbia
"Lessons from the Olympic Line"
Lunch Keynote
David Goldberg
Communications Director for Transportation for America and Smart Growth America
“Resurgence in U.S. Streetcar Systems”
Session 3: Urban Design and Modal Integration – Lessons From Other Places
Lawrence D. Frank
Associate Professor and J. Armand Bombardier Chair in Sustainable Transportation,
University of British Columbia
"Benefits of Transit and How It Can Shape Our Cities"
Patrick Condon
Professor and James Taylor Chair in Landscape Architect and Liveable Environments,
University of British Columbia
"Streetcars Elsewhere"
Lon LaClaire
Strategic Transportation Planning Engineer, City of Vancouver
"Mode Integration, Urban Design and Travel Demand"
Session 4: Streetcars – A Hosted Town Hall Meeting
Panelists from the day's session join each other on stage to respond to audience questions and debate and discuss the pros and cons of streetcars and their role within a system of transit solutions in the Lower Mainland. Download the audio here.
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