The hysteria of the anti-LRT lobby – Time to get real!

On other local and US blogs, there is a growing hysteria that once light rail (streetcar or tram) operates on-street, there will be general panic among pedestrians, ultimately throwing themselves under the tram! Shades of the 1820’s railway hysteria, where trains were claimed to cause insanity and sour cows milk!

I’m sorry to say, that light rail in its various forms operates quite safely in hundreds of cities around the world and mass panic and hysteria among the locals – definitely is not.

What we see is a well orchestrated lobby by the anti-LRT crowdAi??Ai??to create an aura of panic among the misinformed public, then pursuing their own interest to support more roads, highways and metros.

In Vancouver, the subway/SkyTrain Lobby is full tilt at it sowing misinformation everywhere they can so they can reap an anti-LRT backlash. Invented stories, debunked myth, and perverted statistics are the norm with this crowd as they pursue their very expensive metro agenda. The results of this effort of mass confusion isAi??Ai??of course isAi??Ai??to continueAi??Ai??our merry way of building metros on routes that do not have the ridership to sustain themAi??Ai??and creating financial chaos with TransLink; ever higher fare increases; and new road and highway building programs.

We seem to keep doing the same thing over and over again, ever hoping to achieve different results, but in the end achieving nothing but higher taxes and more congestion.

Why then does LRT operate on-street, in mixed traffic in city centres?

It is what the transit customer wants – transit, on the pavement andAi??Ai??easily accessible. It is a winning prescription to help solve our crowning traffic gridlock and associated pollution. The simple availability, affordibility and universally accessible light rail transit will define a successful city for the 21st century.

All aboard – 2010 is the 100th anniversary of the Interurban

Happy New Year!

The following is a Rail for the Valley media release to kick off 2010.

All aboard – 2010 the 100th anniversary of the Interurban

This new year is a particularly special one for advocates of passenger rail for the Fraser Valley. 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of the initial Interurban rail service that used to connect communities from Chilliwack to Vancouver. So far, the anniversary is being commemorated by the Chilliwack Museum with a special year-long Interurban exhibit. The Rail for the Valley campaign is hoping for much more.

“100 years later, we are waiting for light rail service to re-commence,” said Rail for the Valley founder John Buker, “and we have reason to be optimistic about the future, as the movement for passenger rail continues to grow and politicians begin to climb aboard. Looking back at the past year, we’ve made some large strides towards our goal.”

-On April 11 2009, ahead of the provincial elections, Rail for the Valley supporters organized a ‘historic’ Day of Action, holding up banners in support of passenger rail atop Highway 1 overpasses all the way from Chilliwack to Vancouver, on more than 20 overpasses in allAi??Ai?? – a feat never before accomplished, thus illustrating the deep and widespread public support for the cause.

[ Coverage and pictures of that event here: http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/highway-1-day-of-action-a-soaking-success/
Link to a CTV news article at the time: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090411/BC_fraser_valley_rail_090411/20090411/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome ]

-During the following election campaign, the BC Liberals announced, through a Rail for the Valley pre-election Questionnaire, support in principle for a demonstration service along the Interurban corridor. (Link here: see page 11/11, BC Liberal response to Q.3.)

-Later in 2009, the South of Fraser Community Rail Task Force, headed by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green, was established to help Fraser Valley communities lobby senior levels of government for such a service in a unified way.

Buker‘s message to the public this new year is simple: “100 years ago, the first Chilliwack-Vancouver Interurban rail service began, and it fundamentally shaped the growth of the Fraser Valley. Today, we can rapidly build a new, modern light rail network for the entire Lower Mainland, starting inexpensively with track that already exists, giving the public a real alternative to the automobile. All we need is the political will.“

Rail for the Valley‘s latest online petition for passenger rail service, viewable on http://www.railforthevalley.com, has garnered more than 800 signatures so far, including hundreds of thoughtful comments posted in support.

“We must hold our politicians to account on this, or there will be backsliding. Any shift away from the status quo is naturally resisted by political inertia, and we have to be on the highest guard for it. As we pull out of this recession, the price of gasoline will likely jump dramatically again. With the way the Fraser Valley is growing and the rest of the world is changing, we absolutely must see a fundamental shift in priorities away from incremental and exorbitantly expensive Skytrain expansion, and endless highway expansion, towards beginning right now, today, to build light rail infrastructure for the Lower Mainland, for today and for the future,” declared Buker.

The Rail for the Valley Campaign would like to wish the public and all of our supporters a very Happy New Year, and all the best for 2010.

All aboard – 2010 is the 100th anniversary of the Interurban

Happy New Year!

The following is a Rail for the Valley media release to kick off 2010.

All aboard – 2010 the 100th anniversary of the Interurban

This new year is a particularly special one for advocates of passenger rail for the Fraser Valley. 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of the initial Interurban rail service that used to connect communities from Chilliwack to Vancouver. So far, the anniversary is being commemorated by the Chilliwack Museum with a special year-long Interurban exhibit. The Rail for the Valley campaign is hoping for much more.

“100 years later, we are waiting for light rail service to re-commence,” said Rail for the Valley founder John Buker, “and we have reason to be optimistic about the future, as the movement for passenger rail continues to grow and politicians begin to climb aboard. Looking back at the past year, we’ve made some large strides towards our goal.”

-On April 11 2009, ahead of the provincial elections, Rail for the Valley supporters organized a ‘historic’ Day of Action, holding up banners in support of passenger rail atop Highway 1 overpasses all the way from Chilliwack to Vancouver, on more than 20 overpasses in allAi??Ai?? – a feat never before accomplished, thus illustrating the deep and widespread public support for the cause.

[ Coverage and pictures of that event here: http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/highway-1-day-of-action-a-soaking-success/
Link to a CTV news article at the time: http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090411/BC_fraser_valley_rail_090411/20090411/?hub=BritishColumbiaHome ]

-During the following election campaign, the BC Liberals announced, through a Rail for the Valley pre-election Questionnaire, support in principle for a demonstration service along the Interurban corridor. (Link here: see page 11/11, BC Liberal response to Q.3.)

-Later in 2009, the South of Fraser Community Rail Task Force, headed by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green, was established to help Fraser Valley communities lobby senior levels of government for such a service in a unified way.

Buker‘s message to the public this new year is simple: “100 years ago, the first Chilliwack-Vancouver Interurban rail service began, and it fundamentally shaped the growth of the Fraser Valley. Today, we can rapidly build a new, modern light rail network for the entire Lower Mainland, starting inexpensively with track that already exists, giving the public a real alternative to the automobile. All we need is the political will.“

Rail for the Valley‘s latest online petition for passenger rail service, viewable on http://www.railforthevalley.com, has garnered more than 800 signatures so far, including hundreds of thoughtful comments posted in support.

“We must hold our politicians to account on this, or there will be backsliding. Any shift away from the status quo is naturally resisted by political inertia, and we have to be on the highest guard for it. As we pull out of this recession, the price of gasoline will likely jump dramatically again. With the way the Fraser Valley is growing and the rest of the world is changing, we absolutely must see a fundamental shift in priorities away from incremental and exorbitantly expensive Skytrain expansion, and endless highway expansion, towards beginning right now, today, to build light rail infrastructure for the Lower Mainland, for today and for the future,” declared Buker.

The Rail for the Valley Campaign would like to wish the public and all of our supporters a very Happy New Year, and all the best for 2010.

Welcoming 2010 – Planning Transit For The Next Decade

On a rare visit to the Skyscraper blog, where SkyTrain’s strongest supporters reside, one feels sad that the SkyTrain lobby dwells so much in the past andAi??Ai??has missed the tram, so to speak. Misinformation reigns supreme as the SkyTrain loyalists desperately try to rewrite history to suit there own ends. Take away the name calling, innuendo,Ai??Ai??and the hundreds of pages devoted to SkyTrain become very thin gruel indeed.

In 2009, the Rail for the Valley blog has for the first time established a conduit ofAi??Ai??up to dateAi??Ai??information about rail transportation around the world, spiced with historical essays on early railways and forays into the fine art of signaling. This has laid a solid foundation for 2010’s campaign to secure a Vancouver to Chilliwack Interurban, using the TramTrain concept, once again seeing passenger rail servicing the valley cities.

In December’s Transit & Urban Tramways, there is a hint of the big news story for Valley Rail and RFV will be ready to promote what could be a ‘bombshell‘ story.

As for the SkyTrain lobby, like the dinosaurs of old looking for a tar-pit, their dreamworld for a SkyTrain only future for the region will disappear, especially when the financial realities of “Peak Oil” and “Global Warming” become more than a catch phrase.

SkyTrain from SurreyAi??Ai??to Langley by 2030 will seem like a joke when compared to a Vancouver to Chilliwack TramTrain by 2014, for one third the cost!

Welcome to the dawn of 21st century transit and transportation – a happy New Years indeed.

Why Rail for the Valley must set the agenda in 2010 for light rail in METRO Vancouver.

The region is at a juncture: either proceed with light-metro planning and build the Evergreen Line and extend SkyTrain to Langley by 2030 or abandon current regional transportation planning and start anew, but using LRT instead to service many more destinations in the region.

Though TransLink is boasting about its three light-metro lines and continues to conjure up high ridership figures, the startling fact is that the METRO regions transportation network has notAi??Ai??generated the all important modal shift from car to transit. 80% of SkyTrain’s ridership first take a bus to the metro; the RAV/Canada Line’s perceived new ridership is made up of elderly Asians venturing into Richmond’s predominately Asian shopping malls and poorer people going to the River Rock Casino to gamble. Mr. Campbell’s 200,000 car trips a day removed by the RAV/Canada Line was a politically inspired pipe-dream.

With the SkyTrain lobby fighting a desperate rearguard action to build a $3 billion to $4 billion subway to UBC, it is time for Rail for the Valley to ‘grasp the nettle’ and set the agenda for affordable ‘rail’ transit planning for the region.

Why Rail for the Valley?

RFVAi??Ai??is the only group in the Fraser Valley focused on a TramTrain solution for a viable Vancouver to Chilliwack light rail service. This is not to say that the other two groups VALTAC and SFOT are not vibrant players, but they have too many agendas to focus on, while for RFV, there is one issue: To reinstate a viableAi??Ai??TramTrain service from Vancouver to Chilliwack.

Why a Vancouver to Chilliwack rail service?

By terminating the interurban in Vancouver, as the original interurban did, will giveAi??Ai??the all important seamless (no transfer) journeyAi??Ai??for transit customers from the Fraser Valley to downtown Vancouver and visa versa. A downtown VancouverAi??Ai??terminus for the interurban is important to the success of the venture and those who only want the interurban service to terminate at Scott road Station, willAi??Ai??court failure. We must remember the lesson of Karlsruhe Germany, withAi??Ai??their first true TramTrain service, by eliminating one transfer (from commuter train to tram) at the main railway station, saw a massive increase of ridership from 488,400 per week days to over 2,064,378 per week days; a 423% increase in ridership!

Why TramTrain?

The track geometry of the old interurban line, now the Southern Railway of BC Line, was designed for the interurban, not locomotive hauled trains and certainly not for long and heavy bi-level commuter train cars. By using TramTrain, means that higher speeds can be maintained on the original formation, especially at tight curvatures; as well TramTrain will give the opportunity for ‘classic‘ LRT operation in Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, and Chilliwack, with on-street operation.

2010 will be the year thatAi??Ai??to tell politicians, that the ‘old school’ transit and transportation solutions have failed andAi??Ai??that SkyTrain is an obsolete, proprietary light-metro that has been rejected by transit planners for over 30 years.Ai??Ai??With the dawn of peak oil soon approaching and huge increases in the cost of energy, it isAi??Ai??imperative to get the biggest bang for our transit ‘buck‘. RFV must reject calls of a $3 billion to $4 billion subway to UBC, because the ‘Burghers‘ in Vancouver see building subways as a way to gain international status of being a world class city and instead, invest the money for a regional light rail network, which would include a TramTrain service from Vancouver to Chilliwack and beyond.

2010 will start the era for 21st century transit planning in the region.

The Strange Case of the Karlsruhe TramTrain – Streetcar, LRV, or Commuter Train?

Recent posts on the LRTA blog, debated the the present definitions of streetcar/tram and light rail. North Americans tend to define LRT as a light-metro, where as EuropeansAi??Ai??associated LRT as a tram. Now added to the debateAi??Ai??is the tramtrain and the strange case of the Karlsruhe’s new Zweisystem (two system) LRT:Ai??Ai??is itAi??Ai??a tram or a train?

http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/is-lrt-becoming-the-new-light-metro/

The tramtrain was not invented in Karlsruhe, rather transit planners refined interurban operation with specially designed tram-cars, which could operate on both on the regular railways and on city tram tracks, which use girder rail.Ai??Ai??The North American interurban was probably the first incarnation ofAi??Ai??tramtrain as the heavier interurbans operated on both streetcar tracks and railway trackage. In Europe, many light railways operated on city streets and even shared tram tracks when need be, thus the concept ofAi??Ai??dual operation of trams on railway tracks and trains on tram tracksAi??Ai??is both old and sound.

The coming of the tramtrain has further blurred the definition of an already blurred subject: just how does one define a streetcar or tram; light rail or LRT; light-metro and of course tramtrain.

Light metro has further blurred the definition of LRT as in Asia and North America, light rail vehicles are operated as light-metro on fully segregated rights-of-ways, either on elevated guide-ways or in subway. Though retaining the ability to operate on lesser rights-of-ways, these “hybrid” light-metros have more in common with Vancouver’s SkyTrain proprietary light-metro, than LRT. Seattle’s new LRT,Ai??Ai??can be defined as a “hybrid” light-metro, which does have sections of at-grade operation, itAi??Ai??also has miles of elevated guide-way and subways.Ai??Ai??Elevated guide-ways and/or subwaysAi??Ai??drives up construction costs and byAi??Ai??doing away with the great economies of LRT over metro that originally made the mode successful. This has not been lost on the light-metro lobby.

Previous definitions of transit mode (tram or streetcar, LRT) were based mostly on the vehicle size and weight, but with the growing popularity of the tramtrain, where one vehicle can operate as a streetcar, light rail vehicle and passenger train, theAi??Ai??old modalAi??Ai??definitions are now of little use. What is more, transit planners and politicians tend to call very expensive light-metro projects, light-rail, in an attempt to confuse the populace, forcing the taxpayer to fund the wrong type of transit mode needed.

The 21st century demandsAi??Ai??new definitions for streetcar/tram, LRT and light-metro – not based on the vehicle but on the quality of rights-of-ways. Zweisystem offers these definitions for ‘rail‘ transit.

Streetcar or tram: A steel-wheel on steel rail vehicle, powered by electricity (either by overhead wire or third rail), with the exception of deisel LRT, which operates on-street, in mixed traffic, with little or no signal priority at intersections.

LRT: A steel-wheel on steel rail vehicle, powered by electricity (either by overhead wire or third rail), with the exception of diesel LRT, which operates on a reserved rights-of-way with signal priority at intersections. A reserved rights-of-way is an at-grade route that is for the exclusive use of a light rail vehicle and can be as simple as a HOV lane with rails, a railway line,Ai??Ai??or as complicated as a park-like lawnedAi??Ai?? boulevard.

Light-metro: A steel-wheel on steel rail vehicle, powered by electricity (either by overhead wire or third rail), which operates on a segregated rights-of way, either elevated or subway.

TramTrain: An electric or deisel vehicle that can operate as tram/streetcar, LRT or a passenger train.

It is the TramTrain which has forced a rethink on transit mode, as one vehicle can be a streetcar, a light rail vehicle and/or a commuter train, operatingAi??Ai??on one route.

The lesson for Rail for the Valley is clear: TransLink and others opposed to TramTrain will confuse transit mode to such a degree that the average person will not know who to believe, for clarity, RFV must use the above definitions and ensure others do too.

A Christmas Story – Steam Train to the Rescue – From the BBC

From the BBC

Passengers were rescued by a steam locomotive after modern rail services were brought to a halt by the snowy conditions in south-east England.

Trains between Ashford and Dover were suspended on Monday when cold weather disabled the electric rail.

Some commuters at London Victoria faced lengthy delays until Tornado – Britain’s first mainline steam engine in 50 years – offered them a lift.

They were taken home “in style”, said the Darlington-built engine’s owners.

Train services in Kent were hit hard by the freezing conditions at the start of the week.

The weather-related disruption included three days of cancellations for Eurostar services through the Channel Tunnel.

Tornado, a Ai??A?3m Peppercorn class A1 Pacific based at the National Railway Museum in York, was in the South East for one day, offering “Christmas meal” trips from London to Dover.

Its “Cathedrals Express” service, the last mainline journey in its first year of operations, was about to depart when staff heard about the stranded passengers.

About 100 people were offered free seats, according to Mark Allatt, chairman of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust – the charity which built Tornado.

‘All credit’

He said: “It was a nice way to finish for Christmas, though I think some of the rescued passengers didn’t realise they’d even been travelling on a steam train until they got off.”

Ai??Ai??Mr Allatt, who was on the service at the time, said he only saw a handful of other trains between London and Dover throughout Monday.

He added: “If any of the train operators want to modernise their services by using steam trains, I would be happy to give them a quote.”

A spokesman for Southeastern Trains congratulated Mr Allatt on his “moment of glory”.

He said: “I’m sure those passengers were saved from a lengthy wait, all credit to him.”

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust

http://www.a1steam.com/

From CKWX NEWS 1130 – SkyTrain issues for morning commute

What the SkyTrain lobby wishes us to forget is that the automatic metro is somewhat erratic in its operation. SkyTrain is a complicated proprietary light-metro and even small issues defeats the computer and the system shuts down. TransLink plays down these problems but regular riders of the metro has told Zwei that problems on SkyTrain are becoming an all to normal part of operation.

Unlike LRT, where the driver has ultimate control and can deal effectively with minor problems, SkyTrain’s computers can not and for safety the metro shuts down. As SkyTrain ages, the control system ages as well and itAi??Ai??well may beAi??Ai??the fare-gate issue is being used to camouflage a greater problem of a poorly aging SkyTrain, which is in desperate need of a $1 billion retrofit.

Here we have another glaring example of transit tax money being squandered on our metro system, while other transit needs go begging. Just think, $1 billion would build us a deluxe version of a Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban system. How long will it take for ‘Valley’ politicos to wake up and smell the coffee that the ‘Valley’s’ property and gasAi??Ai??taxes are going straight into the SkyTrain black-hole?

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Big problems on Skytrain this morning. It’s only running from the ‘burbs to Stadium station. A bus bridge is being set up to get people down to Waterfront, but if you’re downtown, TransLink recommends you don’t wait at Granville for trains on the Expo and Millenium lines. The Millennium Line is only running from VCC-Clark to Columbia and then turning back.

TransLink has no idea what the problem is…and when service will be back to normal.

From the Surrey Leader – Rapid transit extensions frozen under TransLink budget

It seems TransLink’s bureaucrats think that the METRO region taxpayer has very deep pockets; while I have a news flash for TransLink, they don’t. To save money, more and more of the region’s car drivers are filling up with gas South of the 49th, encouraging the business of US gas stations. One can save $0.25 to $0.30 a litre for gas in Blaine and when people travel South to buy gas, they also buy groceries, etc., thus increasing much needed savings from tight budgets.

Zweisystem predicted many years ago that TransLink’s insatiable need for tax monies will force consumers toAi??Ai??shop elsewhere, yet the regional politicians remain oblivious as they OK more and more TransLink expenditures on ill preforming transit measures. What we see with TransLink is an extremely expensive bureaucracy who can not seem to grasp the basics of operating a transit system, instead insist on building vast ‘Ivory Towers’ to shuffle paper in. What is worse, civic, provincial, and federal politicians are woefully ignorant on the issue of public transit and fully believe that the more one spends on public transit, the better it will be.

We can’t spend ourselves out of TransLink’s current financial debacle, yet this message is lost.

Again, Zweisystem repeats the key for success for 21st century public transit: “To be successful, public transit must be seen as a product and if the product is good, people will buy the product. But if the product is poor, people will reject the product and the product fails.” Sorry to say that most people in the region give TransLink very poor marks and will take the car where possible. Raising taxes and increasing fares doesn’t improve transit, rather it just keepsAi??Ai??the current transit systemAi??Ai??doing the same thing it has always done,Ai??Ai??plan forAi??Ai??more metro lines and hope for different results in the future.

The message for Rail For The Valley is clear, to get a Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban service in operation, we must either avoid TransLink altogether or better yet, get rid of it and start anew.

Rapid transit extensions frozen under TransLink budget

By Jeff Nagel

TransLink will extract an extra $146 million from transit users and taxpayers in 2010, but don’t expect to see service expand as a result.

The 2010 budget calls for more belt-tightening at the transportation authority and advances no major spending towards the long-promised Evergreen Line to Port Moody and Coquitlam, nor for other rapid transit expansion in Surrey or along Broadway in Vancouver.

The more than $1.2-billion budget is in line with the 10-year plan approved by Metro Vancouver mayors in October, along with fare and tax hikes to avert huge deficits in future years.

“WeA?ai??i??ai???ve avoided service cut backs that would have been a real blow to Metro VancouverA?ai??i??ai???s sustainability and quality of life,” TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis said.

TransLink and the mayors intend to seek new revenue sources from the province for expansion.

“Our challenge is to build consensus around how we can make the road and transit investments needed to support our region’s growth,” Jarvis said.

TransLink is to collect $673 million in taxes next year A?ai??i??ai??? $100 million more than in 2009 A?ai??i??ai??? due to rising property tax, fuel tax and parking sales tax rates.

Motorists will pay three cents a litre more to TransLink when they gas up, and three times as much in sales tax on pay parking lots.

Transit fare revenue is also forecast to climb 11 per cent to $423 million as TransLink raises prepaid fares in April and adds a surcharge to take the Canada Line to the airport. The projection also counts on a 7.4 per cent increase in ridership.

Golden Ears Bridge tolls are forecast to generate $29 million in the first full year of operation, but more than that will be paid out to the firm that built and operates the new bridge.

Despite the increased funding, TransLink still expects to draw down its reserves by $79 million in 2010.

That’s because almost half the new money coming in will go to rising debt costs to pay for TransLink’s latest megaprojects.

Between the Canada Line, Golden Ears Bridge and the purchase of 48 new SkyTrain cars, TransLink’s annual debt repayments rise from $183 million in 2009 to $251 million next year.

The Olympics are the main challenge ahead for TransLink as the transit system ramps up handle up to a million passengers a day.

But some of the improved service won’t last long.

A just-launched third SeaBus will increase sailing frequency to every 10 minutes, but service will be cut back to two vessels once the Games end.

“That third one is in service because Vanoc is paying for it,” TransLink spokesperson Judy Rudin said.

West Coast Express service will also nearly triple during the Games, but be largely unwound afterwards.

Overall, Rudin said transit service in 2010 will be maintained at 2009 levels.

The Transit Police budget is to be frozen at $28 million.

And TransLink administration costs are being cut 18 per cent, with 23 staff positions to be eliminated.

Money will be spent on road work, with $10 million earmarked for the widening of the Fraser Highway in Surrey and Langley, $6 million for the Coast Meridian overpass in Port Coquitlam and $9.1 million to help build overpasses over the Roberts Bank rail corridor through Delta, Surrey and Langley.

Also on the to-do list is finding a buyer for TransLink’s two decommissioned Albion ferries, which stopped running when the Golden Ears Bridge opened.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL – FROM RAIL FOR THE VALLEY

From the Zweisystem and the rest of the Rail For The Valley Gang

A very merry Christmas and a very happy and safe New Year!

A Darmstadt tram plowing through a snow storm.