Pattullo Bridge will be closed for at least one month! Bring on the Interurban!
If there was a compelling argument for the proposed interurban service to connect to downtown Vancouver, here it is. Those who want the interurban service to deadhead into Scott Road Station are extremely short sighted and certainly fail to understand the driving mechanisms in attracting ridership – the seamless or no transfer journey. For the next four weeks, the Pattullo Bridge will be closed to all traffic after a fire has badly damaged a wooden section of the bridge. This just leaves a SkyTrain connection to Vancouver. Already SkyTrain is crowded, leaving Surrey and not able to offerAi??Ai??much inAi??Ai??relief to the commuter. But on the other side of the Pattullo Bridge is the Fraser River Rail Bridge and would not TransLink look good offering quick journeys to Vancouver via the interurban from Langley and Surrey. As one sits in ones carAi??Ai??idling in gridlock for hours, waiting to cross the Fraser, remember the interurban!
Commuters will be faced with extra congestion Monday morning and in the weeks to come as the bridge linking Surrey to New Westminster is repaired following an early morning fire.
A suspicious fire struck wooden trestles supporting the south end of the Pattullo Bridge, a crossing that connects New Westminster and Surrey, just before 3 a.m. Sunday.
By 11 a.m. Sunday, Surrey firefighters were tending to the hot spots on the trestles, which were still emitting smoke eight hours after it was still reported.
TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie said the bridge will be closed to all traffic A?ai??i??ai??? including pedestrians and cyclists A?ai??i??ai??? for four to six weeks while repairs are done on the bridge.
The average traffic volume reaches Port Mann bridge is 127,000 cars a day, while the Alex Fraser bridge sees 98,000 vehicles daily, according to Dave Crebo, spokesman for the B.C. ministry of transportation and infrastructure.
Rail for the Valley petition
Hi everyone,
If you want interurban light rail for the Fraser Valley, an online petition you can sign……
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/rail-for-the-valley
The comments people are leaving are great to read as well.
🙂 pass this on to others who might be interested 🙂
LRT – safer than buses and cars.
From the Light Rail Now Project Team Ai??Ai?? September 2007
US injuries + Fatalities per Passenger-Mile
(2002-2004)
Motor VehiclesAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??LRTAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? Bus
2002 647.4Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??390.0Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 552.8
2003 697.2Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??376.7Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??544.6
2004 597.1Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 415.6Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 560.2
Sources:
National Safety Council, Report on injuries in America, Selected Measures of Unintentional injuries, U.S., 2001-2005
http://www.nsc.org/library/report_table_2.htm
US Federal Transit Administration, Transit Safety and Security Statistics and Analysis, Annual Report (Formerly SAMIS), injuries by Mode and Year
http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/Data/samis/default.asp?ReportID=3
US Federal Transit Administration, Transit Safety and Security Statistics and Analysis, Annual Report (Formerly SAMIS), Fatalities by Mode and Year
http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/Data/samis/default.asp?ReportID=2
American Public Transportation Association, Public Transportation Fact Book, 58th Edition, May 2007
Friends of Rail For The Valley – gathering in Chilliwack: Jan. 22
ANNOUNCING
To all friends Of Rail For The Valley: gathering in Chilliwack
Time: Thursday, January 22, 7:00pm
Place: Lions Club Hall, 45580 Spadina Avenue, just Nort of Evergreen Hall, in Chilliwack
We will form a Society and plan the next stages of our campaign. Everyone is welcome!
The movement has come an incredibly long way in the last couple years. Let’s make this happen.:-)
This movement is about building a comprehensive rail and transit network for the entire Fraser Valley.
This Thursday is a great opportunity to get more involved.
LIGHT RAIL – DIESELS FILLING A VACUUM – A fact sheet from the Light Rail Transit Association.
With the case for Diesel light rail for the Valley Interurban ramping up, this fact sheet from the LRTA may prove useful.
INTRODUCTION
In the past, many rail-based assets could not always be fully utilised because certain technical difficulties were preventing full integration. The transport world was somewhat astounded when German ingenuity developed the dual-voltage light rail vehicle and following up by taking a tram service to where it had never gone before. Public response to this was immediate and spectacular. Another integration achievement appears to be on the verge of impressing the world by proving a success of diesel and electric technology when working together and allowing a network to expand without a financial penalty.
A FIRST FOR USA
New Jersey Transit is now well-known for its newly-opened Hudson-Bergen light rail line and also for its upgrade of the Newark City Subway. It is now in the “spotlight” for the confidence it has shown in going ahead with the 58km Camden-Trenton diesel light rail project over a lightly- used railway freight line. To resolve some of the problems regarding safety whilst sharing the line with freight trains, an agreement was negotiated to arrange different operating times – freight trains at night, after passenger services had ceased. A DBOM contract was then awarded to the winning consortium, Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation, a group that includes ADtranz who will be supplying the low-floor light rail vehicles (1).
BETTER VALUE WITH SCARCE FUNDING
The Ottawa Regional Government’s Transportation Committee (Ottawa Regional Council) has unanimously backed proposals to develop an initial light rail network using 8km of Canadian Pacific Railway alignment. This was considered as lower in cost than expanding the existing busway, especially as the proposed service will pass some potentially important passenger generators, Carlton University Campus for example (2). This initial line, the first diesel-powered light rail line in Canada, will need three vehicles (3).
DIESEL TRAM – NOT A NEW CONCEPT
Although new to both New Jersey and Ottawa, the practice of using diesel trams as an extension to an electric tram network is far from new. Sapporo in Japan received notice in the 60’s by providing a diesel tram service over non-electrified tram tracks. The trams were converted to electric operation when passenger traffic built up and the line justified electrification.
SOME EXAMPLES FROM GERMANY
A change of operator (12/August/1999) from DB to Dortmund MA?Ai??rkische Eisenbahn brought with it a change in operating practice. Marketed as Volmetalbahn, this 57km line from Dortmund to LA?A?denscheid via Hagen was re-equipped with new low-floor Talent rolling stock (4). Although it is intended to operate the diesel cars in the Stadtbahn tunnels to give better access to the city centre (a first for Germany), a technical problem, low floor vehicles and fairly high platforms, will first need to be resolved.
The streets of Schwerin may soon be seeing diesel LRVs accessing a tram depot for maintenance purposes although the actual routes themselves are self- contained with just a short joint section with DB through the Hauptbahnhof (5).
An unusual arrangement, with the purpose of good passenger access as well as integration, was recently opened in Zwickau where a standard gauge diesel train and metre gauge tram actually share three-rail street tracks. Although the streets of this historic town are very narrow, it was decided that to keep the service on the surface would maintain a passenger-friendly operation (6).
A third rail is being added to Braunschweig’s 1100mm tram tracks to permit a future integration with main line railway services. A decision has yet to be finally made on vehicle types, but as some lines are not electrified, a hybrid electro-diesel is anticipated (7).
A similar expansion of Stadtbahn services onto non-electrified tracks is also anticipated in Bonn with experiments now planned to insert a diesel component in a new centre section which would be added to a Stadtbahn “B” tram (8).
When SaarbrA?A?cken was developing its plans for dual voltage operation, not unlike the type of service already perfected in Karlsruhe, the timing unfortunately coincided with the recession and German unification, events that had already emptied the coffers of the Government. This in effect meant that the plan to introduce electric trams had to be put on hold. This was indeed a serious blow because the existing but badly co-ordinated heavy rail services were unattractive and certainly below the justification level for an expensive electrification scheme. At this point a low-floor diesel-powered LRV was designed by Duewag (9) as a stopgap. Fortunately, the necessary funding was eventually found which allowed the dual-voltage tram scheme to proceed, and with a public response that more than justified it.
THE DIESEL RAIL CONCEPT SPREADS TO BRITAIN
A proposal is currently being considered to create a hybrid diesel/electric tram to operate on railway tracks around Manchester as well as on Metrolink itself. The service may be operated by First North Western from Wigan to Victoria via Atherton. Although this is the initial proposal, plans are being developed to extend it further eastward to Bury and possibly Rawtenstall (10).
CONCLUSION
The recent surge in light rail development in different parts of the world has probably played a major part in its obvious popularity with the travelling public. Although operators of some road based transit modes have fought hard to keep light rail expansion at bay, some now appear to be responding to that well known slogan : “If you can’t beat A?ai??i??ai???em, join A?ai??i??ai???em”.
REFERENCES
- 20 low-floor railcars, a diesel-electric version of the GTW2/6. design, will be supplied by ADtranz for a 2002 opening – RAILWAY GAZETTE INTERNATIONAL – July 1999.
- “Trams could be running in the Canadian Capital before the Millennium if a fast track plan goes ahead” – RAILWAY GAZETTE INTERNATIONAL – March 1998.
- The three Talent BR643 DMUs built by Bombardier will be double- articulated vehicles, 157 feet long, seat 135 and stand 150 – MASS TRANSIT – 11-12/2000.
- A Bombardier Talent diesel – TRAMWAYS & URBAN TRANSIT – September -1999 (page 336).
- Six – two car CORADIA LINT 41 diesel units, 41.8m long, 2.75m wide and a 600mm low-floor over about 50% of the vehicle – TRAMWAYS & URBAN TRANSIT – June 2000.
- The tram stops are shared – TRAMWAYS & URBAN TRANSIT – February 2000.
- A feasibility study has found that LRVs on DB tracks will be more cost effective than converting DB local services to Regional control – RAILWAY GAZETTE INTERNATIONAL – February 1999.
- TRAMWAYS & URBAN TRANSIT – October 2000.
- A Duewag-designed diesel-powered LRV to provide a low-cost service with a 530mm high low-floor over 70% of its length and a maximum speed of 100km/h – LIGHT RAIL REVIEW No 5 – November 1993.
- TRAMWAYS & URBAN TRANSIT – July and December 2000.
Federal infrastructure spending: speak out
The Black Press newspaper chain is asking the question,
“What is the number one project in your community that you feel would be most effective in helping improve local economic and social conditions?”
Respond in 75 words or less, by either leaving a comment on one of their websites, or writing a Letter to the Editor of your local paper.
With the federal budget now less than 2 weeks away (Jan. 27), it’s crucial that we push as hard as we can for re-establishing Interurban rail service as part of the big infrastructure spending stimulus the government is planning. Remember that upgrading the Interurban track so that passenger rail can run on it is a “shovel ready project.”
This is something we can all do right now.
I suspect Black Press is doing this to try to somehow get people to use their online “comments” section (that these days remains completely blank for most articles) Anyway, no matter, we can take advantage of this and get the word out some more.
If you live around Chilliwack, click here
If you live around Abbotsford, click here
If you live around Aldergrove, click here
If you live around Langley, click here
If you live around Surrey, click here
🙂
If you want to write a Letter to the Editor instead, click here.
*****IMPORTANT***** Also send the message to your mayor and local representatives: Click here for politician email addresses.
U-Tube – a tool, transit advocates must make good use of – seeing, is believing.
In the 1980’s, the SkyTrain lobby made all sorts of pronouncements about transit and ALRT, that were not true. It took transit advocates over a month to write to experts and wait for their replies. By the time the facts were available, the media moved on and most of the hoopla from BC Transit became facts in the mind of the public. BC Transit and the SkyTrain lobby made good use of this to spread the SkyTrain myth.
In the 1990’s the fax gave transit advocates a wonderful tool in getting correct data from transit experts around the world, but it was still time consuming, with replies coming in days, rather than weeks. Still, in the age of ‘electronic media’, a few days still meant an eternity as comments or news stories became cold after 24 to 48 hours.
In the 21st century, email has become a wonderful tool for transit advocates, where inquiries are sent and answers come within hours and the facts quickly posted to the media. If it wasn’t for email, Rail for the valley and its kindred would not have gotten so far for their quest for the return of the interurban.
The following is just a few U-Tube postings that may prove very helpful in the upcoming transit debates.
U-Tube is a wonderful tool for transit advocates to trump TransLink’s litanies of invention and those championing the return of the interurban should make good use of this wonderful resource.
Trams climbing grades –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWMaCGnLKCE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YiHO5jZYY4
Diesel LRT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TizfWStIy-M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWATecifoFQ
Karlsruhe’s TramTrains
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXsIRUEeZts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsdJPaih0Fw
Lawned rights-of-ways
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6ucG-9fGU4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgzuarkGTYA
Tram/streetcars – on-street operation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gckN2ANG_zc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xuN82cHpMA
LRT in the snow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ-0MlxWSEk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsgAFGp_D9s
All highways and no rail
There’ll be an “announcement about the South Fraser Perimeter Road” tomorrow. Probably a funding announcement.
The SFPR is a new proposed highway from Deltaport to the Trans Canada Highway, primarily for trucks. It’s a major part of BC’s $10 billion Gateway project, which is focused entirely on road-building to the exclusion of rail.
Looking at the bigger picture… Where is the Interurban light rail announcement? Where is the New Westminster rail bridge announcement? Where is the announcement of the re-routing of heavy freight traffic away from downtown Langley?
The BC government’s current focus – all highways and no rail – in this day and age – I think is completely unacceptable. Other governments sure aren’t taking this approach. In the U.S., strong signs that Obama in the coming weeks will unveil a huge infrastructure stimulus program, heavily focusing on rail. In BC, so far nothing.
For anyone who is interested, this bulletin from http://www.gatewaysucks.org:
HEADS UP! PLEASE POST AND FORWARD FAR & WIDE:
Tomorrow — Monday Jan. 12, 2pm — Gordon Campbell, Kevin Falcon, and Federal reps will be making an “announcement about the South Fraser Perimeter Road” at the Surrey Fraser Docks.This announcement may concern new Federal funding for the SFPR.
MAJOR MEDIA WILL BE THERE. Let’s greet them with a large outside presence, and let them know that the people of the Lower Mainland demand TRANSIT NOT FREEWAYS — GREEN WAYS, NOT GATEWAY!
The announcement will be behind the fence on Port property, so public access will be controlled (interesting, that they need to control access for a public announcement…what are they afraid of?).
Please join us there between 1 and 2 pm, with signs, drums and banners if you got em! (we will have some extra to share).
The announcement site is at the Surrey Fraser Docks on Elevator Road. Google map To get to the site: you can take the #640 bus from Scott Road Station. (bus schedule) Ask the driver to let you off at River Rd & Elevator Rd. OR take the #312 from Scott Road Station to Townline Divers
Thanks all! We look forward to seeing you tomorrow, as we continue to demand better solutions than Gateway and, in the leadup to the Provincial election, let our leaders know what the public wants.
You might also be interested in signing this petition.
A Question of Capacity – A LRTA Topic Sheet
A?A?A? Maximum capacity is only likely to be required for a few hours during peak hours, and even here there are likely to be variations both day by day and within each hour. The capacity required originates from the route’s social characteristics.
A?A?A? As for the vehicles, buses have a comfort capacity equal to the number of seats, and a maximum capacity equal to seats plus standing load.
A?A?A? In the case of trams, it is more complicated. The nominal maximum capacity is calculated at four passengers per square metre of available floor space (a reasonably comfortable level), plus the number of seats.
A?A?A? As trams are designed to carry a large standing load, the ratio of standees to seats is quite high. The standing area is also important for the carrying of wheelchairs, pushchairs, shopping and sometimes bicycles. Some manufacturers quote maximum capacity using 6p/m2 while a figure of 8p/m 2 is used as a measure of crush capacity. This last figure is also employed to determine the motor rating of the vehicle.
A?A?A? A further complication is that even when there are seats available, some passengers prefer to stand. This may be because they are only travelling for a few stops, that they want to stretch their legs, or may just prefer to stand.
A?A?A? A tram’s comfort capacity can therefore be considered as the number of seats, plus the voluntary standees who may amount to up to 10-15% of the nominal maximum number of standing passengers.
ELASTICITY
A?A?A? It is the difference between the average passenger load for any particular time and the crush load which gives light rail its Elasticity Factor, allowing it to cope with variations in conditions such as sudden surges or emergency conditions.
A?A?A? Standing is made more acceptable by the design of track and vehicle, reducing the forces acting on the passenger to a minimum. This makes for a smooth ride, as well as ensuring ease of access, good support and the ability to see out without having to stoop.
A?A?A? Where a route is mainly urban with short journey times, the number of vehicles required should be calculated on the nominal maximum. On longer journeys outside the central area, a lower level may be more appropriate, dependent on the route’s characteristics. Even on rural sections, there are likely to be a a number of short distance riders, and the loading factor will increase nearer to the urban area.
COMPRESSIBILITY
A?A?A? While it might be thought desirable to offer every passenger a seat, it is in fact the ability to carry high loadings in a confined area (the Compressibility Factor) which enables light rail to achieve many environmental benefits, allowinglarge numbers of people to be carried withoutharming, and often improving, the features of a city.
A?A?A? It is city centres where several routes combine that the most capacity is required. A typical situation could be a pedestrian street with six routes operating at 10-minute headway giving 36 double coupled trams per hour each with a capacity of 225. This gives a nominal capacity of16 200 passengers per hour which can be increased to 25 200 pph in extremis without extra vehicles. Light rail is unique in this ability to operate on the surface with its capacity without detracting from the amenities which it serves.A further factor in setting the resources required is the need to lure motorists out of cars. The more difficult the traffic conditions, the higher the loadings will be acceptable. It is however important that crush loads are not allowed for morethan the shortest of periods on an infrequent basis, both to maintain customer satisfaction and prevent elasticity of the system being compromised.
A?A?A? It is vital that public transport can cope with sudden changes in demand, such as extreme inclement weather or air quality violations which can cause private traffic to be halted. This is where the elasticity inherent in light rail is so beneficial in enabling an instant response in an economical fashion. A tram may be crowded, but its infinitelybetter than having to wait in the snow of smog untilextra vehicles are brought into service.
A?A?A? It is this unique combination of Capacity, Compressibility and Elasticity rather than capacity alone which makes light rail so successful as an urban transport mode.
A?A?A? Note Statistics are based on Karlsruhe, using GT/8 cars
Calling all passenger rail advocates – PLEASE WRITE YOUR MAYOR!
Calling all passenger rail advocates – PLEASE WRITE YOUR MAYOR! (spread the word)
regarding the upcoming federal budget: You may have heard, with the economic turmoil, that the federal government is planning a massive amount of new infrastructure spending for their next budget, supposedly for projects that are useful, ideally sustainable, and can be started immediately.
One ideal infrastructure project that is simple enough to undertake immediately is to upgrade the entire stretch of Interurban track to passenger grade rail, including crossings, as is currently being done in parts of Surrey for their Heritage Rail Project. Such an upgrade is relatively inexpensive, simple to carry out, and necessary for any sort of regular Valley-wide passenger rail service to be implemented in the future.
It is best to write your mayor, and cc your other local representatives, as mayors have strong influence with federal politicians.
More points you can mention in your letter:
-There is very strong support for Interurban passenger rail across the Fraser Valley. While the Vancouver region gets expensive transit upgrades, we in the Fraser Valley have so far been left out. The federal government needs to be heavily lobbied in order for this sustainable infrastructure initiative to happen.
-2010 is the Centennial anniversary of the historic Interurban passenger rail service that was shut down in the 1950s. At the time of completion in 1910, it was North America’s longest Interurban rail track! What better way to celebrate than to have the Interurban running again in 2010?
-Upgrading the track, and putting in crossings, does not require advanced study, and therefore is an ideal infrastructure project that can be started immediately this spring. This type of project is exactly what the federal government is looking for.
We have a better-than-normal chance of getting something done in this budget, but only if our politicians hear from us LOUD AND CLEAR. Your own personal letter works far better than any petition or form letter.
If you live in Chilliwack, email:
Mayor Sharon Gaetz: gaetz@chilliwack.com
and cc:Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? barry.penner.mla@leg.bc.ca, john.les.mla@leg.bc.ca, Strahl.C@parl.gc.ca
If you live in Abbotsford, email:
Mayor George Peary: mayor@abbotsford.ca
and cc:Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? john.vandongen.mla@leg.bc.ca, mike.dejong.mla@leg.bc.ca, Fast.E@parl.gc.ca
If you live in Langley, email:
Township Mayor Rick Green: rgreen@tol.bc.ca,
City Mayor Peter Fassbender: mayor@langleycity.ca
and cc:Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? mary.polak.mla@leg.bc.ca, rich.coleman.mla@leg.bc.ca, Warawa.M@parl.gc.ca
If you live in Surrey, email:
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts: dlwatts@shaw.ca
and cc:Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? kevin.falcon.mla@leg.bc.ca, jagrup.brar.mla@leg.bc.ca, harry.bains.mla@leg.bc.ca, sue.hammell.mla@leg.bc.ca, bruce.ralston.mla@leg.bc.ca, guy.gentner.mla@leg.bc.ca, dave.hayer.mla@leg.bc.ca, gordon.hogg.mla@leg.bc.ca, Cadman.D@parl.gc.ca, Dhaliwal.S@parl.gc.ca, Grewal.N@parl.gc.ca, Cummins.J@parl.gc.ca, Hiebert.R@parl.gc.ca
If we all do this, we will have a very big influence.
Also, consider turning your letter into a Letter to the editor of your local newspaper (click here to view email addresses), and respond to the government survey on this website.
Recent Comments