Zwei has real issues from the following two statements from BC Transportation Minister Rob Fleming.
. “In fact, what they analyzed was the superiority of high-frequency bus service, both from a capacity point of view – to move people out of their cars as the member wished for – and also to give flexibility in terms of service coverage, to be able to service a number of very dispersed destinations that are part of that area
Highway 99 through to the year 2080 did not give ridership projections that would support light rail of SkyTrain systems”
Really, Transportation Minister, Rob Fleming?
Where have buses actually created a modal shift? Why has Ottawa shifted from true BRT to light-rail?
High frequency bus service will fail, simply for the fact, the BC Liberals inked a deal with the SNC Lavalin lead consortium, operating the Canada Line faux P-3, that ll south of the Fraser bus services must force customers to transfer to the Canada Line. Well, if Minister Fleming wanted any proof that this does not attract new customers, just look at South Delta and South Surrey bus services ,where the predicted new ridership did not materialize and pre-covid, was seeing a continued decline in ridership, as mode share for transit is slowly declining in metro Vancouver.
Minister Fleming also does not understand what light rail is and lumps it in with SkyTrain light metro, which modern light rail made obsolete decades ago.
Why?
Light rail is a mode that can deal economically with traffic flows of between 2,000 and 20,000 passengers per hour per direction, thus effectively bridging the gap between the maximum flow that can be dealt with using buses and the minimum that justifies a metro.
Simply, LRT is far cheaper to build, far cheaper to maintain and operate, has a higher capacity and is flexible in operation.
The Canada Line which is a heavy rail metro, built as a light metro and presently has less capacity than a modern streetcar!
No wonder TransLink and Flemming are misleading both the voter and taxpayer!
The current cost to extend the Expo Line to Langley is now around $400 million/km all found, while modern LRT could be built between $35 mil/km to $50 mil/km or put another way, for one kilometre of Canada line we could build 8 to 11 km of modern LRT and have a transit system that from the start have a much higher capacity than the present Canada Line’s max. capacity of 9,000 pphpd!
So sad that in an age of Global Warming and climate change, TransLink and the NDP hides behind misleading information, to continue their “rubber on asphalt” only transit planning.
Shame on TransLink – Shame on Rob Fleming.
As Transportation Minister Rob Fleming seems either ignorant of modern LRT or is deliberately misleading the residents of Delta and Surrey about modern LRT, either way, he must resign, it is the only honourable thing to do!
LRT in a highway median in Sweden.
Light rail coming through Delta shot down, again
The new eight-lane immersed tunnel to replace the aging George Massey Tunnel is to be completed in 2030
Light rail going through Delta and onto South Surrey isn’t seen as a possibility, even in the long-term.
South Delta can forget about rapid transit coming through the community the foreseeable, or even long-term, future.
During the May 31 provincial government budget estimates debate, Delta South Liberal MLA Ian Paton posed several questions regarding the George Massey Tunnel replacement project to Transportation Minister Rob Fleming.
Noting South Surrey and White Rock and fast growing, and the aim should be to get people out of their vehicles, Paton once again pointed out the original bridge project cancelled by the newly-elected New Democrat government included a provision for future light rail.
“My question to you: with this tunnel being so modern, so high-tech, why wouldn’t we look to the future of some sort of light rail capability through the middle of the tunnel? Eventually, one day – maybe 10 years, maybe 20 years, maybe 30 years from now – we could get light rail. There’s tonnes of room down the middle of Highway 99 and the medians on either side for light rail to go down to South Surrey, White Rock,” said Paton, according to transcripts of the debate.
Fleming responded that there’s “actually been some fairly recent regional thinking” on the subject by TransLink and by the Mayor’s Council in its recent 2050 plan.
“In fact, they looked as far ahead as 2080, through TransLink and their planners. Highway 99 through to the year 2080 did not give ridership projections that would support light rail of SkyTrain systems,” noted Fleming. “In fact, what they analyzed was the superiority of high-frequency bus service, both from a capacity point of view – to move people out of their cars as the member wished for – and also to give flexibility in terms of service coverage, to be able to service a number of very dispersed destinations that are part of that area. SkyTrain, going through farmland, going down the Highway 99 corridor, did not have the ability to disperse to a number of endpoint destinations.”
Fleming also noted the analysis received came from TransLink, with regional mayors around the table also looking at the data to make the determination on where the greatest pressure points will be and what areas will have lesser population growth.
It’s the same message former Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claire Trevena conveyed in 2020 on the question of adding future rapid transit capability for the new crossing.
At that time, Delta Mayor George Harvie said he was shocked by her response.
“Insofar as no need for light rail, I’m shocked. I’m working with my fellow mayors. We’re looking at what the next 20-to-30 years is going to require, and light rail is needed south of the Fraser. With all the people that we have coming, most of them are going to be residing and relocating to south of the Fraser where the properties are a little less expensive. But again, I’m shocked. I just drove the tunnel, as you know, and it’s a tough drive….we need to get people out of their cars and if we’re not thinking in the future, we’re going to have problems here,” Harvie said two years ago.
According to Metro Vancouver’s Draft 2050 document, Frequent Transit Development Areas (FTDAs) are intended to be additional priority locations to accommodate concentrated growth in higher density forms of development. They are identified by member jurisdictions and located at appropriate locations within the Major Transit Growth Corridors.
Corridor FTDAs are intended to accommodate medium development densities and forms that are consistent with bus-based rapid transit, while Station Area FTDAs are intended to accommodate higher development densities and forms that are consistent with rail-based rapid transit.
Meanwhile, among Paton’s other questions to Fleming last week was whether the new tunnel project would include a second exit out of Ladner, an issue recently raised by the City of Delta, which is asking the province to include another exit.
Fleming responded that they are having “active discussions” with Delta staff about the scope of the project.
The province is currently in an early engagement phase of the environmental assessment process for the Initial Project Description. The new tunnel project is to be further refined based on feedback received.
A Detailed Project Description is to be ready by next summer.
Following the environmental assessment, construction of the new tunnel is to commence and finish by 2030.
Well the truth is out, a Movia Automatic Light Metro vehicle has derailed on the SkyBridge.
UPDATE: “Crews have identified a failed switch as the cause of the track issue,” notes another update Tuesday. “This has led to a SkyTrain being partially dislodged from the tracks.”
Being honest is just not in TransLink’s mandate and for almost 14 hours, TransLink never gave a hint of a derailment and still calls a derailment a dislodgement.
One wonders, why cannot TransLink be honest with the public about the issue and why do they try to hide the fact a MALM vehicle derailed on a switch!
TransLink says a track issue on the SkyBridge has interrupted service between Columbia and Scott Road stations Tuesday.
Extra bus service is in place, but commuters connecting between Surrey and New Westminster are being warned to give themselves extra time.
Service on the Millennium Line, Canada Line, Production Way segment of the Expo Line are unaffected.
As of noon Tuesday, crews continue to work on repairing the track issue, but there is no estimated time of reopening.
“Crews have identified a failed switch as the cause of the track issue. This led to a SkyTrain being partially dislodged from the tracks on Monday evening. SkyTrain safety protocols were immediately initiated, and the passengers were safely removed from the train within 10 minutes. Crews have since inspected other switches on the system and ensured they are operating safely with no issues,” TransLink said.
“Crews have been working overnight and through the morning to lift the train back onto the tracks and repair the switch. The safety of our staff is a top priority, which is why it was crucial to continue this work with daylight. They are working hard to resolve the issue in order to resume regular service.”
The business types with the Surrey Board of Trade don’t seem quite up to date with the cost of Transit projects in Metro Vancouver.
The provincial governments Friday news release (Friday is always used for bad news which is hopefully forgotten by Monday) that the “B.C. government commits $2.4B to transit in Metro Vancouver“, was more of a face saving venture after last Friday’s $1 billion museum announcement was received with a resounding dull thud by voters.
Nothing like a transit announcement to get the people back on your side.
So the NDP’s spin doctors and damage control team reissued a rather tired meme that the provincial government is committing$2.4 billion to transit – hurrah!
But with the 5.8 km $2.8 billion Millennium Line extension including the contentious Broadway subway, now said to cost well over $3 billion and the partially funded 16 km, Expo Line extension to Langley, serious funding problems are appearing.
Remember when the Mayor of Surrey said it was going to cost $1.63 Billion for the whole 16 km?
You should remember because that cost estimate was given the toss soon after and the estimated cost more than doubled to $3.95 billion. Well hold on to your hats because TransLink is now hinting that the cost for this 16 km line may top $4.95 billion! Thus leaving the project more than $2 billion unfunded.
Then there is that pesky $3 billion rehab of the Millennium and especially the Expo line, desperately needed before the extensions open so the system can operate more trains! There is no funding for this and TransLink and the provincial government will not even admit to it!
Broadway subway – $3 billion+
Expo Line extension to Langley – $5 billion
Expo Line mid life rehab – $3 billion
That is a total of $11 billion dollars and the NDP are only going to fund $2.4 billion?
TransLink and the provincial NDP has just sent a strong message to the Surrey board of Trade…..
No Rapid Transit for You!
Surrey needs more than SkyTrain, board of trade says
B.C. investing $2.4B in Metro Vancouver public transit improvements with Surrey-Langley SkyTrain and ‘electrification’ of bus fleet included
The provincial government announced Friday it is investing $2.4 billion in Metro Vancouver public transit improvements with the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension and the “electrification” of TransLink’s bus fleet included in that.
This, a press release states, is part of the government’s “ongoing commitment” to fund 40 per cent of a 10-year vision wrought by the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation.
“This sounds like a repeat announcement,” Surrey Board of Trade CEO Anita Huberman said. “Knowing how construction projects develop in this region, we don’t think this Skytrain project will be in service until 2030.”
Noting Skytrain is very expensive to build throughout Surrey, she added, “There are other progressive modes of transportation technology.
“The investment announced today is positive but Surrey needs more transportation investments than this Skytrain line,” Huberman said.
The old E&N Railway is on lie-support, with only a glimmer of hope that the right thing will be done and establish a regional railway, serving Victoria, Courtney and Port Alberni and the many communities that the rail line runs through.
Remember global warming and climate change?
Remember the town of Lytton being cremated?
Remember the Merrit, Princeton and the Fraser Valley being drowned under flood waters?
Remember all three highways leaving Metro Vancouver closed for weeks due to the roads and highways being washed out?
It seems events of 2021 have been politely forgotten by government.
Jackass Mountain washout
Using established railways is a very cost effective way in providing a transit service that will attract the motorist from the car, but very sadly, last year’s massive forest fires and monsoon rains have been forgotten.
Dark clouds are now on the horizon and the “rails to trails” folks and the cycle lobby are circling the E&N, like vultures to pick clean the carcass, for their own immediate interests.
Both “rails to trails” and the cycle lobby are well versed in the art of misleading people and directing the conversation to their point of view.
“Trains are antique”; or “we don’t want a choo-choo”; or the tried and true “no one will use it”, are the common arguments used in the media, by the anti rail crowd.
The goal of these groups is to use the abandoned right-of-way for cycling, with no thought of using the railway as an alternative to the car.
Politicians love the rails to trails and cycles lobbies because they offer photo-op ready cheap investments and “bicycles are good for the environment, right?”
Using established rail lines greatly cuts the cost of using rail transit as “Greenfields” construction is cost prohibitive in most cases.
Zwei has read a lot about how both the “rails to trails and cycle lobbies manipulate the media to suit their own ends and I am afraid that those advocating for a regional rail solution for the E&N have been suckered by the slick marketing and media techniques used by those who would rather the E&N disappear.
It also seems the NDP government is silently waiting for the demise of the E&N so they can allocate portions of the line to the rails to trails folks, the cycle lobby and first nations for cheap election time photo-ops.
It is time to use it or lose it.
There is a lot more to be said, but suffice to say I am afraid the vultures a circling, with full NDP government approval, ready for the kill.
The precedent set by the Canada Line Cambie St. cut and cover is coming to Broadway and that means “to hell with the small business”.
The mayor and council knew this would happen; TransLink knew this would happen (and why TransLink hired a professional spin doctor as CEO) as they know that they will not pay a cent in compensation.
For added insult, rents will increase due to the subway and many businesses will be “sterilized” after the subway opens.
The huge amount of politcal dishonesty is now laid bare and in an election year and I hope the politcal peanut gallery supporting this $3 billion boondoggle, get the boot this fall.
Worries Broadway Plan will be like Canada Line construction resulting in lost businesses
Sentheepan Senthivel has been the owner of Greens Market on Broadway near Maple Street for 12 years and he admits he’s never felt so hopeless.
He wants the city to give impacted businesses a property tax break until the project wraps up.
“We’re burning through cash.
“Burnt through about $225,000 already in six months and we’re down about $650,000 in revenues, so quite a bit of money for a small business to just swallow. This is the hardest it’s been since I opened. When I first opened when I was young, didn’t have much cash — that was hard — but this is like… you can’t do anything.”
He says he hasn’t heard from provincial or city officials as the construction and road closures impede people from stepping into his store.
“I’m feeling it’s a battle you can’t win, you’re fighting against giants, and everyone is just pushing you around and throwing you in different directions. [There’s] a lot of lip service and every answer is, ‘No.’ They can’t do this, they can’t do that — it’s definitely emotionally draining.”
Additionally, Senthivel has started an online petition to help local businesses survive.
The idea of giving tax breaks to businesses is something that’s echoed by Leonard Schein with the Cambie Village Business Association.
He was affected by the Canada Line construction more than 10 years ago and is one of the lead plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit connected to the project, that is still dragging its way through the courts.
“It would mean that other residents of Vancouver would probably pay three cents more on their property tax for a whole year. It would be insignificant because it would be spread among the whole city. I wish they would do that. We tried to get them to do it to the Cambie Village and they didn’t.”
He feels the province and city have done nothing to help small businesses, he feels, are crucial to the community.
“It’s not going to be a lot of money. They’re talking about a project that’s over $2 billion, it’s going to be less than 0.001 to compensate those businesses for their losses.”
Schein says the city and province should look to other big cities which have undertaken similar projects, specifically in the U.S., to see how they handled the fallout.
“What was does in the United States is businesses put in their financial statements before the construction, during the construction and after the construction so it’s clear what they’ve lost during that time period and the government gives them that amount so that they’re made whole again.”
Both men are worried this project will end up very much like the Canada Line construction which, Schein adds, resulted in more than three dozen businesses going bankrupt.
‘I’m unable to function’
Regardless of how council votes on the redevelopment plan for Broadway, people who live along the corridor are already experiencing the effects of the loaded construction work.
Karl Prevost rents a commercial space at Broadway and Main Street and lives in a condo in that same building. He says he’s dealing with the noise while he’s at work, and then when he goes home for the evening, there’s no relief.
“I’venotbeenabletoreallymake it more thanfivedaysinmyapartment. BeforeI hadtoleaveforaweekasaresultofthenoiselevelsandlackofsleep.”
Prevost tells CityNews the constant noise and vibrations have impacted his health and his business, saying the noise feels never-ending.
“It’s unbearable to be exposed to those noise levels consistently over that period of time. Is it maddening. There’s been times when the vibrations from the work are so loud … my pen jumps across my desk.”
In a statement to CityNews, the City of Vancouver says, “City bylaws, including sound limitations, do not apply in the Province’s construction-required lands. The Province’s contractor ultimately determines how the work is coordinated and is responsible for construction notifications to residents and businesses.”
Prevost says due to what he calls a lack of regulation around noise, the constant construction is taking a major toll on his health and productivity.
“I’ve run this company for 20 plus years now, and for the first time in the last year, I’ve missed several morning meetings as I’m unable to function. It was so bad a while ago that I was actually physically sick, like throwing up while I was working.”
Prevost is one of the over 200 people who has signed up to speak on the proposal Wednesday, and he says he plans on making sure his concerns are addressed.
The Business Case for the E&N has been released and the cost provided ($431 million) seems quite cheap, compared to the Expo and Millennium Line extensions, where the cost per km is over $400 million/km (over $500 million/km for the Broadway subway).
What has proven to work elsewhere, will work here; using rail to provide an affordable and user friendly alternative to the car.
Time to start looking for some used DMU’s.
And while we are at it, there’s the Valley Rail project, just waiting for some investment as well!
The Business Case for Rail Service on Vancouver Island ICF Initial Business Case 2022 PRESS RELEASE ISLAND CORRIDOR FOUNDATION RELEASES BUSINESS CASE FOR RAIL SERVICE RESTORATION May 16, 2022 – The Island Corridor Foundation today released a Business Case highlighting detailed analysis, including data from the Provincial and Federal Governments in support of the full restoration of rail service to Vancouver Island. The Business Case provides for the upgrading of the entire 290 km rail system on the Island, from Victoria to Courtenay and from Parksville to Port Alberni. The Business Case proposes a mixed-use rail system that would have a peak hour commuter system in the Langford – Victoria corridor, inter-regional passenger service that would operate twice daily between Victoria and Courtenay, as well as freight operations on the entire system, with emphasis on key ports in Port Alberni and Nanaimo. The system will also support passenger excursion operations in the tourist market and special event transportation. “We are very pleased to bring forward the Business Case as it defines the very real and urgent need for safe, efficient, reliable, and environmentally sustainable transportation options on Vancouver Island. It also demonstrates that the proposed rail system can address those needs, it is financially viable, and can be sustained for future generations” said Larry Stevenson, CEO of the Island Corridor Foundation. The Business Case estimates the construction costs for the project to be $381 million and $50 million for the acquisition of rail equipment for a total cost of $431 million. Costing for the project is based on the 2020 Island Rail Corridor Condition Assessment updated to reflect 2023 dollars. “The Business Case is an important step toward having rail restored to the island however there is still a lot of work to be done to make it a reality. The Business Case highlights the unresolved issues emanating from the original land grants that brought the railway to Vancouver Island. We believe the resolution of those issues is critical to bringing rail back to the Island and call on the Provincial and Federal governments to work with Island First Nations to settle those issues as part of this proposal” said Dr. Judith Sayers, Co-Chair of the Island Corridor Foundation. The Business Case has been provided to the Provincial and Federal governments for their review and consideration with the request for the establishment of a formal working group to begin the work of bringing rail back to Vancouver Island. The Island Corridor Foundation is a non-profit society and federally registered charity established for the purposes of owning and managing the rail corridor on Vancouver Island. Initial Business Case can be found here. Island Corridor Foundation Island Corridor Foundation| 250-754-7254 | Box 375 Stn Ave, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5L3 | islandrail.ca Island Corridor Foundation | Box 375 Stn A, Nanaimo, V9R 5L3 Canada Unsubscribe ad377@ncf.ca Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by andreathomas@islandrail.ca powered by Try email marketing for free today!
The Daily Hive has become TransLink’s official mouthpiece and sadly the Daily Hive, knows very little about transit and even less about SkyTrain light metro.
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It is my belief that this article, in part, is in response to this letter to the editor which appeared in the Langley Advance Times.
The article below is unbelievably inconsistent and lacking in basic information.
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First the province of B.C. says that, the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension is a two stage or two part project, that was combined into a single stage (the entire 16 km length built all at once) for an approximate price of $3.95 Billion.
The mayor of Surrey said in 2018 that the whole thing could be built for only $1.63 Billion, remember that whopper.
At the end of the article the writer reports that the OMC#5 (the 5th SkyTrain storage and maintenance yard) is going to be separated from the project an built separately for a cost range of $500 Million to $1 Billion.
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So it’s now a two stage project that has to be tendered separately. Ironically, the OMC#5 will have to start the tendering process later this year, an entire year earlier than the actual line so they both finish around the same time? My too many years of planning transportation projects knowledge understands that, if the line and yard are being tendered on two separate tendering schedules, you have a two stage project.
So one or two stages what is it?
Now The Important Part
If the yard (OMC#5) is to cost around $500 Million – $1 Billion has the cost of the actual line dropped at all?
The article’s writer or the province of B.C. doesn’t mention this at all. If the line is still going to cost around $3.95 Billion, that means the total cost for the single stage project has gone up to somewhere between $4.45 Billion -$4.95 Billion.
That’s a 12.3% -25.6% cost increase in 1 year!
The article says by 2050 the extension will be moving 80,000 passengers a day but that’s 28 years from now, 22 years after it opens. What’s it going to be carrying in 2028, when the line is planned to be open?
No one, not the province or TransLink wants to tell you, why?
So, let’s get this straight. Surrey and Langley will have a SkyTrain line extension that will cost at a minimum $4 Billion ($3.95 Billion) but could increase up to $4.95 Billion or (essentially $5 Billion) and that extension might move only 80,000 people a day, 22 years after it’s expected opening day.
What amazes, is that, the line is completely above grade, with a yard, no tunnels and it is expected to cost between $4 Billion and $5 Billion!
All for an 8 station, 16 km long extension that, will force many downtown bound passengers from Langley on a trip that will take over an hour, that’s without the need for transferring somewhere else.
This is not a short distance regional VIA Rail train where the seats are comfortable, where they have luggage racks and offer food and beverages, this is supposed to be rapid transit. Still nobody knows the actual planned capital cost or how many passengers this line will carry on its opening day.
This project sounds worse and worse the closer to construction it gets.
I would like to thank Mr. Cow for bringing this issue to me in such clarity.
The provincial government has revealed its conceptual design approach for the entire 16-km-long Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project for public consultation.
A total of eight additional stations are planned for the Expo Line along Fraser Highway between the existing terminus at King George Station to Langley City Centre.
Seven stations will have side platforms, while the Expo Line’s new easternmost terminus of 203 Street Station will have a centre platform.
The entire extension will be elevated, with the alignment running down the centre of Fraser Highway through Green Timbers Urban Forest to 152 Street Station, on the north side between 152 Street and 166 Street stations, on the south side through the Serpentine River and Agricultural Land Reserve, and returning to the north side for the final stretch before the Surrey-Langley City municipal border.
For the final approach within Langley City to 203 Street Station, the elevated guideway will be on the south side of Industrial Avenue.
Three station-serving bus exchanges are planned, including for 166 Street Station, 196 Street Station, and 203 Street Station. The latter of these stations, as the terminus, will have a particularly larger bus exchange to enable bus connections to communities in eastern Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
A four-lane roadway standard will be maintained for the reconfigured Fraser Highway to accommodate the elevated guideway. As well, project planners intend to take advantage of the SkyTrain project to create an active transportation corridor following the elevated guideway, with wide sidewalks and protected bi-directional bike lanes.
Additionally, the consultation emphasizes on the approach of spurring high-density, transit-oriented development to enable both more housing options and affordable housing, retail and services, employment spaces, recreation and entertainment uses, and educational facilities near the SkyTrain stations. As stipulated by both the provincial government and TransLink in exchange for the major transit investment, both the City of Surrey and Langley City are engaged in various planning processes of creating new area plans that densify areas around stations.
By 2050, it is anticipated 100,000 people will be living within 800 metres of the new stations, and over 20,000 new jobs will be accessible by SkyTrain. The combined population of Surrey, Langley City, and Langley Township will also rise by 420,000 people, and the overall workforce will grow by 147,000 new local jobs.
Furthermore, by 2050, ridership on the Surrey-Langley extension of the Expo Line will reach an average of 80,000 passengers per weekday.
The travel time is projected to be 22 minutes between King George Station and the new terminus of 203 Street Station in Langley City Centre, and 65 minutes on a one-train ride between Waterfront Station and 203 Street Station.
As of 2021, the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain had an estimated construction cost of $3.95 billion for the entire project — built as a single phase reaching Langley, instead of the previously contemplated two phases. This project is confirmed, with the federal government committing $1.3 billion for its share.
Similar to how the Millennium Line Broadway Extension is currently being carried out, the provincial government took over this Expo Line extension project from TransLink last year, and is currently leading planning efforts towards implementation.
The current public consultation will lead to the finalization of the new business case for the entire extension by Fall 2022.
By early 2023, the provincial government will launch the bidding process for a contractor, starting with request for qualifications (RFQ). Shortlisted contractors will then be invited to submit a detailed bid through the request for proposals (RFP) stage in Spring 2023, with an aim to award the contract by the middle of 2024. Construction is expected to begin in late 2024 or early 2025 for an opening by late 2028.
Noticeably absent from the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project scope is the inclusion of an additional operations and maintenance centre (OMC5) serving the Expo Line, which will be located in Langley. The provincial government’s BC Major Infrastructure Projects Brochure, published earlier this spring, suggests the OMC5 facility will be a separate project, with an estimated cost range within the category of between $500 million and $1 billion. Procurement for OMC5 will start in the latter half of 2022, with construction anticipated between 2023 and 2028. This will be a very significant facility to accommodate both Surrey-Langley SkyTrain car operations and the overall long-term growth of the SkyTrain car fleet.
Before major construction begins in about two years on the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain, about $128 million in advance work and site preparation activities will be conducted, including widening Fraser Highway through Green Timbers to a four-lane standard, relocating BC Hydro power lines and structures, relocating other utilities, and property acquisitions.
On the local TV last night, small businesses along the Broadway construction zone are seeing huge drop in sales and a big increase in debt, due to closure of sidewalks.
Shades of the Canada Line debacle on Cambie 15 years ago!
BC’s Transportation Minister Ian Flemming, trundled out the old tried and true comment from the Canada Line days” that profits will return many fold as stated in the business case, after completion”.
Sorry, that maybe true for a surface light rail line, but not for a subway because subways tend to do the opposite and sterilize surface businesses between subway stations!
Just more politcal BS, justifying the BS Line!
From August 2021.
An interesting passage from Steve Munro’s critique of Neptis, which I was reading to gain some insight into the organization, in response to Mr. Burgess’s comment.
Towards the end of this lengthy report, this paragraph stood out.
The whole point of Transit City was to provide improved local, trunk services and to remain on the surface wherever possible to minimize capital costs while avoiding the sterilization of between-station areas with the wide spacing typically found on subway projects.
Let me restate the point of concern.
………. (transit is) to remain on the surface wherever possible to minimize capital costs while avoiding the sterilization of between-station areas with the wide spacing typically found on subway projects.
So now the truth come out, the Broadway subway will sterilize surface business’s along Broadway, between the subway stations.
This contrary to what TransLink and the Mayor of Vancouver is saying! This contrary to hosannas being sung about the subway by the Daily hive and the rest of the mainstream media.
The Broadway subway will harm surface businesses and the City of Vancouver and TransLink are cowards for not telling merchants the truth, that the Broadway subway will sterilize Broadway!
Montreal’s politicians listen to the public far more about transit than Metro Vancouver’s politico’s. The public were growing very disenchanted having an elevated railway go through Montreal’s downtown and maybe would take such disenchantment to the next civic election.
Well, the civic government has pulled the carpet from under the Caisse and in response, they have abandoned REM East.
This means the project is no longer a CDPQ Infra property development transportation project but now a mainly federal- provincial infrastructure project that, will be run jointly between the City of Montreal and the Government of Quebec. As are most of the traditional rapid transit projects in the Province of Quebec. This means also, unlike the existing REM project, there is no ban on other non-REM rapid transit lines that can cross transfer passengers between this project and other new or existing Montreal rapid transit lines.
REM is a light metro and like other light-metros, it has become a “tar baby”…………………
A tar baby is something from which it is nearly impossible to extricate oneself
………………. once you built one, with all the bureaucrats and planners involved desperate trying to save credibility, it is almost impossible to plan for anything else than a light-metro.
REM East was the last straw in Montreal, with a bank dictating how transit was to be built, but light metro now remains with damage already done and cannot be undone.
As one critic of REM said in an email:
The atmosphere of the May 2 press conference hid the fact that the East REM is alive, and worse for the resident community and the environment than before. You have to throw out the REM de l’Est, the REM de Laval, the REM de la Rive-Sud and all the other REMs.
Unlike Montreal, Vancouver’s civic and provincial politicians do not have the moral fortitude to abandon SkyTrain planning in favour of just as effective and less costly public transit alternatives.
REM
Quebec takes over REM de l’Est project after CDPQ Infra backs out
Montreal mayor calls original plan with elevated tracks ‘a historic mistake’
CBC News ·
After butting heads with the creators of the REM de l’Est over a plan to install elevated tracks in Montreal’s downtown core, Premier François Legault announced that the Quebec government will be taking over the massive public transit project and scrapping its downtown portion.
The original developer, CDPQ Infra — a subsidiary of Quebec’s pension fund manager, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec — is now out. Legault and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante made the announcement on Monday at a news conference.
Legault said the plan to have elevated tracks did not gain “social acceptability.” The province will also explore other major changes as well.
Without the elevated platforms, the project, which came with an initial price tag of $10 billion, is no longer viable for CDPQ Infra, the premier said. He also added that he understands why the developer would no longer want to proceed.
It’s not yet clear how these major changes will affect the project’s price tag and timeline. The REM de l’Est was first supposed to be completed in 2029.
“People that know me know that I don’t have a lot of patience and I want this project to be completed as quickly as possible,” Legault said.
“It is crucial for the development of the east end of Montreal.”
On Monday, Plante described the initial plan to have elevated tracks in the eastern part of downtown as a “historic mistake that absolutely had to be avoided.”
Plante’s concerns were echoed by a report from an expert advisory committee, which said the elevated platforms would be an eyesore and would “fracture” the urban landscape. There were also concerns it would erode the quality of life in nearby neighbourhoods, including the city’s historic Chinatown.
Experts and officials had raised concerns that the proposed design of the REM de l’Est, with its elevated platforms, would divide neighbourhoods and make some areas less accessible to pedestrians and cyclists. (CDPQ Infra)
Montreal’s mayor has long been pushing for the city to have a heavier hand in shaping the public transit project.
Moving forward, the major partners working with the province will be the regional transit planning agency for the greater Montreal area (ARTM), the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), the City of Montreal and the province’s Transport Ministry.
In a statement, a Québec Solidaire MNA accused the Legault government of being incompetent in matters of public transit.
“The government will finish its mandate with a mess and by not delivering anything concrete to the east end of Montreal in matters of transit,” said Alexandre Leduc, who represents the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve riding.
The REM de l’Est was originally set to include 23 stations along 32 kilometres of track, stretching from downtown to the eastern neighbourhoods of Pointe-aux-Trembles and Montréal-Nord, which have long been underserved by public transit, through a mix of underground tunnels and elevated tracks.
An electric RATP bus caught fire this morning in Paris.
An electric RATP bus, traveling on line 71, caught fire this Friday morning around 8 a.m., near the Bibliothèque-François-Mitterrand stop, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.
This is the third fire of this type of bus in the Île-de-France in the space of a month
A frightening experience, thankfully no injuries or fatalities?
It seemed an inordinate length of time before les sapeurs-pompiers turned up.
Cardinal Fang is presuming the RATP bus was powered by rechargeable battery cells & not hydrogen.
The Cardinal is afraid that we are going to see a lot more of these incidents from around the world in the next few years, until municipal authorities, politicians & the transport industry wake up & realise that, wireless and on-board vehicle power systems are not as efficient as the lobby believe and do have safety issues.
The article below is unbelievably inconsistent and lacking in basic information.
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