The Vancouver Sun Out Does Itself

Not high speed rail, but TramTrain is an affordable rail option in lightly populated regions.

Vancouver’s mainstream newspapers have been famously ill informed on the subject of “rail”, whether be it, SkyTrain, light rail, or regular railways. I don’t even think there ever has been a honest story about light rail appearing in the Vancouver Sun, but………….

The Sun has completely out done itself on this story and poll.

Daily Poll: Would you support a high speed train connecting Vancouver and the Fraser Valley?

Without any inkling as to the costs involved orAi?? even what high speed rail is, they offer a poll based on aAi?? transit mode with no definition, nor cost estimation.

It is like a poll asking:

Do you want a million dollars a year for life, no questions asked?

Of course the vast majority will vote yes. Stuff and nonsense.

There is a viable plan, it is called the Leewood Study and it is a very good plan; a foundation for a regional rail network for the Fraser Valley.

A much more honest poll would be:

Do you want:

1)Ai?? Large tax increases and user fees for a $12 billion or more high-speed rail line up the Fraser Valley , from Vancouver to Chilliwack or Hope.

or

2)Ai?? Modest tax increases for a regional rail network, with costs starting as low as $750 million for a Vancouver to Chilliwack route.

Now that is a poll worth asking or is the Vancouver Sun afraid to ask?

The Hyperloop Scam

 

As Barnum observed, there is a sucker born every minute.

The Hyperloop is just another “better mousetrap scam” from the “anything is better than rail” crowd.

Hyperloop is just a 21t century version of the atmospheric railway con-game and a game well played to relieve ‘true believers’ of cash, like any other scam.

Very few atmospheric railways ever worked and when they did, it was for a very short while, as the mode extremely proved expensive to operate; more expensive than the railways they were to replace.

Sound familiar?

It should, because that is how are SkyTrain light-metros are built, supported by true believers, conned by very adept confidence tricksters. But, that is another story.

Hyperloop is just more of the same and it seems the the politicians in the American “Rust Belt” are playing the part of Barnum’s “suckers” as they are handing over millions of dollars to an untried, yet to be designed transportation system based on past atmospheric railway cons.

The most important thing for any con artist is never to think like a mark. Marks think they can get something for nothing. Marks think they can get what they donai??i??t deserve and could never deserve. Marks are stupid and pathetic and sad. Marks think theyai??i??re going to go home one night and have the girl theyai??i??ve loved since they were a kid suddenly love them back. Marks forget that whenever somethingai??i??s too good to be true, thatai??i??s because itai??i??s a con.
Holly Black

 

Metropolis

The Hyperloop Pipe Dream

Cities and states are throwing money at a nonexistent mode of transportation.

By Henry Grabar

March 01, 20181:29 PM

Ai??For American lawmakers, funding public transit often feels like small ball. Politicians prefer to dream bigger. Earlier this month, transportation agencies in the Cleveland region and in Illinois announced they would co-sponsor a $1.2 million study of a ai???hyperloopai??? connecting Cleveland to Chicago, cutting a 350-mile journey to just half an hour. Itai??i??s the fourth public study of the nonexistent transportation mode to be undertaken in the past three months.

ai???Ohio is defined by its history of innovation and adventure,ai??? said Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who once canceled a $400 million Obama-era grant for high-speed rail in the state. ai???A hyperloop in Ohio would build upon that heritage.ai??? In January, a bipartisan group of Rust Belt representatives wrote to President Trump to ask for $20 million in federal funding for a Hyperloop Transportation Initiative, a Department of Transportation division that would regulate and fund a travel mode with no proof of concept.

Itai??i??s hard to keep up: Last week, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission announced feasibility and environmental-impact studies for a different hyperloop route, connecting Pittsburgh and Chicago through Columbus, Ohio, to be run by a different company, Virgin Hyperloop One. The companyai??i??which fired a pod through a tube at 240 mph in Decemberai??i??is also studying routes in Missouri and Colorado.* Meanwhile, Elon Muskai??i??who has obtained (contested) tunneling permission from Maryland Gov. Larry Hoganai??i??pulled a permit from the District of Columbia for a future hyperloop station.

But letai??i??s first look at the hyperloop that Grace Gallucci, the head of the Cleveland regional planning association the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), told local radio could be running to Chicago in three to five years, and to the study of which the NOACA contributed $600,000.

The company behind it, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, is one of a handful of U.S. entities that have emerged since Elon Musk first introduced the idea in 2012. In a promotional clip for the Great Lakes Hyperloop that plays like a sequel to Chryslerai??i??s Detroit Super Bowl commercial, a gravelly voice intones that this is not a dream, as b-roll footage of factories is cut with aerial footage of what can only be construction of an oil-and-gas pipeline. ai???Weai??i??ve already got a prototype,ai??? the narrator instructs.

They donai??i??t. Andrea La Mendola, the companyai??i??s chief global operations officer and chief engineering council member, told me there is no full-scale prototype just yet. The company says it is building one now in the southern French city of Toulouse. ai???In terms of full-scale, all-integration, it will [be the first prototype],ai??? he said. ai???We will start with 400 meters. Then we go up to 1 kilometer, and possibly 1.6 kilometersai??i??if we add a curve at the end.ai???

For the rest of the story…………

SkyTrain’s Daddy – The Krauss Maffei Transurban MAGLEV Which Could Not Turn Corners

OK children, a little history lesson, SkyTrain ancestor, The Krauss Maffei Transurban MAGLEV.

For those who believe that, what we call SkyTrain, is a great Canadian invention, will be sad to hear it is not, not even close; it is a mix and match transit system, using largely discarded 1960’s and 70’s technology.

Krauss-Maffei’s Transurban was a 12-passenger automated guideway transit (AGT) mass transit system based on a MAGLEV guideway. Development started in 1970 as one of the many AGT and PRT projects of the age. Its selection as the basis of the GO-Urban system in Toronto in 1973 made it well known in the industry; it would have been the basis of the first large-area AGT mass transit network in the world.

The suspension used attractive magnetic levitation, lifted on two upside-down T-shaped beams.

Technical problems cropped up during the construction of the test track, and the sudden removal of funding by the West German government led to the project’s cancellation in late 1974.

Given the technical problems including problems turning corners, the Ontario government decided to abandon the MAGLEV concept. Instead, they took the basic train design, linear motor, SEL (Standard Electric Lorenz) control system and other features of the Transurban, and redesigned it to run on conventional steel wheels. The result was the “ICTS” system. Announced in June 1975, the government formed the new Urban Transportation Development Corporation, in partnership with five industrial firms.

Today known as the Innovia Advanced Rapid Transit (ART), ICTSALRT/ART is the basis for only seven such systems built in the past 40 years, of which only three are seriously used for urban transit.

The Reserved Rights-of-Way – The Genesis Of LRT

After listening to an very ill informed person on the radio, pontificating on all the ills of light rail, he made one last grand statement, about ” LRT would always get stuck in traffic”.

Of course the person in question was talking about streetcars, or trams that operate on-street in mixed traffic, but that is not light rail.

Light rail is a tram that operates on a dedicated rights-of-way, out of the way of auto traffic, thus not impeded by traffic.

This was realized back in the 1930’s and many tram operators were upgrading their tram lines with portions of ‘reserved R-o-W’s to increase the efficiency of their servcie, able to provide higher capacities and passenger comfort, without buying new trams.

WW 2 and the post war anti-tram movement all but halted upgrades to tram systems world wide and it was not until the resurgence of light rail in the 80’s, did the concept of the reserved R-o-W’s resurface.

Courtesy Tramway.com

A simple yet effective tram reservation in the city centre.

The tracks are slightly raised above the pavement, but still

can allow emergency vehicle access.

The success of the reserved R-o-W lead to dramatic decision, to lawn over the R-o-W, making a the tramway a “Green” linear park.

Courtesy Tramway. com

The lawned R-o-W, making tram routes linear parks.

It is the reserved or dedicated rights-of-way that has made LRT a powerful tool to ease congestion and pollution, by bring metro like service at a fraction of the cost.

Courtesy Tramway.com

A simple reserved rights-of-way, ensures unimpeded access at choke points, such as this bridge.

What is missing from Translink’s Surrey LRT debate, in fact all LRT debates in the region, is the importance of the reserved R-o-W, bringing a SkyTrain like servcie for a fraction of the cost.

Will This Be The End Of The Innovia Light-Metro?

Bombardier Inc. is in big trouble.

The company lost Montreal’s tailor made tender for its REM light-metro project and continues to be late in delivering trams to Toronto and combined with a sundry of other problems has, made the Bombardier product a piranha.

If Bombardier lays off a good number of its employees at its railway plant, there is a very good chance they may mothball niche transit products, such as LIM powered Innovia light-metro.

If the Innovai production line is mothballed or dismantled, I doubt it will be reactivated.

This means no more new cars for the Innovia SkyTrain, unless another company designs and builds a LIM version compatible light-metro.

The recent announcement by TransLink to purchase cars in the near future, will mean nothing, if Bombardier does not have a production line to make them.

Memo to Premier Horgan: It is called the perils of a proprietary railway.

Bombardier may lay off hundreds at its Quebec railway plant if no orders come in

Company was recently excluded from contract to supply trains for Montreal’s light-rail

The railway division of Bombardier Inc. says losing out on a large electric train contract in Montreal may force it to lay off workers this fall at its plant in La Pocatiere, Que., unless it wins some new contracts.

Spokesman Eric Prud’homme describes the situation for the facility as perilous once the contract to make new subway cars for Montreal’s metro system ends.

He says it is “five after midnight” for the plant over the next 12 months, putting at least half of the plant’s 600 jobs on the line.

Local elected officials and workers are calling for an emergency meeting with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on the future of the plant.

They asked Couillard Monday to update his recent comments that there would soon be work and other contracts for this site, even though Bombardier was not selected for the contracts of the Metropolitan Express Network (REM).

The Quebec multinational was excluded from the contract to supply trains, which was won by a consortium involving Alstom Transport Canada and a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin.

No local content requirement was set by CDPQ Infra, the subsidiary of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, which is leading the $6.3-billion project.

Bombardier also lost out last year on a contract to build cars for Montreal’s commuter transportation network, which ordered 24 new train cars from the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation after lowering Canadian content requirements to 15 per cent from 25 per cent in prior contracts.

Prud’homme says La Pocatiere could benefit from an extension of the Montreal Metro contract, which is replacing aging cars on only half the subway network.

 

Update: Bombardier gets rebuke from major shareholder.

A Year Later And TransLink Has Not Learned – Desmond Must Be Fired

“It’s Kind Of Like Building A Subway Station On King For A Fraction Of The Cost.”

As Toronto’s Kings street streetcar reinvents itself as LRT, good things happen.

But, as always with something new, people will complain, especially some restaurant owners who no longer can park their cars in front of their places of business.

If public transit is to work, it must be given priority over other transportation modes and unfortunately, parking.

Light rail, when built properly gives metro style servcie at a fraction of the cost.

Streetcar travel times continue to improve as pilot goes on, city says

ByAi??Kate McGillivray ,Ai??CBC NewsAi??Posted: Feb 16, 2018 4:04 PM ETAi??Last Updated: Feb 16, 2018 4:04 PM ET

Horgan’s Great Blunder, The Pattullo Bridge Affair – A Complete Lack of Foresight

Foresight:Ai??The ability to predict what will happen or be needed in the future.

The announcement for the Pattullo Bridge replacement, by Premier Horgan, displayed a complete lack of foresight for transportation needs in Metro Vancouver.

The key to improving regional mobility in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley is a new railway bridge crossing the Fraser River, as the current decrepit, single track rail bridge crossing the river has long needed replacing.

The GVRD knew this back in the 70’s but with the forcing of the SkyTrain proprietary light-metro on the GVRD, all commonsense planning departed the region.

SkyTrain is far too expensive to build much past Surrey and lacks the flexibility to achieve much in reducing gridlock, which leaves the region withAi?? “Hobson’s Choice” (a choice of taking what is available or nothing at all) of using existing railways or no improvement in regional transit.

The current SkyTrain Lobby fail to understand this and presently they they are lost in a transit ennui, with visions of SkyTrain everywhere.

Sadly, they seem to have the Premier’s ear.

For Premier Horgan, an announcement of a combined road/rail bridge would have been a winner, both by providing a much needed replacement for the Pattullo Bridge and improving rail access across the Fraser River with an eye on future transit needs.

As it stands, Premier Horgan and the NDP’s lack of foresight has just given the Fraser Valley a massive slap across the face and no chance of wooing the Fraser Valley voter in future elections.

A Massive Conflict of Interest

Oh, what tangled webs we weave……..

The big news today is not the forthcoming announcement by the Premier and Minister of Transportation replacing the aged and decrepit Pattullo Bridge, with a new $1.6 billion bridge, rather it is revelation that so-called due diligence panels of handpicked experts who were hired to review TransLinkai??i??s business cases.

Included in the due diligence panels was a former SNC Lavalin Executive, yet SNC Lavalin hold the Engineering Patents for the ART Innovia proprietary light-metro system! In fact the due diligence panel, to review the TransLink business case for both the Broadway subway and Surrey’s LRT were filled with SkyTrain and light-metro types.

Even more disturbing, no one with any expertise with modern LRT, was on the panel.

As for TransLink’s Business Cases for transit projects, they are a joke, the Evergreen Line’s business case was easily shredded by transit expert Gerald Fox and the business case for the Canada Line allowed a subway to be built with just more than half the capacity needed to justify a subway!

A missive conflict of interest now hangs over both rail transit projects, abetted by Premier Horgan and Minister of Transportation Claire Travena.

The fix is in and with the Broadway Subway and the Surrey LRT, as the recommendations from the due diligence panels were censored from the briefing notes.

As Gerald Fox observed:

So I went back and read the alleged ai???Business Caseai??? (BC) report in a little more detail. I found several instances where the analysis had made assumptions that were inaccurate, or had been manipulated to make the case for SkyTrain. If the underlying assumptions are inaccurate, the conclusions may be so too.

And concluded:

It is interesting how TransLink has used this cunning method of manipulating analysis to justify SkyTrain in corridor after corridor, and has thus succeeded in keeping its proprietary rail system expanding.

Common sense would derail both projects immediately, but building transit was never about common sense, it was and is by political diktat from the Premier’s Office; to build what the premier wants built. What the premier wants built is the political deal he or she cut with SNC Lavalin and Bombardier Inc. the patent holders of the proprietary ALRT/ART Innovia light-metro system.

This is the stuff how FastFerry fiascos begin!

Exclusive: A new Pattullo Bridge for $1.6B, but Broadway Subway and Surrey LRT costs remain secret

Bob Mackin

The cost of the new Pattullo Bridge is pegged at $1.6 billion, according to a mid-October briefing note to the NDP minister responsible for TransLink.

Premier John Horgan, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claire Trevena and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson will green light the New Westminster-to-Surrey spanner on Feb. 16. They are expected to announce the government, not TransLink, will be responsible for replacing the decaying 80-year-old bridge. A source close to the project also told theBreaker that the contract to build the new bridge is expected to include a community benefits clause that may require, among other things, a quota of aboriginal apprentices.

Aritstai??i??s rendering of the new Pattullo Bridge (TransLink)

The briefing note, obtained by theBreaker under the freedom of information law, was written after the government received TransLinkai??i??s business case for the new four-lane bridge, which would be expandable to six lanes. Jan. 1, 2023 would be the target for opening.

ai???The Mayorsai??i?? Vision indicated that the bridge replacement would cost approximately $980 million,ai??? said the briefing note to Robinson. ai???TransLink currently estimates the Pattullo Bridge replacement would cost approximately $1.6 billion.ai???

The project is not eligible for funding from the Public Transit Infrastructure Fund, but TransLink was exploring options with the federal infrastructure bank and Trade Transportation Corridor Initiative. Horgan and Trevena threw TransLink a curveball last summer when they kept a campaign promise and abolished tolls on the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges.

ai???TransLink is also looking for a subsidy to replace the tolls that were eliminated Sept. 1,ai??? said the briefing note. ai???The transit authority had been counting on tolls to pay for up to two-thirds of the cost of the new Pattullo, which was estimated at about $1 billion in 2014. The amount of the subsidy has not been determined.ai???

Late last year, Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan was voted to replace Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson as chair of the Mayorsai??i?? Council and a member of the TransLink board of directors. Corrigan suggested the Pattullo be the top priority, before TransLink builds the Broadway subway or Surrey light rail transit.

The cost estimates for the two rail projects were censored from the documents provided to theBreaker. However, one of the briefing notes was created Dec. 14 and quotes a Dec. 13 story by theBreaker about the ongoing cost secrecy.

Under the heading ai???Escalating Costs,ai??? an aide to Robinson summarized theBreaker story that was headlinedAi?? ai???Mayors got secret update last year on TransLink mega project costs, but kept public in the dark,ai???

ai???The story is based on internal documents released through FOI that suggest the estimated costs for the megaprojects have risen significantly. Final costs will not be determined until TransLink submits its final business cases and will be shared publicly when they are approved (estimated late February).ai???

In 2014, the Surrey project was estimated at $2.21 billion and Broadway $1.98 billion. TransLink warned that costs have increased due to rising costs of property, labour, materials and equipment.

A briefing note said that $300,000 is being spent on so-called due diligence panels of handpicked experts who were hired to review TransLinkai??i??s business cases. The panels were struck in January 2017 to review what is officially called the Surrey L Line and the Millennium Line Broadway Extension.

ai???The focus of each panel was to review current alignment, geotechnical considerations, design and methods of construction; property acquisition; costs estimates; and formation and content of business case in relation to Treasury Board expectations,ai??? the briefing note said.

Former SNC-Lavalin executive vice-president James Burke and ex-B.C. Deputy Finance Minister Peter Milburn are on both panels. Engineer Les Elliott is the third member of the Surrey panel, while veteran SkyTrain construction engineer and transit tunnelling specialist Jeff Hewitt are on the Broadway panel.

Their recommendations were censored from the briefing notes.

GCP-2017-74550-Mackin.pdf by BobMackin on Scribd

Metro Madness – Does TransLink Understand The Issue Of Subway Maintenance?

Subway maintenance costs are an issue that TransLink and the regional mayors have not even considered.

As subways age, they cost a lot to maintain. The TTC has put the cost just to operate and maintain 5 km of subway, at $40 million annually and just gives a hint of maintenance costs to come for TransLink.

If costs are deferred, like many transit operators do, the problems are compounded until so bad that the subway line has to be closed down altogether for repairs.

Vancouver already has the Canada Line subway, but as it ages, much money must be spent to maintain it, but in the future, how will those costs affect the rest of the transit system.

The Broadway subway, if built, will be another maintenance time-bomb for TransLink, yet subway maintenance costs have been completely ignored by all.

Memo to John Horgan; Claire Travena; and David Eby; not only is the Broadway subway a “FastFerry” project on steroids, the huge maintenance costs of this “White Elephant” project will haunt the NDP forever!

 

Md. shuts down entire subway system for emergency repairs

Posted on February 12, 2018

As sections of the Metro SubwayLink are repaired and made available for use, MDOT MTA will evaluate a partial reopening of the system.

MDOT/MTA

Anatomy of a Rail System Shutdown, Reconstruction ai???Safety is our top priority,ai??? said Quinn. ai???With bus bridges, we will be able to do the necessary rail repairs to reopen our system as quickly as possible while still providing our customers with critical access to work, school, medical facilities, and leisure activities.ai??? “On behalf of our citizens who rely daily on the Metro SubwayLink system for their transport needs, I want to express our gratitude to the Hogan Administration for this emergency funding we requested to provide dedicated buses that will travel the Metro SubwayLink route,ai??? said Mayor Catherine E. Pugh. ai???It is important that we do everything possible to mitigate the inconvenience of prolonged disruption of the Metro SubwayLink service.ai??? Category: Latest News, News Articles, Opinion, Reference Material / Education, SkyTrain and the Canada Line, zweisystem · Tags: Broadway subway, Canada Line, NDP, subway, Vancouver « Previous Page Next Page » Disclaimer: Opinions expressed on the blog are the opinions of the writers, and are not official positions of Rail For the Valley. We welcome submissions from the community. If you would like to submit an article for consideration, please contact us at info@railforthevalley.com. Post Catagories: Cardinal Fang Events John Buker John Vissers Latest News Letters to the Editor News Articles Opinion Politics Puff Piece Rail for the Valley Reference Material / Education Repost SkyTrain and the Canada Line Surrey LRT TramTrain Uncategorized zweisystem Subsribe to Our Updates! Donate Please Support the Campaign: Recent Comments Haveacow on SkyTrain Really Isn’t A Regional Distance Based, Rapid Transit System legoman0320 on The SkyTrain Lobby Has A Meltdown legoman0320 on Lies, Damned Lies And The Broadway Subway Main on From September 2010 – The Groundbreaking Leewood Study – Updated zweisystem on Lies, Damned Lies And The Broadway Subway Home Blog Authors Support the Campaign Get Involved Please Donate Endorsements The Need for Passenger Rail Important Studies Letters to Editors Contact Us Error, no Advert ID set! Check your syntax! Copyright © 2026 · All Rights Reserved · Rail for the Valley NonProfit Theme v3 by Organic Themes · WordPress Hosting · RSS Feed · Log in