The Ottawa Fiasco Updated

Too many cooks spoil the broth and too many politicians spoil transit. But there is one quote that leaves me puzzled: The city chose an Alstom train with unproven technology that strained the limits of what an LRT system could do. Light rail is anything but unproven, as it has been around in one form […]

The Cost Of Tunneling – Part 2

Again, our friend, Mr. Cow’s comment is worthy of a post of its own. To tunnel or not to tunnel: that is the question and tunneling or subway construction has become politcal and not technical issue. In the late Victorian era, during the railway building boom, small railway companies almost went bankrupt building tunnels because […]

The Cost of Tunneling

The huge cost of tunneling for subway projects are barely mentioned in the media. €4.4 billion for 6 km of twin bore tunnel and seven stations equals CAD $6.08 billion or CAD $1.o1 billion per km to build. This should give pause for thought to BC and regional politicians that the high cost of subway […]

Observations On A Broken Regional Transit System

The past few month, Zwei has been on the road, throughout the lower mainland attending rugby games (my son plays first div.) and has made a very depressing observation. Despite over $30 billion invested or will be invested in the regional light metro system, traffic is getting worse and congestion, spiced with gridlock is endemic. […]

Why Are Transit Projects So Costly?

Sadly, the same is true in Canada and BC. By comparison the $2.7 billion, 3.5 mile (5.7 km) Broadway subway costs $772 million/mile and the $4.6 to $5.1 billion 10 mile (16 km) Surrey Langley SkyTrain will cost $467 million to $510 million/mile to build. Oh yes, the estimated $1.5 billion 80 mile (130 km) […]

Over-Designed’ Megaprojects Are Bad For Environment And Taxpayers

Sadly, the same is true in BC and Canada, where politicians fully believe the more money one spends on transit, the better is is. We are currently spending around $11 billion to extend the SkyTrain light metro system a mere 21.7 km. Current Cost Estimates: Surrey Langley SkyTrain – $4.6 billion to $5.1 billion Broadway […]

Listen To The Experts

When Patrick Condon, BSc, MLA,  Professor Chair, Urban Design Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture says a new transit vision is needed in metro Vancouver, we should listen. We should have listened to the experts in the 1980’s when the then social Credit government forced ALRT onto the regions regional transit […]

The End Of The SkyTrain “Gravy-Train?

Gravy Train: Used to refer to a situation in which someone can make a lot of money for very little effort. Mr. Cow’s comment in the previous post, deserves a post of its own, because it could be a game changer in regional transit planning. Criticizing regional transit planning has been somewhat taboo with the […]

Montreal’s Pie-IX BRT

Starting November 7, Montreal’s new BRT service will run between Saint-Martin boulevard in Laval and Pierre-De Coubertin in Montreal. The 13-km BRT line will serve eastern Laval and cross through four Montreal boroughs, offering transfers to the Green metro line (Pie-IX station), STL services in Laval and the exo5 commuter train line to Mascouche (St-Michel-Montréal-Nord […]

Maintenance Costs – What Politicans Ignore

This is a must read as maintenance is one of the least understood functions of operating a transit system. It is often ignored by politicians because most politicians do not understand it nor want to due to unpleasant tax implications that tend to be embarrassing at election time. The Ottawa LRT/Light-Metro is a very good […]