So, Where Did The $500 Million Go?

Not before another dime is spent on TransLink, some fiscal sanity must come to TransLink. TransLink has operating expenses which are about one-third greater than the transit industry norm in Canada.Ai?? For the present annual $1.5 billion operating budget of TransLinkAi?? this works out to $500 million annually in unexplained operating expenses.Ai?? How can the […]

Surrey asks feds for $1.8 billion for light rail- Maybe It’s Time To Say Adios to TransLink

Well, Toronto’s crack smoking Toronto’s mayor Rob Ford wants Ottawa to fund his multi billion dollar subway dream, I guess Surrey feels the feds should ante up for transit projects out west. What the likes of UBC professor Larry Franks doesn’t realize or refuses to realize is that Skytrain is obsolete, a yesterday’s transit system […]

South Surrey and Whiterock’s Fifteen Year Itch

Every fifteen years or so, the good burghers of Whiterock and South Surrey agitate for the removal of the BNSF tracks that run on the shoreline from the international boarder to Crescent Beach. Not going to happen. Though safety is the supposed concern, Zwei thinks that property values is the real reason as people living […]

More tramways for Paris

What the SkyTrain and subway lobbies fail to mention, is that Paris transit authorities are also investing heavily in light rail or tramways. Something that planners should consider, when planning for new transit lines in Vancouver. Paris inaugurates tram Line T7 18 Nov 2013 FRANCE: The latest tram line in Paris opened on November 16 […]

Whistler’s Hydrogen Bus Scheme Fizzles

Not quite a “FastFerry” debacle, but the hydrogen bus scheme was one of dreams, by a premier with very little “cred” in providing affordable public transit. Zwei knew that the hydrogen bus would flop, because the major companies that provide buses, trams and trains, backed off hydrogen fuel cell powered transit vehicles almost a decade […]

How much does a subway cost to build?

Ever how much it costs to build a subway? The proposed 2.5 km (aprox.) London Northern Line extension from Kennington to Battersea Power Station will cost A?870 million or CAD $1,483.6m or put another way, the proposed subway extension will cost over $575.44m per km to build. It seems TransLink builds its subways on the […]

Light Rail Is Not A Panacea

In Canada transit authorities, unlike their European counterparts, tend not to do maintenance until it is absolutely necessary to do so. This means customer affecting break downs do occur and when they do, the transit customer is ill served. Older trams need a robust maintenance routine, to prevent breakdowns and I would wager that the […]

Donai??i??t learn from the failure of the subway on Cambie Street ai??i?? copy it for Broadway

Sad to see that the best UBC can do is to copy failed 1950’s planning philosophy for the 21st century for Vancouver. In North America, subways are seen as the the great transit philosopher’s stone to solve all transportation problems – if you do not have a subway, your transit system is next to useless. […]

Professor warns of suburban sprawl, ai???horrificai??i?? congestion.

Zwei has been warning about this for several years, and now, now someone has noticed? I’m sorry, but I just do not see any improvement in our regional transit chaos, until someone has the moral fortitude to put a wooden stake through the heart of SkyTrain. For too long, TransLink has been recycling bus riders […]

Massive pileup closes Highway 1 in Chilliwack. We need a rail alternative!

One wonders if we had a TramTrain service from Chilliwack to Vancouver, would it reduce the chances ofAi?? major accidents, especially in icy weather?If a major closure of Hwy. 1 does happens, would not a Chilliwack to Vancouver TramTrain service offer a handy alternative for people wishing to travel to Vancouver or Surrey, or Langley, […]