Croydon Tramlink – new tram is delivered

London Reconnections http://www.londonreconnections.com/2012/in-pictures-the-new-croydon-tram-units/ Last year TfL tendered for six new trams for the Croydon Tramlink. These are primarily intended to allow services on the Elmers End branch to be increased by 4tph. The A?16.3m contract was won by Stadler, who committed to produce, test and deliver 6 Variobahns in sufficient time for them to enter […]

Why transit fares must increase.

Some years ago, I corresponded with a chap in the UKAi??who was (and still is) a respected transit consultant and much what I discuss about in this blog comes from our discussions. One striking comment he made; “Building metros on routes that do not have the ridership to sustain them, only invites higher subsidies and […]

Will Transportopia solve transportation problems in Surrey?

IAi??received the following email from the the Surrey Citizens Transportation Initiative (SurreyCiTI) and have spent a few day trying to make sense of it. Sadly, with many grass-root organizations, they tend to get hijacked by special interest groups and the following has all the appearances of this happening. Carpooling is not a new concept, but […]

Transportation Planning – A North American view

An interesting extract from a commentary comparing currentAi??North AmericanAi??practice with European `In Vancouver, over a decade ago at the grand opening of the heritage streetcar project, a chap from Bombardier singled me out. What he said after a few niceties, astounded me. To paraphrase, he claimed that: Vancouver’s SkyTrain greatly retarded sales of Bombardier built […]

The fictitious war on cars

Why the automobile is not ai??i?? and has never been ai??i?? endangered Jennifer Good ai??i?? The Brock Press (Brock University) Canadian University Press http://cupwire.ca/articles/50669   Bike lanes don’t slit cars’ tires. There’s no war zone here. (Photo courtesy of Paul Krueger/Flickr Creative Commons.) ST. CATHARINES (CUP) ai??i?? “The War OnAi??Cars.”Ai??It’s a slogan that I first […]

Professor Lewis Lesley and the LR55 tram track – will it usher in a new age of cheaper light rail?

The Lewis LR55 track system has been around for many years now the good Professor himself is advocating its use for the troubled Edinburgh tram project. The concept is that the weight of the tram is supported by the concrete trough longitudinally along the track, instead of a downward thrust, thus not disrupting the underground […]

The huge cost of building subways: is TransLink listening?

What was once going to be a much more affordable hybrid light-metro/light rail line, before the election of Toronto’s Ai??Mayor Ford, Ai??is now being replanned as a full scale subway, dramatically increasing costs. Those wanting to build a subway under Broadway had better get out their calculators because new subway construction in Toronto is getting […]

Ottawa tries to avoid the Vanvouver T.O.D. disease.

In Vancouver, metro construction is planned andAi??built toAi??subsidize land development, not to provide better transit for customers. In theory it is to greatly increase ridership for the new metro line, in practice some unpleasant things happen,Ai??such asAi??people moving into the new high rise apartments and condos and driving to work because they work where the […]

Toronto’s Mayor “Edsel’s” War On Transit – When idiots makes decisions, don’t be surprised at the results!

Toronto’s Mayor Ford’s (Mayor Edsel is a better name) amateur attempts to improve transit in the Toronto region is fast becoming a fiasco! But what else would one expect from aAi??puffed up American tea-bag style politician who has a hate on for streetcars and LRT because; “they take road space away from cars“. His solutionAi??building […]

Trams, Pedestrians & Bicycles + buses & cars in Amsterdam

Trams, bicycles, pedestrians also buses, motorcycles & cars happily co-existing in Amsterdam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JeWED7Zilo Just to reassure Ai??theAi??Ai??retardedAi??Ai??dingbats amongst Skyscraper, Ai??Skytrain for Surrey, Translink & Ai??VancouverAi??activistsAi??that it can be done Ai??and that no one was killed or injured during the making of this video a Happy New Year to one & all…. the toast is `Shiney […]