A Comment Worth Reading – Costs!

The chap who uses the avatar Haveacow is a transit and transportation expert and it is a must, reading his comments; I certainly do! I have been in this game for almost 35 years and the song sung by the SkyTrain lobby never changes. Those defending light metro in Metro Vancouver never deal with costs. […]

The Peanut Gallery

Peanut Gallery: a group of people who criticize someone, often by focusing on insignificant details.   After 35 years of advocating for better transit, I have come to understand the transit peanut gallery. Our local variety has become more and more disjointed from the realities of providing affordable public transport in the Metro Vancouver area. […]

SNC Lavalin Back In The Game

SNC Lavalin is back in the game after a wrist slap from the Canadian courts. The following is from Randy Chatterjee, who has been following the financial paper-trail from the RAV/Canada Line project; and it ain’t pretty. The SNC Lavalin/Caisse/ROTEM consortium won the faux BC Liberal P-3 contract and by doing so, made the Canada […]

It Is Essential That LRT Is Designed By Consultants With Expertise In Modern LRT!

TransLink has absolutely zero expertise with modern light rail, yet continually plans for grossly inferior light rail lines which under scrutiny shows so many flaws that their plans become laughable. The latest was then Surrey LRT, which was so over engineered and so gold-plated, it became unafordable and was easily pushed aside by the SkyTrain […]

A Merry Christmas From Rail For The Valley

Christmas trams from…………….. Munich Budapest Zagreb Vienna Bratislava A very merry and a very safe Christmas to all of you, from Rail for the Valley!

Expo & Millennium Line Ridership – 150,000 Per Weekday

It is interesting, the on going debate about the SkyTrain light metro’s ridership, especially when TransLink’s spin doctors tell the truth. This comment by a TransLink spokesperson caught me by surprise and it has been repeated in both the mainstream and electronic media. Just has to be true! TransLink characterized this job action as unreasonable […]

Only In Sweeden You Say ……. Pity

One would think if our politicians and bureaucrats took public transit, the system would greatly improve. Sadly this is not the case and our regional politicians and bureaucrats are woefully ignorant of public transport and spend their energies promoting their pet prestigious transit plans, without ever riding on a bus or SkyTrain The provincial government […]

Montreal’s REM – The Canada Line’s Financial Clone

  Like the Canada Line light-metro, REM’s funding comes from the the Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and being built by Canadian favourite, SNC Lavalin. Bombardier Inc., again got pipped at the post by a desperate Alstom/Hitachi conglomerate desperately trying to sell their light-metro system. Like the Canada Line, is grossly under […]

Chemnitz Tram-Train Passenger Traffic Doubles

  Chemitz TramTrain, using the Stadler Citylink has more than doubled ridership since operation commenced in 2016 by allowing, as in Karlsruhe, unimpeded service (no transfer) to the city centre by using light rail vehicles that can act both as a mainline EMU’s or as a streetcar. This is the lesson TransIink doggedly refuses to […]

OK Mr. Horgan and Translink, Why not TramTrain?

  It has now been 10 years since Rail for the Valley commissioned the Leewood Study on reestablishing a passenger rail service from Vancouver to Chilliwack and all the public got was invented excuses from all levels of government. Light rail doesn’t work; no one will take it, too circuitous a route; etc., were the […]