And Then There Was Six

  As Zwei has repeated so often, only seven ICTS/ALRT/ALM/ART/IRT/MALM proprietary railways have been built and operating. Well that is not true any more as the TTC is also confirmed train service on Line 3, originally scheduled to end on Nov. 18, will not restart following a July 24 derailment. This unwanted proprietary railway was […]

20 Minutes Into The Future

This article caught my eye. If the provincial or federal government actually created a program for regional rail systems in the country, they could also carry freight, creating a regional rail system that would not only serve the public, but businesses as well. With autonomous battery  powered rail-cars, we could see “Mixed Trains” in operation […]

BRT – A View From a Canadian Transit Expert – A Repost from 2015

Mr. Haveacow, who frequently comments on the RftV blog, is a Canadian public transit specialist and what he says deserves to be listened to. As he is active in the transit profession in Canada, he would like to keep his real name out of the media, lest he be black listed for his views. The […]

Vancouver Will Need To Adopt Lower-Cost LRT In Its Lesser Corridors – Updated

The consensus is the same, Metro Vancouver will need to adopt lower-cost LRT for its future transit needs. This was first posted in 2019 and the costs and the financial numbers have changed somewhat. Currently, the province and metro Vancouver is spending over $11 billion for 21.7 km of new light-metro line, including the Broadway […]

The Fuel-Cell Tram Truely Green Public Transport

Trams without the electrical overhead, brings a new dimension for new tram planning, by making trams cheaper to build and operate, enabling them to penetrate further to attract more ridership. Except for Canada and our archaic rules about light rail, the fuel-cell tram will no longer have issues with winter ice on the third rail […]

REM – The Karma Vanishes As REM Goes Ka-Put

Despite all the hype and hoopla with Montreal’s new REM light metro, the first day’s service was a shambles. A stuck switch, on opening day? This is a bad omen for the light metro system. With an at-grade tram or light rail, a stuck switch can be operated manually, but on a fully automatic and […]

A Very Close Call – The Public Needs An Inquiry

Poor maintenance can be traced to TransLink’s dire financial ills. Sadly the mandarins running TransLink do not seem to be acquainted with the nuances of maintaining the railway and the SkyTrain light-metro system is a railway. Track switches are an integral part of the railway and must be constantly maintained, yet TransLink seems to have […]

Free Transit, Is Not Free

A re-post from 2016. An interesting read for those who want free transit, but remember, free transit comes at a price.   The Tallinn experiment: what happens when a city makes public transport free? Since Estonia’s capital started providing free public transport for residents in 2013, it claims to have turned a €20m a year […]

Very Light Rail for Victoria?

On CHEK News this afternoon was a rather long piece on Ultra light rail for Victoria and Zwei sees a problem. What was being pitched was an Ultra Light Rail system and not the Very light rail system, being proposed for Coventry, though using photos of Coventry’s Very Light Rail proposal. When a promoter of […]

Gold Plated Union Contract For A Gold Plated Transit System

Hmmm – election coming and a fear of of another transit strike, well what can a government do? Give transit workers a “gold plated” union contract. TransLink, despite claims otherwise, is run by the premier’s office. All major TransLink decisions must have the approval by the Premier of British Columbia and this union contract is […]