Trams Are Green – Subways Are Not!

From the response from the previous post with about lawned rights-of-ways for trams, I offer more glimpses of what modern LRT should look like in Metro Vancouver and in any city considering modern light rail. Think of tram routes as linear parks. Think of Vancouver with many linear parks, providing fast and efficient public transport. […]

Lawned Rights-of-Ways Revisited

One item that the SkyTrain lobby are loath to show, is lawned rights-of-ways for modern LRT and I wonder why? Even in parched Australia, lawned tram track is being laid. But it is in France, where lawned tram track is de rigueur, making the tram a part of the cityscape and not an eyesore. The […]

This Is Light Rail.

The new Camberra Australia, light rail line. This is classic light rail. Reserved or dedicated, at-grade rights-of-way and easy pedestrian access across the line is the hallmark of LRT. All the benefits of a metro at a fraction of the cost. So, why does the provincial NDP, the City of Vancouver and the Mayor’s Council […]

When SkyTrain Grows Old

Age is an expensive journey for older transit systems, especially older proprietary transit systems and the MK.1 cars operating on the SkyTrain network are indeed showing their age. The majority of Mk.1 cars are now over 34 years old and are in dire need of major maintenance and/or refurbishment. This is why TransLink is ordering […]

Trams Having Limited Capacity On Broadway? – SURELY NOT!

The ongoing planning charade currently being played out by the cities of Vancouver & Surrey, and TransLink with the proposed Broadway SkyTrain subway, is being fueled by professional misconduct, by all professionals and most politicians involved. A notable exception is Vancouver City Councillor Colleen Hardwick. Today, the message being relayed around the world is that […]

BCIT to UBC and Picnics In The Park

First published in 2009. Updated 2014, 2016 and in 2019   A Wee Bit Of Local History In early 1996, during BC Transit’s meaningless public consultation period for the Broadway Lougheed Rapid Transit Project which later morphed into the Millennium Line, Zwei received a phone call from an European Transit specialist, who worked for Asea […]

Articulated Rail Cars – Transit 101

So boys and girls, lesson for today; what is an articulated car? Definition: Articulated cars are rail vehicles which consist of a number of cars which are semi-permanently attached to each other and share common Jacobs bogies or axles and/or have car elements without axles suspended by the neighbouring car elements. They are much longer […]

Stadler Trains For Ottawa’s Trillium Line

This is of great importance for Fraser Valley passenger  rail. The  Stadler FLIRT is a close cousin of the Stadler  GTW tramtrain and like the GTW, the articulated FLRT uses a diesel power-pack located in the middle of the train. The FLIRT DMU is really a five section, articulated diesel rail car, with four sections […]

King Street Success – Lessons for Vancouver and Surrey!

Kicking and screaming all the way, Toronto is now updating its heritage streetcar system to light rail standards and the the result is obvious, success. Modern trams, reserved rights-of-ways, all the key ingredients for successful LRT. Sadly, this puts Toronto 40 years behind most other European Cities. As found in Europe, modern light-rail has changed […]

South Fraser Community RAIL

South Fraser Community Rail South Fraser Community Rail is the latest group joining the struggle to get rail passenger service operating in the Fraser Valley. Instead of TramTrain and its variants, they opted for the hydrogen powered electric train in the guise of an electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains.