Rail for the Valley Told You So!

So the opening of the Expo Line extension to Langley has been delayed to 2028, well don’t bet the farm on it as a more realistic date is 2030, if ever! RvtV just commented on this issue two posts ago: Will SkyTrain Light metro Ever Reach Langley One just has to laugh at the politicians […]

Will SkyTrain Light Metro Ever Reach Langley?

These excerpts are from a comment by Haveacow, our expert from back east, which  must give one pause, because TransLink is about $1 billion short to extend the Expo line to Langley! But TransLink is also short of train storage and maintenance space. They desperately need to build the extension of the Expo Line to […]

Rubber on Asphalt

  BC politics at its best, rubber on asphalt is always a sure vote getter at election time. Funding for this $235.5 million highway upgrade was announced in 2019, with the federal government committing $109 million, the provincial government with $99.5 million, and the Township of Langley with $27 million. The 12 km project will […]

Costs – A Repost From January 2020

Well, things have changed in a year and a half. The Trudeau Liberals have promised that they will fund 40% of the Expo Line Extension to Langley, but premier Horgan and TransLink have not, as yet, anted up the money to pay for their portion. With a cost, now around $3.95 billion, the 16 km […]

Lawned Rights-of-Ways Come To Canada

Will this be a game changer for light rail in Canada? For over thirty years, lawned rights-of-way have been the norm on European tramways and light rail operations; even the Deutsche Bahn (German Federal Railway) investigated lawend rights-of-ways for the main line railways. Today, the lawned R-o-W’s are a fixture of the modern tram.   Not […]

The Shape of Surrey’s Future

The shape of things to come for Surrey. Surrey, ever trying to out do Vancouver to be number one in the city, is building with light metro, because Vancouver has one. The following quote caught my eye. Gurugram is not a walkable city, and has very limited public transport connectivity for the masses. While it […]

Is TransLink Getting Desperate?

TransLink is not noted for honesty and candor and the ponderous bureaucracy seems very worried these days. The senior bureaucrats at TransLink’s ivory towers in Sapperton, seem to be somewhat desperate. On Facebook there is deluge of advertisements almost pleading for people to return to transit and woe to anyone who states the obvious that […]

An Apples To Apples Comparison – A Tale of Two Cities

We all know about the $3.95 billion 18 km extension of the Expo line to Surrey with all the hype and hoopla of the SkyTrain Lobby is in full swing. Back in the Waterloo region of Ontario, $2.2 billion buys you 37 km of light rail! The comparison between Surrey and Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, (the urban areas […]

It Did Not Take Long Turning Paradise Into A Parking Lot

First question: Where is the almost $1 billion in funding needed to make the Expo Line extension to Langley a go? Second Question: Mr. Horgan and the Mayor’s Council on Transit, what taxes have to be increased to pay the estimated $1 billion in outstanding funding?   Now, the story in question. Not even a […]

The Canadain Disease

Despite the churlish comments who oppose Zwei’s views on transit, claiming that I somehow invent issues and more, the following comment came via a chap I was corresponding with in Ontario and I just cannot help but agree. Canadian transportation is now so hideously politicized that I just don’t see how we can bring any […]