Aging Pattullo Bridge needs to be replaced – Why Not Build A New Combined Road/Rail Bridge Instead?

Ai??The decrepit Pattullo Bridge, with the rickety Fraser River Rail Bridge under it There is no surprise over this decision at all, the aged Pattullo Bridge needs to be replaced and so it should as it is literally falling apart. The Pattullo wasAi??originally built as two lane bridge in the 1930’s, like the Lions Gate […]

Taxpayers Beware – Seattle’s Newest Subway Is Costing $400 Million A Kilometre

This story should be sounding alarm bells everywhere, Seattle's newest subway, a mere 4.8 km long, is set to cost a massive USD $2 billion or about USD $400 million per km to build, making this insane project one of the worlds more expensive subway projects! 'Zwei' never supported Seattle's so-called LRT line because it is really a very expensive […]

Coast Mountain buses passed by stops more than 200,000 times in 2010

The following story, “Coast Mountain buses passed by stops more than 200,000 times in 2010“, is one of bad management rather than anything else. What we see is TransLink’s policy of “to hell with the customer“. What is sad is that there areAi??many politically inspired bus routes, designed specifically to placate civic politicians in the […]

To Simon Fraser University by funicular!

Last year there was much talk of an aerial tramway, linking theAi??Millennium Line to Simon Fraser University, but like all transit projects in the region, it has stalled for lack of funding. The SFU aerial tramway project is projected to cost nearly $70 million, which breaks down into $38.2 million for manufacturing the actual lift […]

All about funiculars!

FlA?ibanen The FlA?ibanen in Bergen Norway   Zwiesystem has always been interested in alternative transit modes and this web site on Funiculars has peeked Zwei’s interest. http://www.funimag.com/index.htm I can think of two or three locations in the lower mainland where Funicular operation could be an asset …… how about SFU for a start?

Vancouver considers higher-density housing plans for Cambie Street corridor – Have we given land developers a $2.5 billion subsidy?

From the ‘Well I told you so department’. In Vancouver, expensive subways are built not to move people, but toAi??subsidize land development. Readers of the Rail for the Valley blog know that this announcement was predicted and why there much hype and hoopla in the mainstream media with the recently opened Canada line metro; the […]

LIGHT RAIL FOR SURREY – The Whalley – King George – White Rock (WKW) Line

Surrey wants light rail, but where will the first LRT line go and what line would attract the most customers to the new light rail line? If the goal of the new light rail line is to serve customer needs and offer the ability to provide an attractive alternative to the car, it must serve a […]

IS IT TIME TO HAVE A ROYAL COMMISSION ON URBAN TRANSPORTATION?

Recent angst and confusion in local and national blogs concerning bus, light rail, metro, and commuter train makes Zwei wonder if a Royal Commission on Urban Transportation is needed. There are no national standards that readily defines transit mode and one is needed, so the average Canadian (read Canadian taxpayer) can engage in honest debate on urban transportation. […]

B.C. government willing to talk about light rail to Langford – From the Victoria Times Colonist

Good news from Victoria! Though I find the proposed cost of $950 million rather steep ( the full build 136 km. Rail for the Valley Leewood TramTrain report cost less than $50 million more to build), that the provincial government is actually talking LRT is ground breaking. Victoria’s geography may play a part in this […]

Port Moody mayor calls for public pressure on TransLink to build Evergreen Line – From the Vancouver Province

From the “Bin there, done that department“. I think Port Moody mayor Joe Trasolini now understands that the Evergreen (locally called the Nevergreen) is probably not going to be built, in his tenure in office. There are now three strikes against the Evergreen line; not enough money to fund the metro; Vancouver wants a SkyTrain […]