Why Are North American Engineers So Afraid Of European Transit Developments?

Answer: They can't plan for $1.4 Million a mile rail transit schemes, like what their European friends are doing! The Valley Rail naysayers abound, but when faced with undisputable facts that light rail and/or its many variants can be built very cheaply indeed; much cheaper than $125 million/km SkyTrain or even $20 million/km highways, they […]

Transit Planning In Metro Vancouver – Where Have We Gone Wrong?

The release of TransLink’s $400,000.00 Fraser Valley Transit Study continues over three decades of transit denial by politicians and bureaucrats alike. The SkyTrain driverless light metro system has brought with it, the seeds of a regional transportation debacle, where the invented claims by the SkyTrain lobby has infected all regional planning, including the universities with […]

This report merely postpones a serious attempt to grapple with crafting a long-term solution – Articles About TransLink’s Valley Transit Plans

It seems TransLink and the provincial government got what they wanted – nothing, for this is what their recently released transportation plan is really about, doing nothing. The estimated annual cost of $90 million to operate rail transit in the Fraser Valley is laughable, as well as the contention that buses would attract more ridership […]

A Letter To Zweisystem

From time to time, Zwei gets letters that actually do not libel, nor threaten me and they deserved to be printed. Much thought has been put into this letter by the author and though I agree with him on many points, there are some slight quibbles or additions which I would like to make and […]

The $400,000.00 Fraser Valley Transit Study – Much Ado About Nothing

TwoAi??weeks before Christmas and the provincial Liberal Government releases its long awaited Fraser Valley Transit Study and one can see why; it is badly stale-dated by the Rail For The Valley/Leewood Report. By releasing the report before Christmas, the government hoped to bury this stinker under Christmas cheer, hiding the the fact that the Fraser […]

TransLink Did Not Bark?

In the Sherlock Holmes story Silver Blaze, by Sir Author Conan Doyle, Holmes was able to deduce that the killer of Colonel Ross's racehorse was the owner of the stable dog. As the fictional Holmes chronicler Dr. John Watson explains: Colonel Ross still wore an expression which showed the poor opinion which he had formed […]

The Evergreen Line – Will Finacial Reality Take Hold?

The problem with the Evergreen Line has always been about expense, what kind of bang will you get out of $1.4 Billion? Not much by all accounts and the lack lustre performance by the Canada Line is now sending financial shivers up TransLink’s spine as bureacratsAi??need oodles of property tax monies to subsidise the Evergreen […]

From the Light Rail Transit Association – Mulhouse tram train ready

Mulhouse tram train ready : On December 12, 2010, ai???the first inter-connected tram-train of Franceai??? will enter into service. The public will be able to preview the new line from the afternoon Saturday 11th when there will be free travel on the trams, tram train and buses as far as Lutterbach on both the Saturday […]

Victoria City Council Backs Light Rail

Unlike Vancouver City Council, Victoria City Council is not afraid to say the word Light Rail. In Europe, modern trams have proven affordable to operate in smaller towns and cities, while at the same time bringing the benefits of modern public transit that has made the mode so successful. A TramTrain service, using the E&N […]

TransLink Stuff and Nonsense!

It seems that the regional mayors got tired of Langley City Mayor Fassbender support for the Evergreen line and changed the Chair ofAi??the Metro Vancouver Mayorsai??i?? Council on Transportation and voted District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton as the new chair. No real change, as the Metro Vancouver Mayorsai??i?? Council on Transportation is as […]