European cities introduce new tram-train technology – From the European Urban Knowledge Network

It seems that almost every country in Europe today, is investing in TramTrain and the reason is obvious, it’s much cheaper than building stand alone rapid transit lines. It is time TransLink to change course from very expensiveAi??Ai??heavy-rail metro construction to very much cheaper light rail and decrease their time line for SkyTrain to Langley […]

TramTrain Line – Alicante Tram-Train, Spain

Rail for the Valley wishes to reinstate the Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban, using TramTrain technology. TramTrain is a development of light rail, where a light rail vehicle has the ability to operate on tram (streetcar); light-rail; and mainline railway tracks. The interurban was the original TramTrain, which has now evolved into the sleek LRV’s now […]

Seaton Tramway – An English delight!

Just for holidayAi??Ai??fun, Zweisystem thought a visit to the Seaton tramway is in order. The Seaton Tramway is an 838Ai??Ai??mm (2Ai??Ai??ft 9Ai??Ai??in) narrow gauge tram line which operates over a former axed British Rail (BR) branch line in Seaton, Devon. The line was converted between 1969 and 1971 by Claude Lane, who had negotiated the […]

Rail for the Valley blog has topped 3,660 visits for July! Congradulations John!

When John Buker asked me to add some items for the fledgling Rail For the Valley blog,Ai??Ai??I don’t believe he thought IAi??Ai??would such a stormy Petrel. As I write this item, the blog has now recorded over 3,660 visits for the month of July, which I believe is very good. The blog is a mixture […]

The many faces of tramtrain; how soon will the Fraser Valley see one?

It has been a long established transit maxim, long ignored by TransLink and BC Transit before, “use existing rail routes first“. Why? Because existing rail routes are much cheaper to build and install light rail, rather than going ‘greenfields’ construction.Ai??Ai?? Of course, SkyTrain and RAV are the epitome of ‘greenfields’ construction! The cost to build […]

From the LRTA blog: LRT, very user-friendly & tourist friendly transit!

On the eve of RAV/Canada Line operation, with it’s premium fares to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), one reads with interest the following posting from the LRTA blog site. Now could it be, if the ‘powers that be’ opted for much larger, yet less costly light rail network instead of theAi??Ai?? now almost $3 billion RAV/Canada […]

How other countries see light rail and appraise light rail investments? From the Light Rail Transit Association

Article from the March 1999 edition of Tramways & Urban Transit As anyone involved in a British light rail scheme knows, the appraisal system is rigorous and, many feel, fatally flawed, oriented as it is to short term and financial criteria rather than a properly broad social cost-benefit analysis. It is now also heavily influenced […]

NEWS FLASH – Province launches review of BC Ferries and TransLink – From News 1130

Of course the province and Transportation Minister, Shirley Bond will not look at the real reasons of Translink’s financial problems: building light-metro (RAV & SkyTrain) on routes that do not have the ridership to sustain them. It seems the newly announced combined GST/PST (now known as HST) and potential massive new TransLink taxes and auto […]

What is guided bus? Is it B-Line BRT?

Guided buses are buses steered for part or all of their route by external means, usually on a dedicated rights-of-ways, thoughAi??Ai??not to be confused with a busway. This track, which often parallels existing roads or railways, excludes all other traffic, permitting theAi??Ai??operation of reliable schedules on heavily used corridors even duringAi??Ai??peak hours. Guidance systems can […]

From the BBC – Wales Southwest: The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, the first public railway that ended as LRT!

A little history lesson today: The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, the first public railway which operated fromAi??Ai??1807 to 1960.Ai??Ai??Starting fromAi??Ai??horse drawnAi??Ai??converted rail carriages, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway ended up as a light rail/interurban line, using rather large double-deck electric trams. Ai??Ai??   Early Days of Mumbles Railway Ai??Ai?? From a four-wheeled dandy attracting international […]