France Opens Its 24th Tramway In 35 Years!

As Metro Vancouver blunders along opening a new light metro line every decade or so, France has just opened their 24th tramway, in just 35 years! While Metro Vancouver is spending $4.6 billion to build 12.8 km of the obsolete Movia Automatic Light Metro system, the City of Caen, just opened a 16 km, 3 […]

Reality Check

Transit rule number 1: You got to have funding to build and operate a transit line. The Mayors Council on Transit, is a little weak on this issue, especially after a mostly federal/provincial funded $4.6 billion grant to build 12.8 km of extensions to the Expo and Millennium Lines. They also approved an increased of […]

Massey Tunnel Shit Show

Blunt title but it is time to be blunt, regional transit planning is a “shit show”. Shit show: Noun, vulgar slang, US origin – a situation or event marked by chaos or controversy. This aptly describes our regional transit planning, where politicians at all levels of government promote their pet transit theories and projects, using […]

Rorschach Test

The Zurich tram system. Overview: The tram network serves most city neighbourhoods, and is the backbone of public transport within the city. Open: 1882 Cauge: Metre Number of routes: 15 Route length: 118.7 km (73.8 mi) Owner: Zürich Propulsion system(s): Electric Track length (total): 171.9 km (106.8 mi) Track length (double): 72.9 km (45.3 mi) […]

Taxpayer, Can You Spare Billion Or Two?

Simple question, folks; “Anyone with a spare billion or two to move the railway off the Whiterock/Surrey waterfront? $4.6 billion is the minimum being spent to add 12.8 km to the SkyTrain network and with other cities in the region clamouring for future monies be spent in their cities and municipalities, it is doubtful government […]

Seriously Deluded, Or…….?

Really? Is this the best we can expect from TransLink, deception? Two quotes from TransLink CEO, Kevin Desmond, are very disturbing: Desmond called the Canada Line, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary, a “smart investment”. “But, he said, he hopes the region has learned that lesson, adding that “help is on its way” for the […]

Seattle’s Light metro Abandons $507 Million Tunnel

Seattle’s so called light rail system is in reality a light metro system that uses light rail vehicles. Over 90% of the system is grade separated either in subway or on elevated guide-ways. In the United States, light rail has morphed into light metro and light metro is very expensive when compared to classic light […]

Politicans Just Love Gadgetbahnen

  MAGLEV, the great Philosopher’s Stone for transportation, yet in practice, MAGLEV’s are extremely expensive and today, the high speed train is only slightly slower, much cheaper and far more flexible in operation. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Rumour has it that the Conservative Ontario Government wants to make the Ontario Line a MAGLEV. Politicians love […]

Future Funding Implications Threaten Regional Transit Projects.

With the clear evidence that transportation authorities around the world opting to build with LRT, one must pose, again, the question; Why does TransLink inflate the cost of light Rail? The simple answer is, “they don’t want to build with light rail, so they inflate the cost to match that of SkyTrain. From the Briefing […]

The $4.6 billion Question

  $4.6 billion is a lot of cash, but in metro Vancouver, $4.6 billion (well that is the amount funded) buys you a mere 12.8 km of the decidedly obsolete light metro system, now called Movia Automatic Light Metro, used on the Millennium and Expo Lines. So much money, for so little transit. It maybe […]