Proposed Massey Tunnel Bridge Replacement Is Now Said To Be $8 Billion More!

$8 billion is a lot of ‘spreadin around‘ money and $8 billion for one bridge seems a tad pricey. This bridge is not about traffic congestion or better transportation, this bridge is a gift to the Vancouver Port Authority so massive Panama Max. and Cape Max. colliers and tankers can navigate up the Fraser to […]

If Children Can do It, So Can We!

An interesting article about Hungary’s “Children’s Railway”. Light reading for the weekend. The Rail Line Operated By Children. By Mike MacEacheran, BBC 5 May 2017 With its shelves lined with worn textbooks and corridors plastered with drawings, noisy GyermekvasA?tas Otthon on the western outskirts of Budapest seems like any normal school before the bell rings. […]

The Second letter Sent To Surrey Council

April 18, 2017 The second letter sent by Malcolm Johnston to Surrey council and a possible solution for South of the Fraser transportation woes. Mayor and council; Two weeks ago I sent a letter to Mayor and Council about modern light rail and this letter is a follow up. Our urban transit planning is an […]

UK Developer Must Help pay for Rail Connection

The UK is reopening once abandoned rail lines to cope with congestion and increased population. A UK developer must pay A?13.2m (CAD $23.25m) towards the restoration of the Bere Alston Tavistock railway route before building 750 new homes. This works out to CAD $31,000 per home. When one looks at the massive developments happening in […]

The NDP Support “Rail” Transit for the Fraser Valley

Well it tool seven long years for this as it is the first time any of the mainstream political parties have even acknowledged the need for a passenger/commuter rail service for the Fraser Valley. The main contender? Rail for the Valley’s Leewood Study provides the the fasted and most affordable service and must be considered […]

A Novice’s Guide To Transit…………..

ai??i??ai??i??ai??i?? or cutting through the BS about light rail, SkyTrain and BRT. The following is a guide plus definitions about ai???railai??? transit. ALM: Automatic Light metro, the fourthAi??marketing name given for the SkyTrain family of light-metros, when Lavalin briefly ownedAi??SkyTrain before going bankrupt. ALRT (1): Advanced Light Rail Transit, the secondAi??marketing name for SkyTrain. ALRT […]

A letter sent to Surrey Council – LRT in Surrey Part 1.

From the usual suspect, long time LRT and tram advocate Malcolm Johnston. What has been forgotten by most, is the historical context for our light metro system has been lost, due to political, bureaucratic and academic intrigue. The illustrations have been removed for brevity.   Dear Mayor and Council; My name is Malcolm Johnston and […]

The World’s Longest Tram In Budapest

Budapest has been been operating the world’s longest trams for several years but now are taking delivery of even longer trams, the 56 metre CAF Urbos. The former holder of the longest tram, theAi?? 54 metre Siemens Combino Plus. Why run long trams? They are cheaper to operate than coupled sets of trams. These cars […]

TramTrain – It’s Time To Have Another Look At The Leewood Project

While local politicians squabble about expensive transit planning and gouging the taxpayer to pay for multi billion dollar transportation vanity projects, economic and user friendly TramTrain construction and operation continue to increase. Isn’t time for politicians have another look at the Leewood/Rail for the Valley Study?   Stadler selected to supply Szeged tram-trains 19 Apr […]

Weaver and the Greens Haven’t a Clue

Weaver hasn’t a clue about transit and throwing more money after bad will not improve it. The “road pricing” issue is nothing more than a wet squib; for road pricing to be publicly accepted and successful one must have a viable and user-friendly transit system. We don’t, not even close and Weaver throwing an extra […]