The Cost of Transporting People in the British Columbia Lower Mainland – Revisited

A repost from 2013. In 1992, the region woke up to a GVRD study that exposed the deceit of many politicians of the day who claimed that SkyTrain operated without subsidy. The truth was just the Expo line to New Westminster was heavily subsidized, more than the combined diesel and trolley buses! I add this […]

Funding Please!

For all those who have deluded themselves that SkyTrain will be extended via tunnel, under Burrard Inlet, think again. TransLink has been spinning a lot of stories about transit expansion, but every story ignores a fundamental fact – funding. TransLink’s well oiled propaganda machine, which includes the mainstream media and “Hive”, all talk the big […]

The Grand Broadway Subway Photo-Op Begins

It has all been said before the many issues that plague the Broadway subway but never keep a politician from a grand photo-op to show the public how politicians squander money. Liberal and NDP cabinet members, with the federal Liberals election ready, will attend, eager for the public too see how they squander taxpayer’s money […]

Horror in Honolulu – Light metro Project tops $12.4 billion USD!

This is a new one, thin wheels and wide track causing problems with Honolulu’s light metro horror show. What was a $5.3 billion project in 2010 has now turned into a $12.4 billion project in 2021; that is $15 billion Canadian dollars! Put another way, the HART light metro in Honolulu costs as much as […]

It Is Time For The Return of Regional Passenger Rail In BC?

  Calls for a return of an interurban style rail passenger service from Vancouver to Chilliwack; the restoration of passenger service on the E&N; the reinstatement of a passenger service from Vancouver to Prince George;  for a Vernon to Kelowna passenger rail service and now folks in the Kootenay’s want a passenger rail service as […]

The $100 Question – Will Transit Ridership Return?

The Covid-19 pandemic has transit planners worrying about future operations, especially in Vancouver. Despite TransLink’s claims that…… “The agency is projecting ridership to be at 80 to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity by next year” ………. privately, some insiders are predicting that transit may reach pre-covid levels in ridership in a decade! Why so. […]

The NDP Are paving Paradise And Turning It Into A Parking Lot – Part 2

Reinstating passenger services on regional railways, it is what government should be doing, to deal with traffic congestion and pollution, but they are not, as government would rather spend money on prestigious “rapid transit” monuments to cut for photo-ops at election time. The E&N, the RftV TramTain from Vancouver to Chilliwack; and the Okanagan corridor […]

The NDP – Blacktopping Its Way Out Of Congestion

The NDP government is going to try to blacktop its way out of congestion despite the fact that added road space only attracts more vehicles, thus adding to congestion and gridlock at choke points. You cannot blacktop your way out of congestion! The updated cost for the the full build Leewood Study is now $1,5 […]

Funding – How to restore Passenger Rail

The UK, as well as many European countries, are reopening long abandoned rail routes for passenger service. The lesson is simple, if you want to attract the motorist from the car, you must develop a user friendly alternative. The railway is a proven user friendly alternative to the car. In BC, politicians have not learned […]

If the UK is Reinstating former Passenger Routes, Why Can’t We?

Really, $4.6 billion to build 12.8 km of light-metro is an awful lot of money for so small increase in a rail route; 5.8 km to extend the Millennium Line in Vancouver and 7 km in Surrey. By comparison, $1.5 billion would provide a 130 km Vancouver to Chilliwack service, with three trains per hour […]