A Useful Idiot

In political jargon a useful idiot is a person perceived as propagandist for a cause whose goals they are not fully aware of, and who is used cynically by the leaders of the cause. Former premier Mike Harcourt continues to regale anyone who will listen, that subways are the only transit solution for Vancouver. Who […]

A DMU Service, Not Gondolas, Best Option to Link North Shore!

Gondolas are a niche transit system used for solving unique transit problems. While transit servicing SFU mayAi?? present niche transit problems, especially in winter, crossing Burrard inlet does not. The SFU gondola has been reported in this blog several times; in May 2011; in June 2011; and in October 2011.It is now six years later, […]

The Liberals Dangle A Very Stale Carrot

The BC Liberal election BS machine is now in full swing. The Liberals announced a “commuter rail working group” to confirm the viability of commuter rail for the Capitol Region. This begs the question: “Who has the capability and knowledge to come to an answer on commuter rail? What should be done, is what Rail […]

Cowardly TransLink Hides The Truth

This is a rather strange story. A dog is scared by fireworks and ends up on the SkyTrain’s tracks, how, TransLink isn’t saying. I would wager Transport Canada would like to know. SkyTrain is a driverless light-metro and when it operates at-grade it must be completely fenced off to prevent egress by people and animals. […]

Rapid Transit to the North Shore – 4 to 6 Billion Reasons Not!

I see politicians are floating trialAi?? balloons about transit, before the upcoming election and from the North Shore it is extending rapid transit to North Vancouver and beyond. The cost to extend the Canada Line or the ALRT/ART Lines (both lines are incompatible in operation) to North Vancouver is around $4 billion to $6 billion, […]

Subway Costs Rise – Chill Financial Winds From Scarborough

As the cost of the Scarborough subway escalates, senior TransLink officials are desperately trying to find money to build Vision Vancouver’s massive “vanity” project, the Broadway SkyTrain Subway. Subways are hugely costly to build and hugely costly to operate, but the regional Mayor’s Council and Provincial Politicians and TransLink remain absolutely blind to this fact. […]

Really? TransLink Tries To Spin The Evergreen Line

In the real world, modern trams or LRT lines are not considered unless traffic flows are 2,000 pphpd or more. Light-metro’s like SkyTrain, on the other hand, need traffic flows of at least 10,000 pphpd, to justify construction. Now, TransLink is trying to spin that a meager 30,000 boarding’s a day is good news. It’s […]

Why Can’t Translink Plan For Affordable LRT?

While Surrey’s proposed LRT is topping $100 million/km to build, in Europe new LRT lines are being built much cheaper. In Weisbaden, their new LRT is pegged at $24.5 million/km to build! Analysis: Fire the Surrey LRT planning team and hire people that actually know what they are doing. WEISBADEN, a city in west-central Germany […]

Light Rail Denial And TransLink

There seems to be a general naivete about Light Rail or LRT in the media, due in part to TransLink’s war on LRT, with their well advertised preference for light-metro. Today, except for “niche transit” solutions, public transport is divided into three modes, bus, tram, and metro; with each mode built to economically deal with […]

The Return Of The Branch Line – Can You Say E&N, RftV?

Most railway enthusiasts in the UK treat Beeching as a leper. In fact, Beeching predicted the end of local railways altogether, leaving the UK with just three or four trunk lines, connecting major cities by the 21st century. This is not to argue that rationalization should not have taken place, but to tear up the […]