A Rail Reniassance in L.A.

An interesting read from California. I wish the Provincial Government would read this quote; ai???Realistically speaking, thereai??i??s no new highway building in the future.ai???, when planning for their bridge and highway vanity projects in Metro Vancouver. LOS ANGELES Daily News reports that Southern California planners are making strikes in a rail transit renaissance that owes […]

First look at Nottinghamai??i??s new tram line

Zwei lived in Nottingham in the mid 70’s and is where I first gained interest in urban transit. While waiting for my then girl friend, who was attending night school, I chanced a free public lecture by a Professor of Transportation (forgot his name) and was so entertaining that I still smile at some of […]

Seattle’s Light Metro Too Expensive?

Seattle’s light rail system is really a light-metro system, with over 70% of its route grade separated either on viaduct or in a tunnel (subway), yet ridership is dismal. This not because the system uses light rail vehicles, but because Seattle’s politicians at all levels wanted a ‘world class’ transit system to ensure Seattle’s world […]

A portent of things to come?

Brisbane Australia has a showcase BRT system, yet transit costs are extremely high. Maybe it is time to get back to basics about modern light rail and forget the capacity and density debates and build LRT for the economic reason, one tram and one tram driver is as efficient as 4 to 8 buses and […]

Are traffic flows along Broadway enough to justify a subway?

Are traffic flows along Broadway enough to justify a subway? Simple answer is no, not anywhere close! Traffic flows along Broadway are around 4,000 persons per hour per direction in the peak, but because it riders are mostly cheap fare U-Pass holders and operates buses at a far grater frequency than needed off the peak […]

Has the TransLink brand past its “best by” date?

The mainstream media seldom give somewhat negative stories about TransLink and this item from Radio News 1130 may be the “shape of things to come”. For too long TransLink has treated its passengers as cattle, acting like the “lord of the manor”, superior to all within its prevue. For too long, TransLink has not been […]

Memo to TransLink: When Aging Gadgetbahnen……………………..

One of the perils of expensive proprietary transit systems, is that they do not age well. The SkyTrain ALRT/ART mini metro Expo Line is now 30 years old and it is beginning to show its age, it stops; it goes kaput from time to time. With no drivers or attendants on board, the public start […]

Subway Realities

Old Zwei has been warning about the costs associated with subways and now New York’s MTA says it needs $32 billion over the next five years to repair decaying subway infrastructure! We also have a familiar name, Tom Prendergast, warning that the subway system needs expensive upgrading done. Prendergast also warned TransLink about the high […]

Bat Bus – The Shape of Things to Come?

A peak 5 minutes into the future. The same technology can be applied to trams. From the BBC International Service. Xoupir: Charles Bombardierai??i??s ai???magic busai??i?? David K Gibson Charles Bombardier designs things. Fantastical things, like a robotic hockey referee, a tugboat that creates waves for surfing competitions, and magnet-propelled rollercoaster in which riders hurtle above […]

LRT is physically easier to expand and add routes.

The monorail lobby is like the the SkyTrain lobby and their motto seems to be;Ai?? don’t confuse me with facts.” There are many similarities between monorail and SkyTrain ALRT/ART and in fact our SkyTrain is sometimes mistakenly called a monorail overseas. The big drawback, of course, is that they are proprietary railways and the operating […]