SkyTrain Switch Excuse Grows Very Thin

Like the old fable; “The boy who cried wolf“, the ongoing TransLink excuse for problems on the Skytrain system is growing very thin. Again, SkyTrain goes kaput on the tail end of the morning rush and again TransLink blames a “switch problem” as the reason. Sorry, I just do not buy that excuse anymore and […]

Horse manure from Vision(less) Vancouver and the N.P.A.

Wow, such BS from Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and mayor wannabeAi??Kirk LaPointe, saying he is going to build an affordable subway is laughable. Robertson has no proof to back up his claim that a subway will be; “taking 50,000 cars off the road”. One should remember the empty claim that the Canada line would take […]

In Toronto – A $3 Billion Subway Carries Fewer Customers Than A Streetcar Line!

Those who promote a Broadway subway had better beware, subways are not the magic elixir in attracting ridership. A Toronto CBC news story giving mayoralty hopeful Doug Ford (brother of the discredited Rob Ford) an “F” for his subway plans contains an interesting item: “The Sheppard subway is a classic example,” said Bedford. “It cost […]

Aubagne Tram – The Economy Tram

Light Rail can be built cheaply, if there is the political and bureaucratic will is there to ensure LRT is built economically. At first glance the Aubagne tramway is very expensive, costing ai??i??166 million or CAD $235 million to build, but only for 2.7 km., which works out to an expensive $87 million/km. to build. […]

Light Rail In Victoria Before Vancouver?

Interesting news from Victoria, BC Transit is recommending LRT for Greater Victoria. Though BC Transit doesn’t have much competence with modern LRT, the organization certainly has more experience than TransLink, with the historic LRT planning for the Broadway-Lougheed Rapid Transit project before the provincial NDP did their infamous flip-flopAi?? to SkyTrain. Zwei also questions the […]

You Just Got to Be Kidding!

I am speechless! Is this the best that TransLink can do? SkyTrain delays good time to support the economy: TransLink Spokesperson says grab a coffee or a bite to eat while waiting Ai??Anita Bathe October 1, 2014 VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) ai??i?? TransLink is trying to turn a negative into a positive. It says lengthy SkyTrain shutdowns […]

Roads & Rails = Dumb & Dumber

In BC, we are backward. In fact, we are not just backward, we are literally stone age when it comes to transit planning. Two stories; in Nevada the Boulder rail extension is part of the cost of a new highway and that the CNR sold Georgetown-Kitchener, Ont., rail line to Metrolinx for GO Transit commuter […]

Is Vision Vancouver’s Subway Fantasy Putting City Taxpayer’s At Risk?

Courtesy Light Rail Now Micheal Geller has an interesting item in the Vancouver Courier which indicates that Vancouver taxpayers maybe on the hook for a minimum of $500 million for demanding a SkyTrain subway under Broadway. Predictably, Geller still follows the local line about transit and growth, while ignoring the fact that transit use mainly […]

Four Years Since the Release of the Leewood Study and the Silence is Deafening!

It now has been four years since the historic release of the Leewood/Rail for the Valley report, yet except for sparse political support, very few people actually know that the study exists, let alone that it is “shovel ready”. The Leewood study is just too simple, too cheap, and too practical compared to other politically […]

The Arbutus Saga Continues

Not much transit news about with the school strike and the lead up to the November civic elections, but old news is still news. The CPR want $100 million for the land and the City of Vancouver wants to pay only $20 million, yet $100 million is a bargain if one wants the land for […]