Mainstream Media Scammed Again On Transit

Zwei knew this was a scam from the start. Well,Ai?? China’s miracle “straddling bus “; the bus that was going to solve urban transit woes with its revolutionary concept, has been deemed a scam! Absolutely no surprise here. What was sad to see and hear, was the number of politicians who got suckered by this. […]

Transportation Gridlock is Endemic in Metro Vancouver

After driving into Vancouver yesterday, it has hit home that despite a now over $10 billion spent on SkyTrain light-metro and the Canada line, congestion is getting worse. After being an advocate for better transportation in the region for now over thirty years, I am still amazed by the “SkyTrain ennui” that prevails in most […]

Fire on SkyTrain – The $3 Billion Question

As SkyTrain ages, its equipment deteriorates and today, a fire has happened and apparently not caused by a pyrotechnic birds nest. As mentioned many times by Rail for the Valley, about $3 billion needs to be invested in the ART/ALRT SkyTrain lines to both renew the mini-metro system and to increase capacity. As TransLink’s CEO […]

Boondoggle In The Making In Montreal

It seems Montreal taxpayers are being taken for a $9 billion Bombardier ride, with the proposed 67 km Montreal light metro project. The proposed Montreal LRT is not LRT at all, rather it is a light-metro, using the Bombardier Innovia body shell, using conventional ‘squirrel cage’ electric motors. Based on the cost of now over […]

Is TransLink Hiding Subway Costs?

I wanted to post this item, not to show problems with London’s proposed BRT, rather that cost of tunneling had been vastly under estimated on the subway portion of this project. An excerpt from the London Free Press. City hallai??i??s consultant, IBI Group, had dropped a bombshell on city officials that day: The tunnelai??i??s construction […]

Road Pricing -To Hide Transit Blunders In The past And Blunders Yet To Come

The major rule about “Road Pricing” or congestion charges and that is, one must have an affordable and user friendly transit system in place before road pricing will be accepted by the populace, if not, it is not going to happen. The Metro Vancouver region does not have, nor will have any time soon a […]

The Regional Mayor’s Pork Barrel Express

The provincial government is in turmoil and those who “Pay to Play” on the municipal scene are getting anxious, as billions in potential profits are being put on hold for the moment. The Metro Vancouver’s metro Mayors Ten Year Plan is nothing more than a skillfully drafted document that is designed to direct the flow […]

A Message To Mr. Horgan & Mr. Weaver: A Train Waiting for You At The Station

  The election is over and now there is a good possibility of a NDP/Green coalition government. Rail For The Valley has a message for Mr. Horgan and Mr. Weaver, The Vancouver to Chilliwack TramTrain is waiting at the station for you to board. There is a plan in place, which has received international recognition. […]

Bombardier’s Blundering Is Alstom’s Gain

Recent problems with Bombardier’s delivery of new trams for Toronto has made Canadian customers look elsewhere. For two long, Ottawa has twisted arms of Canadian transit operators to buy the Canadian Bombardier product, to keep production going, propping up the giant multinational company and garnering votes from Ontario and Quebec. This is not to say […]

China’s Loneliest Subway Station

Metro madness gone wild in China. Looking like a set from a Sci-fi series, building a subway, for the sake of being a subway, has major financial consequences. Let us not make the same mistake in Vancouver, where transit traffic flows along Broadway are less than a third that would justify a subway. Take a […]