SkyTrain To Rootin Tootin Newton? It Must Be Election Time

It is the silly season folks and the NDP and Conservatives have made promises to build more SkyTrain and why not, as politcal promises are easily made but much harder to keep. The first question I will ask is the cost? Based on the Langley extension, around $3.2 billion, not including cars, signalling, added electrical […]

3 dead, several injured after fiery bus crash in Calgary

I am posting this very sad news report to illustrate accidents on public transit systems happen, but it seems if an accident is involving a streetcar or tram, it gets wide coverage, but with a bus, not so much. From what I have gleaned from other news reports, there seems to have been a fire […]

OK Premier Eby, Why not TramTrain?

Posted by zweisystem on Saturday, October 10, 2026 · In Germany, TramTrain operates on mainline railways with mixed passenger and freight service, with little problem. It has now been 16 years since Rail for the Valley commissioned the Leewood Study on reestablishing a passenger rail service from Vancouver to Chilliwack and all the public got […]

Buddy, Can You Spare $25 Billion…………

It has been brought to Zwei’s attention than another group is wanting to build more SkyTrain, this time calling itself Crosstown SkyTrain , a 38km light-metro line from Downtown Vancouver to Surrey. Well, that sounds good doesn’t it, how about the cost? A bare minimum cost for an elevated SkyTrain would be $19 billion, based […]

Movia Automatic Light Metro is the Brand Name And SkyTrain Is The name Of The Light-Metro System

So back into the archives I go. As the hype and Hoopla of the provincial election shudders along, there is a lot of postings in the various Social media outlets about the SkyTrain Line, now called the Dave Barrett Extension (strange that as former Premier Dave Barret was very pro light rail and not too […]

The VIA Rail Car Order

There has been a lot of comment on the recently announced VIA Rail car order. Many people complain about the cost, but the ordered cars comes with a maintenance package, which means VIA does not have to invest in several maintenance centers across Canada. to give one the idea at the cost of a maintenance […]

Battery Trains For “Rail for the Valley”?

Battery trains have been around a long time. In New Zealand, a battery-electric Edison railcar with a range of 160 km (99 mi) operated from 1926 to 1934 on the 34 km (21 mi) long Little River Branch line. The Drumm nickel-zinc battery was used on four 2-car sets between 1932 and 1949 on the […]

Canada Is 40 Years Behind The Times With Public Transit

Being a member of the Light rail transit Association for 45 years, one has just more than a passing knowledge of transit. I find that Canadian politcans must be dragged kicking and screaming to provide a modern and user-friendly (oh that damned phrase again) public transit service for the public. Yes, Vancouver’s SkyTrain seems modern, […]

A Comparrison Of Operating Costs – Revisited

First posted in 2013. If one took the ‘Way-back’ machine to the late 1980’s, the argument that SkyTrain was cheaper to operate than LRT would show the massive propaganda campaign to give the public a positive view of the proprietary ALRT light-metro. This is because it was forced upon the region by the Social Credit […]

Don’t Talk To Me About Fast Ferry’s! The SkyTrain Fiasco Is Far Worse!

Erfurt – Germany In Germany, the average cost to construct a new at-grade, 2-track (double) street tramway typically ranges from €10 million to €20 million per kilometer (CAD $16 million to $32 million) This includes the physical track installation, embedding in the road, overhead electrification, and basic stop infrastructure.  However, total project costs fluctuate heavily […]