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 […]

An Australian Perspective.

I will repeat this once again to prevent any misunderstanding; Congestion charges and/or road pricing will not work in our region until we have a viable public transit system to provide an attractive alternative to the car. Buses are not and I repeat, are not a viable and attractive alternative to the car and only […]

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 […]

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 […]

Subway Realities From Toronto

Interesting article from Toronto, which spells out some fiscal subway realities to TransLink and the City of Vancouver. Please note Zwei’s two comments in the article and should give one pause to think that in Vancouver, the cost of subway construction has been vastly understated. Mayor John Tory eyes alternative, more expensive routes for Scarborough […]

Hamilton Gets LRT

From our friend in Ottawa, Mr. Haveacow. Well its official, at a press conference at McMaster University, Hamilton will get a roughly 11km 14 stop LRT line from McMaster University in west .Hamilton to the Queenston Traffic Circle in east Hamilton. There will also be a 1 km short spur line north up James Street […]

Calgary S200 – The Evolution High Floor Light Rail Vehicle

Calgary’s light rail can be best described as a 1970’s Belgium inspired ‘pre-metro’, using high floor light rail vehicles, using elaborate stations. 90% of the line was built at-grade on dedicated rights-of-ways, with the downtown section seeing operation mixed with buses. The initial cost per kilometre of Calgary’s LRT was less than half of Vancouver’s […]

The Worldai??i??s First Solar Road Is Producing More Energy Than Expected

This is an interesting experiment. More and more, solar power is becoming a realistic option, especially with transit. This is just an experiment, but the potential of using roads to produce power is vast and in twenty years hence; just imagine……………   The Worldai??i??s First Solar Road Is Producing More Energy Than Expected by Katie […]

Solar Powered Trams For Melbourne?

Something to think about, solar powered trams! Renewable energy group bids to turn Melbourne’s trams solar May 18, 2015 Tom Arup Environment editor, The Age Melbourne’s entire tram network could be powered by solarAi??if the state government gaveAi??a bold renewable energy proposal the green light. While the pitchAi??may conjure upAi??images of trams with rooftop panels […]

Study Supports LRT

Someone should tell the SkyTrain Lobby that no one builds with SkyTrain anymore; even the Canada Line isn’t SkyTrain! Modern light rail made SkyTrain and light metro obsolete decades ago, yet no seems to read the news in this part of the world, with many people still championing SkyTrain, a transit system that costs more […]