Costs – A Repost From January 2020

Well, things have changed in a year and a half. The Trudeau Liberals have promised that they will fund 40% of the Expo Line Extension to Langley, but premier Horgan and TransLink have not, as yet, anted up the money to pay for their portion. With a cost, now around $3.95 billion, the 16 km […]

The Shape of Surrey’s Future

The shape of things to come for Surrey. Surrey, ever trying to out do Vancouver to be number one in the city, is building with light metro, because Vancouver has one. The following quote caught my eye. Gurugram is not a walkable city, and has very limited public transport connectivity for the masses. While it […]

Bafflegab From TransLink – The Never Ending Story

The real story here is not about replacing the expansion joints on the Sky Bridge, it is what TransLink’s new CEO Kevin Quinn (remember the chap worked for Baltimore’s MTA, which saw a 2% decrease in ridership every year Quinn worked there)  said, revealing ridership numbers. For that week, total system-wide boarding’s were 48. 2 […]

Is TransLink Getting Desperate?

TransLink is not noted for honesty and candor and the ponderous bureaucracy seems very worried these days. The senior bureaucrats at TransLink’s ivory towers in Sapperton, seem to be somewhat desperate. On Facebook there is deluge of advertisements almost pleading for people to return to transit and woe to anyone who states the obvious that […]

RAIL FOR THE VALLEY – A Step Closer

Is common sense finally making its way with politicians in Victoria? Is the $4 billion price tag for the 16 km Expo Line extension to Langley (the Reelection Line) scaring the provincial treasury? Has BC’s explosive fire season, capped with record breaking temperatures, finally conveying the message that politcal prestige must take a back seat […]

The Expo Line Extension to Langley: The Reelection Line!

Prime Minister Trudeau wants cool photo-ops for the federal election, coming sometime this summer and fall. The mayor of Surrey wants cool photo-ops for next years civic election in 2022. Premier John Horgan wants cool photo-ops for anything not involving  Covid and wildfires and for the provincial election in 2024. Politicians need a good back […]

An Apples To Apples Comparison – A Tale of Two Cities

We all know about the $3.95 billion 18 km extension of the Expo line to Surrey with all the hype and hoopla of the SkyTrain Lobby is in full swing. Back in the Waterloo region of Ontario, $2.2 billion buys you 37 km of light rail! The comparison between Surrey and Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, (the urban areas […]

It Did Not Take Long Turning Paradise Into A Parking Lot

First question: Where is the almost $1 billion in funding needed to make the Expo Line extension to Langley a go? Second Question: Mr. Horgan and the Mayor’s Council on Transit, what taxes have to be increased to pay the estimated $1 billion in outstanding funding?   Now, the story in question. Not even a […]

The Canadain Disease

Despite the churlish comments who oppose Zwei’s views on transit, claiming that I somehow invent issues and more, the following comment came via a chap I was corresponding with in Ontario and I just cannot help but agree. Canadian transportation is now so hideously politicized that I just don’t see how we can bring any […]

Land Speculation and Land Development – The Real Reason For The Expo Line Expansion

It is a no-brainer why SkyTrain light-metro is being extended to Langley and it is the same for the Broadway subway, with a combined cost of $7 billion. Three guesses and the first two don’t count. It all about land speculation and land development. SkyTrain acts as a driver for municipal councils to relax zoning […]