How Metro Vancouver’s Regional Transit Planning Has continued To Get It Wrong!
Rail for the Valley: www.railforthevalley.com/
TramTrain: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram-
Leewood Projects: leewoodprojects.co.uk/
Leewood Study: www.railforthevalley.com/
The Lower mainland has a glaringly expensive transit problem; Metro Vancouver mayors, the province and TransLink have approved spending around $11 billion dollars, extending the Expo and Millennium Light-Metro lines 21.7 km.
Is this a good investment of tax dollars or are the regional civic and provincial politicians condemning the region to a very expensive, yet obsolete regional rail system by doing the same thing over and over again, hoping for different results.
This massive expenditure, extending the Millennium and Expo Lines a mere 21.7 km will attract little new ridership because there will be little or no improvement for the transit customer, despite the promises of TransLink and the bellicose claims by politicians.
The $2.8 billion, 5.7 km Broadway subway, is literally a subway to nowhere. The terminus for the subway at Arbutus can be traced to the early 1990’s Broadway – Lougheed Light Rail Project, where Arbutus was seen to connect to future LRT operating on the Arbutus Corridor. Subways have proven to be little incentive for transit customers and a major inconvenience in forced transfers from bus to subway, means many former transit customers may opt for the car instead.
Subways are very poor in attracting new ridership, especially subways to nowhere.
In Surrey, former Premier Horgan’s recent political promise to extend the Expo Line to Langley, has grave financial implications, akin to the FastFerry fiasco, which has followed the NDP as an Albatross around its political neck, for two and half decades. Simply, the Millennium Line extension to Langley has become far too costly, for what good it will do.
This possible $5 billion investment for 16 km of new line, confirms Bent Flyvberg’s Iron Law of Mega-projects specifically addresses why politicians are obsessed with infrastructure at any cost.
…the “political sublime,” which here is understood as the rapture politicians get from building monuments to themselves and their causes. Mega-projects are manifest, garner attention, and lend an air of proactiveness to their promoters. Moreover, they are media magnets, which appeals to politicians who seem to enjoy few things better than the visibility they get from starting mega-projects. Except maybe cutting the ribbon of one in the company of royals or presidents, who are likely to be present lured by the unique monumental and historical import of many mega-projects. This is the type of public exposure that helps get politicians re-elected. They therefore actively seek it out.
It is time TransLink stops its deliberate game of confusion with Metro Vancouver’s light-metro system, which has led to decades ill-advised investments, which has cost the taxpayer many times more for the present light-metro system, than it should have.
Metro Vancouver’s regional light-metro system, is called SkyTrain and the SkyTrain light-metro system is made up of two distinct railways:
- The Canada Line, a conventional railway, built as a light metro and uses ‘off the shelf’ Electrical Multiple Units (EMU’s) currently supplied by ROTEM of Korea. As built, the Canada Line, with 40 metre to 50 metre station platforms, has limited its maximum capacity to around 9,000 persons per hour per direction. A two car train-set is 41 metres long.
- The Expo and Millennium Lines operate an unconventional, proprietary and often renamed light-metro system, now called Movia Automatic Light Metro (MALM), whose cars are only supplied by Alstom. Alstom has purchased Bombardier’s rail division, earlier this year. No other car manufacturer has an “off the shelf” operating vehicle, let alone a production line for such a vehicle, thus the transit system is deemed proprietary as there is only one supplier.
- Innovia Light Metro (Bombardier)
- Advanced Rapid Transit (Bombardier)
- Advanced Light Metro (Lavalin)
- Advanced Light Rail Transit (the Urban Transportation Development Company)
- Intermediate Capacity Transit System (the Urban Transportation Development Company)
A technology bias exists at TransLink. Internationally the MALM system is considered long obsolete as it costs more to build, operate and maintain than conventional light rail or even a heavy rail metro. Cities that built light-metro, such as Ottawa and Seattle, use light rail vehicles, as they are much cheaper to operate and far more flexible in operation, especially for future expansion.
TransLink continues to use this cunning method of manipulating analysis to justify SkyTrain in corridor after corridor, and thus succeeds in keeping its proprietary rail system expanding.
Gerald Fox, Noted American engineer, retired.
TransLink’s well oiled propaganda machine, churning out ”fake news” and “alternative facts” has created the local SkyTrain myth. The SkyTrain myth has fuelled the SkyTrain Lobby, which repeats TransLink’s fake news so much that politicians and the public have come to believe the SkyTrain myth.
The Broadway subway is testament to the power of the SkyTrain myth. Funding for the $2.83 billion Broadway subway has been approved, yet its foundation is one of half truths and questionable planning.
The North American Standard for building a subway is a transit route with traffic flows in excess of 15,000 persons per hour per direction (pphpd), yet peak traffic flows on the 99B Line is about 2,000 pphpd, based on 3 minute, peak hour headway’s. Maximum transit flows on Broadway are less than 4,000 persons per hour per direction!
TransLink’s two top planners were fired for their opposition to the subway, by publicly stating the obvious; that there wasn’t the ridership on Broadway to justify an almost $3 billion subway.
TransLink quite happily lets people believe that Broadway is the “most heavily used transit route in Canada“, but instead claims “This is our region’s most overcrowded bus route.”, when there is a threat of professional or legal accountability.
“The problem with TransLink is that you can never believe what it says; TransLink never produces a report based on the same set of assumptions.”
Former West Vancouver Clr. Victor Durman, Chair of the GVRD (now METRO) Finance Committee.
The former Mayor of Surrey’s flip flop from LRT to SkyTrain was also predictable, as the bureaucrats at TransLink did their best to ensure this would happen.
The well oiled SkyTrain Lobby was in full force with every bit of classic fake news and alternative facts they could muster, yet ignored the fact that MALM is now considered obsolete internationally and only seven such systems have been built in over forty years and no sales for the past 18 years!
The former Mayor of Surrey’s election claim that a SkyTrain extension from King George station to Langley City could be completed for $1.65 billion, was later exposed to be false, yet the Mayor’s Council on Transit, the Minister of Transportation took no action!
The fix was in!
The $1.65 billion figure pales when compared to the present estimate of $4.6 billion to $5.1 billion.
The cost of the Surrey/Langley/Line is so expensive that the provincial government has broken the one project into two projects in an attempt to hide the true cost.
- The guideway project, with a cost estimate now of $4.1 billion.
- The Operations and Maintenance Centre #5 project, which must be completed before the line can enter into revenue operation, is now estimated to cost $500 million to $1 billion on top of the now estimated $4.1 billion for the guideway! The stated costs do not include the costs for new vehicles.
TransLink, the provincial and federal governments stay mute on the true costs of extending the SkyTrain light-metro system.
With the NDP promising to complete the proprietary MALM railway to Langley, a very costly issue arises.
The aging Expo line is desperately in need of a major rehab. This rehab includes a major overhaul and expanded electrical supply; a new automatic train control system, all the switches being replaced on both the Expo and Millennium Lines to permit faster operation and all stations must be rebuilt to deal with the higher customer flows which come with a higher capacity. The rehab is said to cost between $2 billion to $3 billion and must be done before any extension to Langley is built. TransLink has already signed a $1.47 billion resignalling contract with Thales, leaving the necessary and much needed electrical rehab and upgrades waiting for future funding. The cost also does not include station rebuilding, nor vehicle purchases.
The combined annual operating costs for the Broadway subway and the full Expo Line to Langley will exceed $70 million annually. Will this cost be taken from the regional bus system, to pay for two very questionable and politically frivolous transit projects?
If taxes are not greatly increased, this will certainly happen.
How is this to be funded?
Is a $4.6 to $5.1 billion expanding MALM 16km a good investment, especially when ridership on opening day, according to Translink, will be less than what the Broadway 99 B Line bus carried pre Covid?
By comparison, 2022 cost for The Rail for the Valley’s Leewood Study, for a 130 km, Vancouver to Chilliwack passenger service, using the BC Electric rail line, servicing North Delta, Cloverdale, Langley, Abbotsford, Sardis and Chilliwack and connecting the many business parks, universities and colleges along the route, would cost $1.5 billion.
TransLink does not support the Leewood Study’s Vancouver to Chilliwack rail service because it would outperform their $4.6 to $5.1 billion, 16 km extension to the Expo and Millennium Lines and very embarrassing questions would be asked.
“But, eventually, Vancouver will need to adopt lower-cost LRT in its lesser corridors, or else limit the extent of its rail system. And that seems to make some TransLink people very nervous.”
Gerald Fox
With the Covid-19 emergency now waning and major demographic changes taking place, a major rethink must be done on how we provide an affordable regional rail system. Metro Vancouver’s light-metro system has been well studied, yet those cities who have done so, have invested in light rail instead!
Why, after four decades of unprecedented investment in regional rail transit, has no one copied Vancouver’s light metro system, including the exclusive use of the proprietary MALM system?
Of the seven of the now called MALM systems built in the past forty years, Toronto is soon tearing down their version of MALM and Detroit’s version will soon follow, as both systems’ infrastructure are near being “life expired”.
Two of the later versions of MALM, marketed at the time as Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) built in Malaysia and Korea have embroiled both the patent holders, SNC Lavalin and Bombardier in legal proceedings, including charges of bribery. For added insult, the American government refused to subsidize any ART system because it is overly expensive to build and operate and was poorly designed!

The Everline. The Korean government swore after the conclusion of its court case with Bombardier, they would never buy this or any other Bombardier product, ever again.
It is time to put an end to MALM expansion or the provincial government and current mayors, will become like Marley’s ghost, dragging an ever longer chain made of empty cash-boxes, IOU’s, red ink, bare purses and increased taxes wrought in union made steel, election, after election for decades to come.
Remember the FastFerries?
Today, TransLink continues to be toxic with taxpayers and extending MALM to Langley or continuing the Broadway subway to UBC will make TransLink and all who supported the gold-plated extensions radioactive politically, on a Chernobyl scale.
For forty years regional and civic transportation planners and engineers have got it wrong. But, because of very good, publicly funded PR machines in Victoria, and local cities and municipalities, plus the lack of any honest reporting by the local media, regional politicians keep building with the obsolete light metro. Metro Vancouver’s SkyTrain light-metro system has convinced other cities to build with light rail because there is no real advantage with building the much more expensive light metro system.
It is time regional politicians rethink present regional rail transit planning, where today’s hugely expensive planning will exacerbate growing congestion and gridlock and certainly greatly increase already high taxes. The SkyTrain light metro system has become a politcal “tar-baby” and continues to be a showcase how Metro Vancouver’s regional transit planning has continued to get it wrong!
It is interesting how TransLink has used this cunning method of manipulating analysis to justify SkyTrain in corridor after corridor, and has thus succeeded in keeping its proprietary rail system expanding. In the US, all new transit projects that seek federal support are now subjected to scrutiny by a panel of transit peers, selected and monitored by the federal government, to ensure that projects are analyzed honestly, and the taxpayer interests are protected. No SkyTrain project has ever passed this scrutiny in the US.
Gerald Fox
Sky train more ridership per metro area then other similar in North America. 1- TransLink is only responsible for the lower mainland. BC transit is responsible for the province of BC Transit. Making a difficult for both parties to agree New Services between the regions.
2- Broadway subway project a DOT( development around Transit) approved at stations densify the quarter along Broadway. Links up Canada Line Transit option to get a round the region. Section that is currently being built will be faster than the bus. Hours annually for people who ride the route regularly. 3- Langley extension of the sky Train. There’s still a lot of things that are in the predevelopment stage to my recollection. There would be a lot of mid-race developments and short walking distance of the new stations for the line.
4- complete there would be an increase across the region of bus services without increasing the number of buses on the road. 5- TransLink rapid buses to cover the Lesser quarters cheaper than light rail. Flexible enough to be upgraded to a SkyTrain if needed. Overall it will improve the hotel of region with these improvements. Developing Transit Solutions it’s not always the A to B. Tunneling in Pillars are very expensive but the actual guidelity itself is very cheap in comparison for 100% grade separated. Maybe one day we can have an actual Regional project going to the valley or up to the Sunshine Coast
Zwei replies: Absolute bullshit, but that is what I come to expect of the SkyTrain lobby.
You really don’t know what you are talking about, again what I come to expect from the Skytrain lobby.
As of 2019, overall mode share for transit was dropping in metro Vancouver and despite brave talk from Translink, the trend is continuing. This is causing great concern with Translink management as expected revenues are not materializing.
We find it extremely sad that same misleading information, prevalent in the Skytrain proponents arguments, has not changed for decades. As Mr. Zwei so often points out: IF SKYTRAIN IS SO GOOD, WHY DOES NO ONE BUY IT?”
When we were involved with the RAV project almost two decades ago, we implored Translink and the then Minister in charge that ART was so poorly built and so expensive it would condemn the metro region to poor transit for decades to come.
They wanted ART but this all collapsed when they premier and the MOT were told that no P-3 could be done because no one else built with the proprietary railway and SNC seeing the light of profit, competed with a standard EMU, which was both much cheaper to build and operate, it was much cheaper to maintain.
Both Siemens and Alstom countered using modern trams, even more cheaper to operate and more cheaper to maintain and for the same cost as Skytrain or the EMU, we could connect the project to Steveston at a still cheaper price, tan the other alternatives.
We soon found that SNC Lavalin was to be the preferred concessionaire and seeing the writing on the wall, we allowed to unceremoniously kicked from the bidding, without a court case.
We assumed that if your government controlled bidding process was so corrupt, so would be your courts. At least in Ottawa we recouped some financial losses in the courts but we still believe our originally approved plan is still superior to what was built.
Canada and especially your province is considered internationally as a very corrupt place to do business in and afraid your taxpayers are paying the price of this as your “yellow journalism” rampant in your news services seldom reports anything correct about transit.