SkyTrain is Obsolete, Why Then Doesn’t The SkyTrain Lobby & TransLink Get It?

Two letters in the North Delta/Surrey Leader, one from Daryl Cruz of “SkyTrain For Surrey” fame and a rebuttal from Malcolm Johnston, a contributor to this blog.

The assertions by Cruz that “building LRT will cost us billions and billions more than building SkyTrain”, is outright dishonest and comes from a profound ignorance about light rail and public transit.

One wonders who is feeding Cruz this nonsense and for what reason?

A part of the answer is that TransLink and the SkyTrain lobby are afraid of the truth because the truth is very inconvenient with the Evergreen Line now under construction and the Broadway SkyTrain subway on the horizon.

Light rail not right for Surrey or Vancouver

Published: December 31, 2012

The arguing of which transit technologies to use for Broadway and Surrey rapid transit has to stop.

The City of Vancouver is right in its touting that the option for Broadway rapid transit extension should be SkyTrain, and that there should be no contest. The City of Surrey should listen to Vancouver.

I find it remarkable how blind some Light Rapid Transit advocates can be. When it comes to discussing high-cost transit projects, a lot of people seem to be placing emphasis on capital costs exclusively.

What most of these advocates donai??i??t seem to understand is that there are greater economic and productivity benefits from a faster and far more reliable service.

Spending more money on better infrastructure is usually synonymous with earning more benefits to offset the cost, and going by that metric, building LRT will cost us billions and billions more than building SkyTrain.

Daryl Dela Cruz

skytrainforsurrey.org

And a reply from Rail for the Valley

SkyTrain obsolete for years

Published: January 07, 2013

I find I must reply to Mr. Daryl Cruzai??i??s most bizarre letter (ai???Light rail not right for Surrey or Vancouver,ai??? The Leader, Jan. 1.)

The fact of the matter is simple ai??i?? modern light rail made proprietary light-metro systems obsolete almost two decades ago. That many who support spending billions of dollars on SkyTrain extensions remain ignorant of this fact is telling.

LRT made SkyTrain obsolete in North America the early ai??i??80s, when a study by IBI Group for the Toronto Transit Commission found that SkyTrain ai???could cost anywhere up to ten times more to install than light rail, for about the same capacity.ai???

Why build with SkyTrain when you got a far bigger bang for your buck with LRT?

Though only seven SkyTrain-type systems have been built since the late 1970s, the proprietary mini-metro has gone through at least four official name changes, starting with Intermediate Capacity Transit System; then to Advanced Light Rail Transit; followed by Automatic Light Metro; and presently Advanced Rapid Transit.

During the same period, modern LRT has just remained light rail, and during the same period that SkyTrain has been on the market, over 160 new LRT systems have been built and a further 56 LRT systems are under construction or have been approved.

It is also interesting to note that not one of the seven SkyTrain tendering processes allowed light rail to compete.

It is this statement by Mr. Cruz that forced me to reply: ai???building LRT will cost us billions and billions more than building SkyTrain.ai??? The statement is beyond all reality and belongs in a world of fairies and pixie dust.

Yes, those supporting modern LRT are ai???blindai??? indeed.

Malcolm Johnston

Rail for the Valley

Delta

 

Comments

2 Responses to “SkyTrain is Obsolete, Why Then Doesn’t The SkyTrain Lobby & TransLink Get It?”
  1. the Ragnore Brothers says:

    By my reckoning Zwei, Cruz is either bank rolled by the road/auto or oil lobby or he is employed by Trans Link or City Hall in either Vancouver or Surrey?

  2. Justin says:

    I do not know how influential this paper is, but Mr. Cruz didn’t exactly lay out a great argument for why Skytrain is better than LRT. I guess he figured since Vancouver is still obsessed that outdated light-metro technology, he could just attack LRT advocates, and get people on his side. He seems to be going for the ignorant readers.

    Zweisystem replies: The Black Press has been very good in publishing letters that advocate for light rail and also letters that correct misinformation that is constantly doled out by the ST lobby.