Why we build with light rail
The following was Zweisystem’s first offering on the Rail for the Valley blog, posted on December 12, 2008.
Five years and some 1,359 posts later, the message has stayed essentially the same; why does the provincial government and TransLink still pursue light metro instead of LRT, especially when light metro has proven inferior in service and for our needs in the Fraser Valley.
TramTrain in Europe
What is Light Rail Transit, more commonly known as LRT?
According to the Light Rail Transit Association (www.lrta.org) Light rail is a mode that can deal economically with traffic flows of between 2,000 and 20,000 passengers per hour per direction, thus effectively bridging the gap between the maximum flow that can be dealt with using buses and the minimum that justifies a metro.
But there is more. By track-sharing with existing railways on their rights-of-ways, means that LRT can effectively and affordably service less populated areas, with public transport. Streetcars are also light rail, but operate on-street, in mixed traffic, with little or no signal priority at intersections. The main difference between LRT and a streetcar is the quality of rights-of-way, where a streetcar operates on-street, LRT operates on a reserved rights-of-way or a route that is reserved for the sole purpose of the light rail vehicle. A reserved rights-of-way can be as simple as a HOV lane with rails, to a lawned park like route with trees, hedges and flowerbeds. LRT, in it’s various forms is used in over 600 cities around the world and is the first choice of transit planners for affordable, customer friendly public transport.
The German city of Karlsruhe (City population 275,285) has taken light rail to a new standard, by track sharing with mainline railways and operating, what is called tramtrains. In Karlsruhe, one can board a tram, on-street, on the pavement and alight, on-street in Ohringen some 210km (130 mile) later, with the tram acting as a streetcar, light rail vehicle and a passenger train! Karlsruhe’s light rail network now extends over 400 km. (250+ mile) of route, servicing scores of small towns and villages with high quality public transit at very little cost simply because the tram can use existing railway tracks.
In British Columbia, tramtrain can be a useful tool for implementing a high quality ‘rail’ transit service, not only in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, but in Victoria (E & N Railway) and the Kelowna/Vernon rail corridor as well.
The question is: Why does TransLink and the BC government reject modern LRT out of hand and continue to build with dated SkyTrain light metro?
Addendum
Table of Ridership of the Karlsruhe-Bretton Zweisystem (TramTrain), with operation on the mainline DB
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Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? Before LRTAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? After introductionAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? %
Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? Commuter train tram transferAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? ofAi?? TramTrainAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? increase
Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? (September 1992)Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? (March 1993)
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WeekdaysAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 488,400Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 2,064,378Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 423%
SaturdaysAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 39,000Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 263,120Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 675%
SundaysAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 6,200Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 227,478Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 3,669%
TotalAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 533,600Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 2,554,976Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? 479%
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(Albtal-Verkehgesellschaft Karlsruhe & ABB Henchel)
In 2011, because of the astounding success of Karlsruhe’s regional tramtrain network, the main tram line along Kaisserstrasse was seeing 40 second peak hour headways with coupled sets of trams, catering to massive traffic flows, well over 35,000 persons per hour per direction. Even though the route is being diverted into a new subway, the phenomenal success of the tramtrain has lead to more than 25 tramtrain operations around the world.
Its so unfortunate that we will never have Tram-trains here because the track sharing needed is not allowed by Transport Canada and it not likely to change soon. The opinion of the large class 1 railways and there insurance companies also make the possibility very unlikely however, we can maybe work on the smaller class 2 railways with there generally more generous outlook towards the communities they service. A simple quote from an unknown railway executive at a large class 1 railway says it all, ” freight can’t sue”.
Oh yes, happy 5th anniversary Zwei!
The rail for the valley group’s Vancouver to Chilliwack tramtrain is on a class 2 railway, except where it shares a the R-o-W with the Roberts Bank Superport RR and there, there is a statutory obligation to operate a passenger service.
Just back from a trip to San Francisco. There you have an underground Muni Metro system that seamlessly transforms into above ground on-street operation away from the city center. It was great, I could take a quick, transferless journey to a huge number of places outside the city center.
If only Vancouver had invested in a system that could do the same, we would have light rail all across Surrey. Due to the proprietary driverless Skytrain system we are stuck with, however, the Skytrain system can’t do on-street operation. We end up funding a truncated system, with poor transit outside the very limited Skytrain region.
The solution for such a transit hole as we are in is to first of all stop digging deeper, and start by building an at-grade Light Rail system for Surrey and the Fraser Valley, that can operate on-street and also track share with rail companies. We have to start sometime, may as well be now.
Zweisystem replies: Agreed. We are stuck with a automatic railway that must be grade separated at all times, this means huge costs and if one reads today’s (Dec. 14, 2013 post), the taxpayer is growing weary of paying more and and more taxes, whether it be carbon taxes, bridge tolls or road pricing. Simply, we must build transit within our own means and it can be done.
The likes of Cruz, Rico and the SkyTrain lobby are fixated on speed, but fast transit comes at a cost, both to the taxpayer and ridership.
With speed, the faster the commercial speed = fewer stations; fewer stations = less customer convenience; less customer convenience = the customer goes elsewhere to fulfill his or hers transit needs unless they can’t. It is no coincidence that there are 110,000 U-Passes issued, to masquerade a drain on mainstream transit customers.
The added costs with SkyTrain means a smaller transit network and with transit customers with the means, they drive.
The failure of the SkyTrain model is shown by the singular fact that the region has the same auto mode share (57%) as in 1994, after $9 billion investment in SkyTrain and light-metro, we haven’t taken a car off the road. In fact, the roads are at capacity, which mitigates car use. The taxpayer well understands this and refuses to ante up any more money for a failed system.
One of the great things though about the Bay Area is that they truly considered scale of the area and by association its commute. The local agencies have buses but also LRT in San Francisco as well as San Jose and coming soon to Oakland BRT, yet the focus of service was local (inside or just outside of the transit agency’s service area). Truly regional travel is handled by services like BART, long distance commuter coach services and 2 truly regional commuter rail systems. Oops don’t forget the ferries as well. Even holdouts in Marin County (a very affluent and transit unfriendly territory) has started an O Train like DMU service operating a form of diesel LRT/Commuter Rail hybrid. The system is growing and appears to be successful. The place is not perfect but, they certainly got the scale of service issue right. This is a core problem in the transit world especially when individual cities are growing into much larger scale city regions and questions/issues arise on how to fund and service them. Here is where Zwei, has a real winner with the Tram Train concept it has the capacity to do both (local scale and regional scale) provided, your are allowed too and your operator is very very careful in the system development because much can easily go wrong. Sometimes I secretly think that is one of the hidden reasons many transit professionals ignore it.
The first thing the RftV consultant said to me was for the project to be successful, it must go into Vancouver; hence my fascination with diesel LRT and diesel TramTrain. I would love to see an hourly service to start and see where it goes. I also think that more people from town would use the TramTrain than Valley types, in fact may set transit planning on its ears and i think this is where the great fear of such a service lies, it may change the ever so comfortable status quo.