More tramways for Paris

What the SkyTrain and subway lobbies fail to mention, is that Paris transit authorities are also investing heavily in light rail or tramways. Something that planners should consider, when planning for new transit lines in Vancouver. Paris inaugurates tram Line T7 18 Nov 2013 FRANCE: The latest tram line in Paris opened on November 16 […]

Light Rail Is Not A Panacea

In Canada transit authorities, unlike their European counterparts, tend not to do maintenance until it is absolutely necessary to do so. This means customer affecting break downs do occur and when they do, the transit customer is ill served. Older trams need a robust maintenance routine, to prevent breakdowns and I would wager that the […]

Donai??i??t learn from the failure of the subway on Cambie Street ai??i?? copy it for Broadway

Sad to see that the best UBC can do is to copy failed 1950’s planning philosophy for the 21st century for Vancouver. In North America, subways are seen as the the great transit philosopher’s stone to solve all transportation problems – if you do not have a subway, your transit system is next to useless. […]

Professor warns of suburban sprawl, ai???horrificai??i?? congestion.

Zwei has been warning about this for several years, and now, now someone has noticed? I’m sorry, but I just do not see any improvement in our regional transit chaos, until someone has the moral fortitude to put a wooden stake through the heart of SkyTrain. For too long, TransLink has been recycling bus riders […]

ai???One of the consequences of making the wrong decision is that we build a subway where we donai??i??t need it and put an albatross around our neck.ai???

The self destructing Rob Ford, Mayor of Toronto and his all subway dream may soon fade from history, except the fiscal fallout from subway construction will last decades. Ford’s real quest, of course, was to clear Toronto’s roads of streetcars and/or proposed light rail and even bike lanes to create more road space for cars. […]

Are TransLink’s Broadway Ridership Claims Valid?

TransLink loves making high ridership claims for its pet bus and SkyTrain routes, but the trouble is, TransLink’s claims are just that, claims. We have seen this sort of nonsense on the Canada Line and now TransLink is claiming that the Evergreen Line or the unfinished portion of the Millennium Line, will carry “70,000 people […]

Yippee, Vancouver Is Number One!

So? What else is new? The provincial and regional governments have spent over $9 billion on three mini-metro lines that have done nothing to alleviate congestion; it will be dAi??jAi?? vu with the Evergreen Line and TransLinks still wants more taxpayer’s money to do the same thing again, hoping that it will work this time. […]

Bombardier’s Porto Metro (well it is really LRT) Wins Prize.

Well, Bombardier can build light rail and award winning LRT at that, which is something that will be hard to admit in Vancouver. The Porto Metro uses Bombardier’s (ABB) Euro and Flexity trams in a combination of subway and at-grade rights-of-ways and there is not even a hint of ALRT/ART automatic operation. There is no […]

ZA?rich Suburban Light Rail Line Approved

From the Railway Gazette. The Swiss city of ZA?rich has approved a new suburban 13Ai??4 km tram line, the Limmattalbahn light rail line which would link the ZA?rich suburbs of Altstetten, Dietikon and Killwangen-Spreitenbach. The project is backed by the cantons of ZA?rich and Aargau, which would pay 75% and 25% of the estimated SFr670m […]

Advice Notes For Promoters Who Are Considering Light Rail

Thanks to David Cockle of Leewood Projects for sending the following ‘guidance notes’ for light rail, ultra light rail and more. UK Tram has produced a general Guidance Note and a series of Advice Notes for promoters who are considering a Light rail, Ultra Light Rail or Personal Rapid Transit Scheme.Ai?? These Notes provide promoters […]