How to pay for Victoria’s proposed over priced light rail….. Don’t!…..Plan for much cheaper TramTrain on the E&N!

BC Transit is an old hand at inflating costs of LRT, so they don’t have to deal with it. In the 90’s, BC Transit increased the cost of the proposed Broadway-LougheedAi??LRT to such an extent, that there was only a 7% difference between the cost for light rail and that of SkyTrain. Sprinkled with political […]

Why transit fares must increase.

Some years ago, I corresponded with a chap in the UKAi??who was (and still is) a respected transit consultant and much what I discuss about in this blog comes from our discussions. One striking comment he made; “Building metros on routes that do not have the ridership to sustain them, only invites higher subsidies and […]

Professor Lewis Lesley and the LR55 tram track – will it usher in a new age of cheaper light rail?

The Lewis LR55 track system has been around for many years now the good Professor himself is advocating its use for the troubled Edinburgh tram project. The concept is that the weight of the tram is supported by the concrete trough longitudinally along the track, instead of a downward thrust, thus not disrupting the underground […]

The huge cost of building subways: is TransLink listening?

What was once going to be a much more affordable hybrid light-metro/light rail line, before the election of Toronto’s Ai??Mayor Ford, Ai??is now being replanned as a full scale subway, dramatically increasing costs. Those wanting to build a subway under Broadway had better get out their calculators because new subway construction in Toronto is getting […]

Ottawa tries to avoid the Vanvouver T.O.D. disease.

In Vancouver, metro construction is planned andAi??built toAi??subsidize land development, not to provide better transit for customers. In theory it is to greatly increase ridership for the new metro line, in practice some unpleasant things happen,Ai??such asAi??people moving into the new high rise apartments and condos and driving to work because they work where the […]

Trams, Pedestrians & Bicycles + buses & cars in Amsterdam

Trams, bicycles, pedestrians also buses, motorcycles & cars happily co-existing in Amsterdam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JeWED7Zilo Just to reassure Ai??theAi??Ai??retardedAi??Ai??dingbats amongst Skyscraper, Ai??Skytrain for Surrey, Translink & Ai??VancouverAi??activistsAi??that it can be done Ai??and that no one was killed or injured during the making of this video a Happy New Year to one & all…. the toast is `Shiney […]

E & N Blues

Want to kill a Railway? Starve it of funds and let it rust away and this seems the fate of the E & N railway. For a want of a mere $15 million to upgrade the tracks, the provincial government has loudly signaled that it wants to wash its hands of the E&N, especially when […]

Bombardier’s Guided BRT Is A Bust In Caen

With all the hoopla about BRT, it is interesting to note that the Caen TVR (proprietary guided bus) being in operation for a few short years, is being abandoned in favour of LRT. To be competitive with light rail/streetcar, BRT must be guided and if BRT is guided, it must run on its own rights-of-ways, […]

Liar, liar, liar……….

It seems the SkyTrain Lobby has started a wee blog to compete with Rail for the Valley, called Surrey needs SkyTrainAi??and true to form, if one supports light rail, one is a liar. It is so sad to see so much time and effort is wasted on what is now an obsolete proprietary transit mode, […]

Hume: The suburbs ask: Whereai??i??s the subway? In Metro Vancouver, the ‘burbs ask: Where is SkyTrain?

Like the Vancouver Metro Region, everyone wants SkyTrain, but there is no money to pay for it. Trouble is, no one has explained this to civic and provincial politicians, who continue to promise multi billion dollar SkyTrain extensions. In the Fraser Valley mayor Watts of Surrey does get it, with her support for LRT construction, […]