Broadway Subway Reality Check – Toronto’s 8.6 km Spadina Line Subway Now $3.2 Billion!

For those of you who have been pooh-poohing, Zwei’s cost estimate for the Broadway subway, the following news item from Toronto should send a not too subtle message that subways are very expensive to build and are only built when there is the massive traffic flows that demand long trains and large stations to accommodate […]

Shake Your Head In Disbelief Deptment

A snow broom in Sapporo Japan clears snow from the line. Yet in Richmond a mere dusting of snow and a trace of freezing rain brought the Canada Line to a halt. Really? Now, freezing rain and ice storms can stop trams from running, when ice shrouded electrical overhead sags due to weight and is […]

Oops! Canada Line Problems

Compass Card problems and now the Canada Line goes ka-put, not a good start to 2016. Ai?? Monday morning issues on TransLinkai??i??s Canada Line Vancouver, BC, Canada / News Talk 980 CKNW | Vancouver’s News. Vancouver’s Talk Gord MacDonald TransLink is reporting a problem on the Canada Line between the Bridgeport and Templeton Stations. Due […]

A Bad Day For SkyTrain

Oops, a bad day for TransLink and the mini-metro system. Confusion reigns, as TransLink can’t even manage a coherent news story. Canada Line resumes after ai???fire incidentai??? causes delays Vancouver, BC, Canada / News Talk 980 CKNW | Vancouver’s News. Vancouver’s Talk Simon Little December 29, 2015 Good news for rush hour commuters ai??i?? TransLink […]

Canada Line Train Catches Fire

The fire was on the Canada Line, which isn’t SkyTrain. For those who are not in the know, the SkyTrain system cars are powered by Linear Induction Motors or LIM’s and the Canada Line cars are powered by “squirrel cage” electric motors. Much of Canada Line down By DAN FUMANO, The Province December 20, 2014 […]

Will TransLink Overly Invest In Subways In Vancouver?

Interesting article from Toronto. In Germany in the 1960’s and 70’s many cities started building subways and replacing their surface tramways. The first noticeable change was that ridership dropped and for many, journey times increased. This was due to many more km. of tramway being abandoned compared to the very few km. of new subway […]

The Vancouver Province Shills For The Canada Line

40 metre to 50 metre station platforms limit the Canada line train to just two cars, severely limiting capacity. I see TransLink is calling in its markers from the mainstream media and a staff writer (infomercial maybe) has penned a puff piece for the Canada Line. No mention is made of the tens of thousands […]

Minister Know Nothing

Ministers of Transportation in BC recently have been generally “know-nothings”, as they know very little about transit, public transit, and transportation in general. To keep their highly paid position, they do exactly what the premier tells them to do. Premier Clark announced a new bridge to replace the Massey tunnel and Minister of Transportation, Todd […]

Is The Canada Line A Classic White Elephant?

From Wiki: A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth. The term derives from the story that the kings of Siam (now Thailand) were accustomed to make a present […]

Limiting in Honolula

The Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project (HHCTCP) is the official name for the plan to construct an elevated rapid transit line serving the City and County of Honolulu on the island of Oahu. http://www.honolulutransit.org/ The line will use 128Ai??ft (39Ai??m) trains carrying about 390 passengers each, similar in weight to light rail systems elsewhere in […]