Four Years Since the Release of the Leewood Study and the Silence is Deafening!

It now has been four years since the historic release of the Leewood/Rail for the Valley report, yet except for sparse political support, very few people actually know that the study exists, let alone that it is “shovel ready”. The Leewood study is just too simple, too cheap, and too practical compared to other politically […]

The Federal NDP suddenly Discouver Transit

The Federal NDP have never really cared about regional transit and desperately need some sort of policy to try to show the public they care and and have a plan in time for the 2015 election. Throwing more money at transit won’t solve transportation problems and will drive up transit costs. Canadian cities need a […]

Public Meeting Re: The Arbutus Corridor

The Arbutus Corridor: A Way Forward? You might think that thereai??i??s no solution to the conflict over the Arbutus rail corridor. Canadian Pacific Rail wants $100 million for its right-of-way. The City of Vancouver has offered $20m. Neighbourhood gardens, longstanding although trespassing, have been ripped up just before harvestai??i?? and electionai??i?? time. Trains, moving or […]

The seamless (no transfer) journey – Transit’s Holy Grail!

A repost from 2009 – updated. Route 5 (tramtrain) travels from Worth t0 Bietigheim-Bissingen, through downtown Karlsruhe. It has been long known that the seamless or no transfer journey is the ‘ticket’ to attract customers to public transit as it is well understood that one could lose upwards of 70% of ridership per transfer, even […]

Streetcars and LRT, A Quick Primer

First published in the RftV blog in 2011, it is still pertinent today. Updated to August 2014. The silly season continues in the Vancouver region, with TransLink desperately trying to persuade regional mayors to levy more taxes to mainly pay for the Evergreen SkyTrain light-metro line and a SkyTrain subway under Broadway. The following is […]

We Must Welcome The 21st Century

Not really about urban rail, but still important for the planned Chilliwack interurban. Railways need to emerge from the 19th century into the 21st and the federal government must emerge from its 18thAi?? Laissez faire mentality. If France, the UK, and Germany can operate trams, in mixed traffic, on mainline railways, Canada can do it […]

In 1986………….

In 1986, during the duration of Expo 86 in Vancouver there was a passenger rail service from New Westminster to Abbotsford. A British Rail Class 142 Pacer DMU at Abbotsford station in the summer of 1986. If it could be done in 1986, it can certainly be done in 2014. What is not said is […]

In Search of the Light Rail Renaissance

A little history. On April 22, 1978, the city of Edmonton heraldedAi?? a new era of what we now call light rail transit, with the opening of its first 6.9 km, LRT line. Using the now venerable Siemens U-2 vehicle, which was designed for the Frankfurt U-Bahn metro system. Edmonton’s new LRT line set the […]

Taking public transit kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Though Zwei is not a fan of Jarrett Walker, our Ottawa friend, Haveacow, recommended this post from his blog. http://www.humantransit.org/2014/07/california-topples-a-tyrant.html It seems that transit improvements, especially light rail, have been hamstrung by ensuring that traffic flows are not reduced, which is the cornerstone of the light rail Renaissance, emanating from Europe. http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/07/transit-projects-are-about-to-get-much-much-easier-in-california/374049/ So, our American […]

New Rail Traffic for the Interurban Line?

With empty BNSF trains using the SRR of BC Line, to return to the USA via Huntington/Sumas, the antiquated CPR/SR of BC junction at Clayburn should be modernized and improved. A definite benefit for a Vancouver to Chilliwack TramTrain service. It looks like the Southern Railway of BC, is to carry empty coal trains from […]