TramTrain News

Next stop Rotherham: Sheffieldai??i??s new Tram Trains 15 Aug 2013 The concept of Tram Train is a vehicle that operates as a tram on the tramway and a train on heavy rail, offering a seamless journey to the passenger into the heart of city centres and relieving capacity from mainline stations while taking the passengers […]

TransLink Useless?

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. Peter Drucker After attending a large commercial event, the recurring complaint was how badly the were operated and how deaf TransLink was for change. As the annual event runs on the August long weekend, bus service to South Delta […]

Letters to the Editor – The Return of the Interurban

Tuesday, July 23: All aboard! Bring back the InterurbanVancouver SunJuly 22, 2013 Terry Nichols of the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society operates the societyai??i??s recently restored BC Elecrtric Railway 1225 Interurban railcar at the Cloverdale Station in Surrey on Wednesday, July 17, 2013. Photograph by: Ric Ernst, Vancouver Sun Re: The return of the Interurban, […]

Liz James Sings The TransLink Blues

Liz James is one of the few columnists in the region that has taken the times to research our local transit fiasco and she has well demonstrated that she understands the issue. Unlike the mainstream media, which collectively have not done much research on the issue (some even believe that no builds with LRT anymore!) […]

Vancouver Comes in fourth, With the Decades Most Expensive Transit Projects

This graphic should sound alarm bells to transit planners and politicians about the ever escalating cost of transit projects. What ever happened to the 80’s light rail philosophy of “build it cheap and build lots”? The the real cost of the Canada Line has now been pegged at $2.4 billion (depending on who one listens […]

Liz James asks important questions

Liz James, who writes opinion pieces for the North Shore News, asks some ‘striking’ questions of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, the question is; “are they willing to answer?“ The answer is no, as the regional mayors are afraid of a referendum and the reason is simple, they are afraid of a “none of […]

Zwei Told Ya So…………Despite massive investment in public transit, most Metro Vancouver residents favour commuting by car

In the 21st century, public transit is seen as a product and if the product is good, people will use it. In Metro Vancouver, public transit is seen as an experiment of sorts, combining extremely dated transit operation, land development and social welfare into a hodge-podge local transit philosophy which, despite a now over $8 […]

Why do some governments see Metros as more prestigious than Light Rail?

A pertinent question posed on one of the Light Rail discussion groups, particularly relevant in relation to Skytrain & the City’s of Surrey and Vancouver. A selection of answers: 1) Very simple. Because it is more expensive. There is nothing as prestigious as money. And then there is the tendency of: “The neighbouring community have […]

A New Patullo Bridge Must include A Fraser River Rail Bridge Replacement.

Though, not combined with an auto bridge, the modern railway lift bridge at Dordrecht, Netherlands is a good example of a modern railway lift span. The GVRD in the late 1970’s got it right; the replacement for the Patullo Bridge, must also include a new, multi track rail Fraser River Rail Bridge, replacing the current […]

Regional Politicos Play Russian Roulette With the Province

The regional cities and municipalities are digging the financial spurs into the province to come up with a new TransLink deal, the problem is, the province may go along with this and let the regional mayors hoist themselves on their own petard and let the regional mayors decide how to pay for major regional transit […]