Tram Train

A summary of the latestAi??EuropeanAi??Tram Train developments at the end of 2013. UK – Manchester: Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has created new plans which could see specially designed vehicles running on both street tracks and train tracks between Glossop and Manchester city centre. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/tram-trains-could-link-glossop-up-6312282 Manchester to explore future tram-train network Councillors in Manchester have […]

Three bidders vie for Waterloo LRT contract

THREE consortia have submitted bids to the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, for the $C 536m ($US 505m) PPP contract to design, build, operate, and maintain the city’s first light rail line. http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/north-america/three-bidders-vie-for-waterloo-lrt-contract.html?channel=542&goback=%2Egde_88283_member_5819124411105570817#%21

Death By Toll

Is anyone surprised by this? If you are, you are either residing outside Metro Vancouver or you are living in a bubble, because the taxpayer is maxed out. The BC Liberal regime of Gordon Campbell has off-loaded so many user fees, taxes and other costs on to the backs of taxpayers that he has all […]

Light Rail News from around the World

Hong Kong Tram operator proposes $2.8b Kai Tak line http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=140343&sid=41066028&con_type=1&d_str=20131206&fc=8 Hong Kong Tramways has proposed building a HK$2.8 billion tram system for the Kai Tak site. Under the tram operator’s proposal, there will be 23 stations in the system, which will link Kai Tak pier, Ngau Tau Kok and Kowloon Bay MTR stations in 2018. […]

TransLink’s Fiscal House of Cards

Is TransLink’s financial ‘house of cards‘ ready to collapse? It seems the independent commissioner overseeing TransLink thinks so. Certainly the ‘self proclaimed‘ transit experts are circling TransLink like vultures seem to thinks so, by advocating more onerous taxes on the public with ‘road pricing‘ and even a ‘border toll’. Zwei has not heard of one […]

Wisdom From Ottawa

  Our friend Haveacow, is a transit professional and his comment, I believe’ gets to core of TransLink’s woes. When you add in the extra costs of operating the Canada Line and SkyTrain ALRT/ICTS Lines, one can easily see why TransLink’s costs are a third higher than Edmonton and Calgary. From Haveacow and please forward […]

Transit Can Only Improve If TransLink Is Dissolved

The following PostScript to a letter sent by Eric Chris, a professional engineer, is worthy of a post because he addresses the hidden issues of the U-Pass. For those who live outside of TransLink’s realm, the U-Pass is a universal transit pass giving unlimited travel, forcibly sold to over 110,000 post secondary students in Metro […]

GetOnBoard Want’s Valley Tax Money

The pro transit group GetOnBoard BC (well Rail for the Valley is a pro transit group as well) wants a yes vote in the upcoming TransLink referendum, but they seem to be a little naive about public transit in general and firmly believe that the more money you throw at TransLink, the better it will […]

A comparison of Canadian Rail Transit Systems

Please note station platform lengths, SkyTrain and the Canada Line’s station platforms, as well as the vehicles are smaller than most, which means TransLink’s claimed high capacity for Metro Vancouver’s rail system maybe more of a fairy tale than reality. Pixie dust planning and operation seems to be TransLink’s forte.  

Eric Chris’s Study – Not having transit is more environmentally sustainable than having transit in Vancouver

Eric Chris, sent the following to all local newspapers and municipal governments. It seems, TransLink and our regional transit planners may have it all wrong. To view the study in its entirety, please click on the link below. Transit in Metro Vancouver, Canada recently won the gold award from APTA (American Public Transportation Association) for […]