First Hungarian TramTrain Service Begins

Good news, the opening of the first TramTrain service in Hungary. What is largely of interest is that the TramTrain route is mainly single track with passing loops, using hybrid vehicles, built by Stadler and can operate either by electricity and diesel.There is a lot of scope for TramTrain to operate in the Fraser Valley, […]

Time To Put Freight Back On The Rails!

A rolling motorway in Europe The recent fiasco with our regional highways, due to the “Great Deluge” has again spot lighted the massive amount of freight traffic that is carried on the public highway system. The trucking industry is highly subsidized by using the existing highways and the motor freight companies undercut the freight rates […]

FROM THE LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT ASSOCIATION – TRAMS ARE SYMBOLS OF CITIES

From the LRTA, the modern tram, workhorse of today’s public transit systems in over 600 cities around the world, yet noticeably missing in Metro Vancouver. Indeed, the modern tram is absent in soulless Vancouver and it is time to change this. Let’s put some soul into Vancouver; let’s plan for trams! For the Fraser Valley […]

And You Think Wider Highways and Bigger Bridges Will Solve Congestion?

Let’s build more highways and bigger tunnels and bridges to cure congestion. Let us build 10 lane tunnels and bridges; let us build ten lane highways: let us build ourselves out of gridlock. Sorry, facts show that one cannot build oneself out of congestion and gridlock as building bigger bridges and tunnels and wider highways […]

Letters

Letters From the Langley Advance Times Dear Editor, For over 12 years, Rail for the Valley has been advocating the reinstatement of the Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban service and in doing so, are being advised by professionals and engineers who have a sound knowledge of public transit systems and transportation modes. The following are pertinent […]

Premier Horgan’s FastFerry Redux!

  Before reading on, please remember this figure of $1.3 billion, as it represents an updated (2021) cost for Rail for the Valley’s Leewood Study, offering a three trains per hour per direction from Vancouver to Chilliwack. Doing the Rail for the Valley blog for the past 12 years has been an interesting experience and […]

Rubber on Asphalt

  BC politics at its best, rubber on asphalt is always a sure vote getter at election time. Funding for this $235.5 million highway upgrade was announced in 2019, with the federal government committing $109 million, the provincial government with $99.5 million, and the Township of Langley with $27 million. The 12 km project will […]

Langley Expo Line Extension Almost $1 Billion Over Budget!

You just got to love the NDP, as this hapless crew love budget breaking FastFerry style mega projects. Remember the FastFerries? The financial stench from that fiasco hung around the neck of the NDP as a fiscal Albatross for over twenty years and you would have thought that they would have learned…………..but no, they are […]

A Letter to South Fraser Mayor’s and Councils

  Mayor and Council,   The recent poll conducted by Mario Canseco ResearchCo, showed an 88% support for the reinstatement of a passenger rail service in the Fraser Valley. The ongoing population shift to the upper Fraser Valley needs a transportation alternative to the highway, where local roads are now seeing Vancouver style congestion. Foreseeing […]

SkyTrain – Eight myths and the facts

Facts do not change and with SkyTrain, the world understands the facts about this proprietary light metro system; unfortunately our politicians and bureaucrats do not. We now live in an age of fake news and alternative facts and the SkyTrain lobby and TransLink with their well oiled propaganda machine exploit this extremely well. Their most […]