STRASBOURG – Beautiful City – Beautiful Trams

The French city of Strasbourg (Ai??Ai??populationAi??Ai?? 276,867Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??in 2006),Ai??Ai??which its historic city centre was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, decided in the early 1990’s toAi??Ai??build a modern tramway system,Ai??Ai??using theAi??Ai??innovative and attractiveAi??Ai??ADTranz Eurotram rolling stock .Ai??Ai??In 1994 Line A opened, with a north-southAi??Ai??route running from Hautpierre-Maillon (north-west) to the city center (where […]

Tram on Tires – Guided Light Transit (GLT), the ultimate BRT

Guided Light Transit or GLT is a hybrid bus/tram system, where rubber tired vehicles are guided by a single rail and the TransLohr GLT falls into this category. It has been long realized that for a bus to obtain higher performances to compete against LRT, it must be guided. The Achilles heel of BRT in […]

From the Vancouver Sun – Metro Vancouver mayors vote for an extra $130-million for TransLink. As Barnum Observed, There Is a Sucker Born Every Minute.

Metro mayors caved in to TransLink’s slick propaganda campaign, to bad because TransLink and the provincial government will forever treat municipal politicians as mindless patsies. It was time to draw a line in the sand, but regional politicians just didn’t have the stomach for it and continue to be just tax and spend politicians who […]

CargoTram – Taking Commercial Trucks Off the Road. Is TransLink planning for the future? Can TransLink plan for the future?

What local transit planners have not done in the Vancouver regionAi??Ai??is take into account the versatility of modern light rail with their strategic planning and always plan for LRT as a poorman’s SkyTrain. In many cities, trams pull small trailers to carry bicycles or specialized cars toAi??Ai??carry rubbish from refuse bins along the line, adding […]

From U-Tube – Trams Of Karlsruhe, Germany. Finest in the world?

An interesting video on Karlsruhe’s tram system, including their famous TramTrain, which can operate as a streetcar, a light railway or a commuter train! It’s worth a watch. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzFgSOTUVPM]

From the Vancouver Sun: "Olympic traffic plan could leave a lasting legacy — but it will depend on us". NOT

The editors at the Vancouver Sun have never grasped the realities of the many transit issues in Vancouver, let alone the challenges of the ‘Olympic‘ road closures. The problem in METRO Vancouver is that transit planners have always seized the latest “flavour of the month” in transit operationAi??Ai??from light-metro to GLTAi??Ai??and revenue gathering such as […]

From The Infrastructurist – 36 Reasons Streetcars Are Better Than Buses

Just an interesting article that came Zweisystem’s way. If you have a complaint or comment, please register with the Infrastructurist’s web site: http://www.infrastructurist.com/2009/06/03/36-reasons-that-streetcars-are-better-than-buses/ The Infrastructurist Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 36 Reasons Streetcars Are Better Than Buses Posted on Wednesday June 3rd by The Infrastructurist If you want a system that really attracts riders and investment, […]

To UBC, from BCIT and Picinics in the Park, by tram – The Light Rail Committee’s Broadway Light Rail Project

A Wee Bit Of Local History InAi??Ai??early 1996, during BC Transit’s meaningless public consultation period for the Broadway Lougheed Rapid Transit Project which later morphed into the Millennium Line,Ai??Ai??Zweisystem received a phone call from an European Transit specialist, who worked for Asea Brown Boverai (later absorbed by Bombardier Inc.)Ai??Ai??regarding the project. The European transit specialist, […]

From the North Shore News – No light at end of TransLink funding tunnel

Well Zweisystem isn’t the only oneAi??Ai??waving a red flag about TransLink and transit funding in the region. It seems the transit alarm bells are sounding on the North Shore, as more and more taxpayers are saying no to increased funding to TransLink. This is tragic, but predictable, where senior politicians with out any meaningful public […]

A letter to the Editor in the Tri-Cities news – TransLink is broke and broken

The Editor, TransLink is broke and the reasons are easy to understand. TransLink operates light metro (in the guise of SkyTrain and the Canada Line) on routes that do not have the ridership to support them. SkyTrain is subsidized by more than $230 million annually and to date more than $8 billion has been spent […]