A Railway Crossing That Means Business

In Russia, to cope with the problems of motorists jumping railway signals on express train routes, the following device is used. The rest is self explanatory. Rail for the Valley take note!

Gridlock Is Endemic In Vancouver and Will Be For Years To Come

Nothing new here. As the provincial government keeps building new highways and bridges, car use will increase, simple. As the provincial government, the City of Vancouver, TransLink, and Metro Vancouver, keep planning for and building hugely expensive mini-metro’s like SkyTrain and the Canada Line, for strictly political prestige and not as a convenient transit mode, […]

TramTrain in action

Probably the best visual that explains TramTrain around! Steam, passenger, freight, and trams all using the same line.     Ersingen heavy / light rail contrasts    

Urban rail news in brief – April 2014

From the “Railway Gazette”, urban news for April 2014 Tokyo Metro has signed a technical assistance memorandum of understanding with Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has announced R$3Ai??8bn of public transport investment. The projects include tramways in the city of Natal and state of ParaAi??ba. China Railway Group has been awarded […]

Bus or Light Rail, the Evidence Is Clear

Public transit is a necessity in today’s congested cities, yet politicians and their planners tend to ignore the importance of public transit in the 21st century city and either invest in the “cheap and nasty” rapid or express buses, or overly expensive gadgetbahnen like our Skytrain and Canada Line mini-metros. There is also the disturbing […]

LRT South of the Fraser

A pleasant surprise in the Delta Optimist, Zwei’s home town paper, a light rail friendly article. Though I hate the term Light Rapid Transit, because I believe it is used deliberately to misinform people. The comment by Delta-Richmond East MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the minister of national revenue; “the fund is aimed at projects that have […]

Congestion Crisis

Well Zwei told you so, the failure to plan for an affordable public transit alternative for the car has helped create this crisis and no one in charge seems to understand what the real transportation problems are in the region. While Victoria and regional mayors squabble about who is going to tax whom and by […]

A Replacement For the Fraser River Rail Bridge?

Interesting article in the Vancouver Sun that Surreyai??i??s light rail bid could have edge in federal funding over Vancouverai??i??s Broadway subway line. What is of more importance for Rail for the Valley is the replacement of the decrepit Fraser river rail bridge which lies in the shadows of the Patullo Bridge. The present single track […]

The Politics of Fear

It seems if all else fails for the TransLink referendum, scare the people to vote for yes for more money. This is called the politics of fear. The harsh facts are that three LRT lines in Surrey and a SkyTrain subway under Broadway will not alleviate traffic congestion in the region! To be successful, transit […]

Clarity With Transit and TransLink ….. Ha, Ha, Ha!

The TransLink referendum continues to provide angst with politicians and TransLink and so it should, because both parties really haven’t a clue about public transit. The new Chair of TransLink, Marcella Szel.Ai?? A former Canadian Railway executive and Port Authority director, has absolutely no background in urban transit and seems to have been chosen because, […]