The propaganda campaign for the UBC subway has begun. Here comes the Campbell Line!

OnAi??Ai??September 8, theAi??Ai??first day of regular commuting, after the summer break,Ai??Ai??in the region, the Vancouver Sun had a “Canada Line” Live chat where a poll question pops up “Should SkyTrain continue to UBC” and not surprisingly 59% have voted, “Yes get on with it”. Here we have the the firstAi??Ai??push ofAi??Ai??a massiveAi??Ai??propaganda campaign to win […]

From the Georgia Straight – Patrick Condon highlights cost of Broadway transit

There is no doubt that TransLink, the province and the city of Vancouver are steamrollering ahead for a SkyTrain UBC subway. The $2.8 billion for the proposed 12 km. subway is rather conservative and the true cost would be nearer to $4 billion. Going back to the $2.8 billion figure – $2.8 billion would buy […]

From the LRTA – Karlsruhe orders Bombardier TramTrains

Good news for Rail for the Valley, Bombardier is now producing TramTrains for the famous Karlshrue Two-System light rail network. One would guess that Bombardier Inc. would love to demonstrate this product here. Imagine, the “Great Tram Train Trials” for the Fraser Valley, with Alstom, Siemens, Bombardier, Stadler all competing for orders here; it would […]

Commuting is harder now – A letter to the Vancouver Sun

As predicted, the RAV/Canada Line has increased journey times for many transit customers, even those who commute directly to Vancouver. Despite ‘rose coloured glasses’ style stories in the mainstream media and ‘talk radio’, longer journey times translates into less people opting to take transit. The letter does reveal two issues: 1) What percentage or portion […]

Elevated or at-grade; let’s look at both!

A post to RFV’s blog moaned that; “you always show ugly pictures of elevated transit rather than the wonderful job Richmond did on #3 Road or sections of the Central Valley Greenway……………”, well let’s compare elevated transit with at-grade/on-street light rail. or It seems that the vast majority of transit planners would rather be associate […]

From the Seattle Times – TriMet opens MAX Green Line in Oregon

Portland continues to expand its light rail network with the opening of the Green Line. The Green line is 13.35 km. long and cost CAD $619.45 million or CAD $46.4 million per km. The higher cost of Portland’s Green line can be attributed to the fact that the new light rail-line parallels Highway 205 and […]

From Transit & Urban Tramways – Alstom and Dalkia win five-year, CAD $41.7 million, Luas (Dublin’s LRT) extension

There has been much ‘bumf’ in local blogs that light rail is expensive to maintain, even more expensive to maintain than metro. The following news item from T & UT gives a good example of theAi??Ai??annual operating costs of a modern light rail system. Dublin’s LUAS LRT does operate at a profit, even after paying […]

Some balance please! An independant view of the RAV/Canada line.

The following Email came Zweisystem’s way today and is certainly contrary to the hype and hoopla of other blogs claiming that the RAV Line is almost at capacity. The author of the item, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a party who worksAi??Ai??in local transit planning. Yes, the RAV/Canada line is up and running, but […]

And we thought TransLink had problems – the Ottawa Light Rail Lawsuit.

Plan for light rail – Federal government intrigue – sign contracts – renege on contracts – the result: a massive lawsuit. Of course what civic, provincial and federal politicians all seem to forget is that there is one taxpayer and the monies awarded to the plaintiffs would go a long way to help build a […]

Is it time for the Valley to ditch TransLink? Would it lead to better regional transportation?

Martin Crilly’s report on TransLink came as no surprise, TransLink is in deep financial trouble and needs a major infusion of cash to keep it in operation. The question should be asked: “ShouldAi??Ai??the Valley MunicipalitiesAi??Ai??walk away from the transportation agency and let the chips fall where they may?” TransLink, despite all the revisionist history, was […]