Letters to the Editor – The Return of the Interurban

Tuesday, July 23: All aboard! Bring back the InterurbanVancouver SunJuly 22, 2013 Terry Nichols of the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society operates the societyai??i??s recently restored BC Elecrtric Railway 1225 Interurban railcar at the Cloverdale Station in Surrey on Wednesday, July 17, 2013. Photograph by: Ric Ernst, Vancouver Sun Re: The return of the Interurban, […]

Stadler LRV’s – Croydon [London] Tramlink

An official video promoting the new Stadler trams and Croydon Tramlink. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR-paeQhIXU and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRMvP-WC0ms

Toronto TTC – New Streetcar Implementation Plan

TorontoAi??TTC new streetcar implementation http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2013/June_24/Reports/New_Streetcar_Implem.pdf TTC Low Floor LRV Roll Out Plan Released (Update 3) Posted on June 25, 2013 by Steve Updated June 25, 2013:Ai?? At the June 24 Commission meeting, CEO Andy Byford presented further details of the roll out plan.Ai?? This information is added to the end of the article along with […]

Ai??koda 30T – a new LRV in Europe

Ai??koda Transportation won the tram tender in Bratislava PlzeA?/Bratislava, 18. 7. 2013 ai??i?? Today, the company Ai??koda Transportation signed the contract for the supply of trams for the Slovakian metropolis Bratislava. It concerns fifteen two-way modern trams for the price of 39 millions of Euros (975 millions of Czech crowns). The tender also includes the […]

Liz James Sings The TransLink Blues

Liz James is one of the few columnists in the region that has taken the times to research our local transit fiasco and she has well demonstrated that she understands the issue. Unlike the mainstream media, which collectively have not done much research on the issue (some even believe that no builds with LRT anymore!) […]

Another Comment, Worthy of a Post.

Justin Bernard, who reads the RftV blog offered a link yesterday about the Scarborough ICTS/SRT which deserves a post of its own. What was considered cutting edge transit technology in the 70’s, is now considered somewhat obsolete today; somewhat like the Wuppertal Schwebebahn. http://www.thegridto.com/city/local-news/scarborough-transit-debate-goes-back-to-the-future/   Mon Jul 15, 2013 Local News Scarborough transit debate goes […]

Vancouver Comes in fourth, With the Decades Most Expensive Transit Projects

This graphic should sound alarm bells to transit planners and politicians about the ever escalating cost of transit projects. What ever happened to the 80’s light rail philosophy of “build it cheap and build lots”? The the real cost of the Canada Line has now been pegged at $2.4 billion (depending on who one listens […]

Liz James asks important questions

Liz James, who writes opinion pieces for the North Shore News, asks some ‘striking’ questions of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, the question is; “are they willing to answer?“ The answer is no, as the regional mayors are afraid of a referendum and the reason is simple, they are afraid of a “none of […]

Has TransLink Ignored SkyTrain Safety by Refusing to Install Sliding Doors at Stations?

The VAL automatic metro in Lille, France has sliding doors at stations to prevent suicides as mandated by EEC rules for automatic metro systems. This begs the question; “Has TransLink ignored this important safety feature to reduce costs for the SkyTrain and Canada line mini-metro systems?” The sad answer is that TransLink finds it cheaper […]

All Roads Lead to Road Pricing

Force TransLink to efficiently and affordably operate the transit system – No. Force the taxpayer to ante up more money through road pricing (another name for a tax) – Yes. The following 1983 quote is from Norman Thompson; CBE, FCA, ACMA, English transit consultant and builder of the (then) world’s busiest subway on the decision […]