TransLink eliminates planning VP – The Sacrificial Lamb

It seems that transit planning is/was not aAi??TransLink forte, in fact the move to remove the VP of Planning certainly indicates that the Premier’s office is in full control of Metro Vancouver transportation planning and no encumbrances from the TransLink bureaucracy is needed.Ai??TransLink’s VP of planning has been determined to be the sacrificial lamb with […]

Where’s The Density? Oh, I Guess Density Is Not An Issue With TramTrain.

Ever wanted to see what the Rail for the Valley/Leewood tramtram ride would be like, well the following video from U-Tube gives the feel of what a Vancouver to Chilliwack servcie would be like. The following is a cab-eye view of a German regional railway, not unlike the former BC Electric line from Vancouver to […]

Montpellier opens new lines – A lesson unlearned for TransLink!

What is very interesting about this news item from the Light Rail Transit Associations web siteAi??( www.lrta.org ) is that the cost for Montpellier’s two new light rail/tram lines 3 & 4 (28.2 km) is about CAD $688.8 million or about $24.45 million/km. to build! The cost of Montpellier’s two new tram lines are less […]

Utterly ignorant about transit, come to Vancouver and join the club!

The authorAi??of the following article in the Toronto Sun is utterly ignorant of transit mode and operation and would make a great addition to the Vancouver Sun newspaper. The very nature of modern LRT with the concept of “reserved rights-of-ways” or RoW’s that are exclusively for the use of streetcars or trams, has made modern […]

The Canada Line is on the fritz again

Well it seems the $2.5 billion Canada Line gadgetbahnen is on the fritz again, so much for the myth that driverless transitAi??are more dependable than light rail. The problem is a signalling problem and the sort of problem that bedevils automatic metros around the world, it is also a problem that doesn’t greatly effect light […]

The Vancouver Sun, As Usual, Gets It Wrong On TransLink

Today’s editorial in the Vancouver Sun, regarding TransLink, gets it wrong, but this comes as no surprise, the Vancouver Sun had got it wrong about transit ever for the past 32 years and it’s so hard to each an old dog new tricks. The problem with TransLink is simple and can be summed up in […]

Bad run for TransLink as disasters pile up

More unhappy news for TransLink………. Bad run for TransLink as disasters pile up By Michael Smyth, The ProvinceApril 13, 2012 http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=6452292&sponsor= I doubt the folks at TransLink are worried about the ominous date on the calendar today. Metro Vancouver’s transit authority has had such a lousy run of late that Friday the 13th could hardly […]

AdiA?s Transit Improvements?

A hint of the shape of things to come. TransLink is imploding under its weight of inefficiencies and there is more to come; $30 million must be carved from the TransLink budget to cover the loss of the denied fare increases. Zwei has a few hints where these cuts could come from. Get rid of […]

Yes, TransLink does Need An Overhaul!

Common sense at last. Ever since Gordon Campbell and Kevin Falcon and had a hissy fit over the then TransLink Board (made up of local mayors) rejecting the Canada Line metro due to cost concerns, and gutted public oversight for the ponderous bureaucracy and insteadAi??creatingAi??the so called Board of Experts, TransLink has been, to be […]

SkyTrain on the fritz again.

A switching problem may happen on a LRT/streetcar Ai??line but would never cause the chaos that happens whenAi??switch fails on a driverless SkyTrain line. The simple design of an at-grade/on-street tram/light rail switch means it can be operated safely manually if need be. SkyTrain delays this morning were due to switching problem near Nanaimo station […]