Streetcars out for the North Shore, in for Vancouver!

Interesting local news about implementing a modern streetcar line in the greater Vancouver region. Modern trams are not as expensive as one would think as the following shows, but if TransLink is involved, the cost of a new tram/streetcar would be at almost ten times more! On October 11, 2006 he Spanish town of Véléz […]

The Depeartment of Transport in the UK releases a positive report about LRT.

Modern LRT in Strassburg France, operating on a lawned (grassed) reserved rights-of-ways Just released, a positive report from the Department for Transport for light rail in the UK. http://www.dft.gov.uk/publications/green-light-for-light-rail Report: Green light for light rail (PDF – 561 KB)

As reality hits, the taxpayer will get hit harder!

Well, lots of news about SkyTrain and how it's getting older and whole lot of money must be spent to refurbish the metro system. Well, hasn't TransLink planned for this or do they just think that the taxpayer will shell out more money to keep the aging behemoth running. All transit systems age and transit […]

I must go down to the sea again [in ships & trams]

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking, And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn […]

Vancouver’s anti-LRT media and blogs. Don’t diss Portland’s light rail

I don’t like doing this, but the following has struck a nerve. The statement from Frances Bula’s blog, “The famous streetcar and light-rail transit? Iai??i??ve concluded that that is the only option the city has, since it has about 60,000 fewer people than Vancouver does but spread out over three times the land. They canai??i??t […]

Light Rail for Surrey – A Rerun from May

With LRT in the mix for TransLink consultation process, Zwiesystem is reposting an item from May 4, 2011. I believe this plan is superior and cheaper to what TransLink is offering, as well, servicing far more people and has the potential to provide a direct line from White Rock to downtown Vancouver. LIGHT RAIL FOR […]

Aecom wins Canadian light rail contract

Aecom lands early role on Edmonton LRT http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/international-construction-news/aecom-lands-early-role-on-edmonton-lrt Aecom has won a CAD $36m contractAi?? for preliminary engineering on a light rail transit (LRT) expansion scheme in Edmonton, Canada. Ai??Under the contract for the City of Edmonton, the company will provide preliminary engineering design services for the Southeast LRT line from downtown Edmonton to Mill […]

When accidents happen…………

The followingAi??article illustrates two items that many people here, on our side of the pond, are completely unaware of. The first item is a investigation of a death on the Manchester (UK) LRT by the RAIB or Rail Accident Investigation Branch, an English organization. When a death occurs on SkyTrain, the public is completely unaware […]

More trams for Montpelier

The following happier transit news for Montpelier, is courtesy of David Cockle. As the SkyTrain lobby still dream a Luddites dream of the world being flat and everyone builds with SkyTrain, more light rail is being built in France. Why is France so important, you ask? Well France also has a proprietary light-metro system, called […]

Wrong Again – How Long will it Take Them To Get It Right?

They have got it wrong, but in Vancouver we have have always got transit wrong. Speed of a transit system is not the prime factor in attracting ridership, it is part of the mix. The main reasons for successful transit, according to the internationally acclaimed study ' Bus or light rail, making the right choice', by Professor […]