Metro Vancouver pushes rapid transit for Surrey, not UBC – Why Not Build Both?

It seems that thatAi??Ai??METRO Vancouver’sAi??Ai??chief honcho wants to extend ‘rapid transit’ (read SkyTrain) in Surrey and not on Broadway. But don’t hold your breathe for any action anytime soon. The Tri-Cities have been waiting for their ‘rapid transit’ (read SkyTrain) for over two decades and were pipped at the post by Premier Campbell (and former […]

Why is public transit more expensive than it used to be?

The following article from the American Conservative sums up Rail for the Valley’s long standing worries about the ever escalating cost to build light rail/streetcar. It is time to get back to basics and build LRT/streetcar cheaply or it will price itself right out of the market! One start, of course, would be to stop […]

Prefab tram track = fast construction! Friends of the Broadway Light Rail/Streetcar Take Note!

The following article from EccoRussia, gives an account of the installation of 670 metres of prefabricated tram track on the Athens (Greece) light rail/tram in just 10 days or about 67 metres of new tram track a day! At this speed of track laying it would take a mere 14 days to lay one kilometre […]

TramTrain’s Now Invade Australia

What is good for Karlsruhe, Germany and maybe good for the Vancouver/Fraser Valley region, is now seen as good for Newcastle Australia! For a transit mode that is yet 20 years old, the simplicityAi??Ai??andAi??Ai??cost effectiveness of TramTrain is being demonstrate not only in Europe and North America, but now also in Australia. Communities are pressurizing […]

More U-Tube and light rail web sites

Ai??Ai?? Ai??Ai?? A thank you to David Cockle for providing these very interesting-Tube and websites! Simon Smiler A?ai??i??ai??? Citytransport.info http://citytransport.info/Frame.htm http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=citytransportinfo#g/u Agos Vaga aka Hamster A?ai??i??ai??? Tram-hiker’s Guide to BudapestAi??Ai?? http://www.hampage.hu/kozlekedes/thg2bp/ http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=hamsterhamster2002#g/u

500 Posts – The story so far……………..

Todays post, marks the five hundredth post on the Rail for The Valley blog and today I want to reflect on the main themes that keep out transit debates going. The Canada line Again, anotherAi??Ai??major Canada Line storyAi??Ai??by the Vancouver Province news paper…. http://www.theprovince.com/business/Canada+Line+year+later+Next+stop+construction+controversy/3400752/story.html -and I wonder why the Vancouver Province keeps writing ‘puff’ stories […]

Paris LRT Line T-4 France’s first TramTrain

Just follow the link and one can find the complete history of Frances first TramTrain. http://connectedcities.eu/showcases/t4.html

View obscured from ivory tower – From the Chilliwack times.

The Light Rail Committee has been advocating TramTrain for the Fraser Valley since the mid 90’s, hopefully some positive news will be forthcoming soon! Sadly, in an age of financial frugality, regional and provincial transit planners still plan for hugely expensive metro and SkyTrain systems, yet with little or no method to pay for them. […]

More TramTrain news

More TramTrain news (though a wee bit old) from the UK. Tram plan on track? Surrey Comet Friday 16th July 2004 By Simeon Brody The prospect of electric trams gliding through the streets of Kingston may now be one step closer with the launch of a new lobby group. South London Trams will campaign for […]

Two Valley Rail Studies

The following are two studies that have been done concerning ‘rail’ transit in the Fraser Valley. http://www.scribd.com/doc/2527465/City-of-Surrey-Community-Rail-Proposal http://www.scribd.com/doc/515139/DRL-Solutions-Interurban-Report