An Apples To Apples Comparison – A Tale of Two Cities
We all know about the $3.95 billion 18 km extension of the Expo line to Surrey with all the hype and hoopla of the SkyTrain Lobby is in full swing. Back in the Waterloo region of Ontario, $2.2 billion buys you 37 km of light rail! The comparison between Surrey and Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, (the urban areas […]
A Letter to South Fraser Mayor’s and Councils
Mayor and Council, The recent poll conducted by Mario Canseco ResearchCo, showed an 88% support for the reinstatement of a passenger rail service in the Fraser Valley. The ongoing population shift to the upper Fraser Valley needs a transportation alternative to the highway, where local roads are now seeing Vancouver style congestion. Foreseeing […]
SkyTrain – Eight myths and the facts
Facts do not change and with SkyTrain, the world understands the facts about this proprietary light metro system; unfortunately our politicians and bureaucrats do not. We now live in an age of fake news and alternative facts and the SkyTrain lobby and TransLink with their well oiled propaganda machine exploit this extremely well. Their most […]
The TransLink Planning Pantomime Continues
On the Delta Optimist’s web page. The trouble with TransLink, they promise the moon and the stars, but in the end, deliver the same old user unfriendly, expensive transit planning, ever hoping for different results. Case in point, TransLink’s new CEO, from Baltimore. Well good old Zwei sent an email to Baltimore and what I […]
88% Favour Passenger Rail for the Fraser Valley!
No surprise here! If anyone who has traveled into the upper Fraser Valley, especially the Chilliwack/Sardis/Vedder areas and seen the huge growth and the associated congestion must realize that a rail connection from Vancouver to Chilliwack, via North Delta, Cloverdale, Langley, Abbotsford, Vedder, Sardis and Chilliwack is most needed. * Rail for the Valley , […]
It Is Time For The Return of Regional Passenger Rail In BC?
Calls for a return of an interurban style rail passenger service from Vancouver to Chilliwack; the restoration of passenger service on the E&N; the reinstatement of a passenger service from Vancouver to Prince George; for a Vernon to Kelowna passenger rail service and now folks in the Kootenay’s want a passenger rail service as […]
The Paths to Public Transport Enlightenment
In light of former MP Denise Savoei’s grossly ill-informed letter in the Victoria’s Times Colonist about the E&N railway and public transport in general, the following maybe of some help for those advocating for affordable and user friendly transit in BC. The following from London Reconnections. The Paths to Public Transport Enlightenment By Long […]
Why We Build With Light Rail
From December 2008, Zwei’s first post! What is Light Rail Transit or more commonly known as LRT? According to the Light Rail Transit Association (www.lrta.org) Light rail is a mode that can deal economically with traffic flows of between 2,000 and 20,000 passengers per hour per direction, thus effectively bridging the gap between the […]
How To Build Light Rail In Our Cities Without Emptying The Public Purse
As urban sprawl and strip development is now engulfing the lower mainland, with associated traffic congestion and pollution, Rail for the Valley’s concept of TramTrain makes sense. We cannot afford to extend SkyTrain at over $200 million/km and certainly there is absolutely no real economic or business case for a subway under Broadway for a […]
IS IT TIME TO HAVE A ROYAL COMMISSION ON URBAN TRANSPORTATION?
A repost from April 30, 2011. In 2021, TransLink with the approval of the provincial and federal governments are spending almost $3 billion to build a 5.8 km subway under Broadway in a transit route which (pre Covid) saw the Broadway 99B-Line bus achieve a maximum capacity of 2,000 pphpd, yet the North American standard […]
Recent Comments