TramTrain – Success Ignored

Rail for the Valley’s goal is the reintroduction of a modern Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban service, using the former and still in use, BC Electric route. This route would provide good rail communication for Vancouver, Cloverdale, Langley, Abbotsford, the burgeoning communities of Vedder/Sardis and finally Chilliwack, with regularly scheduled regional rail service. 15 years ago […]

Doing The Same Thing Over Again Just Will Not Work

After receiving a number of abusive amount of Emails about the post (all deleted), has indicated to me that most people do not have a firm grounding in modern public transport philosophy, nor a good knowledge of provincial finances. Most forget, that in the end, both LRT and light metro are trains and there is […]

SkyTrain Again Fails in the Snow

I find it more than interesting that our hugely expensive rapid transit system once again fails in the snow. Oh, the excuses are many but TransLink, the Minister of Transportation and the premier will never admit to the fact that our SkyTrain light metro system just isn’t up to scratch in adverse weather. Even the […]

The Cost of Tunneling

The huge cost of tunneling for subway projects are barely mentioned in the media. €4.4 billion for 6 km of twin bore tunnel and seven stations equals CAD $6.08 billion or CAD $1.o1 billion per km to build. This should give pause for thought to BC and regional politicians that the high cost of subway […]

Listen To The Experts

When Patrick Condon, BSc, MLA,  Professor Chair, Urban Design Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture says a new transit vision is needed in metro Vancouver, we should listen. We should have listened to the experts in the 1980’s when the then social Credit government forced ALRT onto the regions regional transit […]

The End Of The SkyTrain “Gravy-Train?

Gravy Train: Used to refer to a situation in which someone can make a lot of money for very little effort. Mr. Cow’s comment in the previous post, deserves a post of its own, because it could be a game changer in regional transit planning. Criticizing regional transit planning has been somewhat taboo with the […]

What Is The Real Cost For The Expo & Millennium Line Extensions?

It is the civic election season, or more fondly called the “silly season” and all sorts of claims and promises are made. Recently on a local radio talk show a politcal wannabe claimed that; “SkyTrain operates almost free because it does not have any drivers and is cheaper than LRT” and the host agreed with […]

Rural Railways – Who Would They Serve

A lot has been said that the Leewood/Rail for the Valley scheme would not attract much ridership because it isn’t fast, yet the same folks who use this excuse to nay say the “return of the interurban” fail to realize that the Vancouver to Chilliwack rail route will service many new destinations thus user friendliness […]

Rural Railways- Time to Invest.

Recommendations to save Japan’s rural railways issued 28 July 2022 JAPAN: A study group formed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism has published its report into whether and to what extent rural railways across the country can be revived. From the Railway Gazette. The following was sent to the usual suspects.   Around […]

Zwei Replies……………………

  The following has been posted on Facebook and other transit blogs with some unfavorable comments about RftV. First off, the article is by Alon Levy, a chap I have never heard of before, who has been described as an expert. An expert, well I think not, but neither is good ole Zwei for that […]