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 […]

A letter from Oslo

This has been forwarded to Rail for the Valley from the Eurotrams e-group. Now where have you heard similar arguments? Read RoyA?ai??i??ai???s last two paragraphs, a certain resonance with the situation in the Fraser Valley & Metro Vancouver? The infrastructure in Trondheim suffers from lack of interest from the city council. The tramway has been […]

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 […]

Light Rail Hot Spots

A thank you to David Cockle for providing these links to ‘light rail hot spots’. Phoenix: http://phoenix.metromix.com/bars-and-clubs/roundup/light-rail-hot-spots/813975/content San Jose: http://rent.sheaapartments.com/SheaApartmentscom/bid/10986/Go-Green-with-VTA-in-San-Jose-Find-Park-and-Ride-Stops-Near-Your-San-Jose-Apartments Sacramento: http://www.sacrt.com/rt4teens.stm Seattle http://www.deliciousbaby.com/journal/2010/jan/15/seattles-link-light-rail-kids-part-2/ Sydney: http://www.metrotransport.com.au/index.php/lightrail/home-2.html Krakow: http://www.chillisauce.co.uk/hen/krakow/party-bus/product_2707/ Prague: http://www.praguenet.com/compass/number_3/nightlife.html Amsterdam: http://www.imagenature.com/galleries/amsterdam/amsterdam-night-scene.php Lisbon: http://www.traveleurope.com/blog/en/five-things-not-to-miss-in-lisbon/ Melbourne: http://www.bcl.com.au/melbourne/views/mk020.htm Baltimore (Paris, Nice, Montpellier) http://www.purplelinenow.com/mixed_mode.html Nottingham: http://www.visitnottingham.com/exec/103562/2289/

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

More Tram Videos

Thank you for blog reader, David Cockle, for more European tram movies! Amsterdam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEBFJd0CJH4 Budapest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLMgwWNbKRk&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqeT9Nuka38&feature=channel Basel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y51rWxDosU&feature=related Bern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B2rKdXkZKU&feature=related Nottingham. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3scXjpvO6M Croydon Tramlink. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNmZI9rFDys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ3UaZXzRPA&feature=related Nantes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNbL1xj6D00 Montpellier. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIJ5SJ_K9oE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I47fjmS7DK0&feature=fvw Bordeaux. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stmLf8qjppg&feature=channel Freiburg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG4OIOVlmgM Mulhouse. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfYlHdoppaQ&feature=related Barcelona. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EsbeM9QnCg&feature=related Dublin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PqTQDy8tsw&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8owxp9k8DSQ&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAO3i36doo0&feature=related Prague. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-4k_vfFgVE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwQolOZ7Ed4&feature=related Leipzig. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh1xE_pvjI8 Melbourne http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMOCKiQr5hE&feature=related

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. […]

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