TransLink and The Sun Sing The Same Old Transit Blues

The Vancouver Sun is back shilling for TransLink and ‘road-pricing’; too bad, because TransLink seems to be wanting to do the same old expensive and unworkable transit planning, which has failed in the past; expecting different results this time. Not going to happen. Throwing more money at TransLink will not bring change, only higher wage […]

Letters to the Editor – The Return of the Interurban

Tuesday, July 23: All aboard! Bring back the InterurbanVancouver SunJuly 22, 2013 Terry Nichols of the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society operates the societyai??i??s recently restored BC Elecrtric Railway 1225 Interurban railcar at the Cloverdale Station in Surrey on Wednesday, July 17, 2013. Photograph by: Ric Ernst, Vancouver Sun Re: The return of the Interurban, […]

Again, Switch Problems Stall SkyTrain! Come On TransLink, Enough Is Enough

Really, Translink can do much better. The claim that the switch is used 500 times a day excuse doesn’t hold water as there are literally hundred of transit systems around the world that have switches that are used 500 times a day or more, yet do not have the problems that are plaguing our aging […]

Liz James Sings The TransLink Blues

Liz James is one of the few columnists in the region that has taken the times to research our local transit fiasco and she has well demonstrated that she understands the issue. Unlike the mainstream media, which collectively have not done much research on the issue (some even believe that no builds with LRT anymore!) […]

Another Comment, Worthy of a Post.

Justin Bernard, who reads the RftV blog offered a link yesterday about the Scarborough ICTS/SRT which deserves a post of its own. What was considered cutting edge transit technology in the 70’s, is now considered somewhat obsolete today; somewhat like the Wuppertal Schwebebahn. http://www.thegridto.com/city/local-news/scarborough-transit-debate-goes-back-to-the-future/   Mon Jul 15, 2013 Local News Scarborough transit debate goes […]

A Comment Worthy of a Post.

Zwei has never met, nor even talked in person to chap who uses the name Haveacow, but I do know he is a professional planning consultant working on the the Ottawa light rail project and I have a great respect for his opinion. Like Cardinal Fang, who is also a transit professional, and they choose […]

Vancouver Comes in fourth, With the Decades Most Expensive Transit Projects

This graphic should sound alarm bells to transit planners and politicians about the ever escalating cost of transit projects. What ever happened to the 80’s light rail philosophy of “build it cheap and build lots”? The the real cost of the Canada Line has now been pegged at $2.4 billion (depending on who one listens […]

Really Mr. Zabel, You Can Do Better Than That

Really, Mr. Zabel, you can do better than this. Switch motors do burn occasionally , but with the SkyTrain light metro system, when a switch motor burns out, the system goes down. When a switch motor burns out on a light rail line, the system does not go down and service is maintained. SkyTrain’s all […]

Really, SkyTrain Craps Out Again!

For a transit system that is supposedly free of breakdowns and loss of service, the SkyTrain mini-metro seems to have all too many breakdowns. I would ask the SkyTrain lobby to refrain from the claim that SkyTrain is more reliable than light rail, simply because it isn’t. Millennium Line out of service in New Westminster […]

A Letter In The Vancouver Sun

Ah “Road Pricing”, the next great tax grab by regional politicians and bureaucrats. When, oh when will they learn to make do with much cheaper and just as effective light rail? The sad fact is, if regional politicians do get their wish and road pricing is approved, kiss goodbye to any sane and/or affordable transit […]