Ontario looks at hydrogen-powered trains

As hydrogen fuel cell technology improves, the application for ‘rail’ transit is close to become a reality. The main problem for hydrogen fuel cell transit is that the cell tends to produce power at a steady rate, but poor in providing power at times of high demand, like accelerating out of stations. This has made […]

The Regional Mayor’s Pork Barrel Express

The provincial government is in turmoil and those who “Pay to Play” on the municipal scene are getting anxious, as billions in potential profits are being put on hold for the moment. The Metro Vancouver’s metro Mayors Ten Year Plan is nothing more than a skillfully drafted document that is designed to direct the flow […]

An Election come And Gone

Just brief notes on the election or deciphering the entrails before they get cold. It seems the SkyTrain/TransLink curse has now caused the Liberal Minister responsible for TransLink, Peter Fassbender to lose his seat. Regional transportation has been made the “kiss of death” for politicians by successive NDP and Liberal governments and combined with weak […]

The Second letter Sent To Surrey Council

April 18, 2017 The second letter sent by Malcolm Johnston to Surrey council and a possible solution for South of the Fraser transportation woes. Mayor and council; Two weeks ago I sent a letter to Mayor and Council about modern light rail and this letter is a follow up. Our urban transit planning is an […]

UK Developer Must Help pay for Rail Connection

The UK is reopening once abandoned rail lines to cope with congestion and increased population. A UK developer must pay A?13.2m (CAD $23.25m) towards the restoration of the Bere Alston Tavistock railway route before building 750 new homes. This works out to CAD $31,000 per home. When one looks at the massive developments happening in […]

A Novice’s Guide To Transit…………..

ai??i??ai??i??ai??i?? or cutting through the BS about light rail, SkyTrain and BRT. The following is a guide plus definitions about ai???railai??? transit. ALM: Automatic Light metro, the fourthAi??marketing name given for the SkyTrain family of light-metros, when Lavalin briefly ownedAi??SkyTrain before going bankrupt. ALRT (1): Advanced Light Rail Transit, the secondAi??marketing name for SkyTrain. ALRT […]

TramTrain – It’s Time To Have Another Look At The Leewood Project

While local politicians squabble about expensive transit planning and gouging the taxpayer to pay for multi billion dollar transportation vanity projects, economic and user friendly TramTrain construction and operation continue to increase. Isn’t time for politicians have another look at the Leewood/Rail for the Valley Study?   Stadler selected to supply Szeged tram-trains 19 Apr […]

Edmonton LRT – To Be or Not To Be, That is The $220 Million Question

The question Edmonton transit planners are being asked; “Does transit need to be user friendly or auto friendly ?” In Edmonton to be auto friendly means adding at least $220 million to the cost of the project. What this article illustrates is the cost difference between LRT and a light-metro and I think that the […]

Our politiciansai??i?? transit shenanigans are causing civic suicide

The Mayors Council on Transit is doing the same thing here, the huge costs of the poorly designed Surrey LRT and the insane and politically prestigious Broadway subway, which will burden the taxpayer with huge tax increases. The only difference is that the Toronto Star newspaper is actually doing good reporting on the transit issue, […]

Autonomous Trams – Coming Sooner Than You Think

Driverless trams are coming much sooner than one thinks. A recent article in Tramways & Urban Transit, illustrates the strides taken with automatic operation of trams and light rail. For several years tram manufactures have been experimenting with forward, side and rear scanning radar to prevent accidents, in fact most of the modern safety features […]