More sense from Ottawa

Our friend from Ottawa, Haveacow, is a transit consultant from Ottawa, he also has studied Vancouver’s transit scene and is a worthwhile read as he makes too much sense. The following is a reply from Mr. Cow, which I think deserves a post of its own! I agree that tunneling any rail based transit system […]

Roads & Rails = Dumb & Dumber

In BC, we are backward. In fact, we are not just backward, we are literally stone age when it comes to transit planning. Two stories; in Nevada the Boulder rail extension is part of the cost of a new highway and that the CNR sold Georgetown-Kitchener, Ont., rail line to Metrolinx for GO Transit commuter […]

Is Vision Vancouver’s Subway Fantasy Putting City Taxpayer’s At Risk?

Courtesy Light Rail Now Micheal Geller has an interesting item in the Vancouver Courier which indicates that Vancouver taxpayers maybe on the hook for a minimum of $500 million for demanding a SkyTrain subway under Broadway. Predictably, Geller still follows the local line about transit and growth, while ignoring the fact that transit use mainly […]

Four Years Since the Release of the Leewood Study and the Silence is Deafening!

It now has been four years since the historic release of the Leewood/Rail for the Valley report, yet except for sparse political support, very few people actually know that the study exists, let alone that it is “shovel ready”. The Leewood study is just too simple, too cheap, and too practical compared to other politically […]

The Federal NDP suddenly Discouver Transit

The Federal NDP have never really cared about regional transit and desperately need some sort of policy to try to show the public they care and and have a plan in time for the 2015 election. Throwing more money at transit won’t solve transportation problems and will drive up transit costs. Canadian cities need a […]

Public Meeting Re: The Arbutus Corridor

The Arbutus Corridor: A Way Forward? You might think that thereai??i??s no solution to the conflict over the Arbutus rail corridor. Canadian Pacific Rail wants $100 million for its right-of-way. The City of Vancouver has offered $20m. Neighbourhood gardens, longstanding although trespassing, have been ripped up just before harvestai??i?? and electionai??i?? time. Trains, moving or […]

The seamless (no transfer) journey – Transit’s Holy Grail!

A repost from 2009 – updated. Route 5 (tramtrain) travels from Worth t0 Bietigheim-Bissingen, through downtown Karlsruhe. It has been long known that the seamless or no transfer journey is the ‘ticket’ to attract customers to public transit as it is well understood that one could lose upwards of 70% of ridership per transfer, even […]

Streetcars and LRT, A Quick Primer

First published in the RftV blog in 2011, it is still pertinent today. Updated to August 2014. The silly season continues in the Vancouver region, with TransLink desperately trying to persuade regional mayors to levy more taxes to mainly pay for the Evergreen SkyTrain light-metro line and a SkyTrain subway under Broadway. The following is […]

We Must Welcome The 21st Century

Not really about urban rail, but still important for the planned Chilliwack interurban. Railways need to emerge from the 19th century into the 21st and the federal government must emerge from its 18thAi?? Laissez faire mentality. If France, the UK, and Germany can operate trams, in mixed traffic, on mainline railways, Canada can do it […]

And How Much $1.6-1.9 Billion of Skytrain Will Buy You in Greater Vancouver?

As the title indicates, in the Waterloo region in Eastern Canada $1.6 to $1.9 billion will buy 37 km of modern LRT plus assorted transit technology and at least 10 km of BRT. One observation made by Haveacow is; ” this LRT system as it begins will not have the carrying capacity of the Skytrain […]