Honolulu is Learning the Vancouver Lesson – Build Light-Metro At Your Financial Peril

Updated May 22, 2016 – Added CAD currency conversions. Bombardier and SNC Lavalin spent years grooming Honolulu City politicians to build with light-metro. For their efforts, Bombardier and SNC got pipped at the post by Ansaldo with their proprietary light-metro and and the now chagrined burghers of Honolulu are now finding out that proprietary light-metro […]

Why the car is winning the commuter war – Simple, it is called SkyTrain

The modern tram brings fast, reliable and user-friendly public transport to densely populated European Cities, like Amsterdam. The ability of the transit customer of having his/hers transit on the pavement and easily accessible, makes modern light-rail the first choice of transit planners around the world. Sadly, not so in Metro Vancouver. A bit of a […]

Photo Tour of Waterloo Region ION Light Rail Construction

From our friend Haveacow. Here is the link to an article in the Raise The Hammer (“The Hammer” is Hamilton, Ontario) website about their tour of the ION LRT Construction Site. The pictures are telling. The development has already started and the line isn’t even finished yet. The start date is Fall 2017, I don’t […]

Is gridlock the real Expo 86 legacy for Metro Vancouver?

Charlie Smith of the Georgia Straight is the one reporter who has studied the transit issue and knows the issues. Despite the hype and hoopla, especially from provincial politicians (both Liberal, Socred & NDP) the SkyTrain Lobby, the many issues surrounding SkyTrain have been glossed over by the mainstream media. This is still evident today […]

Langley to Vancouver In 50 Minutes Via Rail for the Valley

The Capital MetroRail system in Austin Texas uses Stadler GTW diesel electric light rail cars. TransLink’s and the City of Surrey’s much ballyhooed LRT really doesn’t offer the transit customer very much, except a very inconvenient transfer to the Expo Line and a 39 minute ride (if their are no glitches) on a dinky and […]

BCIT to UBC and Picnics in the Park, by Tram

First published in 2009. Updated 2014, 2016. A Wee Bit Of Local History In early 1996, during BC Transitai??i??s meaningless public consultation period for the Broadway Lougheed Rapid Transit Project which later morphed into the Millennium Line, Zweisystem received a phone call from an European Transit specialist, who worked for Asea Brown Boverai (later absorbed […]

Carrying Freight By Tram – To UBC?

Freight trams have been used almost since the first passenger carrying tram trundled down cobblestone streets. Today, except for a few cities, carrying freight by tram was a lost art, but no more. The concept of carrying freight by tram is once again being explored Ai??in St. Entienne, France to help reduce auto congestion and […]

With Subway Headway And Capacity

Our American friends down south are beginning to understand the Light Rail Renaissance in Europe. For too long, the ‘old ways’ of commuter trains and subways were considered the only ways to provide quality transit and except forAi?? a few bold cities, such as Portland, light rail has been deemed a second rate transit service […]

A Letter To Media and Politicians

ai??i??This letter went out to all the usual suspects, MP’s, MLA’s, and Mayors and Council.   There is a general naivete about Light Rail Transit or LRT in the media, due in part to TransLink’s and previously BC Transits thirty five year war on LRT, with their well advertised preference for light-metro. Today, except for […]

German tram infrastructure

  Here is an interesting web site on German tram infrastructure.