More Porkies – The Port Mann Bridge
It has been said that a picture is worth a thousands words……………………….. ……………..but this picture of a cross section of the new ten lane Port Mann Bridge says it all – there is no rail transit being planned for the bridge! Even Zweisystem, with his rudimentary knowledge of engineering knows if that a bridge is […]
Staffing on light rail systems
From a previous post http://www.railforthevalley.com/latest-news/zweisystem/now-we-know-why-skytrain-is-so-expensive-to-operate/ we find that there are 600 or more employees (530 in the CUPE Union) that work on the SkyTrain Expo and Millennium Lines. The Canada Line is a conventional metro and employs over 200 people (with 180 in the CUPE union) and both metro systems are quite separate. The Canada Line, a […]
Light Rail Transit, LRT or Tram-Train
Tram and train used to be two entirely different public transport systems. Tram served shorter (read: urban) distances. Train served longer (read: regional) distances. But the difference between city and region has disappeared in much of Europe. The difference between tram and regional rail is blurring as well. A new generation of light rail transit […]
First tram-train arrives in Lyon
France: Lyon Tram-Train Railway Gazette 22 February 2011 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/first-tram-train-arrives-in-lyon.html The first of 24 Citadis Dualis tram-trains for the TER network west of Lyon arrived at the L’Arbresle maintenance centre on February 18, having left Alstomai??i??s assembly plant in Valenciennes two days earlier. Two more vehicles will be delivered to SNCF in Lyon during the next […]
New French Tramways
Reims Tramway is under test:- http://www.lunion.presse.fr/article/marne/le-tram-a-lepreuve-du-feu http://www.tramwaydereims.fr/start.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reims_tramway and http://www.lineoz.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10893&sid=66eedf4b75d814adaceb51ca2f60e00f&p=306994#p306994 Map of the system:- http://www.mars-reims.fr/images/Panneau%20CITURA%20(800×1200).pdf Information on French Light Rail/Tram systems at: http://www.transbus.org/dossiers/tramway_projet.html Images of the new Alstom Citadis 302Ai??LRV’s
Now we know why SkyTrain is so expensive to operate.
The main story here is not the strike vote taken by Expo and Millennium Line workers, but the amount of workers that are needed to operate the SkyTrain mini-metro. According to the article, there are 530 CUPE members that work on the Expo and Millennium Lines, then add in senior non-union managerial staff, transit police and […]
Absurdity, Hiatus, Ignominy, Irony, Paradox and Prognosis
The Cardinal cordially welcomes Zweisystem back & offers him wishes for a speedy recovery from his recent illness; – Hurry up and get the heck out of there! Zwei, remember Mark Twainai??i??s advice `be careful when reading health books; you may die of a misprintai??i?? Ai?? With Zweisystem back in the section, continuing his mission, […]
Porkies from TransLink!
In the UK, London's Cockney's (the East End crowd) have long had an interesting rhyming slang tradition – examples: jam jar is a car; dicky dirt a shirt and so on. Well, a pork pie or porkie is – well you guessed it. The following letter from Ken Hardie, to the Delta Optimist, is full of "Porkies" […]
Nottingham Tram – Councils Negotiate NET Settlement
Nottingham NET Phase 2 Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council have negotiated a settlement which will allow the City Council to take the project forward as sole promoter. http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/netphase2/index.aspx?articleid=7487
Light Rail, Tramway & Streetcar news from America
The Cardinal has posted a number of news articles on European Light Rail & Tramway developments in the past month; now from the US comes news of two new transit scheme initiatives and developments on a third. Washington DC Streetcars on track for return to D.C. Washington Post 15 February 2011 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/15/streetcars-on-track-for-return-to-dc/ Czech built Skoda Inekon […]
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