Politicans Just Love Gadgetbahnen

  MAGLEV, the great Philosopher’s Stone for transportation, yet in practice, MAGLEV’s are extremely expensive and today, the high speed train is only slightly slower, much cheaper and far more flexible in operation. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Rumour has it that the Conservative Ontario Government wants to make the Ontario Line a MAGLEV. Politicians love […]

Crystal ball department.

This could be the headline for the metro Vancouver Region is a few years hence.   February 16, 2015 York Region pulls back on infrastructure projects in effort to rein in debt Torstar News Service VIVA Rapid Transit, launched in 2005 to carry residents across York Region. York Region is starting to feel the burden […]

Worldwide Tram Market Review – 2014

The Cardinal posts hereAi??the schedule ofAi??Worldwide Tram orders as of March 2014, courtesy of Tramways & Urban Transit Manufacturer City’s Orders Options Sub-Total Orders Pending OrdersAi?? Options Alstom Aubagne, Avignon, Bordeaux, Constantine, Cuenca, Dubai, Montpellier, Nottingham, Ottawa, Oran, Paris, Rio, SAi??tif, Sidi Bel AbbA?s, SNCF, Toulouse 374 214 AnsaldoBreda Genova, Firenza, Kayseri, Zhuhai 70 7 […]

The Downfall of Rob Ford’s Subway Vision

A rather clever sendup of Canadian Transport Planning & PoliticsA fan of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford takes the news of his failure to extend the Sheppard Subway rather poorly. Clip from the film ‘Downfall’ aka “Der Untergang” Copyright Ai?? 2004 Constantin http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7BrsbAVNrIU Brillliant! also TTC: Rob Ford & Transit City http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLHNj3SULS8&feature=related

TTC chief: Subway expansion for downtown relief line has to be discussed ai???right nowai??i??

National Post http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/23/subway-or-lrt-downtown-toronto-needs-a-relief-line-ttc-chief-andy-byford/ The real issue for Ford isn’t subways, it’s keeping the roads LRT-free for cars. He’d rather have no transit whatsoever than build light-rail. This mayor is all about catering to the single-occupant motorist. All that SUBWAAAYS bluster was fake. This man has ZERO respect for the decision of our ELECTED City Council, […]

Utilities – to divert or to not divert?

The need for utility relocation on LRT schemes has been a major issue for promoters in Canada, the US and Great Britain but less so in continental Europe, where many utilities remain public owned,Ai??for decades. The Cardinal has received details of the project costs for the Waterloo, Ontario Light Rail project; http://www.tritag.ca/light-rail/why-light-rail/Ai??and http://www.wonderfulwaterloo.com/showthread.php?t=219Ai??also http://rapidtransit.region.waterloo.on.ca/ that […]

Will Toronto’s Transit City Return?

In Toronto, it seems politicians are having a lot of fun with transit. New mayor and anti-tram and tea-bag type Rob Ford received a backhand from the voters when they did not give the Ontario Conservatives a mandate to in the recent election. In fact, the brutish antics of Mayor Ford helped in the defeat […]

Contrasting Canadian News Posts

Freedom takes Flexity to the North American tram market http://www.railwaygazette.com/index.php?id=44&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=14068&cHash=3eea2ae186 NORTH AMERICA: Bombardier Transportation President & CEO AndrAi?? Navarri launched the ai???Flexity Freedomai??i?? as the company’s tram platform for North America at APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans on October 4. The 100% low-floor car is a parallel development to the Flexity 2, launched in […]

April Fool from Rob Ford

Rob Ford’s Designs on Metrolinx (Update 2) http://stevemunro.ca/?p=5061 Posted on April 1, 2011 by Steve Updated 9:45am: Environmentalists scoffed at plans to convert rail corridors to roadways.  “Electrification of GO was our big chance to show the world just how green a transit system could be”, said Jamie Kirkpatrick of the Toronto Environmental Alliance.  Trains […]

Transit problems across Canada prompt calls for politicians to address issue

Time to lead SIRI AGRELL, LES PERREAUX, WENDY STUECK AND JOSH WINGROVE Globe and Mail Saturday, Mar. 26, 2011 1:31PM EDT Commute times in Canadian cities are no longer just a source of rush-hour irritation, but a national liability affecting the economic performance of our urban centres and requiring immediate intervention from Ottawa. A new […]