From June 20, 2013 – Road pricing

A repost from June 20, 2012. The song remains the same! Force TransLink to efficiently and affordably operate the transit system – No. Force the taxpayer to ante up more money through road pricing (another name for a tax) – Yes. The following 1983 quote is from Norman Thompson; CBE, FCA, ACMA, English transit consultant […]

The Whalley, King George, White Rock Light Rail line Revisited – Again

  It has has been three years year since I entertained the idea f the Whalley – King George – White Rock LRT Line and in 2014 the WKW Line is still superior to what TransLink is planning for Surrey. TransLink’s LRT plans for Surrey are three ai???poormanai??i??sai??? SkyTrain type designed light rail lines feeding […]

A Railway Crossing That Means Business

In Russia, to cope with the problems of motorists jumping railway signals on express train routes, the following device is used. The rest is self explanatory. Rail for the Valley take note!

Gridlock Is Endemic In Vancouver and Will Be For Years To Come

Nothing new here. As the provincial government keeps building new highways and bridges, car use will increase, simple. As the provincial government, the City of Vancouver, TransLink, and Metro Vancouver, keep planning for and building hugely expensive mini-metro’s like SkyTrain and the Canada Line, for strictly political prestige and not as a convenient transit mode, […]

Urban rail news in brief – April 2014

From the “Railway Gazette”, urban news for April 2014 Tokyo Metro has signed a technical assistance memorandum of understanding with Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has announced R$3Ai??8bn of public transport investment. The projects include tramways in the city of Natal and state of ParaAi??ba. China Railway Group has been awarded […]

From the Halifax Herald

5 light rail projects to watch this year

Which light rail Ai??projects should we be watching this year? Here are just 5 of the many projects developing around the world. They are at different stages and may have different reasons you should keep an eye on them, for example, to find out who will land major contracts or what will happen when it […]

Subway cost per mile nearly 9 times higher than for light rail, says study

Recent study results of subway-LRT investment costs posted on the Light Rail Now (LRN) site provide a sobering reality check on the cost issue. http://austinrailnow.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/subway-cost-per-mile-nearly-9-times-higher-than-for-light-rail-says-study/ Projects examined were an assortment of “recent urban rail projects (all from the 2000s), either completed or well under construction and fully budgeted.” The report lists 24 subway and 13 […]

A Replacement For the Fraser River Rail Bridge?

Interesting article in the Vancouver Sun that Surreyai??i??s light rail bid could have edge in federal funding over Vancouverai??i??s Broadway subway line. What is of more importance for Rail for the Valley is the replacement of the decrepit Fraser river rail bridge which lies in the shadows of the Patullo Bridge. The present single track […]

The Future through Zwei’s (not so) Crystal ball

The big transit news for 2014 is the BC Liberal transit referendum. What will be the outcome? What will be the question asked for the public to vote on? Presently, I do not think even the Premier herself can answer these questions, as Premier Clark, like several Premiers before her, is a “rubber on asphalt” […]