Transit Planning in the Vancouver Region – The Years The Locusts Have Eaten

In the beginning, Vancouver was serviced by a sizable streetcar network and several interurban lines, but by 1960 the streetcars were long gone and the last interurban route saw its final service. There was a last ditch attempt to operate a New Westminster to Vancouver interurban service on the Central Park Line using coupled pairs […]

A Poll That TransLink Wishes To Suppress

Reprinted from May 2010   A very strange thing happened yesterday with ‘Zwei’. When I was discussing a transit matter with an US transit type about the RAV/Canada line. He told me that TransLink officials claimed that over 80% of Vancouverites supported RAV and if it were not for the high costs of the metro, […]

The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

This post, first appeared in 2010, yet the very same problems exist withAi??Trans Link today. In the Vancouver regional area, change happens at a glacial pace. The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree ai??i?? TransLink’s Regional Transit Planning Posted by zweisystem on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 – reprinted May 30, 2012 Fruit of the poisonous tree […]

Eric Chris Responds to the SkyTrain Lobby

Eric Chris also respondsAi??to Mr. Cruz’s letter to the Langley Advance. Lies becoming believable Langley AdvanceMayAi?? 29, 2012 Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/Lies+becoming+believable/6693741/story.html#ixzz1wNdPYZAy Dear Editor, The unbelievable posting [SkyTrain boosting profits, May 24 Letters,Ai?? www.langleyadvance.com] from SkyTrain for Surrey, the friends of TransLink, leftAi?? me disgusted. Profits for SkyTrain are better than ever, say friends of TransLink, […]

Is it time to bring back the streetcar to Vancouver?

Both Stephen Rees http://stephenrees.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/is-it-time-to-bring-back-the-streetcar-to-vancouver/ and Voony http://voony.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/is-it-time-to-bring-back-the-streetcar-to-vancouver/Ai?? The motion has been launchedAi??by Vancouver-based online consultation platform PlaceSpeak https://www.placespeak.com/topic/399/streetcar-city-2050/ Vancouver is currently exploring the use of streetcars as a key element of our transition to more sustainable transportation modes. But if streetcars are to be reintroduced in todayai??i??s economic climate it is important that they are […]

Surface LRT will “corrupt” rail system

In a letter to the Langley Advance, a spokesman for “SkyTrain for Surrey” says adding surface light rail to the Vancouver area rail transit system will “corrupt” the efficiency and cost recovery of the existing rapid transit system: http://www.langleyadvance.com/TransLink+SkyTrain+boosting+profits/6672346/story.html This is the link to the letter that, Daryl Dela Cruz ofAi??SkyTrain for Surrey objects to: […]

Eric Chris on the West Coast Express and TransLink Ridership in General

Eric Chris takes on TransLink’s appalling history of exaggerating ridership on Vancouver’s metro transit system. Zwei has known since the mid 1980’s that BC Transit exaggerated ridership on the SkyTrain Expo Line to impress visiting transit types, but they were not fooled as they could see that the light loadings on the mini-metro did not […]

TramTrain Trial OK’ed in the UK

TramTrain is coming to South Yorkshire, in the UK. If TramTrain passes muster with her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate, it would past muster in BC for operation in metro Vancouver. The real question, of course, is why TransLink must be forced kicking and screaming to accept TramTrain as a 21st century transit mode? From the LRTA […]

“Lightness” of light rail

TransLink, BC Transit, SNC Lavalin, UBC, SFU, and a host of North American Engineering firms, please take note! ThisAi??”lightness” of light rail – a combination of flexibility, low impact,Ai??modest cost, and environmental softness – is ephemeral. It mustAi??be carefullyAi??guarded. Ignorance orAi??ineptitude during the planning, design, specification writing, engineering, orAi??construction phases of a project can lose […]

Canucks Don’t Do Light Rapid Transit

  Certainly, Canada doesn’t do urban, interurban & regional rail based LRT, It used to be that the US was the most intransigent, obdurate & reactionary nation in the western world as far as transit, but the past ten years have seen a massive expansion of Light Rail, LRT, Tramways & Streetcar systems in America […]