Trouble at Translink – For whom the tax tolls!

Ai??Ai??Unhappy days indeedAi??Ai??with TransLink as the organization has not learned a golden rule; that if you build metro on routes that do not have the ridership to sustain them, costly subsidies must be paid. When costly subsidies are paid, there is less money available to be invested in the transit system. Ai??Ai??Rail for the Valley […]

A press Release from the Light Rail Transit Association – Rail for the Valley asks: What is more ‘Green’, a multi lane highway or the interurban?

Ai??Ai??Zweisystem includes this news release from Tram Forward & the LRTA because our provincial and federal politicians are taking the same path,Ai??Ai??pretending they are ‘Green‘ by building expensive ‘show-case’ metro systems, but fail to show any real interest in funding affordable and sustainable light rail in the province and country. In BC it is far […]

Kassel, Germany invests in tram train. Will Gordon Campbell’s government do the same for the valley?

Ai??Ai?? What Zweisystem would like readers to note is the the cost of the 122km or 75.8 mile Kassel Tram-Train projectAi??Ai??was CAD $278.55! The same amount of money will roughly buy just over 2 km. of SkyTrain! 75.8 miles is roughly the same distance of the Vancouver to Chilliwack Interurban. The following is from Railway […]

More European Tram-Trains – Rail for the Valley offers a challange to Translink and BC Transportation Minister Shirely Bond

In 1994, the GVRD, in an attempt to include the public in the planning process, held a two hour call-in about regional transit, on local cable channels.Ai??Ai??A panel of experts were on hand to answer the publics questions about transit issues, including rapid transit. Zweisystem phoned in and asked a question: Has BC Transit and/or […]

From the Georgia Straight – Professor calls Port Mann Bridge a "white elephant"

The director of SFUA?ai??i??ai???s urban studies program, Anthony Perl, has claimed that a new Port Mann Bridge will become the A?ai??i??Ai??Mirabel AirportA?ai??i??A? of Metro Vancouver. In a phone interview with the Straight, Perl said the B.C. government is building the bridge for a future that wonA?ai??i??ai???t exist, just as Mirabel was built in the 1970s […]

European cities introduce new tram-train technology – From the European Urban Knowledge Network

It seems that almost every country in Europe today, is investing in TramTrain and the reason is obvious, it’s much cheaper than building stand alone rapid transit lines. It is time TransLink to change course from very expensiveAi??Ai??heavy-rail metro construction to very much cheaper light rail and decrease their time line for SkyTrain to Langley […]

From the BBC – "Drivers ‘distrust’ road tax spend". Will regional mayors ‘here’ impose the auto levy?

And TransLink wants to add more taxes on cars. Local politicians take note. A note added re comment, as the title states, this article comes from the BBC. Motoring taxes have been handled so badly that drivers no longer trust what ministers say the charges pay for, an MPs’ report says. Inconsistency over justification for […]

Time to Bell TransLink’s Cat

A letter that appeared in several lower mainland weeklies. Editor: TransLink is bankrupt, but as every bureaucracy knows, the taxpayer can be forced to ante up; in Canada, higher taxes cures all ills. TransLink may not know how to plan for affordable transit, but the ‘boys and girls in the ivory towers’ know how to […]

A 2007 Presentation on Valley Rail – by the Light Rail Committee

First, before any discussion about rail transit, including Light Rail Transit, we must define LRT and other transit modes. The following is a brief descriptions of various transit modes advocated as solutions for transit in the region. Commuter rail: Locomotive hauled rail coaches or diesel or electric multiple unit trains, catering specifically to peak hour […]

Electrification Suddenly in Vogue Again

The Transport Politic 18 June 2009 Electrification Suddenly in Vogue Again Canadian, British, American railroad officials fighting to replace diesel locomotives. With efforts to combat climate change ramping up and ridership on public transportation increasing steadily, electrification of main-line rail corridors is in. Yet, though railroads in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. are studying […]