TorontoA?ai??i??ai???s new streetcar: sleeker, lower, longer

By Allison Hanes, National Post TorontoA?ai??i??ai???s next generation of streetcars will be sleeker, lower, longer and bigger. At 28.2 metres, the new Bombardier cars will be longer than the iconic red rockets on the roads now, which stretch to a maximum of 22 metres. MORE: Bombardier gets nod for new streetcars.Ai??Ai?? Each will have five […]

TransLink to phase out printed bus schedules at Metro Vancouver stops. Want to know when the next bus is coming? Translink says, get a cellphone. – from the Vancouver Sun.

TransLink, in one of their most boneheaded decisions to date, Ai??Ai??is going to phase out local bus schedules at bus stops. What the news story does show that the TransLink Board hasn’t a clue about public transit, nor do they care about the transit service. The Comte’s received so far from the Sun shows complete […]

Two letters in the Tri-City News

Massive transit expansion needed in Metro Vancouver The Editor, Re. “Build real rapid rail” (Letters, The Tri-City News, June 5). I have to second letter writer Barry Waterlow’s suggestion that only a massive rapid rail and SkyTrain expansion could convince commuters to use public transit and reduce the number of vehicles owned. Why wouldn’t comfort […]

LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT ASSOCIATION Discussion Document 73 March 2009

Ai??Ai?? The following, though written for an English audience is pertinent to our current transit debates and maybe of some interest to those advocating rail transit here. Ai??Ai?? FALSE INFORMATION USED TO DESCRIBE A TRANSIT SCHEME Ai??Ai?? Introduction Ai??Ai?? This document is partly designed to correct a practice of using false information regarding transit modes. […]

Brisbane Reality Check: The high cost of "cheap" busways – From the Light Rail Now Folks

The following is from the Light Rail now folks in the U.S.A. It certainly blows the lid off the BRT crowd, when it comes to the claim that BRT is cheaper than light-rail. When one hears Kevin Falcon or other Valley Liberal MLA’s claim that BRT must come first because it is cheaper than LRT, […]

U.S. seen "squandering" infrastructure funds. Is the same happening here?

It seems the big push is on, spending stimulus money on transportation projects, but Rail for the Valley doubts that the massive Gateway highways and bridge project is a good investment. More highways, means more cars and more cars means more congestion and pollution; a message that Premier Campbell and his transportation minister refuse to […]

US Fed Funding Policy Heavily Favors Roads Over Transit – From the Light Rail Now Folks

Tipping the Playing Field: How America’s Federal Funding Policy Heavily Favors Roads Over Transit Susan Pantell with Light Rail Now Project Team Ai??Ai?? May 2009 It should come as no great surprise that the federal government gives substantially more financial support to roads than to transit. However, what’s really disturbing Ai??Ai?? especially in a new […]

From the Light Rail Now folks – Portland: The freeway city that might have been A?ai??i??ai??? without light rail

The following is from the Light Rail NowAi??Ai??http://www.lightrailnow.org/index.htmAi??Ai?? folks in the USA and gives an interesting insight on how Portland’s LRT stopped highway expansion in the city, giving some valuable lessons for those advocating the return of the interurban. Portland, Oregon is certainly a model of the benefits a good light rail transit (LRT) system […]

The Tyee, on passenger rail for the Fraser Valley

An interesting article in The Tyee, on passenger rail for the Fraser Valley, By Monte Paulsen …and how it could mesh with express passenger rail service to Seattle and points south. Yet another reason for a new rail bridge…

The Light Rail Committee’s position for Valley Rail from Vancouver to Chilliwack

The followingAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??is the Light Rail Committee’sAi??Ai??proposal for ‘rail’ transit,Ai??Ai?? from Vancouver to Chilliwack. Overview: Diesel powered TramTrain, track-sharing with mainline railways, except for portions of the route in Langley and Chilliwack.Ai??Ai??TramTrain is aAi??Ai??proven concept pioneered in Karlsruhe GermanyAi??Ai??in1992 andAi??Ai??now used in many cities in Europe and North America. Track-sharing enables light rail vehicles to extend […]