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: […]

The Emperor has no Clothes and no Transit – First published in March 2011

Zwei has decided to reprint this post from March of last year. In the ensuing year nothing has changed; the same oldAi??tired cast of characters trundling out the same old tired transit plans,Ai??desperately tryingAi??to convinceAi??the ever increasingly skeptical taxpayerAi??to ante up more and more tax money to fund transit improvements that everyone knows will fail […]

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 […]

Provincial Auditors Ignore SkyTrain – TransLink’s Financial Chaos Will Continue

What is interesting about this item in the Vancouver Sun, is that provincial auditors, looking for maintenace cost savings in TransLink, are ingoring the SkyTrain light-metro system and I wonder why? “The report, which didnai??i??t examine maintenance costs for SkyTrain ai??i?? run by BC Rapid Transit Co. ai??i?? suggested TransLink must ai???re-evaluate maintenance services and […]

Urban Compass – Subways wont win Rob Ford Votes

In a meeting room in Scarborough earlier this month, Mayor Rob Fordai??i??s grand plan to ride to re-election on subway promises drift further off track. It happened deep in the heart of Ford Nation, with a few dozen people gathered in Agincourt for an information session put on by CodeRedTO, a non-partisan group thatai??i??s been […]

Eric Chris on Fare Evasion and Opens A Pandoras Box

It seems from TransLink’s ownAi??numbers that it will be extremely difficult if not impossible for TransLink to reach ridership goals set for 2020. Eric Chris, has done some very good research on the fare evasion issue and heAi??brings up some very important points. Focusing on the light-metro network, is TransLink doing a good job moving […]

“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 […]

More on Karlsruhe, new Trams, headway, pedestrians & bicycles

Ai??Germany-based Vossloh has won a ai??i??75m contract from Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe (VBK) and Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) to supply 25 low floor tram trains, with an option for 50 additional trains to be deployed in Karlsruhe, Germany. Under the contract, the company will supply its new tram train, the Citylink NET 2012, equipped with the modern traction system […]

City ordered to address railway-crossing safety

It seems the City of Abbotsford can’t deal with a simple rail crossing in the city and is hiring flaggers at a cost of $500 a day to control the railway crossing. This is something reminiscent of 1820’s England where a man on a horse waving a red flag had to precede early trains. My […]