Seattle’s Light metro Abandons $507 Million Tunnel

Seattle’s so called light rail system is in reality a light metro system that uses light rail vehicles. Over 90% of the system is grade separated either in subway or on elevated guide-ways. In the United States, light rail has morphed into light metro and light metro is very expensive when compared to classic light […]

Light Rail Vehicle & Tramcar orders – 2013

The following table gives the totals for Trams/LRV’s on order + options, as at February 2013 Source Tramways & Urban Transit No 904 April 2013 Manufacturer City’s Orders Options Sub-Total Orders Pending Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? OrdersAi?? Options Alstom Bordeaux, Dubai, Nottingham, Ottawa, Paris, Toulouse 188 91 2701 792 587 AnsaldoBreda Genoa, Firenza 68 7 […]

Why Is TransLink’s Price for Light Rail Triple What Other Cities Pay?

Arguments for spending billions on SkyTrain along Broadway rest on oddly high estimates for the alternative: light rail. ByAi??Kathryn Mandell and Patrick M. Condon, Today, TheTyee.ca http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/11/28/TransLink-Light-Rail/ Future interrupted? Why is Vancouver light rail assumed to be three times more expensive than elsewhere? Image source: Steer Davies Gleave.Ai??Ai??Ai?? An extremely expensive decision for taxpayers looms […]

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 […]

The cost of dithering: Bellevue rail delayed to 2023 – Is This Deja Vu?

Just like TransLink and the METRO region, Seattle’s transit authority is dithering on transit planning, which in the end, delays implementation and drives up the costs of new transit schemes. The problem in Seattle is almost the same as in Vancouver and this is no coincidence as Seattle’s planners have used Vancouver as a model […]

The War on Cars

Is there really a “war on cars” in Seattle? Politics Northwest The Seattle Times political team explores national, state and local politics. Posted by Jim Brunner Has Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn really declared a “war on cars?” Or is that just a manufactured right-wing talking point? http://tinyurl.com/34thhyo At the blog of the green think tank, […]

All aboard: Seattle’s Light rail service starts Saturday

Even though Seattle’s new light rail service has more in common with Vancouver’s SkyTrain, with many tunnels and viaducts, it still retains the all important ability to operate on lesser rights-of-ways or even trackshare with mainline railways. Seattle’s transit planners have much in common with Vancouver’s transit planners: the more costly the transit system is, […]

Is LRT becoming the new Light-Metro?

A metre gauge tram in Germany is still considered LRT. Since theAi??Ai??early 1970’s, the term LRT or light rail transit, has been in common use describing streetcar or interurban type rail transit. The first generation of modern LRT were German ‘Stadtbahn’ (City railway) style of tram, generally articulated and heavier built than trams or streetcars […]