TransLink in the news! SkyTrain Fizzles and the Head Amateur resigns!

Debris on the guideway evidently caused the Expo Line to come to grief during the morning commute. Once again, the automatic (driverless) metro shows its vulnerability when surprises happen along the line. SkyTrain’s Expo Line problems caused by debris hitting track ReBy Rhiannon Coppin, Vancouver Sun – September 10, 2010 11:10 AM METRO VANCOUVER – […]

The SkyTrain Lobby – Just The Usual Suspects!

Transit again is making front page news in the dailies and regional newspapers, with TransLink claiming that the next big rapid transit (read SkyTrain) line will be in Surrey, not Broadway. A few international transit blogs have picked up the storyAi??Ai??with the usual suspects singing hosannas about SkyTrain, while in the same breathe libeling anyone […]

Surrey mayor calls for transit expansion to be low profile to make sense – From the Vancouver Province

Surrey mayor, Dianne Watts, clearly understands the costs of ‘rail’ transit (the term ‘rapid transit’ is used by lazy or uniformed people) and that to get a larger more workable ‘rail‘Ai??Ai?? network for her city, she must opt for modern light rail. While Vancouver pines for another multi-billion dollar subway under Broadway, its politicians seem […]

Metro Vancouver pushes rapid transit for Surrey, not UBC – Why Not Build Both?

It seems that thatAi??Ai??METRO Vancouver’sAi??Ai??chief honcho wants to extend ‘rapid transit’ (read SkyTrain) in Surrey and not on Broadway. But don’t hold your breathe for any action anytime soon. The Tri-Cities have been waiting for their ‘rapid transit’ (read SkyTrain) for over two decades and were pipped at the post by Premier Campbell (and former […]

PRT – Gadgetbahnen on Steroids.

Every few years, much is made of PRT or Personal Rapid Transit, as being the new way to move people. Except for a few specialized installations, such as Morgantown USA, PRT has proven to be both expensive for what it does and esthetically unappealing. For a PRT system to actually work, one would need elevated […]

City & Populations With Light Rail

From David Cockle. Rank City / Urban area Country Population Land area (in sqKm) Density (people per sqKm Ai??Ai?? 100 Warsaw Poland 2,000,000 466 4,300 101 Denver USA 1,985,000 1,292 1,550 102 Cologne/Bonn Germany 1,960,000 816 2,400 103 Hamburg Germany 1,925,000 829 2,300 104 Dubai UAE 1,900,000 712 2,650 105 Pretoria South Africa 1,850,000 673 […]

500 Posts – The story so far……………..

Todays post, marks the five hundredth post on the Rail for The Valley blog and today I want to reflect on the main themes that keep out transit debates going. The Canada line Again, anotherAi??Ai??major Canada Line storyAi??Ai??by the Vancouver Province news paper…. http://www.theprovince.com/business/Canada+Line+year+later+Next+stop+construction+controversy/3400752/story.html -and I wonder why the Vancouver Province keeps writing ‘puff’ stories […]

Come On Now Mainstream Media, Why All The Hype And Hoopla Over The Canada Line?

In the past week, the mainstream media have been singing loud hosannas about the success of the Canada Line, how it is surpassing ridership projections and all is happiness. What the MSM failed toAi??Ai??mention is thatAi??Ai??over 80% of the total trips on the RAV/Canada line have come from about 40,000 or so bus riders who […]

High ridership means Canada Line could hit break-even point 3 years early – Another Early August April Fool?

When news is slow and TransLink is in want to fund another metro line, expect good news stories.Ai??Ai?? $150 thousand a year plus TransLink spin-doctor purrs out the RAV/Canada Lines success; golly gee whiz, the Canada Line is carrying over 100,000 passengers a day and it will soon pay for itself in three years. What […]

TorontoA?ai??i??ai???s Airport Link in Public Hands After Collapse of PPP Deal – From the Transport Politic

Interesting news as the same players are involved with the RAV/Canada Line. Makes one think what secret sweeteners the province used to masquerade the Canada Line as a P-3? This must bode ill for the Evergreen Line financing, as the government wants to induce business to invest in a P-3 arrangement to find the final […]