The atmospheric railway, the original gadgetbahnen – With appologies to I. K. Brunel

The atmospheric railway can be said to be the first ‘gadgetbahnen’ as it was the first attempt to replace regular railway locomotives with atmospheric trains. On paper, the atmospheric railway was a sure winner but in revenue service a failure. What surprises myself is that this complicated transit mode ever worked at all, as the […]

Why we built with LRT – first published in December 2008, updated August 17, 2009

The following was first published in December 2008 and is being reproduced here because of popular demand. Ai??Ai?? What is Light Rail Transit or more commonly known as LRT? According to the Light Rail Transit Association (www.lrta.org) Light rail is a mode that can deal economically with traffic flows of between 2,000 and 20,000 passengers […]

The SkyTrain lobby – "Pixie Dust planning"

One finds it interesting how the SkyTrain lobby warps the truth to suit it’s own ends. What the SkyTrain lobby is really saying is that; “We completely discount over oneAi??Ai??hundred and fifty yearsAi??Ai??of rail/light rail/metro development, to support a unconventional, proprietary railway.” That only seven such systems have been built (actually there are two types […]

A letter to the Editor the Vancouver Sun will not print

The following letter to the Editor of the Vancouver SunAi??Ai??was sent to Zweisystem because the author knows full well that the Can West media Empire will not print it. What this letter shows that the region is bereft of any credible transit and transportation reporters and many important and embarrassing stories are missed by the […]

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 […]

Mulhouse Light Rail and Tram Train, France: A template for the return of the interurban?

Mulhouse, population 112,260 (2006) isAi??Ai??a small French provincial city that has just built two tram lines but now is expanding their tram service further afield by adding Tram-Train and track sharing with mainline railways. Here, again is another example of small city in Europe, building with LRT and then greatly expandingAi??Ai??tram service via Tram-Train, using […]

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 […]

Lartigue monorail, a very early gadgetbahnen – A history lesson for TransLink

The Listowel & Ballybunion Railway, a steam operated Lartigue monorail, ran from 1880 -1928 and is another good example that proprietary railways, even though they may operate in revenue service on one or two lines, fail to become a successful transit mode and are seldom copied. Intriguing yes, practical no, but for fun let’s have […]

TramTrain Line – Alicante Tram-Train, Spain

Rail for the Valley wishes to reinstate the Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban, using TramTrain technology. TramTrain is a development of light rail, where a light rail vehicle has the ability to operate on tram (streetcar); light-rail; and mainline railway tracks. The interurban was the original TramTrain, which has now evolved into the sleek LRV’s now […]

The many faces of tramtrain; how soon will the Fraser Valley see one?

It has been a long established transit maxim, long ignored by TransLink and BC Transit before, “use existing rail routes first“. Why? Because existing rail routes are much cheaper to build and install light rail, rather than going ‘greenfields’ construction.Ai??Ai?? Of course, SkyTrain and RAV are the epitome of ‘greenfields’ construction! The cost to build […]