Some balance please! An independant view of the RAV/Canada line.

The following Email came Zweisystem’s way today and is certainly contrary to the hype and hoopla of other blogs claiming that the RAV Line is almost at capacity. The author of the item, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a party who worksAi??Ai??in local transit planning. Yes, the RAV/Canada line is up and running, but […]

From the Georgia Straight – Michael Ignatieff puts a Liberal shine on the Canada Line

If there is any doubt that there was political chicanery involved with the Canada Line, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has put that to rest. SkyTrain, which if one cared to take a look back in history, was carefully planned to have a major extension opening coincide with a Social Credit election window every three and […]

Is it time for the Valley to ditch TransLink? Would it lead to better regional transportation?

Martin Crilly’s report on TransLink came as no surprise, TransLink is in deep financial trouble and needs a major infusion of cash to keep it in operation. The question should be asked: “ShouldAi??Ai??the Valley MunicipalitiesAi??Ai??walk away from the transportation agency and let the chips fall where they may?” TransLink, despite all the revisionist history, was […]

Trouble at Translink – For whom the tax tolls!

Ai??Ai??Unhappy days indeedAi??Ai??with TransLink as the organization has not learned a golden rule; that if you build metro on routes that do not have the ridership to sustain them, costly subsidies must be paid. When costly subsidies are paid, there is less money available to be invested in the transit system. Ai??Ai??Rail for the Valley […]

Fares Fair – TransLink’s Fares Compared

The following is aAi??Ai??comparison of TransLink’s fares, with other cities in Canada and the USA with LRT/metro and bus systems. Included are cash fares only (as advertised Sept. 4/09) as every city offers weekly, monthly, annual and Tourist passes, all withAi??Ai??varying discounts. Also please note: Ai??Ai??Toronto’s cash fare & 90 minute transfer covers an area […]

A Great Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth from the SkyTrain lobby – The ignored SkyTrain Subsidy

In 1993, the GVRD (now Metro) and Transport 2021, publishedAi??Ai??the study, “The Cost of Transporting People in the BC Lower Mainland” and for the first time the annual SkyTrain subsidy was mentioned. In 1991, SkyTrain was subsidized to the tune of$157.6 million, more than half of the total subsidyAi??Ai??paid forAi??Ai??public transit in the Lower Mainland. […]

From the Seattle Times, October 2002 – Vancouver’s SkyTrain: model for the monorail?

There has always been a close relationship between Vancouver’s and Seattle’s city planners and the now aborted monorail scheme seems to have been abetted by this relationship. Not mentioned of course is that despite about $8 billion now invested in our SlyTrain/RAV metro’s, TransLink’s mode share has stalled at about 11% for the almost the […]

VA?Ai??hicule Automatique LA?Ai??ger or VAL – SkyTrain’s real competition!

SkyTrainAi??Ai??is not in a class of its own, despite first being marketed as ICTS or Intermediate Capacity Transit System, which was more a marketing nameAi??Ai??not a transitAi??Ai??mode. SkyTrainAi??Ai??is a light-metro andAi??Ai??though SkyTrainAi??Ai??initially competed against light rail,Ai??Ai??it was soon found that SkyTrain could only compete againstAi??Ai??other light-metros that were being marketed for the modal niche. Only […]

A press Release from the Light Rail Transit Association – Rail for the Valley asks: What is more ‘Green’, a multi lane highway or the interurban?

Ai??Ai??Zweisystem includes this news release from Tram Forward & the LRTA because our provincial and federal politicians are taking the same path,Ai??Ai??pretending they are ‘Green‘ by building expensive ‘show-case’ metro systems, but fail to show any real interest in funding affordable and sustainable light rail in the province and country. In BC it is far […]

The Last of the Interurbans #4 – The Electroliner, the last great Interurban!

The Electroliners were a pair of electric triple articulated interurban train sets operated by the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, which ran between Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These streamlined electricAi??Ai??articulated interurban trains were built by St. Louis Car Company in 1941. Each train set carried two numbers, 801-802 and 803-804. Although the Electroliners […]