If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.A?ai??i??A?

The title quote by Joseph Goebbels, famed Nazi propagandist, aptly describes the SkyTrain lobby’s and BC Transit/TransLink’s thirty year long propaganda campaign to sell SkyTrain and discredit modern light rail. The many pro-SkyTrain blog sites that offer little in fact, but much unfounded rhetoric. All the bumf spewed hides one singular fact; that SkyTrain has […]

The little railway that could – From the Globe and Mail

Food for though; has anyone ever thought of buying the old interurban railway? Would the current owner consider selling? Patrick White Darlingford, Man. A?ai??i??ai??? From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail Last updated on Wednesday, Jul. 01, 2009 02:56AM EDT The jangle of crossing bells never sounded so sweet. They echoed across the town green in Darlingford, […]

Tech stuff for the Valley Inturban A?ai??i??ai??? The Indusi Signaling System A?ai??i??ai??? how it works (Part 3)

Ai?? How To Drive Note: For this page I assume a passenger train of Zugart (train type) “O”. For other train types, the speeds, times and lengths differ. I assume no regular halt between the distant and main signal. The status of the Indusi is indicated by an array of lights (see the Cab displays […]

A 2007 Presentation on Valley Rail – by the Light Rail Committee

First, before any discussion about rail transit, including Light Rail Transit, we must define LRT and other transit modes. The following is a brief descriptions of various transit modes advocated as solutions for transit in the region. Commuter rail: Locomotive hauled rail coaches or diesel or electric multiple unit trains, catering specifically to peak hour […]

What is the Cost of Building a Subway Line? Are Vancouver’s subway plans realistic?

Ai??Ai?? I found this item on the excellent ‘ The Toronto LRT Information Page’ http://lrt.daxack.ca/Ai??Ai?? What is the Cost of Building a Subway Line? Underground: $200 million to $250 million per kilometre At grade: $150 million to $200 million per kilometre …plus the cost of vehicles. Since Toronto has recent examples of constructed and proposed […]

Debunking the SkyTrain myth part 4 – The curse of the gadgetbahnen

Ai??Ai?? Ai??Ai?? Gadgetbahn (also gadgetbahnen) is a pejorative term used by some transit professionals to describe what they view as infeasible or unnecessary transportation concepts. It is a compounding of gadget, meaning “device that has a useful specific purpose and function. Gadgets tend to be more unusual or cleverly designed than normal technology,” and the […]

Two letters in the Tri-City News

Massive transit expansion needed in Metro Vancouver The Editor, Re. “Build real rapid rail” (Letters, The Tri-City News, June 5). I have to second letter writer Barry Waterlow’s suggestion that only a massive rapid rail and SkyTrain expansion could convince commuters to use public transit and reduce the number of vehicles owned. Why wouldn’t comfort […]

LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT ASSOCIATION Discussion Document 73 March 2009

Ai??Ai?? The following, though written for an English audience is pertinent to our current transit debates and maybe of some interest to those advocating rail transit here. Ai??Ai?? FALSE INFORMATION USED TO DESCRIBE A TRANSIT SCHEME Ai??Ai?? Introduction Ai??Ai?? This document is partly designed to correct a practice of using false information regarding transit modes. […]

Debunking the SkyTrain myth A?ai??i??ai??? Part 3 ~ So who operates SkyTrain and why?

Ai??Ai?? Detroit’s ICTS Two previous postings Ai??Ai??http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/debunking-the-skytrain-myth-rail-for-the-valley-answers-the-ubc-skytrain-lobby/ “Ai??Ai??Debunking the SkyTrain myth……. “Ai??Ai??and Ai??Ai??http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/05/12/debunking-the-skytrain-myth-part-2/Ai??Ai?? ” Debunking the SkyTrain myth Part 2 “Ai??Ai??has sent the SkyTrain lobby into apologetic fits. The cries of “shock and disbelief“, untrue, and cherry-picked information fill the comments postings, yet the SkyTrain lobby fail to answer one question: “Why after three decades […]

Debunking the SkyTrain myth – Part 2

A tramtrain traveling through a village near Karlsruhe Germany. The “Debunking the SkyTrain myth. Rail for the Valley answers the UBC SkyTrain Lobby”Ai??Ai??, post…….. http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/debunking-the-skytrain-myth-rail-for-the-valley-answers-the-ubc-skytrain-lobby/ …….has become the most readAi??Ai?? and commented one to date, yet no one with the SkyTrain lobby has posted a credible reply. On the various SkyTrain blog sites, the one […]