STOP PRESS – Another Transit Study For The Fraser Valley. In Time For The Next Election?

Zwei is going to reserve comment, except for the fact that Rail for the Valley’s  Leewood Study, lays the groundwork for a viable regional rail service for the Fraser Valley. The Leewood Study, please click here. Transportation planning study launches in Fraser Valley   As part of BC’s Restart Plan, the Province is examining a […]

Flexibility

Flexibility: Susceptible of modification or adaptation; adaptable. Dresden’s successful freight tram, carried car parts from one factory to another in the city. Modern light rail is very flexible; it can operate as a tram, operating on-street; it can operate as a light-railway, operating on a dedicated rights-of-way; it can operate as a light-metro, on viaduct […]

Disappearing Act

The following Google screenshot was made on Wednesday, August 9, 2020, at 7:50 AM. All major crossings in metro Vancouver show little or no congestion. Pre Covir-19, there would be bright red at the tunnel, Oak Street, Knight Street, Alex Fraser, Patullo, Iron workers, and the Lions Gate bridges. In “normal” times, major congestion would […]

Cut And Cover Subway Construction, Coming to Broadway?

  The following was sent to Zwei this week and it poses some interesting questions, but first a comment from our friend Mr. Haveacow, responding to the comment in the April 2, 2019 post; “Toronto’s 6.2 KM Scarborough Subway Costs Soar To $3.9 Billion – What Will be The Real Cost Of The BS Line?” […]

Reality Is A ……………………….

There is another reason why transit may not return to pre Covid-19 levels any time soon; a reason that TransLink would never admit to: the service provided by TransLink is deemed third rate by customers. User friendliness is the number one reason people use transit and includes ease ticketing, lack of transfers, and the general […]

Comparisons

Let us make a comparison. In B.C., we are spending $4.6 billion to extend the Expo and Millennium Line’s a mere 12.8 km, while in the UK, £1.2 billion (CAD $2.04 billion) is being spent t0 reopen four rail lines (this means completely rehabbing and re signalling the lines); upgrading three rail lines for improved […]

Never On A Friday

When government wants to bury an embarrassing news release, they release it on a Friday and hopes no one notices. Well, the BC government announced the preferred “proponent team” for the Broadway subway and the Surrey Expo Line extensions today, Friday, July 17. Interesting! I will not go into the pitfalls of the projects as […]

Germany To Reopen 4,000 km of Closed Railway Lines

What is happening elsewhere is not happening here. Instead, in BC government is squandering  billions of dollars on uneconomic ‘rapid transit‘ lines to suit their electoral and bureaucratic needs. “Rapid Transit is needed infrastructure” is the claim by government, except the politicians making the decisions do not have a clue what rapid transit is or […]

Motherhood And Apple Pie

Rail for the Valley has been long warning the public about the costs of  subway and light-metro construction costs, which fell on mainly deaf ears. Rapid transit is a “ motherhood and apple pie” subject and the mainstream media will not report negative news about SkyTrain, light-metro and the real costs involved. The “other guys” […]

TransLink’s Fear Of The Future And “The Interurban”

  From Wiki: Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail, metro, subway, tube, U-Bahn, metropolitana or underground, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas.Unlike buses or trams, rapid transit systems are electric railways that operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians […]