The SkyTrain Faregate Saga – The Farce Continues!

While transit authorities around the world are doing away with faregates and turnstiles and investing in smart card that can be automatically read even if the card is in one’s pocket or wallet, TransLink, abetted by the provincial government is, at great expense, retro-fitting faregate to the entire SkyTrain/Canada Line system. The real story about […]

The Evergreen Line Farce Continues

The Evergreen Line saga continues, with tenders being called for construction. The sad fact is, the winning bidder will have to cut corners to if is to secure the winning bid, just like what SNC Lavalin did when it won the Canada Line bid, by changing from bored tunnel to cut-and-cover tunnel construction and not […]

The Incident At 152nd Street in Surrey

A week or so ago I was traveling on 152nd Street in Surrey, when I encountered a traffic light turning to amber then to red. I promptly stopped of course, but not the car in the right lane, which continued on at speed through the intersection and causing a collision. The accident looked somewhat nasty […]

A Tale of Two Letters

The SkyTrain lobby has entered the Surrey political arena with the all so predictable misinformation that is so common with the "metro lobby". Sadly much of their anti-LRT rhetoric is thirty years out of date.   Light rail system may be the wrong choice Published: October 31, 2011 1:00 PM I have a few important points […]

The SkyTrain/LRT debate – 20 Years Too Late!

On Sunday, November 13, will be a civic election debate in the Fleetwood Library in Surrey (BC) on the topic SkyTrain versus LRT, the sad fact is, the SkyTrain versus LRT debate has been dealt with over twenty years ago and light rail won! That local political wannabees are still trying to turn SkyTrain lead into […]

The Novice’s Guide to “Rail” Transit Or…………

…………..cutting through the BS about light rail, SkyTrain and BRT. The following is a guide plus definitions about “rail” transit for the November civic elections. ALM: Automatic Light metro, the fourthAi??marketing name given for the SkyTrain family of light-metros, when Lavalin briefly ownedAi??SkyTrain before gong bankrupt. ALRT (1): Advanced Light Rail Transit, the secondAi??marketing name […]

Adios the Detroit “Mugger mover”?

It seems while the locals try to reinvent the SkyTrain light-metroAi??in Vancouver,Ai??the Detroit ICTS system is close to shutting its doors. If the Detroit “Mugger Mover” and the Toronto Scarborough go into the history books, it will mean the end of the firstAi??generation of the SkyTrain ICTS/ALRT light metro system,Ai??leaving only five SkyTrain type systems […]

The Ultimate BRT

Here we have the next generation of rapid bus. I understand Translink is sending stakeholders (first class) to see the new BRT in Action. Rumour has that the first trials will take place the first day of April, 2012. The following is a preview of the new  BRT. BRT Vision I think I'll take a tram […]

Contrasting Canadian News Posts

Freedom takes Flexity to the North American tram market http://www.railwaygazette.com/index.php?id=44&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=14068&cHash=3eea2ae186 NORTH AMERICA: Bombardier Transportation President & CEO AndrAi?? Navarri launched the ai???Flexity Freedomai??i?? as the company’s tram platform for North America at APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans on October 4. The 100% low-floor car is a parallel development to the Flexity 2, launched in […]

From The Heart Of The Evergreen Line

The Tri-City news is ground zero with the Evergreen Line projects, but news coming from Northeast sector of Metro Vancouver is not at all comforting, as it seems things are not what they seem. With TransLink, nothing is as it seems, as they have become circus conjurers, rather than transit planners.   Commissioner casts doubt […]