Aging Pattullo Bridge needs to be replaced – Why Not Build A New Combined Road/Rail Bridge Instead?

Ai??The decrepit Pattullo Bridge, with the rickety Fraser River Rail Bridge under it There is no surprise over this decision at all, the aged Pattullo Bridge needs to be replaced and so it should as it is literally falling apart. The Pattullo wasAi??originally built as two lane bridge in the 1930’s, like the Lions Gate […]

LIGHT RAIL FOR SURREY – The Whalley – King George – White Rock (WKW) Line

Surrey wants light rail, but where will the first LRT line go and what line would attract the most customers to the new light rail line? If the goal of the new light rail line is to serve customer needs and offer the ability to provide an attractive alternative to the car, it must serve a […]

IS IT TIME TO HAVE A ROYAL COMMISSION ON URBAN TRANSPORTATION?

Recent angst and confusion in local and national blogs concerning bus, light rail, metro, and commuter train makes Zwei wonder if a Royal Commission on Urban Transportation is needed. There are no national standards that readily defines transit mode and one is needed, so the average Canadian (read Canadian taxpayer) can engage in honest debate on urban transportation. […]

Surrey to push TransLink for light rail, mayor says in state of city address

Welcome to TransLink’s worst nightmare, the mayor of Ai??Surrey (BC, Canada) wants light rail and not SkyTrain for the city. Three decades of deliberate misinformation, misleading studies, and anti-LRT rhetoric is going to come back and haunt TransLink, with this decision. TransLink’s grand economies of the truth about modern light rail, may cause such rancor […]

A Tale of Two Letters

 Mr. Brussac, a long time man of letters from Coquitlam, understands our current public transit malaise. He is well read on the subject and his letters are worth a read when printed. One may not always agree with his opinions, but his knowledge on transit and public transit issues is very good and is correspondence well […]

Without the right questions, transit plan could fail

Of course in the Vancouver metro region, the right questions about transit have never been asked for fear of getting ‘correct’ answers. Building Metro Vancouver’s mini-metro system has always been about land development, political prestige and vote getting and not providing the best transit choice or the most affordable transit choice for the transit customer. […]

The (AVG) Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft GmbH- KarlsruheA?ai??i??ai???s longest tramtrain route A?ai??i??ai??? S4

I am reprinting this post from last year due to a series of recent correspondence on the 210 km. TramTrain route. Those guys on the Skyscraper page really do a great disservice with regional transit with their extremely dated way of thinking. It is almost as TransLink sponsors the blog! It must be remembered that […]

Comments From The Sandhouse

An AVG TramTrain, from Karlsruhe, on a rail tour on the Swiss mainline. The Sandhouse is the journal of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association, Pacific Coast Division. In  Vol 35, No. 4, Issue 140 – Winter 2010/11, is a summary of the Rail for the Valley/Leewood report and the BC government's effort, with some important observations. It must be pointed out that […]

Where’s The Transit?

It has been overAi??six months since the release of the Rail for the ground breakingAi??Valley/Leewood TramTrain report and very little of substance has happened. In BC and Metro Vancouver, it is business as usual, where civic and provincial politicians are fretting about funding for the discredited Evergreen metro line. The hype and hoopla on the […]

City of Victoria abandons Johnson Street Bridge rail plan

Victoria, B.C. – forget commuter rail entry into downtown SaanichAi??News March 10th http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/saanichnews/news/117699518.html The City of Victoriaai??i??s faint hope of finding funding partners to save the E&N rail on the Johnson Street Bridge fizzled Wednesday. ai???Itai??i??s a reluctant decision that we have to take,ai??? said Coun. John Luton. ai???Many in this community are committed to […]