December 2019 – The UBCLiner: Chilliwack to UBC – the 6 am through service.

The following is a short tome on a student’s Monday morning commute from Chilliwack to UBC, via the interurban and the Broadway streetcar line and illustrates what can be realistically achieved with light-rail, for a fraction of the cost of a SkyTrain subway to UBC. The longest tramtrain route on Karlsruhe’s famous Zweisystem is 210km. […]

To UBC, from BCIT and Picinics in the Park, by tram – The Light Rail Committee’s Broadway Light Rail Project

A Wee Bit Of Local History InAi??Ai??early 1996, during BC Transit’s meaningless public consultation period for the Broadway Lougheed Rapid Transit Project which later morphed into the Millennium Line,Ai??Ai??Zweisystem received a phone call from an European Transit specialist, who worked for Asea Brown Boverai (later absorbed by Bombardier Inc.)Ai??Ai??regarding the project. The European transit specialist, […]

French Delights part 5 – Paris’s TramTrain Line T-4. Could this be a template for TramTrain in the Tri-Cities at $11 million per kilometre?

Ai?? In November 2006, Paris transit authorities openedAi??Ai??a new tram-train line (T4) running from Aulnay-sous-Bois to Bondy (right side of Seine river),Ai??Ai??using the tracks of anAi??Ai??old life expiredAi??Ai??suburban railway (Coquetiers Line), with old and noisy rolling stock.Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Even though the old suburban line hadAi??Ai??14 level crossings,Ai??Ai??it was still important for the connection with Paris center. The […]

French Delights Part 3 – Grenoble

Ai??Ai?? Grenoble France, with a regional population ofAi??Ai??580,000 completed it’s first a modern tramwayAi??Ai??line in the 1987, after aAi??Ai??successful, but hard foughtAi??Ai??civicAi??Ai??referendum and has set the standardAi??Ai??for modern LRT not just in France, but for the EEC. The first tram (streetcar) line, Line A, currently 13 km with 29 stops, opened, followed by Line B […]

A news release from Rail for the Valley – Light rail groups renew call to scrap SkyTrain expansion

September 29, 2009 Media Release (for immediate release) Rail For The Valley and the Light Rail Committee today joined forces in calling on provincial and federal governments, and Translink, to respect the wishes of local governments in the region, and start work on a modified Evergreen line. John Buker, a spokesman with Rail For The […]

From the Georgia Straight – Patrick Condon highlights cost of Broadway transit

There is no doubt that TransLink, the province and the city of Vancouver are steamrollering ahead for a SkyTrain UBC subway. The $2.8 billion for the proposed 12 km. subway is rather conservative and the true cost would be nearer to $4 billion. Going back to the $2.8 billion figure – $2.8 billion would buy […]

Last of the interurbans – Part 5 A video of the South Shore interurban.

Courtesy of U-Tube, a video of the South Shore interurban. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hd4qqWZM4s]

Tramtrain trials in Sheffield UK – Should we not have TramTrain trials here?

The concept of tramtrain or light rail vehicles track-sharing with mainline railways is now being tried in the U.K. with a Rotherham to Sheffield demonstration Line. This is good news for Rail for the Valley as if TramTrain passes muster with the very conservative Her Majesties Railway Inspectorate, one can be well assured that TramTrain […]

From Transit & Urban Tramways – Alstom and Dalkia win five-year, CAD $41.7 million, Luas (Dublin’s LRT) extension

There has been much ‘bumf’ in local blogs that light rail is expensive to maintain, even more expensive to maintain than metro. The following news item from T & UT gives a good example of theAi??Ai??annual operating costs of a modern light rail system. Dublin’s LUAS LRT does operate at a profit, even after paying […]

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 […]