When accidents happen…………

The followingAi??article illustrates two items that many people here, on our side of the pond, are completely unaware of. The first item is a investigation of a death on the Manchester (UK) LRT by the RAIB or Rail Accident Investigation Branch, an English organization. When a death occurs on SkyTrain, the public is completely unaware […]

More trams for Montpelier

The following happier transit news for Montpelier, is courtesy of David Cockle. As the SkyTrain lobby still dream a Luddites dream of the world being flat and everyone builds with SkyTrain, more light rail is being built in France. Why is France so important, you ask? Well France also has a proprietary light-metro system, called […]

Electric Hybrid Streetcars coming to Austin?

Austin Cars ExaminerAi?? August 12, 2011 http://www.examiner.com/cars-in-austin/eclectric-hybrid-streetcars-coming-to-austin A glimpse of the possible future of mass transit in the City of Austin was shown to the public on August 11. Kinkisharyo, a global provider of high speed and mass transit rail vehicles, set up a version of their new low floor hybrid electric street car (the […]

TransLink’s Finacial Woes

The Vancouver Province's editorial has got it partially wrong. a good part of TransLink's financial woes is that they have tied themselves to the extremely dated light-metro/SkyTrain rapid transit model which can cost over fifteen times more to build than light rail, without any operational or financial benefit! Light-metro, especially the automated (driverless) product not […]

TransLink’s Propaganda Machine In Full Force

Wait for it, TransLink wants more tax revenue to fund their questionable transit planning, so the propaganda campaign has started. We have seen this all before with the Canada Line, higher ridership claims, jammed buses due to lack of service, etc. The question what needs to be asked is; "Are TransLink's ridership claims valid?" With […]

European latest – Croydon, Reims & Bordeaux

Stadler wins London Tramlink tram order Railway Gazette http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/stadler-wins-london-tramlink-tram-order.html 18 August 2011 Ai??Impression of Stadler Variobahn LRV for Croydon Tramlink UK: Stadler Rail has won a contract to supply six Variobahn trams to increase capacity on the Tramlink light rail system in south London, Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced on August 18. The first […]

Do Buses Actually Ease Gridlock?

So some people think that adding more buses will solve our endemic transit gridlock, yet buses themselves contribute to traffic congestion. There is a strong bus lobby that continually advocates buying more buses, yet when more buses are operated, congestion and gridlock just continues. In Portland, transit official reckon that one tram or LRV, is […]

Non News From TransLink – Canada Line to Operate Two More Trains

What would not be considered a news story elsewhere, the Vancouver Sun makes much hoopla that the Canada Line will operate two extra trains during peak hours as per the operating contract. Adding two more trains will slightly ease congestion but unless Translink operates the bus services to feed the Canada line, the $2.5 million metro […]

Winds of Change

LRT operating as a streetcar in downtown Portland The Vancouver Sun has always been a barometer on the governments standing on regional rail transit. The paper is famous for its pro SkyTrain stance, printing the usual SkyTrain myths as they were facts, but now, with the current TransLink financial morass, the Sun prints a letter that […]

More Misleading TransLink Numbers – So What Esle is New?

A letter from a Mr. Rob Kwon certainly shreds TransLink’s CEO, Ian Jervis’s claim that the cost per revenue passenger is a$3.98 is based on questionable book keeping. Well so what else is new! The Canada line was supposed to cost a mere $1.3 billion, yet it’s final cost exceeds $2.5 billion. Translink never includes […]