The end for the Brussels PCCs – From the LRTA

What makes this story interesting is that some of Brussels PCC cars are still operational after 58 years of revenue service. I will wager that very few, if any of these cars will be scrapped as there will be plenty of buyers from museums, smaller tram companies, and private, who will purchase these cars and […]

Phoenix: Light rail boosts uptown’s economic revival

From the Light Rail Now folks. There has been a lot of nay-saying about the new Phoenix LRT andAi??Ai??unlike our transit planning here, there was a long and full public debate about the project culminating in a winning public vote to proceed. Unlike SkyTrain, the Phoenix LRT, like so many other American LRT lines are […]

From the Georgia Straight – Transportation activists mobilize to thwart South Fraser Perimeter Road and Broadway SkyTrain

Charlie Smith has another good article in the Georgia Straight about transit and transportation in the region and of course the comments are well worth a read. http://straight.com/article-280315/vancouver/transportation-activists-mobilize-thwart-south-fraser-perimeter-road-and-broadway-skytrain Please attend the meetings. The January 16 meeting will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Sundance Banquet Hall (6574 Ladner Trunk Road). It’s served […]

And Just What is Rapid Transit – Has TransLink Already Decided To Build A SkyTrain Subway To UBC?

Ai??Ai?? Bay Area Rapid Transit Over and over againAi??Ai??from media reporters and commentators, politicians and/or academics, we hear the term ‘rapid transit’, but are offered no definition to what rapid transit is. Is rapid transit a metro, rapid bus, light rail,Ai??Ai??or commuter rail?Ai??Ai??ThisAi??Ai??begs the question: “Just what is rapid transit?” Ai??Ai??Wikipedia defines rapid transit as: […]

Well worth a read! From the Georgia Straight – Metro Vancouver’s new draft regional growth strategy raises concerns

The following article from the Georgia Straight by Elizabeth Murphy is well worth a read. http://www.straight.com/article-280277/vancouver/elizabeth-murphy-metro-vancouvers-new-draft-regional-growth-strategy-raises-concerns

The hysteria of the anti-LRT lobby – Time to get real!

On other local and US blogs, there is a growing hysteria that once light rail (streetcar or tram) operates on-street, there will be general panic among pedestrians, ultimately throwing themselves under the tram! Shades of the 1820’s railway hysteria, where trains were claimed to cause insanity and sour cows milk! I’m sorry to say, that […]

The Strange Case of the Karlsruhe TramTrain – Streetcar, LRV, or Commuter Train?

Recent posts on the LRTA blog, debated the the present definitions of streetcar/tram and light rail. North Americans tend to define LRT as a light-metro, where as EuropeansAi??Ai??associated LRT as a tram. Now added to the debateAi??Ai??is the tramtrain and the strange case of the Karlsruhe’s new Zweisystem (two system) LRT:Ai??Ai??is itAi??Ai??a tram or a […]

From CKWX NEWS 1130 – SkyTrain issues for morning commute

What the SkyTrain lobby wishes us to forget is that the automatic metro is somewhat erratic in its operation. SkyTrain is a complicated proprietary light-metro and even small issues defeats the computer and the system shuts down. TransLink plays down these problems but regular riders of the metro has told Zwei that problems on SkyTrain […]

A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL – FROM RAIL FOR THE VALLEY

From the Zweisystem and the rest of the Rail For The Valley Gang A very merry Christmas and a very happy and safe New Year! A Darmstadt tram plowing through a snow storm.

TransLink Faregate Fiasco – Mr. Dobell wins again!

Stephen Rees’s blog has a good article on TransLink’s faregate fiasco and is well worth a read. The fare gate issue is not one of safety or making people pay, rather it is one of political influence and meddling. If the cost of implementing and operating faregates is $30 million annually as claimed by TransLink […]