Seaton Tramway – An English delight!

Just for holidayAi??Ai??fun, Zweisystem thought a visit to the Seaton tramway is in order. The Seaton Tramway is an 838Ai??Ai??mm (2Ai??Ai??ft 9Ai??Ai??in) narrow gauge tram line which operates over a former axed British Rail (BR) branch line in Seaton, Devon. The line was converted between 1969 and 1971 by Claude Lane, who had negotiated the […]

Rail for the Valley blog has topped 3,660 visits for July! Congradulations John!

When John Buker asked me to add some items for the fledgling Rail For the Valley blog,Ai??Ai??I don’t believe he thought IAi??Ai??would such a stormy Petrel. As I write this item, the blog has now recorded over 3,660 visits for the month of July, which I believe is very good. The blog is a mixture […]

The many faces of tramtrain; how soon will the Fraser Valley see one?

It has been a long established transit maxim, long ignored by TransLink and BC Transit before, “use existing rail routes first“. Why? Because existing rail routes are much cheaper to build and install light rail, rather than going ‘greenfields’ construction.Ai??Ai?? Of course, SkyTrain and RAV are the epitome of ‘greenfields’ construction! The cost to build […]

From the LRTA blog: LRT, very user-friendly & tourist friendly transit!

On the eve of RAV/Canada Line operation, with it’s premium fares to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), one reads with interest the following posting from the LRTA blog site. Now could it be, if the ‘powers that be’ opted for much larger, yet less costly light rail network instead of theAi??Ai?? now almost $3 billion RAV/Canada […]

What is guided bus? Is it B-Line BRT?

Guided buses are buses steered for part or all of their route by external means, usually on a dedicated rights-of-ways, thoughAi??Ai??not to be confused with a busway. This track, which often parallels existing roads or railways, excludes all other traffic, permitting theAi??Ai??operation of reliable schedules on heavily used corridors even duringAi??Ai??peak hours. Guidance systems can […]

From the BBC – Wales Southwest: The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, the first public railway that ended as LRT!

A little history lesson today: The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, the first public railway which operated fromAi??Ai??1807 to 1960.Ai??Ai??Starting fromAi??Ai??horse drawnAi??Ai??converted rail carriages, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway ended up as a light rail/interurban line, using rather large double-deck electric trams. Ai??Ai??   Early Days of Mumbles Railway Ai??Ai?? From a four-wheeled dandy attracting international […]

B.C. Rail, C.N. Rail & Gordon Campbell – Why it is important for ‘Rail for the Valley’ to understand the current situation.

The following item on David Berner’s blog…… http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/2009/07/really-big-smell.html ……is well worth a read, to understand the politics of TRIANGULATION, including Mr. Campbell, his family and the hierarchy of CN Rail. It seems that the Premier regards ‘rail’ transit issues as a political plum, for his own amusement, phony environmental claims and multi billion dollar reelection […]

Debunking the SkyTrain myth part 5. Thirty years of SkyTrain planning – the years that the Locusts hath eaten!

In the late 1970’s, after much study and with regional consensus, Greater Vancouver’s Regional Authority, the GVRD,Ai??Ai??was on the verge of approving three light rail lines; Vancouver to Whalley (via New Westminster); New Westminster to Lougheed Mall and Vancouver to Richmond. Costing $350 million to $460 million. It wasn’t to be. The then Social Credit […]

PortlandA?ai??i??ai???s Regional Planning Agency Highlights Two New Corridors for Light Rail – From the Transport Politic

Interesting news from Portland Oregon, where their light rail system keeps on growing at a steady pace, with taxpayer’s approving construction onAi??Ai??every new line. It must be remembered that Portland’s original light railAi??Ai??line cost one quarter of that to build than Vancouver’s SkyTrain and the regional taxpayer has never been allowed to vote on any […]

Light rail – The safest public transit mode!

The following item is from Phoenix’s METRO Rail and addresses the safety issue of light rail. Much is said about the safety of on-street light rail or streetcars safety, especially at intersections, yet statistical analysis shows that a light rail/tram automobile intersection is much safer than an automobile automobile intersection. Accidents will happen and in […]