Light Rail Transit, LRT or Tram-Train

Tram and train used to be two entirely different public transport systems. Tram served shorter (read: urban) distances. Train served longer (read: regional) distances. But the difference between city and region has disappeared in much of Europe. The difference between tram and regional rail is blurring as well. A new generation of light rail transit […]

Tales of Buffoonery – Rob FordA?ai??i??ai???s anti streetcar/light rail saga continues!

Mr. Ford's utter stupidity is breathtaking and the financial roller coaster ride he is taking the Toronto taxpayer on is beyond belief. This is the sort of simpleton anti tram, anti light rail planning which seems to be the rigour of right-wing politicians in North America and Europe – to hide their real agendas of increasing car use, […]

First tram-train arrives in Lyon

France: Lyon Tram-Train Railway Gazette 22 February 2011 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/first-tram-train-arrives-in-lyon.html The first of 24 Citadis Dualis tram-trains for the TER network west of Lyon arrived at the L’Arbresle maintenance centre on February 18, having left Alstomai??i??s assembly plant in Valenciennes two days earlier. Two more vehicles will be delivered to SNCF in Lyon during the next […]

BC Liberal Responses to Fraser Valley Transit Survey

    In contrast to the Liberals, all NDP candidates responded positively to the survey, with top contenderAi??John HorganAi??going as far as explicitly stating his support for Light Rail as far east as Abbotsford and Chilliwack: ai???I support an at-grade light rail system through Surrey and Langley, eventually reachingAi??Abbotsford and even Chilliwack.”Ai??-John Horgan For many […]

Flagship BRT Fizzles in the USA

Bus Rapid Transit or BRT is the transit flavour ‘du jour’ of BC politicians. Any mention of transit in the region ultimately leads to BRT, as if it was the grand panacea to solve our transit woes. The trouble is, our politicos have never read a book about public transit,Ai??let aloneAi??perused the chapter on buses. […]

Susan Heyes and the Canada Line fiasco – Justice denied!

The Canada Line was never about providing good public transitAi??for the region, rather the metro was all about political and corporate prestige. The Vancouver International Airport gang wanted a prestigious metro to connect YVR to downtown Vancouver, for corporate prestige because they thought that a metro would make YVR ‘world class’; the City of Vancouver […]

Now we know why SkyTrain is so expensive to operate.

The main story here is not the strike vote taken by Expo and Millennium Line workers, but the amount of workers that are needed to operate the SkyTrain mini-metro. According to the article, there are 530 CUPE members that work on the Expo and Millennium Lines, then add in senior non-union managerial staff, transit police and […]

Absurdity, Hiatus, Ignominy, Irony, Paradox and Prognosis

The Cardinal cordially welcomes Zweisystem back & offers him wishes for a speedy recovery from his recent illness; – Hurry up and get the heck out of there! Zwei, remember Mark Twainai??i??s advice `be careful when reading health books; you may die of a misprintai??i?? Ai?? With Zweisystem back in the section, continuing his mission, […]

Porkies from TransLink!

In the UK, London's Cockney's (the East End crowd) have long had an interesting rhyming slang tradition – examples: jam jar is a car; dicky dirt a shirt and so on. Well, a pork pie or porkie is – well you guessed it. The following letter from Ken Hardie, to the Delta Optimist, is full of "Porkies" […]

Nottingham Tram – Councils Negotiate NET Settlement

Nottingham NET Phase 2 Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council have negotiated a settlement which will allow the City Council to take the project forward as sole promoter. http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/netphase2/index.aspx?articleid=7487