US Light Rail news

Summary from Trains News Wire: Feds fund more streetcars and light rail Published: January 21, 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C. The Federal Transit Authority, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, announced that it had signed agreements to fund five rail transit projects on Friday. The grant includes funds for a unique light rail project in […]

Canada Line workers take a strike vote – Is The Driverless Myth About To Be Exposed? (Updated)

Well, well, well, the 180 control room workers, maintenance personnel and attendants for the Canada Line are taking a strike vote and TransLink is very worried. Since the SkyTrain light-metro was built over 30 years ago, the mainstream media and politicians sang in chorus that automatic metros were good because they did not need drivers and […]

A Fix for Fraser Valley Transit, or is the Fix In?

By Daniel van der Kroon, UFV Students for Sustainability Original article can be viewed here:Ai??http://www.footprintpress.ca/2011/01/winter-2011-issue-of-the-footprint-press/    

Why Are North American Engineers So Afraid Of European Transit Developments?

Answer: They can't plan for $1.4 Million a mile rail transit schemes, like what their European friends are doing! The Valley Rail naysayers abound, but when faced with undisputable facts that light rail and/or its many variants can be built very cheaply indeed; much cheaper than $125 million/km SkyTrain or even $20 million/km highways, they […]

How to Spot the Transit Denier?

Transit, LRT, Tram & Public Transport deniers come in many forms; from libertarians, petrol heads & asphalt warriors to right wing neocons. ..the Cardinal has compiled a list of thirty eight most commonly used arguments by opponents to at-grade LRT:- Excuses Ignorance Criticism Opposition Hostility 1.    Trams are inflexible. a.    If the road becomes closed, due to an accident or emergency road or utility […]

A 2010 retrospective and a happy New Year!

Itai??i??s traditional for the media and bloggers alike to wrap up the retreating year or welcome in the New Year with a retrospective of all that was bad, depressing, frustrating, good, humorous, irritating, scandalous or just plain bizarre in the twelve months that finished on the stroke of midnight on 31st December. Stephen Reesai??i??s blog […]

Transit Planning In Metro Vancouver – Where Have We Gone Wrong?

The release of TransLink’s $400,000.00 Fraser Valley Transit Study continues over three decades of transit denial by politicians and bureaucrats alike. The SkyTrain driverless light metro system has brought with it, the seeds of a regional transportation debacle, where the invented claims by the SkyTrain lobby has infected all regional planning, including the universities with […]

Light Rail Transforming Cities, Guiding Development

December 27, 2010 JJ Sutherland, National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/ It’s hard to find a city in America that isn’t planning, proposing, studying or actually building a light rail system. Cities as diverse as Dallas, Seattle and Washington, D.C., all see light rail as part of their future — a way to reshape their development. There […]

This report merely postpones a serious attempt to grapple with crafting a long-term solution – Articles About TransLink’s Valley Transit Plans

It seems TransLink and the provincial government got what they wanted – nothing, for this is what their recently released transportation plan is really about, doing nothing. The estimated annual cost of $90 million to operate rail transit in the Fraser Valley is laughable, as well as the contention that buses would attract more ridership […]

A Letter To Zweisystem

From time to time, Zwei gets letters that actually do not libel, nor threaten me and they deserved to be printed. Much thought has been put into this letter by the author and though I agree with him on many points, there are some slight quibbles or additions which I would like to make and […]