A Letter From Jacob de Raadt

There is a growing realization from Fraser Valley taxpayers that the South Fraser region should secede from TransLink and even the GVRD. For far too long, the North Fraser cities have used the South Fraser as a 'Milch cow' for taxes to fund politically prestigious light-metro projects such as SkyTrain. Valley taxpayers are waking up […]

The Canada Line Fizzles In The Snow

Ai?? The $2.5 billion Canada line fizzled today in the 10 cm of snow that fell in the Richmond area. Unlike the SkyTrain proprietary light-metro system, which had a small army of attendants stationed on trains and station platforms to prevent the snow shy SkyTrain from stopping, TransLink seemed unprepared with the weather related problems […]

Rail For The Valley In The International News Again!

Rail for the Valley and the RftV/Leewood report is featured again in an international publication. In the December issue of Tramways & Urban Transit (the official magazine of the Light Rail Transit Association) is a two page feature of the RftV/Leewood report. As the magazine is distributed not only to LRTA members but internationally as well, […]

Surrey’s main issue is simple: better transit – From the Vancouver Sun

Kudos’ for Surrey mayor Diane Watts to think “out of the SkyTrain box” and think light rail, but to do so requires hiring real light rail experts to assist local planners and engineers in planning a usable and efficient LRT/tram network in Surrey. Our local transportation planners still do not get it that the difference […]

Streetcars – The missing Link Symposium

The following is for the links for the speaker's presentations and the audio for the townhall meeting. Other that not one of the presenters could define what a streetcar is, the following should be of some value. For Zweisystem's view of the streetcar symposium http://www.railforthevalley.com/latest-news/zweisystem/the-streetcar-symposium-translink-doesnt-get-it/ Streetcars: The Missing Link? 29 September 2010 Renaissance Vancouver Hotel […]

AdiA?A?s the Evergreen Line?

It seems TransLink’s game of brinkmanship will be their undoing. They have played this hand too often and regional politico’s are tired playing against a stacked deck. We all know that public transit is good, but when you have Gordon Price saying on the radio, that the LRT/SkyTrain debate is theological and radio personality singing […]

USA: Why the Stimulus Package Failed

A commentary by Lyndon Henry, fromAi??Ai??the Light Rail Now folks in the United States. The question to be asked here is: “Was Canada so-called stimulus funding successful?” While the commentary below doesn’t directly mention public transportation, rail transit, or passenger rail, I believe it is directly relevant to the issue of federal investment in these […]

Let’s NOT make a Deal A?ai??i??ai??? Property tax hike for transit only choice before mayors

TransLink is at it again, playing brinkmanship with regional mayors and I hope the valley politicos see through this tawdry charade, which has become a clichA?Ai?? for TransLink’s haphazard planning efforts. Behind door number 1, you have option A Ai??Ai??behind door number 2, you have option B; behind door number 3, you have option A […]

Let’s NOT make a Deal A?ai??i??ai??? Property tax hike for transit only choice before mayors

TransLink is at it again, playing brinkmanship with regional mayors and I hope the valley politicos see through this tawdry charade, which has become a clichA?Ai?? for TransLink’s haphazard planning efforts. Behind door number 1, you have option A Ai??Ai??behind door number 2, you have option B; behind door number 3, you have option A […]

Ottawa’s troubled tram.

The light rail saga in Ottawa continues with the realization that monies spent on a politcally prestigious subway tunnel comes from extending the transit line to servcie transit customers. Zweisystem is in complete agreement with the following and I have posed about Ottawa's LRT escapades earlier. Ottawa transit authorities had need not look any further […]