UK News – Train operators plan to reopen mothballed lines

Interesting news from the U.K. which might bolster the campaignAi??Ai??for those wishing the return of the Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban. The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) or in layman’s terms, the privatized companies formed from the old British Rail, have plans to reopen several abandoned or mothballed railway lines. What is of interest is […]

Cost estimate for light rail doubled over five years – WATERLOO REGION- Ontario

It is very hard to make comments on this bit of news because ‘we’ are not there, but it does seem that eitherAi??Ai??local planners have been negligent in their cost estimates or, as I suspect, city engineers have downloaded unneeded infrastructure charges onto the proposed LRT scheme. Certainly inflation has not been 100%Ai??Ai?? in five […]

TorontoA?ai??i??ai???s new streetcar: sleeker, lower, longer

By Allison Hanes, National Post TorontoA?ai??i??ai???s next generation of streetcars will be sleeker, lower, longer and bigger. At 28.2 metres, the new Bombardier cars will be longer than the iconic red rockets on the roads now, which stretch to a maximum of 22 metres. MORE: Bombardier gets nod for new streetcars.Ai??Ai?? Each will have five […]

TransLink to phase out printed bus schedules at Metro Vancouver stops. Want to know when the next bus is coming? Translink says, get a cellphone. – from the Vancouver Sun.

TransLink, in one of their most boneheaded decisions to date, Ai??Ai??is going to phase out local bus schedules at bus stops. What the news story does show that the TransLink Board hasn’t a clue about public transit, nor do they care about the transit service. The Comte’s received so far from the Sun shows complete […]

Two letters in the Tri-City News

Massive transit expansion needed in Metro Vancouver The Editor, Re. “Build real rapid rail” (Letters, The Tri-City News, June 5). I have to second letter writer Barry Waterlow’s suggestion that only a massive rapid rail and SkyTrain expansion could convince commuters to use public transit and reduce the number of vehicles owned. Why wouldn’t comfort […]

LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT ASSOCIATION Discussion Document 73 March 2009

Ai??Ai?? The following, though written for an English audience is pertinent to our current transit debates and maybe of some interest to those advocating rail transit here. Ai??Ai?? FALSE INFORMATION USED TO DESCRIBE A TRANSIT SCHEME Ai??Ai?? Introduction Ai??Ai?? This document is partly designed to correct a practice of using false information regarding transit modes. […]

U.S. seen "squandering" infrastructure funds. Is the same happening here?

It seems the big push is on, spending stimulus money on transportation projects, but Rail for the Valley doubts that the massive Gateway highways and bridge project is a good investment. More highways, means more cars and more cars means more congestion and pollution; a message that Premier Campbell and his transportation minister refuse to […]

World transit system list as of 2006 – from the LRTA

The following is the number or various type of transit systems around the world including those under construction, excluding airport shuttles, commuter/mainline rail, entertainment parks and funiculars. Classification always brings areas of doubt, particularly in countries such as Japan and Switzerland where clear dividing lines just do not exist. Metro (including SkyTrain) – 146 Light […]

U-Tube – a tool, transit advocates must make good use of – seeing, is believing.

In the 1980’s, the SkyTrain lobby made all sorts of pronouncements about transit and ALRT, that were not true. It took transit advocates over a month to write to experts and wait for their replies. By the time the facts were available, the media moved on and most of the hoopla from BC Transit became […]

Transit lessons unlearned – Part 2

In the 1980’s there was much debateAi??Ai??between modern light-rail and many proprietary transit systems being offered for sale, which included the SkyTrain ICTS/ALRT automatic light-metro. Many claims were made by the owners of various proprietary transit systems being offered for sale, about the effectivenessAi??Ai??of their transit systems. In 1991, Gerald Fox a noted American transit […]