Single Track Operation & Level Crossings – Dutch Style

  Some of the detractors of Rail for the Valley’s TramTrain or light DMU line from Marpole to Chilliwack cite that only one train can operate on the line at one time. With properly placed passing loops, preferably at stations, trains can be safely operated going in both directions on a single line. this due […]

Is Bad News In The Offing?

It has been too quiet, too long, on the transit front and with a provincial election looming, unpleasant news is being quietly whitewashed. Hear no cost increase; speak no cost increase; see no cost increase of the Broadway subway seems the order of the day. The pre inflation estimates  just will not stand up today. […]

Money, Money, Money = Subways!

The Mayor of Vancouver discussing the bennefits the Broadway Subway. What could go wrong? It takes a lot of money to operate a transit system and subways tend to be a financial black hole and are avoided unless ridership on a transit line demands the multi billion dollar investment of a subway. Just the MALM […]

Five Car Trains – Much Ado About Nothing

Five car trains, is the current clarion call by TransLink. With lots of hype and hoopla by the mainstream media, the public is made to believe this is some sort of technical break through. It is the old Goebbels Gambit at play; “repeat a lie often enough and the public are bound to believe it. […]

The Real Question TransLink Is Afraid To Ask

In true Orwellian fashion, TransLink “TransLink wants to hear from you“; but in reality they do not. In TransLink Speak, almost everything is opposite to the questions asked. TransLink and all the hangers-on certainly did not want to hear from the taxpayer in 2015 when over 60%  did not want TransLink to proceed with their […]

Back To Basics

What is light rail? LRT is a transportation system based on electrically powered light rail vehicles (LRV) that operates on a track in a dedicated right-of-way (meaning separated lanes). It is the operating on dedicated or “reserved rights-of-ways that makes a simple streetcar or tram light rail! many simple streetcar or tram systems have sections […]

Adding More Highway Capacity Only Increases Congestion And Gridlock

Where will the new traffic go? You cannot build yourself out of congestion, as it never works. A good example is Boise Idaho, where between 1993 and 2017, roads expanded 141 percent while population grew 117 percent. But congestion increased 446 percent. The previous example is what is happening across the united States and Canada. […]

Vancouver Will Need To Adopt Lower-Cost LRT In Its Lesser Corridors – Updated

The consensus is the same, Metro Vancouver will need to adopt lower-cost LRT for its future transit needs. This was first posted in 2019 and the costs and the financial numbers have changed somewhat. Currently, the province and metro Vancouver is spending over $11 billion for 21.7 km of new light-metro line, including the Broadway […]

Gold Plated Union Contract For A Gold Plated Transit System

Hmmm – election coming and a fear of of another transit strike, well what can a government do? Give transit workers a “gold plated” union contract. TransLink, despite claims otherwise, is run by the premier’s office. All major TransLink decisions must have the approval by the Premier of British Columbia and this union contract is […]

Eby And The NDP Have Missed The Train

It seems Premier Eby and the NDP have been left behind at the station with this. With two railway projects that would have set BC as a leader in “Green” transportation, Premier Eby and the NDP continue to promote Greenhouse gas projects with new highway and tunnel construction: in other words, good old “rubber and […]