Evergreen Line Cost Overruns & Broadway Subway Censorship – Business As Usual At TransLink

Hats off to Bob Mackin, for his continued journalistic investigation of TransLink and SkyTrain. The cost overruns on the Evergreen Line were expected as TransLink’s Business Case for ART for the Evergreen Line was as phony asAi?? the proverbial $3.00 bill. Also, it is no surprise that TransLink is censoring its Broadway subway and Surrey […]

Carrying Freight By Tram – To UBC?

Freight trams have been used almost since the first passenger carrying tram trundled down cobblestone streets. Today, except for a few cities, carrying freight by tram was a lost art, but no more. The concept of carrying freight by tram is once again being explored Ai??in St. Entienne, France to help reduce auto congestion and […]

With Subway Headway And Capacity

Our American friends down south are beginning to understand the Light Rail Renaissance in Europe. For too long, the ‘old ways’ of commuter trains and subways were considered the only ways to provide quality transit and except forAi?? a few bold cities, such as Portland, light rail has been deemed a second rate transit service […]

A Letter To Media and Politicians

ai??i??This letter went out to all the usual suspects, MP’s, MLA’s, and Mayors and Council.   There is a general naivete about Light Rail Transit or LRT in the media, due in part to TransLink’s and previously BC Transits thirty five year war on LRT, with their well advertised preference for light-metro. Today, except for […]

Rail for the Valley In The news

  From the Chilliwack Times. Dream of light rail from Chilliwack to Surrey isn’t dead The idea of creating light rail on the old interurban line from Chilliwack to Surrey may have faded in recent years, but proponents still want to see it happen and Coun. Sam Waddington says it’s inevitable. ai??i??Ai??image credit: File   […]

BART’s Problems Today Are TransLink’s Problems Tomorrow

Aging metro systems are a big problem in North America and the more complicated the transit system, the more costly it is to maintain. Unlike TransLink, BART’s (Bay Area Rapid Transit) bureaucrats are far more forthcoming with system ills and for that they must be congratulated for their candor. We see none of this with […]

The Federal Budget – LRT Mentioned, But Not A Subway

The Federal budget did not hold any transit surprises, with $370 million to be spent over five years for transit project support. Well, $370 million will buy you about one kilometre of a Broadway subway or put another way, 200 metres a year spread over five years, big deal! We could build 2 km of […]

Of Trains, Station Platforms, and Capacity

Zwie has got wind of a local transit advocate getting a nasty phone call a few evenings back from a chap incensed over a blog post on Facebook that went like this: The Canada line has station platforms 40m to 50 m long and operates 41 m long coupled sets of EMU’s, has about one […]

Real Light Rail For Surrey – The WKW Line

It has has been five years year since I entertained the idea of the Whalley ai??i?? King George ai??i?? White Rock LRT Line and in 2016 the WKW Line is still superior to what TransLink is planning for Surrey. Surrey needs a bold new vision for modern LRT and I believe the Whalley ai??i?? King […]

Toronto Signalling Study Of Great Import For Rail for The Valley

With thanks to Mr.Cow! Signalling, the fine art of keeping trains from crashing into each other, is very important for the Fraser Valley TramTrain project and developments in Ontario are very relevant here. Toronto, is now planning to have GO Train’s new RER system integrating with the new Smart Track surface subway proposal. The report […]