Take the H Train

It now seems hydrogen powered trains are now mainstream and set to become the worlds least polluting transit mode. It is time Canada and BC politicians get on board the H-Train, but I am afraid in Canada, politicians and bureaucrats have left at the station and gone to the airport to travel on the taxpayer’s […]

Driverless Trains

Old Zwei has told you so, operating driverless trains is very expensive. In December 2019, it was reveled that the SkyTrain Light metro system (Expo and millennium Lines, had over 900 employees. That is over 900 workers for just two rail lines. The Canada line, being a P-3, has it own employees and the number […]

The Expo Line Land Rush

Like the Millennium Line extension to Arbutus more commonly known as the Broadway subway, the main reason for extending the SkyTrain light metro system is to give politcal friends and insiders, mainly land speculators and land developers the ability of make large profits by assembling land, having council up-zone the land to allow for higher […]

Rural Railways – Who Would They Serve

A lot has been said that the Leewood/Rail for the Valley scheme would not attract much ridership because it isn’t fast, yet the same folks who use this excuse to nay say the “return of the interurban” fail to realize that the Vancouver to Chilliwack rail route will service many new destinations thus user friendliness […]

Rural Railways- Time to Invest.

Recommendations to save Japan’s rural railways issued 28 July 2022 JAPAN: A study group formed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism has published its report into whether and to what extent rural railways across the country can be revived. From the Railway Gazette. The following was sent to the usual suspects.   Around […]

Zwei Replies……………………

  The following has been posted on Facebook and other transit blogs with some unfavorable comments about RftV. First off, the article is by Alon Levy, a chap I have never heard of before, who has been described as an expert. An expert, well I think not, but neither is good ole Zwei for that […]

SkyTrain Really Isn’t A Regional Distance Based, Rapid Transit System.

Something to think about. What Zwie has tried to convey for decades, that the driverless light-metro is a money hog and building more, will only see more tax money sucked into this heavily subsidized black hole. Part of the problem is that the mainstream media and TransLink’s lil darlin, the Hive do not report on […]

Political Documents Masquerading As Technical Documents

In BC, Business Cases are a dime a dozen and are merely politcal documents masquerading as technical ones. It is photo-op silly season and with premier Horgan desperately trying to find a legacy project, the Expo Line extension to Langley is his current baby. NDP leadership hopefuls where also there vying for their 10 second […]

The $1.47 Billion Solution

The following news release came to Zwei via Montreal and Germany and answered one very important question, which TransLink is ashamed to reveal locally. The cost of the signalling rehab is $1.47 billion! This is not chump change, but serious coin, which must come from somewhere. Well, I can guess: a little from the Ministry […]

A Prediction: Huge property Tax Increases In 2023

For several years now, Mr. Cow and Zwei have been reminding people that there needs to be a $3 billion or so, rehab done to the Expo and Millennium Lines before any expansion can take place. There was no budget for this. Nonsense! Screamed the SkyTrain lobby. Fake news ranted the SkyTrain boosters. Well, not […]