Willful Ignorance

The radio is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier. (Apologies to H. L. Mencken) SkyTrain here, SkyTrain there, SkyTrain everywhere! TransLink’s CEO, Kevin Desmond is an ignorant man and as such, makes a perfect CEO of TransLink, where ignorance is a prerequisite for employment. I have kept silent about […]

Calgary, Alberta: Green Line LRT tunnel option approved in principle by Calgary city council

Everyone wants tunnels and subways. Victorian railway companies in the UK, bankrupted themselves with needless and over engineered tunnels because they were in vogue. Calgary’s LRT was designed more as a light metro than light rail, but that still did not stop transit planners from putting the C-Train mostly at grade, with on-street operation in […]

Scarborough Subway Derailing?

Unfortunately financial reality is now setting in in Toronto and building subways are a very expensive proposition.. The cost to replace the aging Scarborough ICTS mini-metro with a one stop, 6 km. subway (about the same length as a Broadway subway to Arbutus!) is now put at $3.2 billion and rising. Plans to revive a […]

A Tale of Two Cities – The Utsunomiya LRT Versus The Shambles in Surrey

This article should give a good indication of the cost of modern light rail being built today. The proposed Utsunomiya LRT, is of course narrow gaugeAi?? and will have somewhat narrower trams, with a reduced capacity than LRT built inAi?? Canada, but it is the cost of construction which is important. The 14.6 km., 19 […]

Subways – Red Flags in Ontario – Should The Same Be Happening Here?

It now seems Ontario’s big subway plans are costing more, a lot more to build than what was first proposed as exampled by the Toronto York Spadina Subway Extension, whose cost soared over from $1.5 billion to $3.2 billion! TransLink is blithely planning away for both a hugely expensive SkyTrain subway under Broadway and an […]

TransLink Will Not Come Clean On Subway Costs

Nothing new here. The truth is very simple, subways are very expensive to build, as TransLink found out with the Canada Line. We have to remember that the cost of the Canada Line soared past the first estimated cost of $1.3 billion, to around $2.7 billion. The Gordon Campbell Liberal government then forced TransLink to […]

Horgan Doesn’t Get It

John Horgan and the NDP just do not get it and they never will and by only consulting with the party faithful, all they have is a self-serving transit and transportation policy that is both unaffordable but unworkable. TransLink does not have an income problem, they have a spending problem; the spend far too much […]

What about the Patullo Bridge? Updated

In light of today’s news that the Pattullo Bridge not only will collapse in a seismic event, it may topple in a wind storm. Pattullo Bridge vulnerable during seismic or ai???high-windai??i?? events: Report Zwei believes the old child’s song should be updated to: Pattullo bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down Pattullo Bridge is […]

SkyTrain Has Issues In Kuala Lumpur

The other SkyTrain is also having operational problems, including power issues, with system wide shutdowns. Well, at least in Malaysia, when their transit system goes Ka-Put, the transit customers do get free rides. With TransLink it’s adios sucker, we know you will have to take SkyTrain whether you like it or not! https://hornbillunleashed.wordpress.com/2016/09/23/wheres-the-bus-backup/ http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/09/16/rm250m-to-upgrade-power-substations-on-kelana-jaya-lrt-line/ http://news.asiaone.com/news/malaysia/malaysia-lrt-line-give-free-rides-tuesday-thursday-after-breakdown […]

and Now…….Here is The Real Story

The reason the TransLink is making the change may prove rather interesting. The story starts with the old Broadway-Lougheed rapid transit project which was planned for light rail operating from Arbutus and Broadway to Lougheed Mall and the Tri-Cities. This is the transit line that the NDP (under the leadership of Glen Clark and Joy […]