TramTrain’s In The UK – Good News For Rail for the Valley

This news item from the UK, is good news for those who advocate for TramTrain operation in Canada. Why? The Sheffield TramTrains have gone through a rigorous safety program of testing overseen by the UK’s Office of Rail and Road formerly her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate, a body that is highly respected around the world. Sheffield’s […]

Begging For Cash

As the old adage says; “When beggars knock at the door, rush out the back door and check the chickens”; Premier Clark is off to Ottawa begging for some cash for her two ill-found vanity transit projects, the $3 billion Broadway subway and the $2.3 billion Surrey LRT, that local voters rejected in the past […]

If It Is Not Stock, Don’t buy It!

Our friend Haveacow is a Canadian Transportation Engineer and when he says something, we should be listening. * Zwei is not an engineer, but under the tutelage of the late Des Turner (Des was a chemical engineer who worked at Shell Oil, who took early retirement and went back to university and earned a master’s […]

The 1986 LRTA Study: Bus ai??i?? LRT ai??i?? Metro Comparison

I thought I would again reprint this post from May 20, 2010 as it may clear up some major misconceptions about LRT capacity, since many in Metro Vancouver are very confused about modern light rail. There is an ongoing debate today that LRTAi??can only carry a limited number of riders and that the magic number […]

Global News Spotlights SkyTrain’s Ills

To say I am gobsmacked is an understatement, Global News actually had a rather negative story about SkyTrain, which convinces me some pointed questions about the proprietary railway are circling in Victoria. Everything about SkyTrain, from it being forced onto the region in the early 80’s, the NDP flip-flop of the Millennium Line and forcing […]

How Do You Spell Rotten – T-R-A-N-L-I-N-K

Local independent reporter has been tearing into TransLink and the TransLink story seems to go from bad to worse. Where is the Vancouver Sun? The Province? Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition? With Transit, there are so may rotten apples in the barrel, it is time to throw it all out. From Business in Vancouver…… TransLink should […]

In Toronto Developers Want Light Rail and Not A Subway!

Something new. In Toronto, developers want light rail and not an expensive subway to replace their life expired SkyTrain Line, the Scarborough R/T. What should be of interest is that the ridership on the proposed LRT/subway route, is more than the proposed SkyTrain subway under Broadway. Maybe Vision(less) Vancouver would rethink their grand Broadway subway […]

Vancouver Blunders Ahead With Its Vanity Project.

Well, Vision(less) Vancouver is blundering ahead with its much cherished $3 billion subway under Broadway and our feckless politicians South of the Fraser remaining willfully blind to this billions of dollars boondoggle. One would think they would be more in tuned with the costs of this massive project. Surrey has been bought off with its […]

Mr. Haveacow – The Ridership Question

Christopher MacKechnie Transit Expert is a transit planner and lawyer and writes for the About.Com website as their go to guy on public transport. The About Public Transport.Com site answers some basic questions and issues in transit operation and planning in an easily understood accessible way. Most of his articles, are pretty basic and are […]

In The International News

Some interesting news items from abroad.   An interesting Australia Government paper on long term trends in public transport. Some interesting comments have been made by an Australian observer: It can be clearly seen that the Sydney tramways were the all-time record-holding giant of any Australian public transport system and never bettered since by any […]