Light Rail questioned by Langley Township planner – Yesterday’s planning at work!

The same old cliched arguments about modern light rail have surfaced in Langley Township. What old Zwei finds so tiresome is that the some planners remains so uninformed about SkyTrain light-metro and modern light rail, think both are “rapid transit“. Transit is only as ‘rapid’ as it is designed to be. Sadly, the term “rapid […]

TramTrain for Hungary

From the International Railway Journal. As TransLink and the regional mayors still champion hugely expensive vanity projects for the region, TramTrain makes very good economic sense. A basic, bare-bones hourly service, using diesel light rail vehicles, from Vancouver to Chilliwack, would cost about $750 million. A more intense electric service, with a 20 minute service […]

Less expensive options?

Sounds familiar? One could ask the same for our regional transit planning. HS2: Government has no ‘convincing case’ for A?50bn rail line By Chris Johnston Business reporter The government has no convincing case for spending A?50bn building the HS2 rail link between London and the North, a report by the House of Lords Economic Affairs […]

The Compass Card – Another Gordon Campbell Fiasco!

The Compass Card fiasco is not really a TransLink problem, rather it is the epitome of why TransLink has problems; TransLink is a tool of the Premier’s Office and it must do the Premier’s bidding or face serious repercussions. Premier Gordon Campbell’s best friend, Ken Dobell, was the lobbyist for Cubit Industries makers of fare […]

Replacing the Fraser River Rail Bridge

Interesting item from the Netherlands. Dutch Engineers have been at the forefront at lift bridge technology for over a century, due to the many canals that traverse the country. The “tilting lock” would be especially beneficial to railways as there would no need for a lift span at all and trains could cross the bridge […]

The $14 billion transit plan the B.C. Liberals conveniently forgot about

How soon we forget, the BC Liberals had a $14 billion transit plan for Metro Vancouver and what ever happened to that? The following from Vancouver Buzz explains events from seven years go.

A discussion about TransLink

A new transit blog is in town and I think it is well worth a read. Called Inside TransLink, it gives an insider’s view of the organization and the many problems the exist, culminating with this rather destructive transit plebiscite. http://www.insidetranslink.ca/ The ways to improve TransLink, from a voice that saw the inside. Ai??There are […]

Terence Corcoran: Hey, Vancouver: Just say ai???Noai??i?? to transit tax

Though I am trying to avoid unhappiness with the upcoming transit plebiscite, this item from the Financial Post is well worth a read. What I find interesting, is the following comment; “Even London, a world leader in public transit and congestion charges, is still bogged down in traffic. ai???Traffic jams in London getting worse, ai??? […]

Prototype battery-powered ai???IPEMUai??i?? carries passengers for first time

Battery powered trains are evolving at a fast pace. For the Chilliwack interurbanAi?? purposes, this sort of train could operate quite well on sections of non electrified track, including the 12.5 section of shared track with the Roberts Bank Railway and the 22 km section from the Fraser river Bridge to the downtown Vancouver Central […]

It is these debt-servicing costs that are contributing greatly to the need for the additional taxes

A little food for thought. From Liz James and the North Shore News. From the North Shore News JAMES: Get facts before marking your ballot Elizabeth James , contributing writer / North Shore News March 4, 2015 – See more at: Emotion will trump facts every time.ai??? ai??i?? Keith Baldrey, North Shore News, Feb. 11, […]