What’s wrong with the REM?

The Canada Line’s big cousin, Montreal’s REM. The problem with REM. like the Canada line is that it is more of a financial tool than a public transit line and because of this, the transit customer has been ignored. A healthy transit system offers multiple ways to get between points A and B — not […]

And You Think Wider Highways and Bigger Bridges Will Solve Congestion?

Let’s build more highways and bigger tunnels and bridges to cure congestion. Let us build 10 lane tunnels and bridges; let us build ten lane highways: let us build ourselves out of gridlock. Sorry, facts show that one cannot build oneself out of congestion and gridlock as building bigger bridges and tunnels and wider highways […]

Letters

Letters From the Langley Advance Times Dear Editor, For over 12 years, Rail for the Valley has been advocating the reinstatement of the Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban service and in doing so, are being advised by professionals and engineers who have a sound knowledge of public transit systems and transportation modes. The following are pertinent […]

Premier Horgan’s FastFerry Redux!

  Before reading on, please remember this figure of $1.3 billion, as it represents an updated (2021) cost for Rail for the Valley’s Leewood Study, offering a three trains per hour per direction from Vancouver to Chilliwack. Doing the Rail for the Valley blog for the past 12 years has been an interesting experience and […]

Are We just Deaf To Global Warming?

In the first week of July’s record heat and the fireball that turned the Village of Lytton, which for the previous three days recorded the highest temperatures in Canada, to ash, our politicians stood mute. Oh, there were those 10 second sound bites and photo-ops of care, but the lesson did not sink in. It […]

Will SkyTrain Light Metro Ever Reach Langley?

These excerpts are from a comment by Haveacow, our expert from back east, which  must give one pause, because TransLink is about $1 billion short to extend the Expo line to Langley! But TransLink is also short of train storage and maintenance space. They desperately need to build the extension of the Expo Line to […]

If It Is Not Stock, Don’t buy It! – A Repost From December 2015

This post is from 2015 and Bombardier’s rail division, including MALM (SkyTrain) is now owned by Alstom and if there is a Conservative victory in the federal election, say goodbye to the Broadway subway and the Expo Line extension to Langley. Rumour has it that the Conservatives are going to solve regional congestion with new […]

Regional Railways – The Missing Piece of The Transportation Puzzle!

When government is spending almost $4 billion to build a mere 16 km of SkyTrain light-metro, extending the Expo line, 16 km to Langley; almost $3 billion to extend the Millennium line 5.8 km; and over $4 billion replacing the Massey tunnel,  provincial politicians must seriously consider the regional railway option. The taxpayer is begging […]

The Broadway Subway Will Sterilize Surface Business

An interesting passage from Steve Munro’s critique of Neptis, which I was reading to gain some insight into the organization, in response to Mr. Burgess’s comment. Towards the end of this lengthy report, this paragraph stood out. The whole point of Transit City was to provide improved local, trunk services and to remain on the […]

Costs – A Repost From January 2020

Well, things have changed in a year and a half. The Trudeau Liberals have promised that they will fund 40% of the Expo Line Extension to Langley, but premier Horgan and TransLink have not, as yet, anted up the money to pay for their portion. With a cost, now around $3.95 billion, the 16 km […]