LRT and Subway Construction Costs

From the Toronto LRT Information Blog http://lrt.daxack.ca/blog/ Discussions on Toronto and GTHA LRT Possibilities Much of this site is devoted to promoting LRT as a viable alternative to Subway for rapid transit expansion within the GTA where capacity needs exceed or will exceed that of bus operation, but do not warrant a Subway level of […]

Expansion, improvements and upgrade for Croydon Tramlink

Following the March announcement from Transport for London, that ten new Light Rail vehicles were to be procured for the successful Croydon Tramlink system. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/media/newscentre/archive/19308.aspx The mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced the shortlisted bidders to supply Transport for London (TfL) with up to ten more trams, which will increase services on the Tramlink network. […]

Kisses on a postcard

In the 19th & 20th centuries, Trams & Streetcars were part of the streetscape in towns and cities in Canada, Europe & America. Studying contemporary postcards, it can be seen how well this form of urban transport fitted in with homes, businesses & people. ThisAi??coloured postcardAi??of post World War One Karlsruhe, Germany, shows a typical […]

Easter weekend Tram & Light Rail news – Europe, Australia & the USA

Light rail vehicle unveiled http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/bielefeld-vamos-lrv-unveiled.html 21 April 2011 Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? GERMANY: The first of 16 high-floor light rail vehicles for Bielefeld city transport operator MoBiel was presented to a select audience at HeiterBlickai??i??s Leipzig plant on April 14.Ai?? MoBiel placed a ai??i??47m order for the cars with a consortium of Vossloh Kiepe and HeiterBlick on January […]

The Sunday Supplement Essay

The fall out from Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts State of the City report Tuesday, has raged far & wide in the BC papers and on the blogosphere, not unexpectedly much of the debate has centered on the link between transport or transit, development or land use and city planning, residential unit design or population density. […]

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts calls for street-level rapid transit in her city

Light rail proponents say it's less expensive than SkyTrain They are cheering Surrey mayor Dianne Watts for her call for street-level rapid transit in her city Dan Burritt Apr 13, 2011 19:24:20 PM  News1130 http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/212086–light-rail-proponents-say-it-s-less-expensive-than-skytrain SURREY (NEWS1130) – Surrey's plan for street-level rapid transit is welcome news to people who want to bring back street […]

Surrey Mayor Watts ups the TransLink ante – ‘We’re redefining Surrey’

Following on from Zweisai??i?? earlier posting of the Vancouver Sunai??i??s reporting of Mayor Dianne Wattsai??i??s state of city address `Surrey looks to light rail to ease huge growth’ `SkyTrain is too expensive, Mayor Dianne Watts says’ the Surrey Now paperAi?? published the following article on Tuesday: ‘We’re redefining Surrey,’ mayor says at annual State of […]

White House Comes Out For Streetcars

Jeff McMahon writes on the Forbes Blog – April 12th http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/04/12/white-house-comes-out-for-streetcars/ President Obama’s clean-energy campaign hopped onto streetcars this morning with a government-made infomercial and testimonial for United Streetcars, a Portland company, published on the White House and Transportation Department blogs. The testimonial promises streetcars will help America “win the future.” It was penned by Transportation Secretary […]

A Tale of Two Letters

 Mr. Brussac, a long time man of letters from Coquitlam, understands our current public transit malaise. He is well read on the subject and his letters are worth a read when printed. One may not always agree with his opinions, but his knowledge on transit and public transit issues is very good and is correspondence well […]

Without the right questions, transit plan could fail

Of course in the Vancouver metro region, the right questions about transit have never been asked for fear of getting ‘correct’ answers. Building Metro Vancouver’s mini-metro system has always been about land development, political prestige and vote getting and not providing the best transit choice or the most affordable transit choice for the transit customer. […]