The Boarders Railway Reopens After 47 Years! Leewood/RftV Interurban Is a Bargain!

The Beaching era in the UK saw the dismantling and the run down of Britain’s extensive railway network. Though some railway lines deserved to be abandoned, many did not. The Beaching philosophy was that railways were obsolete, with the exceptions of two trunk lines running North/South and one East/West, all other railway lines, except for […]

Out of Touch

The Vancouver Board of Trade, think themselves transit experts; nope, nada, not a chance as the VBoT is absolutely clueless when it comes to public transit, but they certainly glad hand any transit initiative that will enrich BoT members, such as cement companies, with absolutely no care for the transit consumer or taxpayer. The main […]

So, Who Says That No One Builds With LRT Anymore

Over the weekend, I happen to hear a federal politician wannabe claim that; “No ones builds with light rail anymore” and went on to prattle about BRT and how it could carry impossible loads of people and subways because “everyone else builds them”. Did every politician running for office sleep through their math classes? It […]

Chemnitz receives electro-diesel tram-train

Chemnitz, Germany, population, 242,000 is getting new electro-deisel tramtrains for their successful regional tramtrain system. This mans that the TramTrain network can expand along non electrified lines. Chemnitz receives electro-diesel tram-train 21 Aug 2015 GERMANY: The first Vossloh CityLink electro-diesel tram-train for Chemnitz was presented to transport authority Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen on August 21. The second […]

Sapperton – Sapperton Station.

Sapperton Station (New Westminster) on the old BCE Burnaby lake Interurban Line, C. 1930’s. A full build, Vancouver to Chilliwack TramTrain, could once again have a Sapperton Station.

Used DMU’s for RftV?

Even though our local politicians haven’t a clue about the ‘Rail for the Valley’ project, European professionals are, as evidenced by the following letter. Dear Sir and Madam,   HEROS would be able to provide used DMU’s (diesel tram function without toilet but higher platform required) or DMU for regional service (with toilets and steps […]

The Fiscal Realities of Subways Surface

Taxpayers in Ontario are slowly awakening up to the fiscal realities of modern subway construction, just as their European counterparts did in the 1970’s and 80’s. Little known on this side of the pond, is that subway construction in Europe has almost bankrupted public transit en mass and by the 1990’s subways were only considered […]

Crossing the Fraser

In answer to a private email, yes indeed the Chilliwack interurban did cross the Fraser River, using the then Great Northern Railway Fraser River Bridge. The photo is a Chilliwack bound train in the late 1940’s. And yes, the proposed TramTrain could use the same bridge today.

A Letter in the Sun

Strange that, after the resounding NO vote in the recent plebiscite, the Vancouver Sun has been giving ink to some very pro LRT writers, in both the Op-Ed section and the Letters To The Editor Section. Saturday, July 18: Portland LRT grounded in reality Vancouver Sun July 17, 2015 Letter writer Ray Arnoldai??i??s decision to […]

LRT Saves Highway Space

This is from a Siemens promo for light rail from the 1980’s. Self explanatory, it gives a good visual how modern LRT saves highway space. It also shows that modern LRT could be built on Broadway and still provide road space for autos and with parking.