Very Light Rail for Victoria?

On CHEK News this afternoon was a rather long piece on Ultra light rail for Victoria and Zwei sees a problem. What was being pitched was an Ultra Light Rail system and not the Very light rail system, being proposed for Coventry, though using photos of Coventry’s Very Light Rail proposal. When a promoter of […]

A Letter to Vancouver Island Politicians

With the spectre of global warming wreaking havoc on our province, it is time to get serious about doing what we can to alleviate emissions from internal combustion engines. At the same time we must invest in ways other than asphalt solutions to mitigate endemic traffic congestion. Today, only a rail based transit system can […]

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 […]

Funding – How to restore Passenger Rail

The UK, as well as many European countries, are reopening long abandoned rail routes for passenger service. The lesson is simple, if you want to attract the motorist from the car, you must develop a user friendly alternative. The railway is a proven user friendly alternative to the car. In BC, politicians have not learned […]

The Liberals Dangle A Very Stale Carrot

The BC Liberal election BS machine is now in full swing. The Liberals announced a “commuter rail working group” to confirm the viability of commuter rail for the Capitol Region. This begs the question: “Who has the capability and knowledge to come to an answer on commuter rail? What should be done, is what Rail […]

Canadaai??i??s light rail renaissance

From the International Railway Journal http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/light-rail/canadas-light-rail-renaissance.html Light rail is experiencing a renaissance in cities throughout Canada with various new lines planned and some currently under construction. LIKE most cities across the world, Canada’s leading urban centres suffer from traffic congestion leaving many residents wasting time in their cars. In recent years light rail schemes have […]

U.S. (And Canada) Taxpayers Are Gouged on Mass Transit Costs

With BC Transit quoting silly prices for LRT in Victoria and TransLink doing the same in Vancouver and Surrey, the following article from Bloomberg should be essential reading. As the previous post has shown, modern LRT/streetcar can be built cheaply, if there is the political and bureaucratic will to do so. With thank to Justin […]

Could TramTrain be the solution for the E&N?

The following article about the rebuilding of the E&N passenger station in Nanaimo and the hint of a commuter train service causes ‘Zwei’ to speculate that; could TramTrain be the best solution for a passenger or commuter rail serviceAi??using the E&N railway in both Victoria and the Nanaimo regions. Using the Rail for the Valley/Leewood […]

Transit Blundering in Victoria

Sad to say, transit planners in Victoria have not read the Rail for the Valley/Leewood Report, but then, why should they, they live in a world of gold-plated transit, where any form of rail transit is over-engineered to such an extent that it will be too costly to build. Economy is not in our transit […]

City of Victoria abandons Johnson Street Bridge rail plan

Victoria, B.C. – forget commuter rail entry into downtown SaanichAi??News March 10th http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_south/saanichnews/news/117699518.html The City of Victoriaai??i??s faint hope of finding funding partners to save the E&N rail on the Johnson Street Bridge fizzled Wednesday. ai???Itai??i??s a reluctant decision that we have to take,ai??? said Coun. John Luton. ai???Many in this community are committed to […]