Transport Action BC News Page

The big announcement this past week was the $8 billion funding for high speed rail was announced by US President Barack Obama. The big winners were California, Florida, and Illinois. Closer to home Washington state will receive $600 million in funding to improve the Cascades corridor services. The specific projects funded weren't announced but the bulk of the funding is expected to go to the Seattle to Portland section of the line. There may be funding for projects between Everett and Blaine as well.

More details about the Washington plans here:
Second daily train to Vancouver, B.C., now averages 78 passengers per trip Jared Paben, Bellingham Herald, Jan 27, 2010.

For details about all the projects see the excellent overview on Transport Politic. High-Speed Rail Grants Announced; California, Florida, and Illinois Are Lucky Recipients, by Yonah Freemark

Transport Action BC got a chance to ride the new "Olympic Line" streetcars on Saturday Jan 15th. A group of us rode the new Bombardier streetcars that are being borrowed from the City of Brussels, Belgium for two months. We did a round trip from the Olympic village to Granville Island station, where we got off to take some pictures. Workers were still putting the finishing touches to the platforms. The ride was very smooth and quickly accelerated up to the maximum speed of 50 kp/h. The streetcars are capable of 70 km/h, but the track isn't long enough to get up to full speed.

The public grand opening is next week Thursday Jan 21. It will be open for free rides for two months, and then the trams will be returned to Belgium. Let the City of Vancouver, TransLink, and the media know that you want this pilot project to be turned into a permanent fixture.

More about the streetcars on Bombardier's site.

New SeaBus now running

Canada Line AddFare

The TransLink Commissioner has ruled that the AddFare will only apply to passengers purchasing tickets to travel from the 3 Sea Island stations. The $5 single-direction AddFare replaces the previously proposed $2.50 charge that would have applied in both directions, and greatly complicated the purchase of transit fares for trips to the airport. The new fare comes into effect Jan 18, 2010.

New Westminster Rail Bridge Study

Transport Canada is initiating a review of the over 100 year-old bridge, though the initial Terms of Reference focus on freight traffic.

NYC pedestrianises Broadway

Globe and Mail urban affairs columnist, Lisa Rochon, describes one of NYC's efforts to increase pedestrian amenities throughout the city. Large sections of Broadway, a major thoroughfare that cuts across Manhattan's street grid, have been temporarily closed off to automobiles. This project is one of many in the NYC that have created 50 acres on new pedestrian space and helped reduce the pedestrian fatalities. They are part of Mayor Bloomberg's plan to reduce the city's carbon footprint and are being implemented by Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, who recently spoke in Vancouver at SFU's Shifting Gears Lecture series. Ms Sadik-Khan views streets, which make up 85% of NYC's public space, as linear parks rather than a system for moving automobiles.

Island Trust causes high ferry fares

BC Ferries accuses the Island Trust's development policies for raising land values so high that young families can no longer afford to live on the Gulf Islands. According to BC Ferries, there are more retirees and seniors living on the Islands and they travel less, reducing BC Ferries traffic to unsustainable levels at current fares.

TransLink Fires

TransLink fired three executives as part of move to "find efficiencies" and reduce duplicated efforts in the organisation. The move is not related to the recent BC government audit of TransLink.

Olympics paves BCR RoW

And finally, a brief item in The Province states a 1 Km stretch of the former BCR right-of-way near Porteau Cove to allow 2 lanes of traffic in the peak travel direction. Traffic will be stopped (fortunately) when a train is using that section of track.

White Rock tries to get Amtrak Cascades service

The city of White Rock is establishing a task force to study the possibility of getting Amtrak Cascades services to stop in the city.

Save the environment; Don't take transit:

This appeared only in the online edition of the Vancouver Sun. Wendel Cox, Randall O'Toole and the CATO Institute found a compliant reporter at the National Post to trot out the usual anti-transit arguments.

Canada Line Rave Review:

Gordon Price and riders give the Canada Line a "thumb's up". Price comments that the number of luggage toting travellers he sees going to the airport is a surprise as he thought difficulties getting luggage to stations would dissuade travellers from the line (will this traffic hold up when the AddFare is implemented?). His only negative is the lack of a station in Cambie "Village". InTransitBC states ridership is averaging over 92,000 / day and sometimes tops 100,000 / day.

Cable Cars (surface or air) Proposed for Toronto

Urban planner Steven Dale says cable cars, at street level or up in the air, can solve the city's transportation woes. This article reminds me of some of the monorail proposals for Seattle - someone gets an idea that can be 'tarted up' enough for a politician or two to get interested and suddenly its an idea worth pursuing. Aerial tramways may have some limited applications in Toronto (to the Island Airport for example) but replacing portions of the streetcar system doesn't seem practical.

The first of two modern streetcars arrived in Vancouver today, Dec 7, 2009. The cars from Bombardier are being loaned to the city during the Olympic game period. From Jan 21, 2010 until March 21, 2010 the 2 streetcars will operate on a free shuttle from Olympic Village Canada line station to Granville Island. They will operate from 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. daily (18 hours a day) during the free trial.

Unfortunately, they will be returning the Belgium after the 60 day trial. This will be the first opportunity for Vancouverites to witness a modern low-floor light rail vehicle. This travel mode will surely be a part of the future transport landscape in the region.

Please check out the Olympic line and go for a ride while it is here, then tell all your friends and contact the City of Vancouver and Translink to let them know how much you enjoyed it!

The new Bombardier streetcars have arrived! The Buzzer Blog

Trans-Continental photo gallery has images of the off-loading ceremony.

The Olympic Line page has more information on the project.

The Transit Museum Society (Trams) runs historic interurbans along the same False Creek corridor in the summer months.

Two recent articles point to encouraging signs for passenger rail on Vancouver Island. The first one talks about switching around the schedule of the Malahat train so it heads into Victoria in the morning before heading out again and up island to Courtney. The second article mentions an intriguing possiblity of a multi-modal transportation hub at Nanaimo harbour where there is already a car ferry to Gabriola, a proposed cruise ship terminal, and some short lived passenger-only ferries to Vancouver. Bringing the VIA station and bus station to the same area would mean Nanaimo could truly live up to its title as 'Hub City'.

'Wrong way' rail may be righted

Railway could help make Nanaimo a transportation hub
Darrell Bellaart, The Daily News
Published: Monday, November 16, 2009

A report put out by Amtrak discusses the possiblity of temporary adjustments to Amtrak train service to Vancouver during the Olympic games. Having the evening southbound train depart 2 hours later in the evening during the Olympic period would give people on day trips a chance to watch events and return to the USA at the end of the day. It would depart at 7:45PM instead of the normal 5:45PM. This change would only be during February and March 2010, and the schedule would return to normal after that.

More interesting is the mention of potential changes to customs procedures that would allow customs and border inspections of train passengers at Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, much like airport 'pre-screening'. Currently there is screening of passengers at the station, but the train also stops at Peace Arch for usually about 15 minutes for further inspections. Canadian law that allows pre-screening of USA bound travellers only applies to airports, but would have to be updated to allow rail and marine applications. The obvious benefit would be the southbound train trip would be at least 15 minutes faster. As the report mentions:

Link to report on Amtrak website: 358KB PDF

Funding was announced for rail overpasses in Vancouver along the Burrard inlet railway lines. The article doesn't go into great detail, but one major overpass listed in the article is at Powell Street where the CN/BNSF line connects to the CPR line in the waterfront area. The CN/BNSF line hosts passenger trains from Amtrak and VIA, but currently there are no passenger trains that connect to Waterfront station on the CPR line. With an overpass and a reconfigured track connection between the two lines, it is possible that another 'West Coast Express' service serving the communities south of the Fraser River could connect at Waterfront station. Perhaps this is still far-fetched, but it could be a long term possibility. The overpass would allow the trains from the CPR and CN/BNSF companies to connect better and improve efficiency of operations.

Feds give $50 million to improve traffic flow at city ports
By Fiona Anderson, Vancouver Sun October 13, 2009 9:01 PM

More info in this PDF at the City of Vancouver web site.

The streetcars being used for the 'Olympic Line' are being shipped from Belgium to Vancouver. They will arrive in Vancouver for testing in early December and go into service on January 21, 2010 for a period of two months before, during and after the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2010.

Brussels ships out trams for False Creek line - Loan of light-rail streetcars is an opportunity to show off a 'well-received' technology
BY JEFF LEE, VANCOUVER SUN
OCTOBER 13, 2009 1:10 AM

For more information on Vancouver's 2010 Streetcar please visit: Bombardier - Vancouver Streetcar

Premier Gordon Campbell and Washington Governor Chris Gregoire met on Friday to talk about the Olympics, but also celebrated the start of the second daily Amtrak train between Vancouver and Seattle. The second service has been running for almost two months now. It is good to see the BC government pay some attention to this issue. In the article in the Peace Arch News it mentions:

Premier, governor join forces to honour rail route, Olympics
By Hannah Sutherland - Peace Arch News
Published: October 09, 2009 2:00 PM

They also announced a promotion for 25% off fares to or from Vancouver until the end of the year. Check the Amtrak site for more details

The title of the press release below is a little misleading (Who should really be taking credit for the new service? Not just CBSA for certain...) but great news nonetheless. This came in from a number of sources, this being the most direct.

Government of Canada Expands AMTRAK Service for 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
Ottawa, Ontario, July 3, 2009

Extra Vancouver-Seattle Amtrak train to start run next month
Amtrak, the State of Washington and the Canada Border Services Agency had been been negotiating the new Vancouver-Seattle service for months.
By Richard J. Dalton, Vancouver Sun July 3, 2009

Amtrak cleared for 2nd daily train to Vancouver, B.C.
The Canadian government announced today that Amtrak has been cleared for a second daily service between Seattle and Vancouver. The trains will begin next month and continue through the Olympic and Paralympic Winter games next year, according to a news release from the Canadian Border Services Agency.
By Jennifer Sullivan - The Seattle Times, July 3, 2009

There is a great series of articles in the online journal The Tyee about high speed rail proposals in BC, the second daily Amtrak train, and BC and Canadian government's lack of interest in passenger rail in BC.

Quote:Tyee investigative editor Monte Paulsen reveals the real story behind the hype around high-speed rail coming to B.C. Neither U.S. President Obama's rail stimulus plans, nor Washington State's passenger train expansions envision high-speed service to Vancouver after B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation helped turn away potential U.S. funding to improve tracks north of Seattle. Meanwhile, Canada's federal government has blocked B.C. out of high speed rail plans. Can we turn this train around?

Vancouver mayor pushes for high-speed rail
Transport 2000 BC interviewed in the video segment
CTV British Columbia, Wed May. 27 2009

Vancouver's mayor wants to see high speed rail
The rail line could connect Vancouver to Seattle and Portland
Evan Kelly/Dave White VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) | Monday, May 25th, 2009 8:35 pm

"Ottawa must look beyond just costs on second Seattle train"
The Vancouver Sun editorial board chastised the CBSA, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, and International Trade Minister Stockwell Day for delaying implementation of the 2nd Vancouver-Seattle train. Many of the points in the editorial have been made previously by T2000 members in media interviews, press releases, and letters to the editor.

Other stories

Derailed: How BC's Chance for High-Speed Rail Jumped the Tracks .
Monte Paulsen, The Tyee, May 27 2009

Ottawa's lack of vision may derail dream of fast-train service
By Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun, May 19, 2009

Federal levy threatens to stop plan to double local rail service
The Canadian Border Services Agency charges $1,500 for every train entering the country
John Ackermann VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) | Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 7:40 am

A senior B.C. Ferries staff member reported that crews were handed a "bag of offal" when the "Northern Adventurer" was placed in service to replace the "Queen of the North". Although B.C. Ferries spent $18 million refitting the vessel, numerous equipment, documentation, training and procedural defects were noted during an inspection run approximately 3 weeks after the vessel went into public service. According to the staff member, Transport Canada approved the vessel. TC had no comment on the alleged defects.

Professor Patrick Condon and a team from the UBC Design Centre for Sustainability used the $3.1 billion Port Mann Bridge project cost to map out a light rail proposal that includes New Westminster, a north of Fraser line and a grid system south of Fraser that extends to Langley and White Rock. Eighty percent of the population in the area served is within a 10 minute walk of a tram line. They state that this is not a detailed project plan but an estimate of how much light rail could be built with the money proposed for the Port Mann project.

Vaughn Palmer states that B.C. taxpayers could be obligated to pay CN over $500 million, if CN is unable to use BC Rail's accumulated losses to offset taxes payable in other jurisdictions. The losses were 'purchased' by CN for approximately $250 million as part of its bid for BC Rail. However, CN insisted that B.C. indemnify it if the anticipated tax reductions did not materialise. The indemnity is listed as the "maximum present value" of the tax offsets in the year in which they could be used PLUS a 9% escalation clause. The provincial Liberals and what remains of BC Rail management are confident that there is little risk that B.C. taxpayers will have to pay the indemnity but the tax issue is not settled and the indemnity is calculated to reach $550 million for the fiscal year which ended March 31, 2008.

A good article from Metro News columnist Derek Moscato about the plan for the second daily train between Vancouver and Seattle.

Finally the second Amtrak train between Seattle and Vancouver is announced. It seems like the Canadian Border Services Agency has not given up on its hope to extract money out of Amtrak. Hopefully the second round trip will start in the summer and not just for the Olympics.

"Cost of border inspection likely will rule out the extra service after the Games, officials say." Read the article in the Vancouver Sun. Second Amtrak Cascades passenger train added, at least for Olympics By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun April 1, 2009

Some more news on the ongoing issue of a second Vancouver-Seattle daily train.
Upcoming talks could lead to 2nd Amtrak run to B.C.
By Kristin Jackson, Seattle Times
Published: Saturday, Mar 7 2009

Tired of inaction on the part of Canadian Border Services? Send a letter.
Minister responsible for the CBSA: The Honourable Peter Van Loan Minister of Public Safety

The province of BC and the federal government announced funding for the Evergreen line. This line will be a connection between the Millennium SkyTrain line at Lougheed Town Centre to the Coquitlam Centre area.

News articles:
Action on Evergreen Line
By Janis Warren - The Tri-City News
Published: February 26, 2009 6:00 PM

For more information consult: Evergreen Line website

The Seattle Times reports about the ongoing delays to the start up of the long-awaited second daily train between Vancouver and Seattle. As has been reported on this page before, the issue is the Canadian Border Inspection Agency wanting money from Amtrak to process the extra travellers. Requests for clarification from the CBSA have gone unanswered. A quote from the Seattle Times article sums up CBSA's attitude, "A spokeswoman for Canada's Border Services Agency, Faith St. John, said the federal agency could not comment on the issue."

Transport 2000 Canada has learned of a report (PDF) produced by the Border Policy Reseach Institute at Western Washington University. The report examines the expected tax revenue generated by extra visitors that would come on the second train. The spending by day trip and overnight visitors to Vancouver is expected to generate the Canadian government $764,684 in extra GST revenue! This will more than offset the $1500 per day that the CBSA wants to charge Amtrak. It would seem that the CBSA wants to make a profit of rail passengers, whereas plane, bus and car travellers are not charged to cross the border.

Link to press release from Transport 2000 Canada announcing the Orange and Lemon prize recipients.

Of particular interest to BC residents, is the award of the 'Lemon' Prize. Transport 2000 Canada today awarded the Lemon Prize to Hon. Stockwell Day, MP former Minister of Public Safety and to Ms. Suzanne Hurtubise, Deputy Minister responsible for the Canadian Border Services Agency. The Lemon Prize is for the CBSA's delay of the new Seattle-Vancouver train.

Seattle Transit Blog reports that ridership on the Amtrak Cascades services in the Vancouver BC to Eugene OR corridor is up 14% over 2007. See the article for more info including a graph showing the large jump in ridership.

What would the ridership be if Canada's Border Service Agency (CBSA) stopped delaying the introduction of the second daily train between Vancouver and Seattle? There has been no news out of the CBSA for months. What is taking so long? Will the federal budget released tomorrow have any money for the second train?

New 'Coastal Class' Ferries

Some residents around Departure Bay (Nanaimo) allege that BC Ferries' Coastal Class vessels are excessively noisy when docked. Others state the noise does not bother them. BC Ferries' technicians measured noise after residential complaints but has not disclosed their findings. The corporation states it is working on noise issues and has added more mufflers to the Coastal Inspiration's engines. The other 2 ships will be similarly retrofitted.

A Hamburg University of Technology professor and a Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft (the ships' builder) employee contend that, when unloaded, the Coastal Class vessels ride high in the water allowing the propeller draw in air that may cause higher noise levels. FSG and BC Ferries state the ships meet their specifications.

BC Ferries' management has told employees to stop telling customers that the new Coastal Class ferries are 'gas guzzlers'. Acknowledging that the new vessels use more fuel than older vessels, management states that customers do not need to be told that. Management says reduced usage of the new vessels, planned service cuts and other cost-cutting measures are needed as a result of an 11% decline in patronage. Customers should learn of this through official channels and not from "off the cuff remarks" from employees.

The Opposition accuses the Campbell government and BC Ferries of using the privatisation of BC Ferries to hide these issues from the public.

Fast Ferries

A Saudi company, planning a ferry service between Sudan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, may be interested in Washington Marine Groups' PacifiCats (nee BC Ferries ' "Fast Ferries"). The vessels somewhat match the companies planned requirements and eliminate the need for a lengthy waiting period, if new vessels were to be built for the proposed service. Washington Marine group states its brokers have received some interest in the ships but are not commenting further.

This proposal appears unrelated to BCF Global Services Inc., BC Ferries' wholly owned consulting and management services subsidiary, work in the United Arab Emirates to help establish ferry service amongst hundreds of man-made islands being constructed there.

A while ago Transport 2000 sent in a letter of support to the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF). The ICF is a non-profit foundation that owns the railway on Vancouver Island connecting Victoria, Courtney, Nanaimo and Port Alberni. They are running a campaign to raise awareness to the critical need to upgrade the railway corridor. About $100 million is needed to upgrade the tracks to modern North American standards. This will enable improved freight service, more reliable VIA rail schedules and the introduction of commuter rail service in the Victoria area.

The BC government has recently announced a $500,000 study to detemine the viability of upgrading the line. The study will be completed during 2009.

Related articles

A lot of money and work is needed before Islanders really ride the rails Dustin Walker, The Daily News
Published: Wednesday, December 17, 2008

B.C. considers southern Vancouver Island commuter rail service CBC

Freight is critical to success Dustin Walker, Nanaimo Daily News
Published: Tuesday, December 16, 2008

More on alleged design problems and fuel consumption issues with BC Ferries latest vessels.

Changing Light Bulbs: BC Ferries Battles Fuel Costs
German academic paper warned BC Ferries' needs were hard to meet

BC's German Ferries May Be Lemons

The article alleges that there are design issues with the new Coastal Class vessels causes cavitation (frothing) around the propellers, thus increasing noise, vibration and fuel consumption. BC Ferries is not commenting on the issues.

BC Premier Gordon Campbell and BC Transportation minister Kevin Falcon went for a trial ride on a Canada Line train from Richmond's Bridgeport Station to YVR Airport Station. Testing and commissioning on the airport segment of the line is almost complete. The Canada line is expected to be open for service in early fall of 2009.

Transport Canada news release FIRST PASSENGERS MARK CANADA LINE MILESTONE

Video of the trip on the Vancouver Sun website.

We all know the big news about Barack Obama being elected President of the USA on November 4th, but perhaps lost in the shuffle was news about many transit expansion initiatives passing. Here are a few of the initiatives (on the West Coast) that have passed.

California High Speed Rail

Californa voters approved a plan to build a true high-speed rail system linking San Francisco and Los Angeles. The ballot measure approves the issuing of $9 billion worth of bonds to get the project rolling, however many hurdles will have be overcome before construction begins. If built, travels can expect to travel from the Bay Area to Los Angeles in around two and a half hours.

News article: Voters approve high-speed rail; critics say it's a wild bet San Jose Mercury News

Link to California High-Speed Rail official website

Seattle Transit Plan

Voters in the Seattle area passed a $17.9 billion measure to greatly expand the light rail, commuter rail, streetcar, and bus services in the Seattle area.

• Immediate express bus expansions: 17% increase in bus service beginning in 2009
• More commuter rail service: 65% more Tacoma-Seattle commuter rail capacity
• Expanded light rail system: 36 new miles, creating a 55-mile light rail regional system
• Easier access for transit riders: Improves access and parking throughout the region
• Paying for the system: Typical new cost per adult would be about $69 per year
• Accountability and local control: Binding tax rollback provisions and geographic equity
• Livable, sustainable communities: Takes cars off roads, reduces pollution and saves time

More details about the plan on Sound Transit Mass Transit Expansion Proposal

News about Seattle on Seattle Transit Blog

Honolulu Light Rail

Twenty mile $4.3 billion light rail system proposed for Honolulu Hawaii passes

Background of plan Honolulu Rail Transit website

Results of Honolulu vote: Establish rail transit Honolulu Advertiser

Los Angeles - Subway to the Sea

Voters approved a measure, which required two-thirds support, for a half-cent sales tax increase in order to fund a variety of projects in the Los Angeles region. The most significant is the so called "Subway to the Sea" an extension of the heavy-rail Purple line to the Westwood area.

News article Approval of transit funds paves the way for new challenges LA Times

This story includes comments from David Jeanes, President of Transport 2000 and discusses the Canada Border Services Agency 'hold-up' of Amtrak's second Vancouver - Seattle train.

Read the story in the Vancouver Courier .... Slow train coming

Robert Alstead takes a journey north by rail from California and wonders if Canada's vanished passenger trains will once again carry us from coast to coast

City of Vancouver has signed an agreement with Bombardier Transportation to supply modern streetcars on a short demonstration line. The demonstration will run for 60 days during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Two Flexity streetcars will be loaned by the city of Brussels, Belgium from Jan 21 to Mar 21, 2010.

See more details ....

The BC Government has announced that it will be leading the planned Evergreen Line rapid transit project. The Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and Translink CEO Dale Parker made the announcement today.

See more details .... BC Government News Release released: Wednesday, Aug 6 2008

Translink proposes building a brand new bridge to replace the 71 year old Pattullo Bridge. A consultant's report recommends that building a wider replacement bridge will be more cost effective than building a twin bridge.

There is serious consideration to build a combined road and rail bridge. The current New Westminster rail bridge, upstream of the Pattullo road bridge, is 104 years old and is a serious bottleneck to improved passenger and freight rail traffic. However, a deal would have to be worked out between the railways, the Federal government, Translink, and possibly the Provincial government for that to happen.

Translink news release
Story in The Surrey Leader published: Wednesday, July 30, 2008

A proposed second daily Amtrak Cascades passenger train linking Vancouver-Seattle-Portland is in limbo because of negotiations between the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Washington State department of transportation. CBSA is demanding more money from Amtrak for the second round trip train. It is unclear why they need extra money, when similar increases in airline schedules don't seem to require extra demands from the CBSA.

Money has already been spent by the BC Government and possibly others to build a passing siding in Surrey to accomodate the extra train.

Amtrak Cascades has announced that the second train, which will leave Vancouver in the morning and return in the late evening, will happen sometime in the fall. Transport 2000 BC is looking forward to the resolution of this issue and is investigating this delay.

BC Ferries has encountered problems with not getting enough crew and getting too many passengers this summer on its Southern Gulf Islands route, during busy weekends. Passengers are being turned away from ferries due to lack of sufficient crew or being forced to travel to Swartz Bay to connect to the major route 1 (Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen) ferry.

A recent news article highlights this issue:

Major changes are planned to some bus routes in Metro Vancouver starting in September. In time for the new school year there will be a new bus route in Vancouver called the number 33. It will link SkyTrain from 29th Avenue Station to UBC via 33rd Ave, Cambie St and 16th Ave. Other routes will be beefed up with added frequency at the same time. Bus service south of the Fraser River will get 40% of the planned increase in service. More details will be forthcoming soon.

Translink has released a report on plans for the year 2040.

The plan highlights the serious deficit situation in 2-3 years when payments on major capital projects and expanded service will deplete the accumulated operating surplus.

More details on Translink's website.

Translink is buying a third Seabus for the busy Lonsdale-Waterfront passenger ferry route. The new vessel will be built in Victoria at the Washington Marine Group. It will be in service in summer of 2009, but the current two vessels will be rotated out of service, so three Seabuses won't be running together until winter of 2010. The contract for the new Seabus is $25 million.

VUA Rail Canada's flagship passenger train "The Canadian" which currently runs 3 days a week between Vancouver and Toronto will soon take an extra night to complete its journey. Currently it take 3 nights, but as of Dec 2, 2008 it will take 4.

Residents of Gabriola Island, near Nanaimo, are making plans for a transit system on the island. Possibly modelled after the successful Salt Spring Island bus system. A feasibility study is underway.

A new group called the Gabriola Transportation Association, a registered society intends to:
(a) to coordinate local and inter-regional transportation by land, sea and air on behalf of the residents of Gabriola Island, British Columbia;
(b) to assist all Gabriola Island residents in dealing with governments and governmental agencies in respect of land, sea and air transportation issues, and related infrastructure including roads;
(c) to develop and promote transportation alternatives which reduce costs and environmental impacts.

The City of Langford has an article on their website detailing a proposal to use the old E&N railway tracks to create a train service between Langford and Victoria.

The C4CR Group, consisting of the communities of Langford, View Royal, Colwood, Esquimalt, Victoria and Sooke, as well as the Capital Regional District (CRD), BC Transit, Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) and Southern Railway of Vancouver Island Limited (SVI) commissioned this study.

An excerpt from the West Shore Tram Line Assessment document:
"Efficient urban transportation networks are a key element of successful cities. There has generally been a renaissance in rail transportation across North America as planners and developers view rail as a catalyst for sustainable development. Some urban rail transit systems that have been implemented recently have attracted ridership levels well beyond expectations." Report

A few new interesting links.

• High Speed Rail Canada News A national citizens group dedicated to educating the Canadian public on the benefits of high speed rail in Canada.
• Railway Maps of Canada and France
• The railroad news network. Extensive rail news from many sources.

Many transportation initiatives, plans and construction activities are going on right now in British Columbia. Here are a few of the highlights.

• Provincial Transit Plan Announced by the BC Provincial Government Jan 14, 2008
• Canada Line Canada Line Rapid Transit Line
• Canada Line Photography
• RAV Line Resources
• Translink Metro Vancouver Transit Authority
• April 18, 2008 - Northwest route decided for Evergreen Line
• Translink Current Projects

Historic interurban car 1231 on the Downtown Historic Railway in summer of 2002. The railway line that this car is running on will be upgraded to modern standards and modern streetcars as a demonstration project during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Vancouver city council announced the news on March 12th.

City of Vancouver page on the Downtown Streetcar

City of Vancouver page on the Historic Railway