Canada Line | Completed

[GeeCee]

Doesn't that "three billion" include the actual cost of the project? And isn't it the payment schedule that was agreed to at the beginning of the project? That's not 'over budget'.

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

Doesn't that "three billion" include the actual cost of the project? And isn't it the payment schedule that was agreed to at the beginning of the project? That's not 'over budget'.

Nor will the Canada Line sit parked in the port for 10 years until it is sold off for a complete loss, without ever being used.

But... details, details!

[dreambrother808]

So the other Skytrain lines won't cost any money to operate during those 32 years at all? Wow...

Twisting facts like that just makes the case against you rather than for you

It's like shady Republican health scare tactics in the U.S....

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by ravman

3 BILLION DOLLARS is not chum change... the Fast ferries were 500 million dollars over budget and gorod was flipping out like mad and now we see the Canada Line over 3 BILLION DOLLARS OVER BUDGET...... looks like the P3 with SNC Lavalin was the WRONG MOVE for the people of BC!!!!

The line COULD have been much better, yet we are left with third world transit system

The problem with your fast ferries comparison is we weren't even able to use those ferries.

You seem to be quite ignorant on how we fund infrastructure projects: the fact is this "$3-billion" you spout of includes 30-years of operational costs, and that all transit projects in this province cost more when you include debt servicing. BC Transit/the Ministry have been responsible for the costs of the Expo and Millennium Lines, and when you include debt servicing they are also "billions over" as well.

Why am I not surprised that your posts revolve around party lines? There's absolutely no substance to any of your posts.

[officedweller]

Thanks for all the pics!

Originally Posted by Vancity

does anyone know if the hotel beside the new westin wall centre hotel (in richmond) is going to be bought out, and redeveloped?

I think it's owned by Wall Financial too.

Originally Posted by ravman

The Province

Translink has to pay over a 100 MILLION DOLLARS/ YEAR for the next 30ish years.... quick math 100 MILLION *30 years = 3 BILLION dollars!

That article seems to ignore one side of the equation
-> REVENUE.
TransLink receives all fare revenue from the Canada Line - much of those payments may be flow through of fare revenue that a fully private operator would use to pay down debt.

[Stingray2004]

Exactly 39 years ago, the 1970 City of Vancouver Transportation Study recommended a rapid transit link from Vancouver to Richmond.

Back then, YVR had been operating out of its new terminal for just two years, after moving from the south terminal, and the Boeing-747 first landed at YVR in 1970.

Richmond was still a growing single-family residential 'burb/hamlet and, more interestingly, single-family residential subdivisions were still being developed within the City of Vancouver (south-east Vancouver) along south Kerr Street.

Times have changed and after 39 years that rapid transit dream will now come to fruition tomorrow.

IMHO, ridership levels will likely still be on the lower end of projections just like the original Expo Line circa 1986. Nevertheless, I still fully believe that the chosen corridor was the best choice (as opposed to Arbutus) and that future high-density development nodes in proximity to the stations will be propelled over the next decade with tomorrow's opening.

I'm glad to see it finally happen and, just like the other lines, ridership levels will eventually reach their goals. KUDOS and BRAVO!!!

[Vancity]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

Opening day on the Canada Line:



Who else is excited to ride our "third World" system!

Friick! I'm excited for that! hahaha

just jokes.

in all seriousness, i AM excited for the line to finally open. although, like some people here, I probably won't visit the line until next week or the week after, when everything kind of cools down.

[Vancity]

Originally Posted by ravman

3 BILLION DOLLARS is not chum change... the Fast ferries were 500 million dollars over budget and gorod was flipping out like mad and now we see the Canada Line over 3 BILLION DOLLARS OVER BUDGET...... looks like the P3 with SNC Lavalin was the WRONG MOVE for the people of BC!!!!

The line COULD have been much better, yet we are left with third world transit system

I think it's unfair to call the Canada Line a "third world" transit system. That's a gross overstatement. Could it be better? Yeah, I personally think the station designs could have been much better, the platforms longer, and the trains longer too, to accomodate more people (long term planning, vs. short term vision). But hey, this is what we got, and it'll be pretty decent. I like the simplicity of many of the Richmond stations, and I would sure like to see the fare gates installed asap, and the smart card system installed soon.

I think our system is fine, and it'll only grow bigger, and (hopefully) get better as times moves on.

[mezzanine]

Originally Posted by dreambrother808

Twisting facts like that just makes the case against you rather than for you

http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/


.....

OK, it looks like we are all going mental with 1 more night until opening... All I can say is, let's see where we are 1 year from now.....

I'll be on the train tomorrow!!!!

[Vancity]

Originally Posted by officedweller

Thanks for all the pics!



I think it's owned by Wall Financial too.

Soo..are they going to take down that building and redevelop it?

[mr.x]

We are expecting 100,000 people to ride the train tomorrow for the opening, and YVR is expecting 60,000 people.

[WaxItYourself]

Originally Posted by GeeCee

Doesn't that "three billion" include the actual cost of the project? And isn't it the payment schedule that was agreed to at the beginning of the project? That's not 'over budget'.

Perhaps he expects it to be built for free?

[crazyjoeda]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

Exactly 39 years ago, the 1970 City of Vancouver Transportation Study recommended a rapid transit link from Vancouver to Richmond.

Back then, YVR had been operating out of its new terminal for just two years, after moving from the south terminal, and the Boeing-747 first landed at YVR in 1970.

Richmond was still a growing single-family residential 'burb/hamlet and, more interestingly, single-family residential subdivisions were still being developed within the City of Vancouver (south-east Vancouver) along south Kerr Street.

Times have changed and after 39 years that rapid transit dream will now come to fruition tomorrow.

IMHO, ridership levels will likely still be on the lower end of projections just like the original Expo Line circa 1986. Nevertheless, I still fully believe that the chosen corridor was the best choice (as opposed to Arbutus) and that future high-density development nodes in proximity to the stations will be propelled over the next decade with tomorrow's opening.

I'm glad to see it finally happen and, just like the other lines, ridership levels will eventually reach their goals. KUDOS and BRAVO!!!

I remember when I was a kid looking at a model of YVR's future plans which included a Skytrain line and think that was just a far off dream. That was about 12 years ago, but tomorrow that dream will be a reality.

Today I think that a Skytrain line to UBC is also a far off dream, but perhaps in 10 years that too will be a reality.

[djh]

Please don't feed the trolls.


Memories of pointless fights with certain ex-members drift by...

See y'all tomorrow. Might go by and see Gregor open it at City Hall, since it's a few blocks walk for me.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by crazyjoeda

I remember when I was a kid looking at a model of YVR's future plans which included a Skytrain line and think that was just a far off dream. That was about 12 years ago, but tomorrow that dream will be a reality.

Today I think that a Skytrain line to UBC is also a far off dream, but perhaps in 10 years that too will be a reality.

I still remember the day when Vancouver won the Olympics, I was just a kid back then.....same goes when RAV was approved.

[ravman]

The Campbell Government is good at dating.

They nailed three election campaigns just right. They’ve managed to delay the date of the Basi Virk trial for 3 years and counting. Their CanWest minions made it clear, after July’s spectacular Supreme Court Sessions, that we could sleep peacefully on a beach until September and we wouldn’t even get sun-burned because nothing bad would happen all summer.
But things were happening all right. July saw the face-ripping sessions where the government’s own lawyer explained to Judge Bennett that all the e.mail evidence requested 2 years ago, have been “lost”. People’s eyes snapped open like daisies. Lost? How could the premier’s correspondence on a topic which is before the courts, and which had been ordered disclosed 2 years ago, suddenly go missing?
Eyes narrowed … Because we’d already been stunned by the news headlines on May 20, 2009 — 12 days after the BC election — telling us that the BC Rail trial judge was about to be taken off the case! Promoted to the BC Court of Appeal.Oh? Put those two items together, and howls of outrage drowned out the other news.
August 17 was jotted down on many a post-it note, taped to quite a few well-known desks.
On August 17 in BC Supreme Court, the judge who has presided over the Basi Virk / BC Rail Case for the past 3-1/2 years, will issue her ruling. Thankfully, she makes the final decision: will she see the case through to the end? or will she depart immediately for her promotion to BC Court of Appeal? She makes the decision … unless Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm thunders in, deciding otherwise. It could happen.
Many of us, including retired Professor Robin Mathews who has attended most pre-trial hearings, believe it’s important that Madam Justice Elizabeth Bennett stay on the BC Rail Case.
Strangely, it’s the Crown Prosecutor (presumably, representing the people of B.C.) who wants her gone … immediately. It’s the Defence team which wants Judge Bennett to stay with the trial. What’s with that, we ask ourselves.
So there will be historic fireworks in BC Supreme Court on August 17 as the Defence, the Crown, the special interest lawyers for Gordo, Gordo’s Cabinet, key lobbyists, and BC Rail … but strangely enough: nobody from CN, plead their cases for and against the obvious fact that Judge Bennett has absorbed 3-1/2 years of courtroom argument (little of which is written down) that cannot be effectively transferred to a new judge.
Besides, we ask ourselves: what’s to be gained by bringing in a new judge to start all over again?
Oh. You already guessed. Well, that’s our best reason for NOT bringing in a new judge.
As August 17 comes closer, eyes narrow again … because on August 17 when we should be paying attention to BC Supreme Court, the Campbell Gang is having a big party!!
No kidding. For the Canada Line’s inaugural trot from the airport to downtown.
Never mind that the Canada Line isn’t quite finished yet. Never mind that Gordo’s Gang may have “sold” Canada’s 3rd largest railway (our BC Rail) for $1B (we’re not sure – maybe he did, maybe he didn’t), the people now have a new railway to pay for! Instead of BC Rail’s 1,500 km of mainline track from North Vancouver to Fort Nelson, with branch lines to Mackenzie, Dawson Creek, Tumbler Ridge, Fort St James and Takla … the people now have an itsy-bitsy trolley operating between Vancouver Airport and downtown and a tax debt of $2 Billion. But hey! It’s party-time!
On August 17, for that one day only, everybody rides for FREE … between the hours of 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

With some things on the Canada Line uncompleted, why the rush? Well, all I can say is that the government’s lawyer, George Copley , will be in BC Supreme Court that day too, trying to explain to Madam Justice Bennett what happened to those executive e.mails which have gone missing … but hey, look away!

Never mind that an embattled judge presides while a dozen angry lawyers engage in the fight of their lives: look away!

Will evidence be allowed in court even if it incriminates the guy who wanted to get rid of BCRail and build a downtown 20-minute railway? Look away! Free rides on the Canada Line at this critical junction of B.C. history.

I think that the biggest free ride in history may be happening right under our noses if we DON’T attend the August 17 pre-trial hearing on the BC Rail Case which is less and less about Basi, Virk, or Basi and more and more about the Executive Branch of this government … sorta like we always knew, you might say.

what an aweful coincidence.... and the worst part is that the media and many of you liberal lovers will be drooling on the Canada Line while the govt is potentially getting away with an obstruction of justice... but thankfully, the verdict will drop 10am at BC Supreme Court just before the biggest transportation boondoogle opens

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by ravman

what an aweful coincidence.... and the worst part is that the media and many of you liberal lovers will be drooling on the Canada Line while the govt is potentially getting away with an obstruction of justice... but thankfully, the verdict will drop 10am at BC Supreme Court just before the biggest transportation boondoogle opens

So, are we to understand you're going to boycott the Canada Line because your guys couldn't get it done ?

[jlousa]

*l* Wow Is Gordo so powerful that he can open the RAV line on the date of his choosing, or is he so powerful that he can control when a judge will issue her verdict?
Either way he sounds pretty powerful, we should make him premier.

[SpongeG]

i think everyone is scared ot use it tomorrow - so i think it will be quieter than expected

the media keeps flashing "golden ears bridge" opening footage when they talk about this one - I think people are gonna wait cause of the scare tactics

[mr.x]

Never mind that the Canada Line isn’t quite finished yet.

Not finished??? The stations are done, the rail infrastructure is done, testing is done. It's capable of welcoming passengers and going into revenue service.


The opening date is entirely up to the contractor. It was originally slated for August 2, but it had to be moved as they weren't ready and it coincided with the pride parade in downtown.