Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[nname]

Originally Posted by Sheba

...and turn it into a one-way monorail loop??? That would likely cost more than double tracking the final section (esp if you add any stations to this monorail).

I'm not sure if double tracking is even doable at this point. Normally, it wouldn't be too hard as they just have to build a separate single-track guideway (like how M-Line guideway split when approaching a centre-platform station), but then they would have to partially demolished the (old) HSBC and the (new) Scotiabank building in order to fit that track in. I'm surprised they didn't even leave a room when the new building was constructed, and it was built right to the platform.

Alternatively, they can do the Asian way and stack the other track on top of the existing one when they extend the line south...

[officedweller]

I think there is enough room to accommodate a wider guideway.
If they reinforce the existing columns, the new guideway would be centred on them,
so only about half a track extra width would extend towards the buildings.

[TransitFreak]

Or you place a new single track down the middle or the west side of No 3 and have two distinct and separate platforms for both directions. Less than ideal but would help segregate foot traffic during rush hour - northbound trains (current platform) would be busy with feeder buses during morning peak. Southbound trains (future platform) would keep all mall traffic off from crossing No 3 for a bit. You would just need to put another switch in between the two switches on the outbound track to facilitate the new single outbound guideway.

[red-paladin]

I don't think double tracking that final segment is ever going to happen.

[officedweller]

I think we missed this:

Bombardier in talks to combine rail unit with competitor Alstom
https://business.financialpost.com/trans...al&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1579635559

[Migrant_Coconut]

Also this:

Borrow $8 billion for Fraser Valley rail link, Abbotsford mayor urges province

(link)

[ilikeredheads]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Also this:
Borrow $8 billion for Fraser Valley rail link, Abbotsford mayor urges province
(link)

At first I thought it was a Beaverton article lol. It's so absurd it doesn't even belong on the Fantasies thread. "Just burrow 8 billion! It's so easy!"

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by officedweller

I think we missed this:

Bombardier in talks to combine rail unit with competitor Alstom
https://business.financialpost.com/trans...al&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1579635559

Man, Bombardier is in a nose dive. I had a position that I opted to sell a couple weeks ago to free up for cash for more Tesla. I sold my Bombardier shares at $1.92 and made a 34% profit after being in the position six months. A few days later, Bombardier started dropping like a stone while Tesla kept climbing. Just dumb luck, but it sure feels nice to have it break your way.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by ilikeredheads

At first I thought it was a Beaverton article lol. It's so absurd it doesn't even belong on the Fantasies thread. "Just burrow 8 billion! It's so easy!"

As absurd as it sounds in the headline the mayor actually seems to make a lot of sense.

Despite asking for highway widening to Abbotsford little has been done and what has been promised so far is quite insignificant. The current provincial government has made it clear that they are prioritizing transit over roads.

From there the mayor says that the old interurban line is not adequate. So he is smart enough to understand the basics of a decent transit line / what is needed.

The Valley is now around 300 000 and growing fast.

What else would you do in this position?

You have a government championing transit while thumping their chest about the environment while being very hesitant towards highway expansion. You have a growing region choking on congestion. You have no decent existing transit corridors to work with in said area.

Given these factors, to me he is simply asking the province to put their money where their mouth is. Yes, it will be expensive, but maybe it is time to build some legacy sized rail projects.

If not, then at least expand the highway out to the valley and admit that the environmental talk is just that, talk.

[officedweller]

I doubt a single track commuter rail line (with passing track) line at-grade parallel to the TCH RoW (to avoid ramps) would cost $8B.

********
The Montreal REM is moving along fast:
https://rem.info/en/news/recap-2019

Meanwhile, in Ottawa, they have LRT switches and doors clogged with snow, broken caternary wires, flat-spots on wheels and malfunctioning on-board computers:

Anger, drama fuel meeting on mounting issues with Ottawa light-rail system
https://theprovince.com/pmn/news-pmn/can...wcm/ffd8bb96-a471-419a-90fd-c32648bce801

Ottawa blames private partner as train shortage bedevils new transit line
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/ca...train-shortage-bedevils-new-transit-line

[Aroundtheworld]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

As absurd as it sounds in the headline the mayor actually seems to make a lot of sense.

Despite asking for highway widening to Abbotsford little has been done and what has been promised so far is quite insignificant. The current provincial government has made it clear that they are prioritizing transit over roads.

From there the mayor says that the old interurban line is not adequate. So he is smart enough to understand the basics of a decent transit line / what is needed.

The Valley is now around 300 000 and growing fast.

What else would you do in this position?

You have a government championing transit while thumping their chest about the environment while being very hesitant towards highway expansion. You have a growing region choking on congestion. You have no decent existing transit corridors to work with in said area.

Given these factors, to me he is simply asking the province to put their money where their mouth is. Yes, it will be expensive, but maybe it is time to build some legacy sized rail projects.

If not, then at least expand the highway out to the valley and admit that the environmental talk is just that, talk.

The most realistic thing to do is to extend the West Coast Express from Mission to Abbotsford and try to make it all-day, both directions between Abbotsford and Coquitlam Central.

I doubt that will cost anywhere near $8 B. We'll also see whether there is actually demand for people for that kind of travel by transit.

[officedweller]

Agreed.

[jollyburger]

Seems like they announced the date for the R2 RapidBus launch.

"As a result, we are shifting the planned launch date for the R2 route and the new service is now expected to launch on April 6, 2020. Our construction schedule has also been impacted by other construction projects occurring simultaneously along this corridor, which require accommodation."

https://www.translink.ca/Plans-and-Projects/RapidBus-Program/R2-Marine-Dr.aspx#launch-timelines

[s211]

Originally Posted by ilikeredheads

At first I thought it was a Beaverton article lol. It's so absurd it doesn't even belong on the Fantasies thread. "Just burrow 8 billion! It's so easy!"

Reading from Mike Harcourt's playbook. I was at a presentation a few years ago and his message was blow the wad now and get it done, regardless of cost. The concept of where the money would come from was literally not his concern.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by s211

Reading from Mike Harcourt's playbook. I was at a presentation a few years ago and his message was blow the wad now and get it done, regardless of cost. The concept of where the money would come from was literally not his concern.

There's somthing to be said for borrowing now when money is cheap. Even the Globe & Mail editorial board urged BC to spend more:

British Columbia is in a unique fiscal position. The province’s debt is small. Its credit rating is sterling. The budget is in surplus, and has been since 2013. The Conference Board expects B.C.’s economic growth will lead Canada this year, by a wide margin, after solid advances over the past decade.

And long-term borrowing costs are exceptionally low.

All of which, less than a year-and-a-half before the next election, presents the governing New Democratic Party, and the province, with an interesting opportunity.

The government has the fiscal room to be more ambitious while remaining fiscally prudent. It can spend more, in at least one part of the budget, while remaining in the black.

The opportunity is in one-off infrastructure spending. The province can’t significantly increase annual program spending without throwing the operating budget into deficit – at least not without a tax increase, or an unexpected resource-royalty windfall. But due to the way infrastructure investment is accounted for, Victoria does have room to increase its capital spending without incurring an operating deficit...

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/...ack-heres-how-it-should-spend-its-money/

[s211]

Originally Posted by whatnext

There's somthing to be said for borrowing now when money is cheap.

I have a person aversion to debt, regardless of rates. Nice to know that governments never learn to live within means.

[Migrant_Coconut]

It's not going to happen anyway. If the province could spend two and a half SkyTrains' worth on transit, they wouldn't blow it all on the Valley, they'd buy two SkyTrains and give the Valley the rest.

Originally Posted by s211

I have a person aversion to debt, regardless of rates. Nice to know that governments never learn to live within means.

Wait 'till you hear about MMT...

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by s211

I have a person aversion to debt, regardless of rates. Nice to know that governments never learn to live within means.

Governments are not like households. It's the dumbest comparison people try to use when arguing about deficits and government finances.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Of course you don't want to end up like Weimar Germany, but BC's nowhere near that point - it's got a surplus, and it'll still have a surplus even after slightly more spending.

[Tvisforme]

Originally Posted by s211

I have a person aversion to debt, regardless of rates. Nice to know that governments never learn to live within means.

Yes, but personal debt and government debt are two very different things. Individuals who go into debt to pay for "luxury" items - a new TV, an expensive trip, and so on - are playing a risky game. Governments that take on debt in order to finance public infrastructure - projects that will benefit the taxpayers for decades - are leveraging their size and financial clout to develop these things long before they could otherwise be done if we had to wait for them to be fully paid for prior to construction.