Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[Vin]

This one is interesting:

South Fraser Community RAIL
https://southfrasercommunityrail.ca/pass...ttullo%20Bridge%20thru%20to%20Chilliwack.

[Migrant_Coconut]

The Activists Formerly Known As "Rail For The Valley" have been around since 2019. SSP's consensus: snake oil.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

The Activists Formerly Known As "Rail For The Valley" have been around since 2019. SSP's consensus: snake oil.

2019? They've been around for a lot longer.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

2019? They've been around for a lot longer.

At least since 2008.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/fraser-valley-residents-pushing-for-light-rail-1.342108

A system could be in place that could serve all the communities of the Fraser Valley with a reliable and sustainable transportation system for less than the cost of two miles of SkyTrain,'' said John Vissers, who speaks for Rail for the Valley.

[mcj]

Feels like using this outdated, mostly single tracked, rail corridor that would serve less people than would fit on a bus makes it's rounds here every few months and every time it's brought up it's pretty clear that the cost benefit analysis doesn't work compared to a laundry list of other projects.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Eeyup. It's like hay fever.

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

2019? They've been around for a lot longer.

Originally Posted by chowhou

At least since 2008.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/fraser-valley-residents-pushing-for-light-rail-1.342108

Yeah, but that was RFTV. They didn't rebrand as "South Fraser blah blah blah" until a few years ago.

[whatnext]

This is just heartbreaking. Maybe we need security guards on the bus now.

The family of a 17-year-old boy fatally stabbed on a transit bus in Surrey Tuesday night have identified him as Ethan Bespflug.

Bespflug died following an altercation on a bus on 100th Avenue and King George Boulevard around 9:30 p.m.

Andrea Van Der Gracht, the teen’s aunt, told Global News that Bespflug was a regular transit user and was busing home when he was killed.

She said he’d texted his mother saying he was being threatened by a group of youth and was scared about 30 minutes before the incident.

“He was a good kid. He had four younger sisters and brothers. He worked. He went to school. He got good grades. He wasn’t in trouble. He wasn’t a bad kid. The fact that he ended up in this situation is horrible,” she said.

“It could be any of our kids now, you know, sitting on a bus just going to meet your mom shouldn’t mean that you’re going to lose your life.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/9617434/bus-s...ds-one-person-to-hospital-transit-police

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by mcj

Feels like using this outdated, mostly single tracked, rail corridor that would serve less people than would fit on a bus makes it's rounds here every few months and every time it's brought up it's pretty clear that the cost benefit analysis doesn't work compared to a laundry list of other projects.

Really don't like these guys.

At this point, these are rail enthusiasts/hobbyist that want to see passenger rail running along this line for the sake of it. Their estimates are always baseless and never take into consideration the extensive upgrades to track bed, alignment and infrastructure needed to make it more grade separation in sections (1.5 hrs to travel 99 kilometers assumes a near 80km/hr constant speed).

The x66 does the job well.

[mcj]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

Really don't like these guys.

At this point, these are rail enthusiasts/hobbyist that want to see passenger rail running along this line for the sake of it. Their estimates are always baseless and never take into consideration the extensive upgrades to track bed, alignment and infrastructure needed to make it more grade separation in sections (1.5 hrs to travel 99 kilometers assumes a near 80km/hr constant speed).

The x66 does the job well.

They're absolutely not rail enthusiasts/hobbyists since there's already a heritage railway that operates on this railway. I would absolutely love to see the scope of it enlarged to allow for longer trips out to Abbotsford but that's even impractical for rail enthusiasts might as well anyone else.

If you're interested the season starts on May 6th:
https://fvhrs.org/

[Mac Write]

How much of the route crosses roads? If not many, could we do SkyTrain at street level grade operated? Would that reduce construction cost?

[fredinno]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

How much of the route crosses roads? If not many, could we do SkyTrain at street level grade operated? Would that reduce construction cost?

That just makes every problem with the route idea worse.

SRY goes though and is intended for industrial customers.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by mcj

They're absolutely not rail enthusiasts/hobbyists since there's already a heritage railway that operates on this railway. I would absolutely love to see the scope of it enlarged to allow for longer trips out to Abbotsford but that's even impractical for rail enthusiasts might as well anyone else.

If you're interested the season starts on May 6th:
https://fvhrs.org/

The FVHRS is literally a volunteer rail hobbyist society. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's an organisation geared towards rail enthusiasts, not commuters or casual passengers.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

How much of the route crosses roads? If not many, could we do SkyTrain at street level grade operated? Would that reduce construction cost?

It would save some money but not enough vs the hassles of having to install barricades and having a literal wall blocking any potential future cross travel. There's a reason Skytrain is almost entirely elevated or underground (elevated being the cheaper of those two options).

Originally Posted by fredinno

That just makes every problem with the route idea worse.

SRY goes though and is intended for industrial customers.

...and if it's the line I think it is then it's still in use (not heavily like the tracks the WCE rents from). Anyone dreaming of using it is forgetting that detail and would have to work around any freight traffic.

[Migrant_Coconut]

And if they're going to make it elevated like the SkyTrain or REM, there's no reason to stick to the interurban at all - the TCH works too.

[mcj]

Originally Posted by chowhou

The FVHRS is literally a volunteer rail hobbyist society. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's an organisation geared towards rail enthusiasts, not commuters or casual passengers.

Yeah that's what I was pointing out, that the rail enthusiasts already have an operational heritage railway on this ROW. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that at all, did not intend to imply that. My point was to illustrate that the people pushing this ROW as a "transit solution" are absolutely not rail enthusiasts, they're grifters that aren't interested in practical transit.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by whatnext

This is just heartbreaking. Maybe we need security guards on the bus now.

What a shame that it's come to this...

[trofirhen]

[QUOTE=whatnext;9917370]This is just heartbreaking. Maybe we need security guards on the bus now.[QUOTE]

[I]The family of a 17-year-old boy fatally stabbed on a transit bus in Surrey Tuesday night have identified him as Ethan Bespflug.

Bespflug died following an altercation on a bus on 100th Avenue and King

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

What a shame that it's come to this...

Would closed-circuit cameras on the buses help? The images relayed (if technically possible) to a control centre from where police could be dispatched to the nearest location. And I'd be curious to know about the background of the assailant, too. Nobody should be afraid to ride public transit, let alone be murdered and leave behind grieving family and friends.

[Helvetia]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

Would closed-circuit cameras on the buses help? The images relayed (if technically possible) to a control centre from where police could be dispatched to the nearest location. And I'd be curious to know about the background of the assailant, too. Nobody should be afraid to ride public transit, let alone be murdered and leave behind grieving family and friends.

Some buses already have cameras though I'm not sure how widespread their presence is. The newer New Flyer models (those with air conditioning units) have around 3-4 cameras if I recall correctly. But the field of view of those cameras is limited so it may be possible to have blindspots.

I rode the R1 a week ago and it's sickening to contemplate such a thing happening. Statistically low chance, yes, but I can't imagine the traumatic experience of being a bystander on that bus.

[flipper316]

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/metro-vancouver-tr...in-on-scott-road-rapidbus-line-1.6355645

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by flipper316

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/metro-vancouver-tr...in-on-scott-road-rapidbus-line-1.6355645

Construction to begin on Scott Road RapidBus line

Construction on the R6 Scott Road RapidBus line has officially begun, officials announced Friday.

TransLink says commuters can expect service that’s at least 20 per cent faster than the current line.

...

The plan includes nine kilometres of new dedicated bus lanes, queue jumps and upgraded bus stops, which will be sheltered and provide real-time schedule information.

The route will use 60-feet long, hybrid diesel-electric buses, all of which will be air-conditioned. Construction will take place along the Scott Road corridor from now until late 2023.

It will impact traffic patterns along Scott Road and 72nd Avenue.

However, TransLink says one lane in each direction will be maintained at all times.

The R6 will provide service between the Scott Road SkyTrain Station and the Newton Exchange alongside Route 319, which currently serves the corridor.

Route 319 is the busiest bus route south of the Fraser River, and the fifth busiest bus route in Metro Vancouver.

...