3104 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Commuter rail still very much alive

By Michelle Thompson
News staff
Apr 11 2007

If the numbers work: New commuter-friendly Dayliner service could happen within a year

The dream of a frequent and affordable commuter rail service between Vancouver Island communities has hardly hit the end of the tracks.

Even though the Malahat Corridor Study eliminated rail as an option to improve the stretch of highway between Duncan and Victoria, the ghost is still alive.

Jack Peake, co-chair of the non-profit Island Corridor Foundation, is “very much” optimistic that a reliable and affordable rail service will be in place in the foreseeable future. [...]

[Link to original article no longer available]

[Holden West]

Here's a conference site I found by accident. It's a little out of date but it has tons of local content for transit geeks.

[url=http://www.best.bc.ca/resources/conference/proceedings.html:58120]Implementing Transportation Solutions[/url:58120]

[Icebergalley]

Interesting Article from today's NY Times..

Rail Line Drives Utah Development - New York TimesBirkhill at Fireclay, a 30-acre $140 million development in Murray City, Utah, will have 420 units of housing and 200000 square feet of retail and office ...
http://www.nytimes.c... ... 2nati.html - Similar pages

April 22, 2007
National Perspectives
Rail Line Drives Utah Development
By KEITH SCHNEIDER
MURRAY CITY, Utah

TWO years ago, this Salt Lake City suburb began collaborating with a local developer to turn industrial land into a neighborhood of town homes, condominiums and offices. Now the project, known as Birkhill at Fireclay, is finally being built.

The 30-acre $140 million development by Hamlet Homes, one of this region’s largest builders, will have 420 units of housing and 200,000 square feet of retail and office space. Groundbreaking is set to begin in about a month. The idea is to give homeowners easier access to their jobs or to stores.
[...]

[Mike K.]

Take a look at the last sentence in particular. The foundation wants to purchase a $2 million steam machine to kill weeds, citing environmental concerns over traditional pesticide use or other methods of weed removal. Sure, being enviro friendly is a great thing, but doesn't the dayliner leak an abhorrent amount of diesel as it makes its way across the Island?

‘Defects’ on deteriorating tracks force Via Rail to cancel Island train service
BY ROB SHAW Times Colonist staff
The train tracks on Vancouver Island are overrun with weeds and have deteriorated so badly in spots that Via Rail had to cancel service on the weekend.

The decision came after the company that operates the trains, Southern Rail Vancouver Island (SVI), began testing the strength and stability of the track between Victoria and Courtenay on Thursday, and found “some defects,” said SVI superintendent Don McGregor.

The tests measured how the track bends and reacts to a heavy load — a key indicator of such things as the likelihood of a derailment. [...]

[Link to original article no longer available]

[VicHockeyFan]

Blasting steam is more environmentally friendly? That thing is gonna burn some type of fuel to produce the steam. Enough eco-crap already, esp. with some untested prototype developed locally. Do it the same way we have been for 150 years.

http://www.akrr.com/arrc327.html

http://www.banverket... ... __3565.asp

Various methods under investigation
Banverket is working together with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in order to find the best methods for vegetation control, with respect both to chemical control and other methods. We have tested vegetation control with hot water and steam, but so far these methods have not proved sufficiently effective.


Anyway, here is a report from last year, that doesn't seem to really come to any conclusion, but admits not a single operator in the world uses steam now.

http://www.islandcor... ... edia/3.pdf

[gumgum]

CFAX Poll today with the results so far:

What do you think of the plan to spray 'glyphosate' to control weeds on the E&N right of way?
Answer Votes %

Intolerable! We've got to stop using these chemicals once and for all 19 Votes 9%

The weeds have got to be killed. Would you rather the railway stop running? 86 Votes 42%

I have no idea what 'glyphosate' is or how dangerous it is 100 Votes 49%
Total: 205 100%

[VicHockeyFan]

CFAX Poll today with the results so far:

What do you think of the plan to spray 'glyphosate' to control weeds on the E&N right of way?
Answer Votes %

Intolerable! We've got to stop using these chemicals once and for all 19 Votes 9%

The weeds have got to be killed. Would you rather the railway stop running? 86 Votes 42%

I have no idea what 'glyphosate' is or how dangerous it is 100 Votes 49%
Total: 205 100%

It's the chemical used in Roundup, BTW.

[Icebergalley]

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Glyphosate

The article needs "clean-up" but can be a start on your research..

[van-island]

Seeing as I'm in Japan anyways, I thought I would check what one of the big boys does:

Dear Mr. van-island,
Thank you for your inquiry.

Mainly two methods are used; manual pulling in urban areas and chemicals in rural areas.
When chemicals are used, JR inform people living close to the track and get consent from them beforehand.
If you need further assistance or have any questions, please contact us. When you reply to this e-mail, please include all of your previous e-mails and our responses.
Sincerely,

Nobuko Matsubayashi
Japan Railways Group

[Holden West]

^Cool.

Commuter train gets close look
Developers 'interested in putting money' into West Shore link, says regional leader

Kim Westad, Times Colonist
Published: Sunday, May 13, 2007

Burgeoning development and an already existing rail line make the West Shore a natural for a commuter train, Capital Regional District chairwoman Denise Blackwell said yesterday.

While the idea of a commuter train on the E&N rail has been bandied about for years, the time may well have come, said Blackwell, who is also a Langford councillor.
[...]

[Link to original article no longer available]

[G-Man]

$10 a day is still too steep. If someone works full time with no breaks that works out to 1300 dollars a year. That is $460 more than a year of bus passes and bus passes can be used more than twice a day and go more places. I think they are going to have to get that price to drop significantly before they get it up and running. Perhaps I am wrong but it would seem that way to me. Oh and that is just one way!!

[VicHockeyFan]

Very environmentally friendly, these politicians. First drive from Langford into Oak Bay to get your $10 ticket. Then drive back to Langford to eagerly await your train trip back into downtown on the 30th or May! We're saving the world!

[G-Man]

^HAHA yeah I thought that was weird too!

[Rob Randall]

Thanks for pointing that out. I decided to write a letter to the editor:

To the editor

I applaud the CRD and the Westhills development for initiating the GreE&Nways train special for the benefit of those who commute from Langford to Downtown.

However, according to your article, advance tickets are not available in Langford, Downtown, or even in the City of Victoria but over at Oak Bay Municipal Hall during office hours. Sure, the Hall is just a few minutes' drive from Downtown, but isn't this the type of activity this program is attempting to reduce?

If one wanted to make this pilot program inconvenient, inefficient and wasteful I could hardly think of a better plan.

Robert Randall

[hungryryno]

The $10 ticket is not one-way, if you read the enitre article it states the following:

Pays for the cost of running the service (value: ?)
Pays for a free newspaper (value: $1.00)
Pays for a Starbucks beverage (value: $2.00 approx.)
Pays for a BC Transit daypass to get home after work (value: $7.00)

Do the math, you actually coming out ahead!

[G-Man]

The coffee and newspapers are being donated as promotion for this ride. The 10 dollar amount is being used and has been quoted in the past as the amount it would cost based on projected ridership and infrastructure to run this line every day.

[VicHockeyFan]

The coffee and newspapers are being donated as promotion for this ride. The 10 dollar amount is being used and has been quoted in the past as the amount it would cost based on projected ridership and infrastructure to run this line every day.

No one is going to pay $10 per day to commute such a small distance.

[G-Man]

Commuter role not in E&N's future: Regular inter-city buses would benefit South Island more than trying to revive rail line

(Copyright Times Colonist (Victoria) 2002)

Jun 7, 2002

The test was a success, with about 80 people riding the E&N from Langford to downtown Victoria the other day. The special run, its organizers say, proved that a commuter train could be viable, and might help to keep the E&N in operation.

Not so fast, though. There is a major difference between a special trial run and a regular commuter service.

The riders on the special run spent $7 each for the 18-minute ride into downtown.

While they were able to get downtown a few minutes faster by train than they would have by bus or private vehicle, that $7 cost could start to wear after a while. Few riders would be willing to spend $70 a week for the thrill of riding a train.

Of course, the bus system is subsidized, so maybe a subsidy should be directed to a commuter train, too. That would get the cost per rider down into an affordable range.

But the E&N would still not be a great deal as a commuter train. There would need to be more than one run -- in theory, trains should be moving every 10 or 20 minutes to be of any real benefit to commuters. So there would need to be several cars, all moving through different sections of the line during rush hour.

And several trains couldn't be in use at one time without major line improvements. So the price tag would keep getting higher, with the expenditure of many millions needed before the commuter dream could be viable.

Increasing traffic on the line would cause major problems for the people who live near the tracks, and are used to hearing just a couple of trains a day. Upping that amount to 20 or so -- enough to make the commuter run worthwhile to users -- would have a serious impact on the quality of life of the people close to the line.

Supporters of the E&N commuter proposal say a run linking the Western Communities to the downtown core wouldn't make sense, because it would be hard to compete with B.C. Transit. They look instead to the Duncan area, which needs a mass-transit link to downtown Victoria. [...]

[Link to original article no longer available]

Sorry I am wrong the amount is 7 dollars not 10...

[VicHockeyFan]

The Westcoast Express goes 65km and is $255 for a 28-day pass. $10.50 for one way one day.

[G-Man]

As opposed to the 15 kms that the E&N is going you mean?