Thursday, June 11, 2026
Friday, May 1, 2026
Link 2 Line Cabview POV Seattle to Redmond Eastbound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlJHHuLdOj0
Unlike backwards Vancouver, Seattle, WA has longer underground stations, just like Edmonton has. Longer stations make it easier to have longer trains.
The Narrows Bridge in Perth, WA, Australia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6mVXcX-4h4 It has 5 lanes each way and 2 commuter train tracks. The Homer_M._Hadley_Memorial_Bridge is part of an 8 lane I-5 crossing with 2 LRT tracks. The Samuel-De_Champlain_Bridge has 8 lanes, plus 2 REM commuter train tracks. These 3 fantastic bridges were all possible, because they aren't in heavily restrictive Vancouver. Plus, WA and Que. never wanted to adopt the BC-B$ approach to things.
Unfortunately, in backwards BC, the 1st two Skytrain lines only have 80m stations and the YVR-Canada Line has 50m joke stations. Some of the stations on the first 2 lines might have enough level clearance to only have an extra car at either end of a lengthened platform.
However, the shortsighted Canada Line wasn't designed to eventually accommodate 5 car trains, just a 2.5 car joke of a train, someday. It was as if someone thought that there was no need to have enough level clearance so that the very short stations could be double or tripled in length eventually.
At least by 2025, the first SkyTrain line was running some 5 car trains. Unfortunately in 2026, the 2nd Line and the 3rd Line are still only running 2 car joke trains. Every Skytrain line should have had stations designed to eventually accommodate 8-10 cars trains, but that's what a proper big city would do. Backwards Vancouver wants to hold out for as long as possible, by symbolically building small.
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Seattle's 'Crosslake Connection' draws steady crowds on second day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jabSGw2M4tA
Seattle's New Light Rail On a FLOATING BRIDGE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmh5uVguIlM
Seattle's Sound Transit just expanded their Link Light Rail system by running the 2 Line across a floating bridge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmh5uVguIlM&t=2s
Seattle has a good extensive regional train system and its getting bigger and better.
Some years after Montreal and so many years after Perth, but still better than backwards Vancouver.
Perth Narrows_Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrows_Bridge_(Perth)#Railway_bridge:_2005
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:6_car_train_on_narrows.JPG
Unfortunately, all of these nice train and wide highway bridges aren't allowed in narrowminded Vancouver. A congestive transportation approach was implemented decades ago.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Second+Narrows+Bridge
YVR-Canada Line and REM Train
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1ouk0VifwM&t=42s Even if the YVR-Canada Line had to initially be built as a symbolically small city train, urban transportation infrastructure can be designed in ways that can double or even triple capacity to meet future demand. Unfortunately, its very difficult to build anything in BC with significant future capacity in mind.
Ultimately, the YVR-Canada Line should have had level station clearances to eventually be able to accommodate 10 car trains. Unfortunately, in typical backwards BC planning the stations weren't even designed with enough level clearance to accommodate 5 car trains. The joke that is the Canada Line only has a level station clearance of 50m to eventually accommodate just a 2.5 car train.
Most other cities actually build long stations to accommodate long trains right in the first place. Or, at least allow for enough level clearance so that the stations can eventually be doubled or tripled in length.
The YVR-Canada Line should have started with the Vancouver & Richmond segment, then the Vancouver and Horseshoe+Bay+ferry+terminal segment. Then finally, the YVR to Delta and the Tsawwassen+ferry+terminal.
The SkyTrain Stations in Greater Vancouver https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qg78Bmf1fk
Unfortunately, proper big city transportation planning is very difficult to achieve in backwards BC. So much is watered down in Vancouver.
Montreal’s Biggest REM Expansion Yet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G1oeIAfxDU&t=106s
The Montreal REM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9O6RzsXIqQ
While the REM was designed to help the Metro, it should have the capability to be gradually expanded. Eventually, REM trains should be lengthened from 4 car trains to 6 and even 8 car trains.
In contrast, every Skytrain line should have been designed with enough level future station clearance to eventually accommodate a train as long as a 152.5 (500 ft.) long Montreal Metro train. The first 2 Skytrain lines have 80m stations and the joke that is the Canada Line only has 50m stations.
While the first 2 lines can accommodate 5 car trains, the C Line wasn't designed to accommodate 5 car trains. Just 2.5 car trains, someday.
Despite there being such a symbolic push for Vancouver to keep having short trains, narrow bridges and stumpy buildings, things are gradually changing in backwards BC. The Vancouver or BC Mind Virus should have been challenged decades ago, but too many loud people wanted to perpetuate the, KEEP THINGS SMALL AND INDEQUATE agenda.
Given how most of the bridges in Greater Vancouver are so narrow, there isn't enough room for proper bus and HOV lanes, or even wide emergency lanes. One would think that at least the trains & stations would have been designed to eventually be doubled or tripled in length. But that would go against the mutigenerational congestive planning agenda. That's why there still is only a 3 lane LGB when there should have been at least a parallel bus, HOV and train tunnel. The Pattullo+Bridge replacement didn't open with 2 bus and 2 HOV lanes, not even wide shoulders or emergency lanes. NW really likes the congestive planning approach. Of course the new tunnel between Richmond and Delta won't have an additional provision for a train tube. This will also help to perpetuate the congestive transportation mandate.
Fortunately, Selective_door_operation technology can eventually allow more sensible transportation planners to enable longer trains.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_door_operation#International_variations , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdH5d1ZthmM
This means that a 5 car Skytrain (85m) could eventually become a 7 car train, despite the 80m stations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vancouver)_rolling_stock#Alstom_Mark_V Thus, an 80m train can become a 117m train.
A two car and 2.5 car (50m) train on the multibillion dollar Canada Line is so absurd and inept! With some slight station modifications, there could be a potential to eventually accommodate three, 20m cars at such short platforms. Then, once 3 car trains could become possible, its just a matter of having an extra 20m car at both ends of each train. A 5 car train of 100m is so much better than a 50m joke of a train.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTrain_(Vancouver)#Alstom_Mark_V_fleet
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=SkyTrain-Canada+Line
Friday, February 6, 2026
REM and Metro in Montreal
The REM vs. Reality: Does Montreal's new train meet expectations? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq1xpxOt7FM&t=596s
Montreal’s Biggest REM Expansion Yet! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G1oeIAfxDU&t=12s
How Montreal’s miracle metro could change everything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlHqqA0onn0
Evolution of the Montreal Metro & REM 1966-2030 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zvOk2t1EpE
Monday, December 8, 2025
The Montreal Metro and REM Trains
The REM vs. Reality: Does Montreal's new train meet expectations? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq1xpxOt7FM
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Montreal’s New (REM) Rail Line Is the Future
https://macleans.ca/society/montreals-new-rail-line-is-the-future/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Paris_Express , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88nkbjsLbI8
| Formation |
|
|---|---|
| Capacity | 932 per train (8 cars set) |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP_14_(Paris_Metro)
| Train length |
|
|---|---|
| Car length | 15.04 m (49 ft 4 in) |
Airport Rail Links
The Transit Every Airport Needs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YeVZVluQWI&t=247s
https://www.upexpress.com/en/about-up/things-are-looking-up Its only a two and three car train, when it should be between 4-6 cars, depending upon the time of day. https://www.torontopearson.com/en/transportation-and-parking/up-express
At least it's not a perpetual 2 car train joke that is the YVR-Canada Line. The eventual airport REM line should consist of 4 car trains, but the entire REM should eventually have 6 car trains.
Somehow, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane & Perth all are able to have longer trains to the airport. The 10 car SFO-BART trains are pretty cool.
Saturday, November 22, 2025
Some Canada Mega-projects Under Construction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwsOVZ-j7hg
Oakridge_Park is on a much smaller scale than Metrotown, Brentwood and Lougheed. It will especially be on a much smaller scale than Parramatta in NSW.
Unfortunatly, the Oakridge-41st_Avenue_station was only designed to have 50m platforms, when it should have been at least 100m. Thus, the utter foolishness has meant that instead of allowing for a future level station clearance to accomodate 5 car trains, the Canada (embassament) Line was only designed to just have 2.5 car trains. While its extremely short stations might have been disguised as a cost saving measurer, there didn't seem to be any key people onboard to make sure that it could eventually become a proper big city train line. Its sad that a line which opened in 2009 is still only running 2 car trains. While the 2.5 car configuration is still a joke of a train, at least half of an extra coach-length is better than nothing. Plus, there should have been extra cars ordered by now so at least during the very busy times the trains could be operating at 1 minute headways. Unfortunatly, this goes against the Vancouver & BC congestion planning mentality.
Despite being built several years after the Sydney_Harbour_Bridge, the joke that is the Pattullo_Bridge was designed to only have 4 narrow lanes & only 1 sidewalk. Of course the replacement_bridge will only open with 2 lanes each way. It was as if someone really wanted to make sure that there won't be 2 bus lanes and no HOV lanes when the bridge opens. While the new bridge is designed to be expanded from a 4 lane joke to eventually having 6 lanes, it still won't be wide enough to accomodate 2 HOV lanes as well as 2 bus lanes. Of course the new bridge won't have any emergency lanes, just like the old bridge. However, it will have 2 bike lanes and 2 sidewalks. https://www.globalhighways.com/news/pattullo-bridge-completion-end-year Its only fitting that in backwards BC this new bridge wouldn't be designed to eventually have a lower deck to accomodate 2 bus lanes and 2 LRT tracks.
If the planners were afraid to symbolically have a wide bridge between NW and Surrey, the old Pattullo_Bridge should have been designed to eventually have a lower deck for trams, trucks and busses. Even when the SkyBridge between NW and Surrey opened in 1990, it wasn't designed to have any bus lanes or emergency vehicle lanes and especially, no bike and footpaths.
Is Vancouver the best city in North America? (2019) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8dmVUrNt38
One of the biggest mistakes in Vancouver & SW BC is to have short trains combined with mostly narrow bridges. Thus, the region doesn't get to have long, high capacity trains and there isn't a proper regional network of bus-bridges. The refusal to twin most of the bridges means that it's almost impossible to have a proper and efficient regional network of rapid-bus and HOV lanes.
While Montreal built the REM to augment their long-train Metro system, Vancouver should have allowed for enough clearance to eventually have 500 foot long trains. 80m-50m Skytrain stations are going to become inadequate, when there should have been a 152.4m provision so that the trains could eventually become as long as the ones on the Montreal Metro.
Is Regional Rail in the Future of British Columbia? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PeIOVy6fFc
Monday, November 17, 2025
Evolution of the Vancouver SkyTrain 1985-2035
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3kzHlQQSeg
The first 2 lines only have stations that can accommodate the new 5 car trains, not 8-10 cars.
Unfortunately, the Canada Line wasn't designed to accommodate 5 car trains, only a 2.5 car joke of a train.
https://sellacontrols.com/automatic-selective-door-opening-asdo-correct-side-door-enabling-csde/
Eventually, a 5 car train could have an extra car at each end to become 7.
Despite initial cost cutting measures, the Canada_Line still could have been designed to eventually have 160 m long stations, not 160 foot joke stations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Line#Stations
https://www.eke-electronics.com/automatic-selective-door-operation-asdo/
========================================
Riding the REM Through the Mount Royal Tunnel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olBJF2w74oc
Thursday, September 18, 2025
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Montreal-Trudeau International Airport to undergo $10-billion expansion
https://dailyhive.com/montreal/montreal-trudeau-international-airport-yul-expansion-rem-train
https://www.admtl.com/en-CA/corporate/about-us/future-projects
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YUL%E2%80%93A%C3%A9roport-Montr%C3%A9al%E2%80%93Trudeau_station
https://www.admtl.com/en-CA/parking-and-transport/roadworks
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/yul-trudeau-airport-10-billion-transformation-1.7586489
Eventually, the Pierre+Elliott+Trudeau+International+Airport could have 3 long runways. Fortunately, there is enough clearance to lengthen the shortest runway.
https://www.admtl.com/en-CA/community/soundscape-management/construction-on-runways-and-taxiways
Orly_Airport has 3 runways.
Sea-Tac also has 3 runways, but are all parallel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle-Tacoma_International_Airport
Heathrow_Airport has 2 very long runways.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathrow_Airport#Future_expansion_and_plans
Charles_de_Gaulle_Airport has 2 very long runways, plus 2 of moderate length.
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
TransLink to extend North Shore RapidBus route to Metrotown starting in 2027
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/r2-rapidbus-north-shore-metrotown-burnaby-route-extension
https://aquilinidevelopment.com/community/kwasen-village
The Mount Royal Tunnel in Montreal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Royal_Tunnel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Royal_Tunnel#REM
https://rem.info/en/news/first-passage-rem-through-mount-royal-tunnel-and-start-dynamic-testing-area
https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article144286.html
Even the REM train stations should be expandable to eventually accomodate 6-8 car trains.
The Dunsmuir_Tunnel was rebuilt to become a double deck tunnel providing a split_platform station configuration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_platform#North_America
Unfortunatly, the Burrard_station & Granville_station platforms were only built to be 80m, when they should have been 155m-160m. This would have helped to eventually have 9 car SkyTrains, just like 9 car Montreal Metro trains.
With proper long-range planning in mind, the SkyTrain should have been planned to eventually be a double length LRT system. Instead, its been challenging enough just to establish 5 car trains on the first 2 lines.
Unfortunatly, the 3rd line or Canada_Line was built to only have 50m, whereas the Montreal Metro has 152.5m long stations.
The Canada_Line_Stations have platforms that are only 50 metres (160 ft) long, when all the stations should have been built with a future clearance of 160m. That would have allowed for a future provision to eventually accommodate at least 8 car trains at each station.
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Montreal has completed 5% of snow-loading operation, as city braces for winds and chilly temps
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/winds-to-intensify-montreal/
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/rem-service-disruptions-continue Montreals version of the Skytrain should have a snow-plough at both ends of each train.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/exo-trains-cancelled-snow-accumulation Even for the big trains, at a certain point a snow-plough might not be able to properly clear the tracks.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/montreal-snow-disabled-mobility-challenges/
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/17/snow-piling-up-montreal-clearing-loading
REM’s snow struggles persist in Montreal
https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article760907.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reseau_express_metropolitain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alstom_Metropolis_Saint-Laurent
| Train length | 38.1 m (125 ft) per unit |
|---|---|
| Car length | 19.05 m (62 ft 6 in) over coupler faces |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alstom_Metropolis_Saint-Laurent#Design_and_construction Two 125 foot trains = 250 feet, or half the length of a 9 car Metro train.
An 8 car [19.05 m (62 ft 6 inch)] REM train version of this would be great for Vancouver, but an improved Skytrain could be just as good. Unfortunatly, BC has a tough time thinking big for the future.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/rem-service-disruptions-continue/
However, any elevated line or exposed rapid transit train in Montreal, is always potentially disrupted during the winter.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-rem-out-of-service-1.7461000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9seau_express_m%C3%A9tropolitain#Future_sections
The genius of the Montreal_Metro trains is that they are all underground.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/02/17/stormy-weather-continues-in-montreal/
Vancouver & BC always have a difficult time in properly planning & building infrastructure for significant future capacity. Thus, just because the SkyTrain is considered to be a Light Rail Vehicle, it still should have been designed to eventually have (152.5m) long trains, like the Montreal Metro has. If you are visiting from Montreal or Toronto, you will be shocked as to how short the Vancouver SkyTrains & stations are.
It's not that BC is in some kind of a timewarp, it's just that there has been some kind of a strange multigenerational mentality or agenda. Since the BC part of Canada doesn't have the authority or the technology to generate a force_field around its perimeter, the next best thing was to have very restrictive laws. That's especially the case for Vancouver & Victoria. Plus, a general encouragement to symbolically think small & backwards.
Having short trains, narrow bridges & mostly short buildings, all fits in with the symbolism of a reluctance to accommodate significant urban growth. Canada it self is also part of this larger predicament. Despite its size, Canada is nowhere close to containing even just 1% of the worlds population. Given that most of the human population is non-white, this poses an interesting dilemma.
Of course during tougher economic times, immigration is generally frowned upon. However, even during various economic boom-times, Vancouver & Victoria continued to lag behind with the scale of its infrastructure development.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Service interrupted on Metro's green line, REM back to normal
Unlike BC, at least Montreal has a good level of infrastructure, when its working.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2024/11/01/service-green-line-montreal-metro/
Thursday, November 9, 2023
REM trains in Montreal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiTS6RYr_Vw , https://www.youtube.com/@ReseauexpressmetropolitainREM/videos
Le REM, un nouveau trait d’union https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEu817iPBws
A Ride on the Montreal REM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q23mkh8rX88, https://www.youtube.com/@RMTransit/videos
Saturday, October 14, 2023
Montreal Metro
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/montreal-metro
It would have been total chaos if the Montreal_Metro (MM) only had 80m stations, just like on the first 2 SkyTrain lines. An absolute disaster if it only had 50m stations like on the very underbuilt Canada Line. Unfortunatly, Vancouver took the watered down approach, decades after what Montreal did right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Metro#Rolling_stock
When starting in the 1960s, the MM could have 3 & 6 car trains and a 9 car train during busy times, in recent decades, it's just 6 and 9 car trains.
Streetcars and trams, along with buses, can help any Metro train or Subway system. Unlike Montreal and Vancouver, cities like Melbourne, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, SF and New Orleans, retained some of their tram or streetcar lines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPM-10
| 9 articulated cars per train |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPM-10#Specifications
Of course a good urban transportation network keeps evolving and the REM trains are a nice addition. The REM trains should eventually be at least as long as those on the Sydney Subway.
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Montreal+Metro
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
The Montreal (REM) light rail line on the 8 lane Samuel-De Champlain Bridge
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2023/08/124945-new-rem-light-rail-launches-montreal
As long as the REM trains can eventually become double their length, then Montreal can avoid the Vancouver LRT delema. While short and frequent trains can be an initial cost saving measure, there should always be a provision to eventually have longer stations and trains. The joke that is the Canada Line wasn't designed to ever have stations long enough to accomodate 5 car trains. The ridiculous 2 car trains can only be lengthened up to a 2.5 car train, due to the absurd 50m stations.
https://rem.info/en/reseau-express-metropolitain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel-De_Champlain_Bridge
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=REM+Train
https://jfdatalinks.blogspot.com/search?q=Samuel-De+Champlain+Bridge