Delta — The Editor, Re: "SkyTrain expansion would be cheaper, faster than LRT, says Surrey citizens' group," the Now online.
So Daryl Dela Cruz wants SkyTrain and he has formed a group to bang the drum for SkyTrain in Surrey.SkyTrain is a proprietary railway and its patents are held by both Bombardier and SNC Lavalin, which after over 35 years on the market has only managed to build seven such systems world wide.
All the SkyTrains sold thus far have been in private deals, with many wheels thoroughly greased, to ensure SkyTrain's construction.
SkyTrain has never been allowed to compete against modern Light Rail Transit and for good reason - it is a dated and inferior transit system.
During the same period, more than 150 new LRT systems have been built, with scores more under construction or in the final stages of planning.
Modern LRT is both cheaper to build and cheaper to operate than the driverless SkyTrain mini-metro and has a greater capacity as well, with the bonus of being far more versatile.
With LRT, you get a far bigger bang with your buck.
The City of Ottawa, after pressure from the federal government, sent a delegation to Vancouver to investigate SkyTrain and the delegation found, what was already known, SkyTrain cost more tobuild, cost more to operate and had less capacity than LRT and now building with LRT with trams supplied by Alstom.
One wonders why TransLink still plans with this obsolete mini-metro and why TransLink's claims for LRT are opposite of what the rest of the world has found is true with SkyTrain.
One wonders who is pulling TransLink's and Cruz's strings.
Malcolm Johnston, Delta