Jedwin Mok

photo of a septa passenger train next to a double stacked container train

since US transit planning is allergic to international best practices, here's a photo of a septa train (philadelphia), an electric system, sharing track with freight trains. it's not "impossible".

track ownership in LA? lines like the san bernardino are fully owned by metrolink. no strong argument

Newcastle Light Rail is the first full catenary-free system in the southern hemisphere. Features like the revolutionary on-board energy storage and rapid charge system at the light rail stops saw the project awarded the Australian Construction Achievement Award in 2020. The light rail system runs 2.7km in length from Wickham to Newcastle Beach, incorporating six stops and a light rail vehicle maintenance facility along the way. The $252 million project, involving complex stakeholder interfaces and a busy urban environment, was delivered within the 60-month timeframe without compromising on quality or safety. This project, delivered under a Managing Contractor model, is an excellent example of meeting critical milestones safely through positive relationships and communication between contractor, customer, city, council, and community.

There are bad transit projects.

And then there is spending $252 million for a 2.7 km tramway to replace a perfectly functioning railway to carry an impressive 2,900 people per day. Then getting an award for it.

This is the most Anglosphere thing ever.

YouTube video by Oh The Urbanity! The Problem With Left-Wing NIMBYism

The Problem With Left-Wing NIMBYism

Because this project will be fully grade separated, it should be built as automated light metro (e.g., Toulouse Metro, Milan M5, Honolulu Skytrain). This can enable:
—More reliable & often faster service
—More frequent service
—Shorter platforms (& thus cheaper-to-build stations)

Just a whole lot of 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ to these ideas. An interim step or alternative would be to task a regional transit authority with handling planning, engineering and contract management for smaller agencies. Even bigger agencies struggle to get enough work to justify in-house staff. Let’s fix both problems.

The High Speed Rail and the City – part 1 Routing High-Speed Rail in urban areas: the case of Florence

I have turned my thread about the history of planning the route of the High-Speed rail through Florence into a Substack blog post, expanding the discussion and making it easier to refer.

I hope you enjoy it.

open.substack.com/pub/marcochi...

22) “the Canada Line is Under-built”

The Canada Line is not even half full to design capacity. Given recent outcomes the spirit of economy guiding Canada Line engineering is quite underrated

14) Patrick Condonism

A collection of urban villages where people do not commute outside of due to deliberately slow streetcar transit is a dumb idea that defeats the very function of a city as a large aggregated labour market but also seems to take no account of how people would just drive

Yes. The key difference here of course being the frequency & stops at E/M and McGill.

Metro Morning with David Common | Live Radio | CBC Listen CBC Radio's Metro Morning keeps listeners informed about what's going on in Toronto and offers listeners an optimistic, sometimes humorous view of the world, together with the day's more serious news....

I was on CBC Metro Morning today (July 24 if you’re clicking the link) talking about the Bathurst bus lanes, the need for them, the opportunities they bring for further improvements like transit signal priority, and some potential mitigations for businesses.
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

That is absolutely the biggest concern

Some GTFS data for REM was released recently and… holy shit will this project fundamentally change Montreal’s geography.

I suspect ridership is underestimated, particularly if feeders are done properly.

This is how high impact, low cost transit projects create modal shift folks

(📷 via agoramtl)

Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to massive investment and it's not stopping The report delves into the nuances of Parisian cycling culture, exploring the vibrant community of riders who navigate the city's streets

Paris urban biking DOUBLED in just one year.

“Cycling in Paris has transcended mere trendiness; it’s become a fundamental aspect of the city’s identity. Despite challenges like inclement weather, cyclists continue to flock to the streets, setting new records and reshaping the urban landscape.”

Lorinc calls for a new approach to RapidTO that's less plan and consult and more try and see. My suggestion would be: measure speeds along routes, identify slow segments and intersections, and set annual projects to address those bottlenecks. Repeat over time.

Did I mention the Zandvoort F1 Dutch style bike valet??

Meanwhile in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a city of 783,000…

YouTube video by Green Signals HS2 didn’t GO wrong It STARTED wrong – James Stewart review interview

HS2 was reviewed for why it was costing soooo much. This is a useful video for all large public projects. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2VQ...

The same “progressive” city council that constantly requests additional consultation forgets that their ALREADY BLOATED & EXPENSIVE consultation process yields results overwhelmingly against the vocal minority.

Yet council bends over every time. Zero vision, plan, or leadership. Shame!

The 6 track corridor north of Guro Station up to Yongsan Station in Seoul is wild. A track pair for Local, Rapid (Regional) and the rest (Intercity, freight and KTX HSR). I highlight of my visit to S Korea.

transportation services, under pressure of some councillors and their tendencies, just released their recommendation to cut half of the transit priority lanes planned for bathurst and dufferin.

dedicated lanes between bloor & eglinton on both streets are wiped from the plan, kneecapping the project

Gut punch. Where is the leadership? Where is the mayor? "Staff recommend" just like staff recommend buying IBM, and making sure everyone drives everywhere.

Too often, we let high costs drive out completion timelines beyond the horizon of practical reality, instead of challenging the code, design standard, or local government requests that underlie those costs.

The alignment of the proposed Paris Metro Line 18 extension from Orly airport to Boissy-Saint-Léger.

One proposed project I'm excited about: Extension of Paris Metro Line 18 to the east, from Orly to Boissy. It would create a 3rd circumferential line to the southeast (after lines 6 & 15), & serve a number of dense communities with relatively poor transit connections. www.essonne.fr/economie-ame...

Supply and demand isn’t something you can “ignore”. If a seller tries to demand a price far above the market price, it just won’t sell.

Developers and landlords don’t have this mystical power to demand whatever amount they want. It only seems like that if you live in a tight housing market.

The US is unusual in believing that nonsensical boundaries, like those of the City of Los Angeles, are as permanent as mountains.

Britain revises the boundaries of 1000-year old shires whenever they stop making sense.

Ah. Classic

Great column. If you include Hamilton and Niagara, the population south of the GTA is approximately the same as Alberta. Yet we never discuss the economic powerhouse that is Southern Ontario and have no plan for how to improve any aspect of it.

Southeastern Pennsylvania is drastically cutting transit service to save money, forgetting that you can also save money by making transit faster. If the round trip time is 50% shorter, you can keep the same frequency with half as many vehicles and half as much money.
wwww.septa.org/news/septa-b...

First of 8 CRRC manufactured Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS Link trains have been unveiled today. The 76.5m long, 4 car trains are fully automated. The RTS Link is expected to ease congestion on the Causeway between Malaysia and Singapore. Pics by Kevin Lim of the Straits Times.

“When will Zohran condemn this” “When will Zohran condemn that”

When will Zohran condemn the MTA’s decision to build the Interborough Express as a tram