Category: megaproject

John Robson: It’s No Surprise Ottawa’s LRT ‘Gravy Train’ Is a Bottomless Money Pit

December 13, 2022
CanadaCity of OttawamegaprojectOntario premier Doug FordOpinionViewpointsWorld
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Commentary In a French farce at a railway station, Ottawa’s city manager abruptly departed two days before a stinging report on the national capital’s disastrous light rail transit project pulled in on schedule. Saying it was his decision alone and he had no advance knowledge of the LRT inquiry’s findings, he shouted from the carriage…

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John Robson: Light Rail Megaprojects Cost Too Much and Deliver Too Little

August 8, 2022
CanadamegaprojectMetro light railOpinionOttawaViewpointsWorld
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Commentary When the transit gravy train comes to town you won’t be on it. But somebody will, so look out. Here in Ottawa, we gaze in weary resignation at headlines like “City says expansion of western LRT delayed up to one year” as our much-vaunted light rail crashes expensively into yet another bizarre obstacle. Sure,…

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Montreal’s Light Rail Megaproject Boondoggle a High-Risk Gamble for Public Pension System

March 29, 2022
CanadaCanada Pension Plan Investment Boardlight-railmegaprojectMontrealOpinionQuebecViewpointsWorld
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Commentary With all the terrible things happening in the world right now, it might seem beside the point to discuss urban light rail. But public policy, like golf, is never so bad it can’t get worse. And a tiny throwaway line in a story out of Montreal, a cloud no bigger than a man’s hand,…

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In Building Transit Projects, Canada Should Aim for Practicality Not Grandiosity

December 27, 2021
CanadaDirty HarryLondon tubemegaprojectOpiniontransitViewpointsWorld
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Commentary As a general rule, if you see a shiny new transit megaproject approaching your town, you should get into a private automobile and drive slowly away. But Canadians should hit the gas hard, because even in a world where politicians and contractors manage to overestimate benefits and underestimate costs with uncanny precision, we are…

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