Commuter-rail projects demand caution

Re: “Japan an inspiration for railway travel,” “Elevated Sky Train could link Island towns,” letters, June 13. These two letters by very hopeful readers are simply astonishing and fanciful.

The lower part of Vancouver Island has a population of 530,000, while Japan has 127 million people. Commuter rail is based on sound “ridership” forecasts (number of rides per day from origin to destination), solid cost estimates at several million dollars per kilometre, population density, geographic distribution and proportions of use, to name a few.

Having worked on rail projects such as Eurotunnel and others, I find it important to caution people about large infrastructure plans proposing high returns and low cost when it is often the reverse that takes place. Pierre Vallee Victoria