It is if the government insists on using a investment financing model with the infra bank project, which gets to why the NDP isn't happy. Whether that makes sense is the bigger question you opened.
I don't think there's any costed plans but spending a billion to make a new alignment from Peterborough to Smith Falls at 300km/h vs 200km/h sounds plausible. Especially given that the original alignment of the Havelock sub wasn't 200km/h ready as I believe was discussed a while back in this...
It's worth noting that Sweden already has frequent 200km/h electric trains along the same routes that were being considered for new HSR. This summer I traveled from Stockholm to Malmo in 4h26m, a journey of 585km at an average speed over 130km/h. Certainly not as fast as true highspeed rail but...
Curve straightening isn't cheap but its much cheaper than building a new route, especially if the track being straightened isn't in use or passing through urban areas.
Bets on VIA getting the underused AMT ALP45s if HFR gets built? Could be a swap so Exo gets more charges... NJT uses the ALP45s on the northeast corridor.
It's real. I'm fairly sure he said earlier that they were aiming for 80-90 percent electrification but I cant find the source.
Edit: The former CEO said she hoped to get 90 percent electrification
https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/high-frequency-rail-will-be-nearly-all-electric-via-ceo
I'd agree but don't think such prioritization is done with the current system. Last winter the train seemed to be filled from front to back in the direction of travel and there were often people changing from rear facing seats to forward ones. Personally, I don't think think facing the direction...
Why does the reservation system matter? The seats still have the same numbers. Could just remove the front vs rear facing indicators from the passenger information because there isn't any way of selecting anyway. It's not great but it works as an interim fix if a new system is on the way.
I think this is the case. I've been applying to American rail and transit jobs and have been noticing a similar trend. Still having better luck than I've had with Canadian engineering/planning jobs even without an MBA.......
There's at least one Ren trainset still in service. It's in really rough shape but it didn't leak in the rain when I rode it a month ago. The rest might return when they boost service this summer but I bet they'd rather use any other equipment.
I suspect the first new train will be deployed to...
Hey that's better than the usual for Montreal-Ottawa trains! I haven't had an on time departure since pre COVID. Usually only 10-15 minutes late at the end though