Recent content by reaperexpress

As @crs1026 mentioned, the third track was never planned to be imminently built in the first place, but spreading the platforms at Downsview Park, Rutherford and Maple stations ensures that we have the option to build a third track in the future. That said, the station renderings for the...

This post is a prime example of the Canadian Exceptionalism attitude that causes Canada to lag behind other developed countries in rail transportation, I'm sorry to say. Rather than acknowledging that there are things we could learn from other countries, it just goes on a diatribe about how...

If they choose the southern alignment, maybe. But it's looking increasingly unlikely Alto would pass anywhere near Kingston, so Via will still be way faster for all the Lakeshore communities than driving dozens of kilometres north to the high speed line. What will end Via's profitability is the...

Yes, a local station on a high-speed line obviously needs protection between the 300 km/h running line and the platform. Where space is available (basically everywhere except a handful of stations in Japan) the typical solution is to add sidings for the platforms, with fences separating the main...

I think you guys are missing my point. - I'm not claiming that intermediate stations are a good financial decision - I'm not claming the stations would be well used. - I'm not saying it would be Alto's or the Province's "responsibility" to build those stations. - I'm not suggesting that the...

Ah yes, gotcha. Sorry. Yes when a freight train stops it will block some crossings. It doesn't seem to be mandatory to grade-separate all crossings within a long siding, given that the existing long sidings are not grade separated. Certainly we wouldn't want a freight train to be sitting in the...

That's why I said lengthen sidings. I mean lengthen them to 14,000 feet.

At the very least, including more intermediate stations along the line for an overlaid regional service would help provide some tangible benefit to the communities the line passes through, which would reduce political opposition. The current Alto plans seem to be only 1 or 2 trains per hour in...

Oops somehow I missed that post of yours. Thanks for the link. That bulletin is very concerning - it does clearly require buffer cars on the "front AND rear" of the LRC sets. Apparently the LRCs are so fragile that they can't even be placed alone behind a locomotive! There also doesn't seem to...

Exactly. If the Province is interested in developing that portion of the route it would make more sense to run separate daytime trains to North Bay and overnight service to Timmins/Cochrane. Here's a longer-term vision to illustrate what that could look like. It would require at least two new...

Your conclusion is false. There is more to life than just commuting. For example, I travel frequently between Toronto and Ottawa because I live in Ottawa but have many friends and family in Toronto. Besides, the high speed rail doesn't help much with housing sprawl, since it is not planned to...

Exactly. Furthermore, the Acton second track is only required for the weekday counter-peak service. Hourly midday and weekend service only needs the Guelph second track. The Silver Junction grade separation (which indeed consists of a flyover not particularly close to Silver Junction) was not...

I did some back of the envelope calculations and it looks like I overestimated the constraints on the schedule. It does indeed appear that the existing station has enough capacity for the initial hourly service plan, including the 30-minute peak-direction service. I've updated my previous post...

This is a very important point. If the bus just goes from Matheson to Cochrane and ends there, it's not very useful since it doesn't help you get to Moosonee any earlier. But if the bus continues on to/from Hearst via Kapuskasing, it would provide an enormous benefit to those travellers, cutting...

Two buffer cars?! I thought the "buffer" only applied to open-facing ends, so an L5 consist would require one buffer car on the end without a locomotive, and an L5L would not require any buffer cars. Or does the buffer apply to all LRC coaches, even when there's a locomotive?