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Thanks for this. So it sounds like the bypass will be needed eventually when Southwestern Ontario intercity rail service is beefed up on this corridor (whether HFR/HSR). And as @crs1026 noted, its likely sooner than we think if the pressure on the 401 is any indication.

Agreed, but there was a plan I believe to construct the freight bypass that would have facilitated this frequent service. This government scrapped it soon as they came in for cost reasons, even with a likely solid business case. There doesn't seem to be the same level of fiscal concern to...

If we're to believe the hints from the province last year regarding their MTSA plans, they were planning to impose much more density around the stations than what the city was planning...

Pausing vitally important housing reforms due to the politics around an election is something that should disappoint everyone, especially during a housing crisis. Also, not entirely convinced this is just a pause and not Ford giving in to the vocal NIMBY voters.

It's really a shame provincial governments haven't prioritized this corridor and provided higher frequency service yet. It had the population and demand to support it for years. This rail corridor is really the sleeping giant of the transit system and would at least be just as important as the...

Would the in-progress work allow for future two-way all-day service at 30min frequencies to Kitchener/Guelph? Or would a freight bypass be required for that service level?

The delay in construction of various stations seems tied to Ford's insistence on private developers building the stations for them. A government with a different strategy likely would speed things up (hopefully).

The Amtrak plan only entails having their trains stop at Windsor and then have passengers switch to VIA trains headed to Toronto. The frequency likely won't be more than a couple trains a day. That wouldn't be enough to discourage GO/Metrolinx if they were considering expanding in that direction.

The entire Quebec City-Toronto Corridor is being handed over to a private consortium to operate and maintain, thats more what my comment was directed towards. They seem to lessening their involvement in passenger rail.

I was similarly confused when they paved a new multiuse path on the northside of Eglinton east of Jane not too long ago when it was clear that it was the location of the tunnel portal approaching Mount Dennis. Just over a year or two after completion they tore it up and constructed a two-way...

Inter-City rail service west of Toronto will likely need to be provincially-led since VIA is trending towards slowly phasing out of service instead of expanding. Considering this government's hyper-focus on highways it's unlikely we'd see that anytime soon.

Could be wrong, but seems HxR will have a new name/branding seperate from VIA rail. Indicatations are the new consortium that's awarded the contract will be free to name the service what they want.

Agreed. The high end HSR would likely be attracting business travelers who mostly fly in the corridor currently. The CEO however is positioning this service as a way to reduce vehicle congestion on the highway/roads, which would be heavily dependent on affordable pricing.

This part made me chuckle.

VIA HFR CEO Imbleau with another interview, this time with the Ottawa Business Journal. https://obj.ca/via-hfr-what-is-it-and-what-does-it-mean-for-you/ Not much in the way of new details, but he's continuing to indicate this project as having HSR speeds with certain comments: He's also...

The Globe published a letter from one of Pearson's VPs where a future VIA HFR connection at Pearson was discussed. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/letters/article-how-to-fix-debate-in-parliament/

This could just be a continuation of their approach to rail connections in Europe. AC started allowing the booking of train connections this year to destinations in Germany, France, Austria, and Switzerland. They likely saw the benefits after Deutsch Bahn joined Star Alliance in 2022 and became...

Wonder if the recent Federal announcements related to Purpose-Built Rentals will push up the timeline on this project. If it's still staying as majority rental, that is.

Ideally shouldn't be an either/or scenario. The Feds can pour money into the TOR/MON rail corridor while finding solutions for the Transit Hub. It would, however, require more political will and appetite to actually want to upgrade the transit infrastructure in this country than the Fed...

The Feds and Province seem totally asleep at the wheel in recognizing how vital the Transit Hub would be to the region. At this point, a possible 2026 win by Crombie for the provincial premiership could be the only thing to breathe life into this proposal. With her background as Mississauga...