holographic plastic
Active Member
We’re never getting HSR in Canada let alone Ontario at this rate. Ontario was Canada’s best shot at having HSR, and that’s clearly gone up in flames with Doug pandering to his rural voter base.
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High Speed Rail: London - Kitchener-Waterloo - Pearson Airport - Toronto
- Thread starter ehlow
- Start date
Urban Sky
Senior Member
High Speed Rail was always a bewildering choice for that corridor, given that the desired travel times (at least between Toronto and Kitchener) could also be achieved on the existing rail line and of course at a fraction of the cost. Between Quebec and Toronto, HSR could at least achieve substantial travel time savings. On its by far most important segment, the now-buried OLP's HSR proposal failed to present any tangible advantage which would have justified the eye-watering costs...
holographic plastic
Active Member
Let’s be realistic here, the Toronto-Quebec line is also unlikely to happen simply because people in this country are too automobile centric, and they largely view the train as a dated, unreliable and expensive form of transportation. Of course, I suspect this has something to do with the current state of train-travel in Canada. It’s very disheartening to see how successful, widely used and advanced trains are in countries such as Japan, France, Germany and China etc, compared to Canada’s aging infrastructure.
lenaitch
Senior Member
I see that she is raving about Rural High Speed Internet (another perennial Canadian past-time) and ranting against High Speed Rail
AoD
Ya, no kidding. I've lost count how many times the various levels of government have promised better rural high speed Internet. Maybe it has shown benefit for the folks in Manitouwadge or a remote Reserve, but there are many, many people in the 'near rural' who have seen nothing from this. Not that many years ago we lived just outside of a town - close enough that every fast food place delivered for free - and we had dial-up. And a friend who lives in Uxbridge, just outside of the built-up area, has 2meg dsl, period. While we're making it faster we can also talk about the cost compared to the rest of the world.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
I grew up in Uxbridge - even in town, my parent's can't get more than 20 down.
Another family member lives outside of Goodwood and has to use cell service to get high speed - and they get something like 20 gigs a month of data so no netflix for them. I have several family members living in rural locations and none have actual hardwired high speed.
lenaitch
Senior Member
My buddy would probably sell his firstborn for 20. We also lived outside of Goodwood on the (former) highway but it was before the Interweb days. We also had to resort to a cell-based connection (Turbostick) when our daughter got into high school and needed the web for research and you are correct - no streaming or downloading big files at those prices.
rbt
Senior Member
ISPs like RuralWave in that area have okay priced fixed position wireless data plans; generally via directional antenna mounted on your roof. They're a bit finicky in very wet weather (large size snow flakes for example) so keep a few Netflix videos cached.
50Mbit down, 10Mbit up, no cap for $140/month.
As is almost always the case with rural life, land is cheap but services are not.
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Allandale25
Senior Member
lenaitch
Senior Member
Certainly not cheap. One problem with line-of-sight services is where they place their tower(s), particularly in rolling terrain or areas with things like bush lots or anything else that stands in the path. I know a couple of people who have tried other LofS providers in other areas and were not happy.
Northern Light
Superstar
Based on wording below, Ontario HSR here seems dead.
That said, new investments are likely forthcoming to improve both train and bus service in this part of the corridor.
See Below from today's Ontario Budget:
High-speed rail: value for money?
The Province has paused capital funding for high-speed rail in the 2019 Ontario Budget and is actively exploring opportunities to enhance the train speeds and service levels on existing railway corridors, as well as opportunities for inter-community bus services or other transit solutions that better support the immediate needs of Southwestern Ontario.
The Province is completing an analysis of new and existing rail service options that consider the social, environmental and economic impact to area residents, landowners, farmers, businesses and the natural environment.
The Province has listened to the residents in Southwestern Ontario who have expressed concerns that high-speed rail would have negative social, environmental and economic impacts for the region. For example, the agricultural community has warned that the project would create a physical barrier that would eliminate countless hectares of prime agricultural land in one of Canada’s richest farm belts, restricting access to homes, fields and markets.
The Province will bring forward a transportation plan for Southwestern Ontario by fall 2019.
budget.ontario.ca
That said, new investments are likely forthcoming to improve both train and bus service in this part of the corridor.
See Below from today's Ontario Budget:
High-speed rail: value for money?
The Province has paused capital funding for high-speed rail in the 2019 Ontario Budget and is actively exploring opportunities to enhance the train speeds and service levels on existing railway corridors, as well as opportunities for inter-community bus services or other transit solutions that better support the immediate needs of Southwestern Ontario.
The Province is completing an analysis of new and existing rail service options that consider the social, environmental and economic impact to area residents, landowners, farmers, businesses and the natural environment.
The Province has listened to the residents in Southwestern Ontario who have expressed concerns that high-speed rail would have negative social, environmental and economic impacts for the region. For example, the agricultural community has warned that the project would create a physical barrier that would eliminate countless hectares of prime agricultural land in one of Canada’s richest farm belts, restricting access to homes, fields and markets.
The Province will bring forward a transportation plan for Southwestern Ontario by fall 2019.
2019 Ontario Budget | Chapter 1B
2019 Ontario Budget: Protecting What Matters Most
budget.ontario.ca
Midtown Urbanist
Superstar
I like high-speed rail. It was not appropriate for the corridor however. This news is therefore, fine by me.
holographic plastic
Active Member
This news should come as no surprise under this provincial government.
jje1000
Senior Member
It was a nice brief dream to have been able to zip down to Kitchener on a massively overbuilt HSR line.
Alas, it was not to last..
Alas, it was not to last..
CapitalSeven
Senior Member
Countless hectares? I did the math once and it was about a square mile. Countless by conservative political math.
hw621
Senior Member
Lol we have another study and the consultants pocketed additional several millions