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VIA Rail

crs1026 said:
When the weight of the paperwork exceeds the weight of the railcar, it’s ready.
Click to expand...
It almost seems like an inverse law though -- the lighter the railcar, the heavier the paperwork needs to be -- sometimes by an order of magnitude or two.

(See: Trying to bring European style lightweight rail cars to North America).
 
That article is exactly what I've been saying. The Liberals have been talking a big game. But not been delivering much. HFR has been around before they got elected. Going on 5 years and they don't even have the routing study and EA done?
 
^ Speaking of HFR

Fleet Replacement Program and High frequency Rail Proposal
"I have been at the head of VIA Rail for a year, and what a humbling and rewarding experience it has been," stated Cynthia Garneau. "Our impressive results both in ridership and revenues demonstrate that we continue to meet our passengers needs and expectations. However, we are always striving to do even better. As a result, we remain focused on the development of our transformative projects, such as the Corridor Fleet Replacement Program and High Frequency Rail (HFR) proposal. Our immediate challenge, however, is to convince Canadians that we are the safe way to travel as our response to the COVID-19 virus evolves."

HFR is VIA Rail's proposal to transform passenger rail service in Canada. It would allow new trains to operate on a dedicated track between major centers (Québec City-Montréal-Ottawa-Toronto). VIA Rail is fully engaged with the Joint Project Office (JPO) established between VIA Rail Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB).
Click to expand...

Five Million Passengers Chose VIA Rail in 2019: A Record Ridership in Three Decades

/CNW/ - With a record breaking five million passengers travelling by train in 2019, VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) announced today that it recorded its highest...
www.newswire.ca www.newswire.ca
 
Allandale25 said:
^ Speaking of HFR



Five Million Passengers Chose VIA Rail in 2019: A Record Ridership in Three Decades

/CNW/ - With a record breaking five million passengers travelling by train in 2019, VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) announced today that it recorded its highest...
www.newswire.ca www.newswire.ca
Click to expand...
no substance though... as Trudeau says daily, we are working on it and we are putting our best efforts to it... but is there a timeframe? quantities? status report? Better off just not saying a thing.
 
SFO-YYZ said:
Anyone has the full article? It's behind a pay wall, but sounds quite interesting.
Click to expand...

Can’t seem to be able to copy it on my phone but - the article mostly retraces the history of the CIB, the gist being that the CIB has spent as much time replacing key execs as it has finding projects to invest in.

There is only a couple of paragraphs directly referencing the HFR study, stating that they have had a lot of involvement from top-flight engineering firms to nail down the exact “route” and “alignment”. I am hoping the quote refers to detailed analysis of the right of way and what might be needed to address curves, connectivity, etc . - which is useful and necessary work getting acted upon.

One could also read it more pessimistically as looking at which line to use. The article claims that there will be consultations “along the various alignments” and “different studies that are necessary”. Which suggests some slowmoving political decisions might lie ahead and not simply a yes-no vote at Cabinet.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
Can’t seem to be able to copy it on my phone but - the article mostly retraces the history of the CIB, the gist being that the CIB has spent as much time replacing key execs as it has finding projects to invest in.

There is only a couple of paragraphs directly referencing the HFR study, stating that they have had a lot of involvement from top-flight engineering firms to nail down the exact “route” and “alignment”. I am hoping the quote refers to detailed analysis of the right of way and what might be needed to address curves, connectivity, etc . - which is useful and necessary work getting acted upon.

One could also read it more pessimistically as looking at which line to use. The article claims that there will be consultations “along the various alignments” and “different studies that are necessary”. Which suggests some slowmoving political decisions might lie ahead and not simply a yes-no vote at Cabinet.

- Paul
Click to expand...
So essentially more political bs football passing. Nothing new. A concrete schedule and rfqs/rfps would be something new
 
Yeah. They are simply saying, "Yes. We're doing work. Promise."

I have no doubt they are actually trying to get something done. But the fact that the article says consultations aren't starting till August/September has me pessimistic about a launch by next year's budget. It sounds like no shovels in the ground till 2023 as a best case scenario.
 
^ Wonder if track plans/drawings will be provided to the "affected groups" that are "along the various alignments".

“There’s tremendous progress being made,” John Casola, the bank’s chief investment officer, told a committee of MPs Monday. “The team is working extremely hard, working with external world-class engineering firms, and is quickly narrowing down several alignment options, route options. All of those come with different studies that are necessary. [We’re] going to start consultations in the next month or two with all of the affected groups along the various alignments.”
 
Allandale25 said:
^ Wonder if track plans/drawings will be provided to the "affected groups" that are "along the various alignments".

“There’s tremendous progress being made,” John Casola, the bank’s chief investment officer, told a committee of MPs Monday. “The team is working extremely hard, working with external world-class engineering firms, and is quickly narrowing down several alignment options, route options. All of those come with different studies that are necessary. [We’re] going to start consultations in the next month or two with all of the affected groups along the various alignments.”
Click to expand...

What I’m curious about is getting final confirmation of how they’re gonna access Union. I know people have guessed the Stoufville line, but IMO it’s too busy with GO traffic. I really hope the Don Branch alignment is chosen. It would be really cool to see VIA using that line.
 
^ I can see some cons with the Don Branch though:
- conflicts with GO's new storage yard in terms of track access availability;
- CP Rail's two track bridge over the Don and a longer stretch of dealing with mainline CP trains;
- grade of the Don Spur and the condition of the bridge over the Brickworks;
- NIMBYs in the Governor's Bridge neighbourhood;
- they reach the CP Belleville Sub on the south side; and
- difficult access to Eglinton Crosstown LRT for a station.

What if by using the Stouffville Line, they built a connection track so they get to the north side, like this:

1593099832296.png
 
^ It’s doable, likely cheaper than Don Valley bridges along the Belleville Sub, but the TPAP/consultation materials for the RER expansion Kennedy- Scarboro Jct makes no mention of VIA as part of that project.

And as has been discussed, until the SRT is demolished the clearances on that corridor are pretty tight, so going beyond double track would be difficult.. Interference from RER would be a concern.

If VIA is about to EA that routing, on top of the RER TPAP’s, on top of the planning to abandon and demolish SRT, it’s a colossal left hand/ right hand collision.

My worry all along with HFR has been whether VIA, in the interest of keeping costs down, will make bad decisions about doing things on the cheap. Putting HFR on the Stouffville GO line, which has constrained width, feels like too many eggs in one basket. I would rather see HFR take the Don line, and build those bridges, so HFR gets a proper foundation for growth towards HSR.

- Paul
 
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