^ I'm not as familiar with the Ottawa-Montreal stretch as I am with the Toronto-Ottawa stretch.
What types of projects between Ottawa-Montreal could the $491 million be spent on?
I agree with the others that Ottawa-Montreal (and Smiths Falls-Ottawa) would be a good non-controversial target for improvements.
Here's where I would spend some of the money along the Smiths Falls and Alexandria subdivisions:
Track Speed Upgrades
Both railways currently have 100 mph (160 km/h) speed limits. Upgrading the lines to 110 mph (177 km/h) would bring them up to the promised top speed of HFR – bringing some good publicity for the railway and politicians. This would involve upgrading level crossings and probably replacing some track.
There is also a particularly slow segment of track within the City of Ottawa, between Ottawa and Fallowfield stations. This also needs to be addressed to cut down travel times between Toronto and Ottawa.
Curve Realignments
Both railways have some curves which appear to be relatively easy to realign and would noticeably reduce travel times and fuel consumption.
Along the Smiths Falls subdivision there is an 85 mph (137 km/h) speed restriction due to a curve right in the middle of an otherwise 100 mph (161 km/h) segment.
Existing speed limits in mph
Since the curve is only a few degrees, relatively little property would be required to widen the curve radius to allow trains to maintain a steady 110 mph (177 km/h).
Black line: current alignment; Green line: new alignment
Along the Alexandria subdivision there is a collection of 3 sharp curves in a segment which is otherwise quite straight. Together, these 3 major curve realignments, as well as three more slight realignments, would create a 26 km (16 mile) segment of continuous 110 mph running at quite a modest cost.
Siding Adjustments
The two lines are single-tracked, and trains cross each other using short sidings located roughly every 16 kilometres (10 miles). These represent a considerable source of delay. Each time a train encounters another train in the opposite direction, at least one of the trains incurs several minutes of delay as it slows down for the switches, sits around waiting for the train in the other direction, and eventually accelerates back up to speed.
Two very low-hanging fruit are the siding configurations at Casselman and Alexandria stations.
In Casselman, there is a siding just east of the station. Trains often serve the station, then roll forward a few hundred metres, and stop again to wait for the train in the opposite direction. Extending the siding west to the station itself would allow the opposing train to approach while the train is sitting in the station, which would save a couple minutes. Less than half of the trains between Ottawa and Montréal stop at the station, so it is not a problem that only one of the two tracks would have a platform.
At Alexandria station, there is an even lower-hanging fruit. Currently the mainline track passes by the platform, and a siding bypasses it to the north. But this means that when trains meet at the station, the train bypassing the station needs to slow down order to switch tracks. Realigning the switches so that the mainline bypasses the station would allow the train skipping the station to pass through at full speed. It wouldn’t make a difference to the train serving the station since it already needs to slow down regardless of the switches.
Double Track Segments
In addition to the above adjustments at stations, some double-track segments could be built to allow trains to meet at full speed between stations. A cost-effective option would be to build double-track segments roughly 16 km long, so that they can replace two sidings each. One of the double track segments on the map below is the segment including the curve realigments above. I figure it’s cheaper to do both realignment and double tracking at once, than to realign one segment and double track another.
Existing sidings in green, proposed double track in purple
Using the double track segments to reduce the number of sidings helps keep maintenance costs low by minimizing the number of switches, which are a disproportionately high-maintenance component of a railway line.
seanmarshall.ca
