VIA Rail

[dowlingm]

Confirmation that Central Station is destination from QC City.

TGF entre Québec et Toronto | Le tracé entre Laval et le centre-ville de Montréal toujours inconnu

La portion du tracé du train à grande fréquence (TGF) reliant Laval au centre-ville de Montréal est toujours inconnue, a évoqué mercredi la secrétaire parlementaire du ministre des Transports et députée d’Hochelaga, Soraya Martinez Ferrada.

www.lapresse.ca

from the article

However, the route that will link Laval to the Central Station has not yet been determined by the federal government.

“Currently, there are several options that are being explored. It is too early at the moment to give a clear route. What is clear is that the train will come to the city center and come to the station, "said Mme Martinez Ferrada.

Well. I'm relieved. Is everyone else relieved?

 

[hw621]

Is there a timeline of completion attached to this thing?

 

[nfitz]

So they'll greenfield it between Peterborough and Smiths Falls?

Sort of. It follows the old CP alignment from Peterborough to Smith Falls, that was abandoned decades ago.

I use the international standard of units as I said earlier like other media. It's stupid to use 50k$ as a salary in English then not use the other prefixes. I will continue to do so.

If you are going to use a French system for abbreviations that no one will understand in English, do you use the French system for counting while talking English?

Where 72 is sixty-twelve and 95 is four twenties fifteen!

 

[crs1026]

Seems the Mayor is already dreaming of a GO-quality parking garage at the station....

All aboard: 5 things you should know about VIA Rail coming to Peterborough​

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

Is there a timeline of completion attached to this thing?

Minister said it today. Aiming for 2030.

 

[Northern Light]

Seems the Mayor is already dreaming of a GO-quality parking garage at the station....

All aboard: 5 things you should know about VIA Rail coming to Peterborough​

- Paul

Additional things I noted:

- When did Alghabra lose his title as Minister?

- Glory Days?

Really? Interesting idea............

 

[Reecemartin]

Not sure if it's been shared but Ellis Don and Aecom are pushing for HSR in Alberta and have signed an MOU with the Gov

https://twitter.com/x/status/1413189548360732672

 

[crs1026]

If the Liberals announced a $20B HSR plan tomorrow, most of country would have aneurysm. Even this $6-12B is getting a lot of grumbling. This is a good downpayment.

For all the grumbling, I have to admire YDS for an astute, or perhaps just lucky, strategy for pitching this to the country.

The "original" HFR 1.0 vision was a very bare-bones proposition, with a business case that by all reports has demonstrated an absence of subsidy. The premise was that it could be improved where further investment showed ROI. It was all about attracting investors.

Having considered that, the response of the government has not been to naysay that idea.... but rather to wonder what bells and whistles it can add to make the thing sexier, even if some of the additions aren't within an ROI-based envelope. (Which happens to be how the Liberal side of the house looks at spending generally)

I think the debate (and theres going to be an election in here shortly) won't be the government saying let's build this thing, and the opposition saying don't build it.... rather, the debate may be between one party saying build it, with the bells and whistles....and the other party saying only build the part that was shown as being able to run in the black, ie HFR 1.0.

Where for decades, investment in VIA was considered "unprofitable", most of the critics this week are mostly saying it's not good enough.

If so, that's a wonderful way of having gotten to "yes", guaranteeing something gets approved.

- Paul

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

For all the grumbling, I have to admire YDS for an astute, or perhaps just lucky, strategy for pitching this to the country.

The "original" HFR 1.0 vision was a very bare-bones proposition, with a business case that by all reports has demonstrated an absence of subsidy. The premise was that it could be improved where further investment showed ROI. It was all about attracting investors.

Having considered that, the response of the government has not been to naysay that idea.... but rather to wonder what bells and whistles it can add to make the thing sexier, even if some of the additions aren't within an ROI-based envelope. (Which happens to be how the Liberal side of the house looks at spending generally)

I think the debate (and theres going to be an election in here shortly) won't be the government saying let's build this thing, and the opposition saying don't build it.... rather, the debate may be between one party saying build it, with the bells and whistles....and the other party saying only build the part that was shown as being able to run in the black, ie HFR 1.0.

Where for decades, investment in VIA was considered "unprofitable", most of the critics this week are mostly saying it's not good enough.

If so, that's a wonderful way of having gotten to "yes", guaranteeing something gets approved.

- Paul

I wonder what portion of those critics actually cares about HSR, or whether they are using it as a Trojan Horse argument to mire the whole thing down so that nothing gets done. What getting HFR done would achieve is building the constituency that would care about rail enough to improve it further - and that's something those with against rail doesn't want.

AoD

 

[kEiThZ]

We may be inheriting (and the media may be confusing) maps that originated in the business case analysis with maps that show final route choices.

That map was tweeted out by Transport Canada.

Any scenario that shifts significant numbers of trains off the CN line onto a HFR line also creates space on CN for those few express trains.

You're forgetting about the Kingston hub. 12 trains departing in each direction out of Kingston.

 

[kEiThZ]

I think the debate (and theres going to be an election in here shortly) won't be the government saying let's build this thing, and the opposition saying don't build it.... rather, the debate may be between one party saying build it, with the bells and whistles....and the other party saying only build the part that was shown as being able to run in the black, ie HFR 1.0.

The CPC Transport Critic's first and only post on this was tweeting a National Post article with a vague complaint about the debt and deficit. I would bet money that the CPC would can this if they got elected.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1412164429018386441

 

[kEiThZ]

I wonder what portion of those critics actually cares about HSR, or whether they are using it as a Trojan Horse argument to mire the whole thing down so that nothing gets done. What getting HFR done would achieve is building the constituency that would care about rail enough to improve it further - and that's something those with against rail doesn't want.

AoD

Almost definitely. The above CPC Shadow Transport critic tweets this crap on Twitter. But in the press gets quoted as saying it's not good enough and the Liberals don't have a plan to deliver. Lest we forget too, that the Harper government passed on HFR in 2013. Refused to even fund studies on it.

 

[p_xavier]

Sort of. It follows the old CP alignment from Peterborough to Smith Falls, that was abandoned decades ago.


If you are going to use a French system for abbreviations that no one will understand in English, do you use the French system for counting while talking English?

Where 72 is sixty-twelve and 95 is four twenties fifteen!

I also use the Swiss numbering as I find the French numbering system to be stupid as you just pointed out. It's not a French system for abbreviations, it's the international standard (or would be).

Since you use "Toronto English", somebody else can translate for you.

 

[crs1026]

That map was tweeted out by Transport Canada.



You're forgetting about the Kingston hub. 12 trains departing in each direction out of Kingston.

Hadn't forgotten....but cut back to the Hub trains (which may be such on paper, but may magically enter Kingston on one side and depart out the other....) and there is capacity again, enough for a couple express runs a day anyways.

= Paul.

 

[crs1026]

Almost definitely. The above CPC Shadow Transport critic tweets this crap on Twitter. But in the press gets quoted as saying it's not good enough and the Liberals don't have a plan to deliver. Lest we forget too, that the Harper government passed on HFR in 2013. Refused to even fund studies on it.

Well, if they come out firmly against it in the election....there will be Quebec seats lost. Those seats may never be CPC friendly, and so nothing really lost....but maybe some impact in Ontario also.
And when the CPC candidate is reminded that it's investor money, not defiicit money (you can be sure this will be said even if the Liberals are adding some spending to the envelope).....

I think there's half a chance that CPC will have to say what they are prepared to do, even if it's token....and not just naysay what their opponents are prepared to do.

- Paul