I have argued this on another thread but this is why the federal government is completely unfit to manage passenger rail expansion. I'm personally of the opinion that Metrolinx should either develop an intercity transport brand, or expand GO to take over all intra-Ontario corridor routes from VIA.
Again, how do you want any provincial railroad(s) to effectively manage the overlapping intra-Ontarian, intra-Quebec and inter-provincial routes? You need all Corridor routes under one roof and HFR would achieve that.
Nothing will ever get done if we have a federal government whose priorities swing violently from election cycle to election cycle developing our infrastructure. It's highly unlikely HFR will survive the coming CPC supermajority, particularly when viewing PP's past comments on passenger rail, and when considering that his government will beholden to the interests of western and rural voters who cannot comprehend that a rising tide lifts all boats.
The CPC is pro-infrastructure, pro-investment and anti-spending. As long as the private sector is willing to cough up the necessary capital funding for HFR, the CPC certainly has no incentive to nix it. And there certainly is no way for any party to win anything close to a super-majority while catering only to “western and rural voters”.
Compare this to a conservative government in our own province of Ontario that is overseeing a massive expansion of passenger rail both in the GTHA and even to the north where no sane case exists beyond serving the area with busses. Federally, passenger rail will never be a priority. Provincially, it will always be something necessary to chase votes. It's simple political calculus.
Nobody is stopping the provinces (ON or QC) from providing funding for HxR and securing concessions like additional stations or minimum frequencies for Local services in return.
Put VIA's viable core in the hands of those that can manage it competently,
That’s exactly what is happening with HFR, as nobody in this country has the necessary experience and competencies to run the Corridor the way you envision.
and let the rest fall where it may. I can't imagine many would shed a tear if the Canadian or Ocean went away,
Sure, if your goal is to undermine any rationale for the federal government providing any guidance or funding for passenger rail infrastructure,then you definitely have the right policies. Just have a look at how surprisingly painful it is to cross international borders (even within the Schengen Area!) in Europe.
and any truly necessary remote services can be taken over locally like what happened with services operated by First Nations.
Sure, if your goal is to see operating subsidies explode, then having each remote route run by a different railroad with their own overheads, fleets and full-service maintenance center surely achieves that. I just have no idea what the problem is which you are trying to fix.
Anyways, you may want to ignore non-Corridor VIA (as it’s not worth agonizing about it, if you remember your own wise words) for now and instead watch how things unfold with HFR…
