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Canadá ficha a la expresidenta de Adif para lanzar su tren de alta velocidad

High Frequency Rail (HFR), empresa creada por el Gobierno de Canadá, ha contratado a María Luisa Domínguez, presidenta de Adif hasta diciembre de 2023, para diseñar y construir...
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So, it hasn't been made official, but it looks like high speed rail is a real thing that's actually happening and an official announcement is coming soon. They've hired the former president of ADIF, the Spanish state owned company that does all of their rail infrastructure builds to run the project, so we're in pretty fucking good hands there.

The only thing that has me stuck a bit there is them calling it a 1000km line. I can't get the line to be longer than 750KM though along the currently proposed list of cities it's connecting (Toronto-Peterborough-Ottawa, Laval, Montreal, Trois Rivieres, Quebec City). I can get it to about 980 though if it starts in London and is a London-KW-Burlington/Oakville-Mississauga-Toronto -----> Quebec City route and adding that side of it adds 3 million people to it's coverage footprint, so would make a ton of sense to include from the jump.
 
They should absolutely bring it through KW, London and the west GTA. Toronto being the western most point of the line and ignoring southwest Ontario would be a huge miss if the goal is to not only connect cities but drive growth. Start making some of these non-gta cities attractive places to live instead of everyone trying to jam in along lake Ontario.
 
WellPlayed said:
They should absolutely bring it through KW, London and the west GTA. Toronto being the western most point of the line and ignoring southwest Ontario would be a huge miss if the goal is to not only connect cities but drive growth. Start making some of these non-gta cities attractive places to live instead of everyone trying to jam in along lake Ontario.
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Yeah, for sure. I'd expect a 2-3 phase plan. Phase 1 should be Toronto-PTBO/Kingston-Ottawa-Montreal, Phase 2 I'd extend it to QC, and probably phase 3 would put it out to KW and London.
 
KW/London and Niagara falls should be part of the project.

Will be great for domestic tourism.

Does anything connect Quebec city to the maritimes in terms of passenger rail?
 
trujaysfan said:
KW/London and Niagara falls should be part of the project.

Will be great for domestic tourism.

Does anything connect Quebec city to the maritimes in terms of passenger rail?
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Via rail, but the route is… indirect. 20hrs from QC to Halifax by train, 10 by car. Main upside of the train is it steers very clear of Edmundston.
 
MindzEye said:
www.expansion.com

Canadá ficha a la expresidenta de Adif para lanzar su tren de alta velocidad

High Frequency Rail (HFR), empresa creada por el Gobierno de Canadá, ha contratado a María Luisa Domínguez, presidenta de Adif hasta diciembre de 2023, para diseñar y construir...
www.expansion.com www.expansion.com

View attachment 24405


So, it hasn't been made official, but it looks like high speed rail is a real thing that's actually happening and an official announcement is coming soon. They've hired the former president of ADIF, the Spanish state owned company that does all of their rail infrastructure builds to run the project, so we're in pretty fucking good hands there.

The only thing that has me stuck a bit there is them calling it a 1000km line. I can't get the line to be longer than 750KM though along the currently proposed list of cities it's connecting (Toronto-Peterborough-Ottawa, Laval, Montreal, Trois Rivieres, Quebec City). I can get it to about 980 though if it starts in London and is a London-KW-Burlington/Oakville-Mississauga-Toronto -----> Quebec City route and adding that side of it adds 3 million people to it's coverage footprint, so would make a ton of sense to include from the jump.
Click to expand...
The problem becomes what do passengers do once they arrive at their destination? The local transportation infrastructure needs to be there as well.

Take Ottawa, as a for instance. The old train station is what is now the National Conference Centre, across the street from the Chateau Laurier Hotel and 5 minutes walk from the Centre Block of Parliament Hill. But that was when the tracks went up beside the Rideau Canal, which they no longer do. If you take the train to Ottawa today, you find yourself on the side of a highway miles from the city centre.

In short, you need to be able not just to get somewhere but to get around after you get there. If you can't, then people will just drive instead. Make public forms of transportation accessible and affordable and people will have an incentive to leave their cars at home. But if it's not accessible and too expensive, they'll just say "Fuck it. I'm driving." and it will be an expensive failure.
 
thehabhater said:
3 hours from Toronto to Montreal?

Sign me up for a game.
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Next month, myself, my brother and two buddies are going from Toronto to Montreal for our annual hockey trip to see the Habs. Last year we took the train but yesterday we decided that this time we need to drive instead because the cost on Via is ridiculous compared to last year when it was dirt cheap. We originally chose the train because we don't need to worry about traffic, construction or weather and we can all sit and drink for 5 hours. But mostly we chose it because it's economical. But it isn't anymore, so now we will be schlepping down the 401 instead.
 
WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou said:
The problem becomes what do passengers do once they arrive at their destination? The local transportation infrastructure needs to be there as well.

Take Ottawa, as a for instance. The old train station is what is now the National Conference Centre, across the street from the Chateau Laurier Hotel and 5 minutes walk from the Centre Block of Parliament Hill. But that was when the tracks went up beside the Rideau Canal, which they no longer do. If you take the train to Ottawa today, you find yourself on the side of a highway miles from the city centre.

In short, you need to be able not just to get somewhere but to get around after you get there. If you can't, then people will just drive instead. Make public forms of transportation accessible and affordable and people will have an incentive to leave their cars at home. But if it's not accessible and too expensive, they'll just say "Fuck it. I'm driving." and it will be an expensive failure.
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There’s this newish thing called Uber.

I mean, why didn’t they put Pearson in Kensington?
 
manny said:
Ottawa has light rail at the Via station now.

But agreed, in general Canadian cities are terrible at transit.
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That "Not Just Bikes" dude on YouTube once did a video comparing rail in Europe with what we have here. And he showed what the neighborhood outside the VIA station in London looked like. He asked "So once you get off the train, how exactly do you get anywhere from here without a car?" Downtown London is a sithole and their public transit is a joke.
 
WellPlayed said:
Yep. And the answer to that isn’t don’t build regional transit because local transit sucks. The answer is built both. And high speed rail will help drive investments in municipal transit.
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We hope.

TGV was always an easier sell in Europe where most people already use the train. Getting North Americans to leave their cars at home isn't going to be easy. And while everyone would love to be able to get from Toronto to Montreal in 3 hours flat, they ain't going to pay big money to do it. If the prices are insane ridership won't pay the costs because there wont be enough riders.
 
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