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Capital Line LRT

Avenuer said:
The Capital Line won't run to the airport. The City Plan envisions a dedicated heavy rail line along the CPR ROW south from Old Strathcona along Highway 2 to the airport instead.
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I really hope the city sticks to its guns to maintain and protect this right of way. There are too many short-sighted plans for crappy condos and new avenue crossings that could severely impact the ability of the city to build heavy rail to the core down the road.
 
tkoe_ said:
I really hope the city sticks to its guns to maintain and protect this right of way. There are too many short-sighted plans for crappy condos and new avenue crossings that could severely impact the ability of the city to build heavy rail to the core down the road.
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As long as CPR maintains their ROW (which I suspect will be the case given they are not currently interested in selling) then the potential HSR route will be preserved.

I do like the idea of extending the Capital Line south to YEG from 41 Avenue SW, but I wonder if we'd need yet another O&M facility to facilitate more LRVs since the line will be very long at that point (over 35 km not counting an extension to Gorman).
 
Avenuer said:
As long as CPR maintains their ROW (which I suspect will be the case given they are not currently interested in selling) then the potential HSR route will be preserved.

I do like the idea of extending the Capital Line south to YEG from 41 Avenue SW, but I wonder if we'd need yet another O&M facility to facilitate more LRVs since the line will be very long at that point (over 35 km not counting an extension to Gorman).
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A solution would be having trains stop at 41 Ave SW on the regular frequency (5 mins or so) and then have an extra one that could run once every 15 min, even half an hour, down to the airport. Plenty of cities do that and works perfectly for this purpose.
I don't believe there will be enough demand on YEG to warrant trains every 5 minutes for a VERY long time, still. Maybe in some 25, 30 years, but even then I don't believe that an urban frequency is needed (even JFK's and Newark Airtrains run at a lower frequency than 15 minutes, so you get it... )
 
If Canadian Pacific were smart (no comment), they would lease or sell the aerial rights to the Strathcona yards, enabling a bridge for 76th Avenue throughput and an extension along the eastern periphery of their lands to build out an ERRS extension southward to "humanize" local transportation in a novelty-kind-of-way. This would allow for intense development north of 76th Avenue for continued Strathcona "themed" development and the site south of 76th for tech-related and transportation-related concepts. They could then intensify their yards here on two levels -- a freight-related depot for all manner of new businesses located overhead and a high-speed passenger connection over CP right-of-way (Maglev technology with Linear Synchronous Motors) with two southbound legs -- one to the Edmonton International Airport (thereby bringing new life to that entity in a major way) and another south to Red Deer, Calgary and Lethbridge (thereby strengthening the Provinces "Urban Spine"). If the City were smart (again, no comment) they would be engaging CPR to try to effect this kind of outcome (but, alas, our current Mayor and council doesn't have the requisite imagination nor gumption -- they are too busy effecting their "management role" to think outside the box).
Here is what New York City accomplished by dealing their air-rights mid-Manhattan:
www.hydc.org

Hudson Yards Development Corporation

Hudson Yards Development Corporation
www.hydc.org www.hydc.org
 
80km/h max speed on the current trains make airport service not feasible. You don't want to be riding in the LRT while vehicles whizz by on the QE2.
 
occidentalcapital said:
80km/h max speed on the current trains make airport service not feasible. You don't want to be riding in the LRT while vehicles whizz by on the QE2.
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Not really. You take into account that you can go straight up to the terminal, no parking, no traffic... Not to mention the cost: an LRT ticket will always be cheaper than parking alone, add in gas, etc... or compare to a cab/Uber, that can get pretty expensive.
Also, it would be useful to people coming into the city, which would not need to take cabs/Ubers to the to the city, or even rent cars at all.
I don't know about you, but if on top of tickets, I have to add in $100 or more to get there and back in 40 minutes each leg or add $10 or even $15 to do it in 50 minutes, I'll take the 50 minutes EVERY SINGLE TIME.
 
Avenuer said:
As long as CPR maintains their ROW (which I suspect will be the case given they are not currently interested in selling) then the potential HSR route will be preserved.

I do like the idea of extending the Capital Line south to YEG from 41 Avenue SW, but I wonder if we'd need yet another O&M facility to facilitate more LRVs since the line will be very long at that point (over 35 km not counting an extension to Gorman).
Click to expand...
I was under the impression that there was serious consideration by CP Rail to sell surplus land near Old Strathcona, north of their yard:

https://edmontonjournal.com/busines...cp-rail-to-develop-yard-south-of-whyte-avenue

My fear is that it would be all too easy to allow the right of way to be fragmented (much like the CN ROW into downtown) and thereby prevent, or at the very least delay, any potential for frequent heavy rail service into the core.
 
occidentalcapital said:
80km/h max speed on the current trains make airport service not feasible. You don't want to be riding in the LRT while vehicles whizz by on the QE2.
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I'd disagree with this. As pointed out already, rail service that connects directly to the terminal would cut out parking, messing with the airport approach roads, and the potential for traffic snarls affecting travel time (I've had trips from the same place downtown to the airport take anywhere from 35 to 65 minutes) can make the train an attractive option. A car is definitely faster at times and from certain areas, but for a lot of the city, especially during rush hour, a car isn't as quick as we'd like.
My last big trip was to Chicago; I took the L everywhere there, including to and from O'hare. The Blue Line that connects the airport to downtown runs down the middle of a freeway, in the median. The trains top out at 55mph (89kmh), but obviously, with stopping etc they weren't going that fast much of the time. It was still very convenient to use, and with rush-hour traffic (which Chicago has pretty bad) the train was quite often keeping up or even passing cars.
There's also a lot to be said for the convenience of being able to get on to a single train, sit down, and have it take you where you want to go without thinking, navigating, or transferring. a long day of flying can be draining, and being able to relax and re-acclimate on your way home can be super helpful, even if it takes a few extra minutes.
Being able to take an LRT train all the way from the terminal and have it seamlessly turn into a regular train that cooperates with the rest of the ETS system strikes me as ideal. it would be a bit slower, as you say, because the trains would only be able to go 80kmh across the distance from the airport to the city, but once you make that journey you can stay on the train and it'll take you to any and all of the other stations, meaning transfers would be simple. I've used the 747 to Century Park - LRT home route before, it isn't that bad. the worst part is waiting for the infrequent bus at the terminal. i think that just by improving that frequency and getting rid of the transfer from bus to train would be a huge boon to airport users.
 
yeggator said:
I'm kind of worried that if we extended the LRT to the airport, it would be massively overcrowded, especially since lots of departures and arrivals at the airport coincide with peak commuting hours.
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I wouldn't envision that as a problem; there would still be those who require car rentals, those who have family and friends there to pick them up, etc. The LRT use would not be exceptional in my opinion -- it would just be another mode of airport access.
 
tkoe_ said:
I was under the impression that there was serious consideration by CP Rail to sell surplus land near Old Strathcona, north of their yard:

https://edmontonjournal.com/busines...cp-rail-to-develop-yard-south-of-whyte-avenue

My fear is that it would be all too easy to allow the right of way to be fragmented (much like the CN ROW into downtown) and thereby prevent, or at the very least delay, any potential for frequent heavy rail service into the core.
Click to expand...
I've heard that CPR is now seeing future use with their Irvine Yard, so who knows how long it will take until they deem it surplus and list it for sale. Until then, we wait...
 
Glenco said:
. L

Wouldn’t that be a reverse commute?
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There's a possibility for people travelling from the airport in the same direction as northbound commuters in the mornings or people travelling south to the airport to have to squeeze in beside southbound commuters in the evenings. Plus, as Heritage Valley, the hospital and other southerly neighbourhoods and commercial zones on the way to the airport develop, there will be more people travelling in both directions.
 
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