EllisDon to Lead Prairie Link High-Speed Rail Partners - Edm-RD-Cal

[Gronk!]

The only line that makes sense is YYC-YYCDT-Banff.

You sound like a resident of Canmore

 

[IanO]

The market is there today, the inflated tourist fares are there today, the automobile congestion issues that could be partially resolved is there today, the opportunity for workers to use it to commute and avoid living costs has potential and much of the right-of-way/route is ready, today.

And yes, selfishly I'd be the first to use it.

 

[The_Cat]

I’m guessing Leduc will be booming with a high-speed connection.

 

[chrisvazquez7]

The only line that makes sense is YYC-YYCDT-Banff.

Wrong. All the routes Edmcowboy suggested are feasible IMO with regular rolling stock, nothing fancy. The Alberta and Canadian governments need to step in and fund reliable and frequent intercity rail. There are no excuses at this point. The population is there. The density is there. You can look at comparable examples in other parts of the world. What is missing is the political will.

 

[IanO]

The density is FAR from there, as is the support once arrived at various locations.

 

[The_Cat]

Over 75% of Alberta's population is in the Edmonton-Calgary corridor.

 

[IanO]

Toronto-Montreal is 30% of Canada's and has not worked as of yet.

 

[whatchyyc]

The density is FAR from there, as is the support once arrived at various locations.

I wonder how nearly every town between Calgary and Edmonton came into existence and was serviced before autos came around...

 

[IanO]

Oh no you didn't.

Do you have wagon wheel futures as well?

 

[The_Cat]

One way to look at it is seeing the populations of the towns on HIghway 2: Leduc (35,000), Lacombe (20,000), Blackfalds (10,000), Sylvan Lake (15,000), Red Deer (110,000), Airdrie (70,000). We're talking nearly 300,000 population between Edmonton and Calgary proper.

 

[chrisvazquez7]

The density is FAR from there, as is the support once arrived at various locations.

I would love to see some evidence to back up this claim.

Look anywhere in the world with a decent passenger rail network, and a city pair like Calgary/Edmonton would have dozens, if not hundreds of departures each day between the two. Just because Canada is far behind when it comes to intercity rail, doesn’t mean it’s not feasible.

And as for the “support” at various locations. What? Do you mean the multiple LRT lines, extensive bus network, bike/scooter share, Uber/taxi, pick-up/drop-off, parking is not enough “support”? Do you think every train station needs to be served by a metro or something? People can find ways of getting to/from train stations in other parts of the world, not sure why it would be any different here?

 

[chrisvazquez7]

Toronto-Montreal is 30% of Canada's and has not worked as of yet.

What do you mean it hasn’t worked? VIA has been hampered by infrastructure that is not owned by them, and a government that doesn’t give them enough money. Demand is not the problem. It’s politics and money.

 

[Didama]

Companies like EllisDon don't put this level of effort into a project if there isn't a business case. Edm-Cgy will happen. It's relatively flat, not crossing any provincial boundaries and only 300km apart with a pop of 3m and growing fast. It boggles the mind that so many people wouldn't blink an eye at $5b+ of public money being spent on an extra lane on QEII with zero return on investment but go nuts at the idea of the province being involved even peripherally in an HSR project (for example by helping accumulate required land, etc).
Time to retire the old thinking. Roads aren't profitable so I'm not sure why railways always need to be. It's about moving people, providing alternative methods of travelling, and saving the planet at the same time.
In my mind, people like IanO can't really be advocates for density if they're only willing to advocate for cars as methods for intercity travel.

 

[thebystander]

I can certainly say that if I was travelling to Calgary from Edmonton in the dead of winter I would love for there to be HSR option. Imagine not having to worry about the extreme weather events/ accidents that seem to happen weekly along the QEII. Living in the type of climate we do for 6 months of the year with road conditions the way they are, I would say there are multiple reasons to provide an alternative mode of transportation that reduces the amount of vehicle traffic along the busiest highway in Alberta.

 

[Edmcowboy11]

I hope that this Edm/RD/Cal can begin a trend of shifting travel away from single user vehicles to mass public transportation. If other parts of the world can do it and do it well, why can't we?