^I just don’t see it ever happening, unfortunately. I think there’s just far too many factors limiting what role the E.R.R.S and its tracks can play. The ‘problem’ (and I use that word loosely) is that the E.R.R.S. has always been, and always will be, a volunteer organization run by railfans for the purposes of promoting transit history — the whole intent is for it to be a historical novelty as opposed to a meaningful part of the transit system. And that’s not me saying I wouldn’t love it to be a more integrated part of Edmonton’s overall transit strategy during the summer months, because I do, whether as an active means of transit or as something as simple as shared fares or transfers, but I just think the whole ideal behind it is incompatible with that goal.
In a hypothetical scenario where there are talks to integrate it, I still see too many questions and variables for it to be a viable tool. Who would run it if it could become an active part of the network? Do you have volunteers run it, despite it being a full-time commitment? Do you pay them? Do you strip them of what they built and have the City run it? Does the City use the E.R.R.S.’ cars? What if a 110+ year old car breaks down, where do you get the parts? If not using their cars, does that mean the City has to purchase new streetcars? Where are they stored? Who maintains them? Is it it’s own segregated branch of E.T.S., or do you connect it somewhere with existing L.R.T.? Then there’s the structural problems with the High Level Bridge, where it can’t support regular train service anymore, and a major bottleneck with the tunnel at Strathcona House, which as far as I can tell is only one car’s width wide.
And again, all of that majorly sucks! I wish in some ideal world, E.T.S. could just have a branch of the Valley Line West come down around 110th Street, run through Rail Town Park, down the current streetcar right-of-way across the High Level, down the tracks into Old Strathcona and then branch off east down Whyte to Bonnie Doon and the current Valley Line, and west down Whyte to the UofA’s Corbett Hall, where it would have a European-styled tram loop. But I just don't see a scenario (at least without a bottomless budget, where all these questions would be made irrelevant), anything more than what the E.R.R.S. already does can exist, especially since they only have the capacity to store three vehicles on site to begin with.
Having gotten my ramble out of the way, I do agree: why not two tracks here? I haven’t done the calculations, but the old C.P.R. the right-of-way they’re building along looks wide enough to support two. If that is the case and I'm not just crazy, it seems like somewhat of a missed opportunity, especially since I’d be willing to bet that ridership will go up given it’ll be so much more visible now.
