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Intercity Transit

westcoastjos said:
I can't see nationalization of the track network ever happening again.
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ChazYEG said:
I hope we never see that... The very idea sends shivers down my spine.
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Only one of the three ideas I had, and there's more creative and hybrid ones out there...

Curious tho @ChazYEG , why does that idea send shivers down your spine?
 
Platinum107 said:
Only one of the three ideas I had, and there's more creative and hybrid ones out there...

Curious tho @ChazYEG , why does that idea send shivers down your spine?
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It gives me too many Venezuela vibes. Growing up in South America, you learn to be wary of nationalization of private assets and full Government control over things like transportation and energy.
 
ChazYEG said:
It gives me too many Venezuela vibes. Growing up in South America, you learn to be wary of nationalization of private assets and full Government control over things like transportation and energy.
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Alright I can see that, but when I think of national railways I think more of European counties like Germany or Sweden. Of course it doesn’t fit our spread-out Canadian context like a glove, but it’s only one route to go, no? Either way something has to figured out because medium-distance transportation sucks in Canada (and passenger trains are cool 😎 🚂)
 
edmonton.citynews.ca

Edmonton charter bus company facing charges, fines | CityNews Edmonton

An Edmonton van and bus charter company is facing hundreds of charges and thousands of dollars in fines.
edmonton.citynews.ca edmonton.citynews.ca

This sounds really bad. I thought they had plans for regular coach service, but it seems like they've stuck to charter buses only. They seemed alright when I took them, but this was years ago now...
 
I have been doing a lot watching of developments in intercity train proposals in the Philippines these past few weeks. I mention this because it really makes me sad that the amount of projects moving forward and those being proposed as well puts Alberta to shame. We have pretty well a straight, fairly flat run from Edmonton to Calgary that could be built fairly easily and its seeming almost like a pipe dream for anything to happen. Meanwhile governments and the private sector in the Philippines understand the power of good train service.
 
We haven't had any inter city rail service in Alberta for over 30 years, partly because VIA's main focus is on central Canada and partly because we are a very car focused place.

If we can't do a more basic rail service first, I doubt we can do a more costly high speed one although people will keep talking about it forever, but nothing will continue to happen.

The people who run this province generally feel it is ok for us to remain a car focused place with other options very limited.
 
With all the debate about rail, HSR, etc. happening in the Commuter and Regional Rail thread, I decided to update this one map I made a while back of potential passenger rail services in Alberta (link). Right now I only have three things on it, with more to come when I decide to work on it again:

1) Edmonton-Calgary HSR:

Stations:
  • Downtown Edmonton
  • Strathcona Junction
  • YEG
  • Red Deer
  • YYC
  • Downtown Calgary
- This would be the express service and would naturally be the most busy in the whole province
-Trains on this route would be EMUs (think Siemens Velaro or Shinkansen N700) for high-efficiency performance
-Greenfield alignment outside of Edmonton and Calgary, mainly following the QEII but with deviations for wider curves. Within the city trains could potentially share quad-tracked corridors with other intercity and regional services.
-Ed-Red-Cal may act more like a single entity when it comes to the job market, housing market, etc due to the travel time being cut in half. For example, Red Deer could see a dense node of housing developments, offices, entertainment etc around their station, as the journey would only be ~45 mins to Ed or Cal. This would also help with its out-of-the-way location.

2) Alberta Corridor Regional (ACR)

Stations:
  • Downtown Edmonton
  • Strathcona Junction
  • South Edmonton
  • YEG
  • Leduc
  • Millet
  • Wetaskiwin
  • Maskwacis
  • Ponoka
  • Lacombe
  • Blackfalds
  • Red Deer
  • Penhold
  • Innisfail
  • Bowden
  • Olds
  • Didsbury
  • Carstairs
  • Crossfield
  • Airdrie Central
  • Airdrie South
  • CrossIron Mills
  • YYC
  • Downtown Calgary
-This line is meant to link up the many towns/small cities between Edmonton and Calgary into a reliable and frequent train service. Its focus is on connectivity and accessibility rather than speed, which is where HSR comes in (although the tracks would be upgraded and straightened in certain areas to maintain an average speed in the ballpark of 120kph)
-Trains on this route would be battery/hydrogen-powered EMUs (such as the Alstom Coradia Lint), as the fast acceleration will help speed up travel times between the frequent stops. Seating would be more comfortable and plentiful, however.
- multiple Interchanges with regional Edmonton and Calgary trains would exist on both ends of the line

3) CABR (Calgary-Banff Train)

Stations:
  • YYC
  • Downtown Calgary
  • Bowness (Northwest Calgary)
  • Cochrane
  • Morley
  • Canmore
  • Banff
-frequent service between Calgary and YYC, with hourly service to Banff.
-Battery/hydrogen-powered EMUs (such as the Alstom Coradia Lint)
-Would essentially add Canmore and Banff to the Calgary's CMA if the service can beat highway speeds in certain sections.

1706569157670.png
 
I like your study into this subject @Platinum107 but I don't see the need for both a downtown station AND a Strathcona station in Edmonton -- focus on the Strathcona Station. There is also no need for a "milk-run" line that emulates the proposed HSR line; rather, you should look at a web of interconnectivity that fans out from the main HSR stations -- as one example the Red Deer HSR station might also -- by way of secondary rail -- serve communities such as Sylvan Lake and Rocky Mountain House to the west and Mascwacis, Camrose, Wainwright, etc. to the east. I expect a new map by next Tuesday (LOL).
 
archited said:
I like your study into this subject @Platinum107 but I don't see the need for both a downtown station AND a Strathcona station in Edmonton -- focus on the Strathcona Station. There is also no need for a "milk-run" line that emulates the proposed HSR line; rather, you should look at a web of interconnectivity that fans out from the main HSR stations -- as one example the Red Deer HSR station might also -- by way of secondary rail -- serve communities such as Sylvan Lake and Rocky Mountain House to the west and Mascwacis, Camrose, Wainwright, etc. to the east. I expect a new map by next Tuesday (LOL).
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Stopping at Old Strathcona makes sense, and it was Prairie Link's idea as well. Granted, they envisioned it connecting to the Gondola, but it still is the best option.

On the flip side, much smarter people than most of us have come to the same conclusion as @Platinum107 . Having the parallel row is what makes the economics work, because you can have an Edmonton-Calgary line (with all the stops) as well as use this row to have commuter rail between YEG and Old Strathcona and YYC and DT Calgary, to generate higher revenue in the short term.
 
archited said:
I like your study into this subject @Platinum107 but I don't see the need for both a downtown station AND a Strathcona station in Edmonton -- focus on the Strathcona Station. There is also no need for a "milk-run" line that emulates the proposed HSR line; rather, you should look at a web of interconnectivity that fans out from the main HSR stations -- as one example the Red Deer HSR station might also -- by way of secondary rail -- serve communities such as Sylvan Lake and Rocky Mountain House to the west and Mascwacis, Camrose, Wainwright, etc. to the east. I expect a new map by next Tuesday (LOL).
Click to expand...
Unless the train goes downtown Edmonton it is NEVER going to happen.
 
archited said:
I like your study into this subject @Platinum107 but I don't see the need for both a downtown station AND a Strathcona station in Edmonton -- focus on the Strathcona Station. There is also no need for a "milk-run" line that emulates the proposed HSR line; rather, you should look at a web of interconnectivity that fans out from the main HSR stations -- as one example the Red Deer HSR station might also -- by way of secondary rail -- serve communities such as Sylvan Lake and Rocky Mountain House to the west and Mascwacis, Camrose, Wainwright, etc. to the east. I expect a new map by next Tuesday (LOL).
Click to expand...
ChazYEG said:
Stopping at Old Strathcona makes sense, and it was Prairie Link's idea as well. Granted, they envisioned it connecting to the Gondola, but it still is the best option.

On the flip side, much smarter people than most of us have come to the same conclusion as @Platinum107 . Having the parallel row is what makes the economics work, because you can have an Edmonton-Calgary line (with all the stops) as well as use this row to have commuter rail between YEG and Old Strathcona and YYC and DT Calgary, to generate higher revenue in the short term.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! Honestly I have mixed feelings on the downtown vs. Strathcona station debate. In my ideal world there would be both with Edmonton's unique double-downtown situation, but if there had to be one I'd say is should be downtown, specifically in the current location of ECC East. Even if it's way more expensive (which it def would be), the connectivity with every LRT line just makes last-mile transit from the station so much better.

There's definitely a few different ways to go about a network design, and I will make more hubs an spokes over time on my map like the Sylvan Lake one mentioned, but I do see a "local" service along with HSR being pretty important for the places between YEG and YYC. Small cities like Wetaskiwin or Olds could see a huge spike in investment/population once they have a direct link to Ed or Cal.

ig I'm just hoping someone at Prairielink is reading this and taking notes 👀
 
EdmTrekker said:
Unless the train goes downtown Edmonton it is NEVER going to happen.
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The problem with ending in Strathcona is, as always, it does not connect really well with downtown. So currently you would then have to take a bus to the University and then take the LRT downtown.

It might work better with an additional frequent dedicated direct bus, but if you are going to cobble that on, just go all the way and do it right.
 
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