Intercity Transit

[ChazYEG]

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.

When they had a good feeling about the gondola, Prairie Link has it's sights on the stop in Strathcona (which would also serve as a boost for gondola ridership), but as @YEG imagineer pointed out, they now envision a direct connection to Downtown, which only makes sense, unless (and we'll be back to a discussion that is ongoing in another thread) we add an LRT line on Whyte (either under or at grade)

 

[buildings]

I actually like all the ideas flowing but I have to ask, if rail were an economically feasible option here, why did the one entity providing that service stop? (please no lengthy dissertations). What were the problems that CN could not overcome? what is different about today that makes those particular problems no longer a concern? and as much as I'd love that we had European style rail service, our general population densities and large distances make it seem a no-go, (Alberta is 5x the size of England and has 1/12th the population...take note British Rail). I can't really get on board with a milk-run service between YEG and YYC... it would be faster all around for folks outside of YEG/YYC to drive to the cities. another comparison with the home of the bullet train (Japan): Honshu prefecture is 2/3rds the size of Alberta with a population 25x. I just don't see those models as a way forward for Alberta.

 

[YEG imagineer]

Biggest problem compared to the US is in Canada, passenger trains do not have priority. Causes all sorts of delays which reduces your customer base and the spiral continues. I’ve read that when VIA was created there was a federal bill to prioritize passenger trains, but it died at the end of a session and never resurrected again.

 

[David A]

Well, the services stopped when Alberta's population was much smaller. I think it may have doubled since then, with most of the growth in Edmonton, Calgary and the corridor in between.

The intercity and corridor traffic has increased considerably to the point that the existing road network will not be able to handle it sometime in the future.

So, then something will have to be done either a lot of money spent on roads, or something else. I imagine any significant new intercity rail initiative in Alberta would involve making a separate line for passenger vs. freight.

 

[ChazYEG]

Alberta is 5x the size of England and has 1/12th the population.

That is a very unfair comparison. We're not talking about a Grand Prairie or Fort Mac rail line, connecting every single small town in AB, but Edmonton-Calgary (and SOME cities in-between). The area between Edmonton and Calgary is about 5% of the province (which means about 1/4 of England) and about 1/15th of England's population. While it's not the same density (amounts to just above 1/4 of the density) is far from something as wild as you have implied.

 

[David A]

Exactly, the passenger rail network in say Quebec, which is an even larger province than Alberta in physical size, does not go from the southern end to the northern tip. Neither would it here.