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Seeing the complaints show up in my FB feed. I wonder if this is just anti Liberal government sentiment (or anti government period), under the guise of NIMBY'ism and environmentalism

There's a danger in thinking this. When the conservatives get elected and their MP is in caucus (cause they only vote blue), they will expect their demands fulfilled.
 
The problem is that ALTO went and threw out very wide swathes of "potential corridor" across half of southern ontario between Toronto and Montreal.

Surprise surprise, every land owner in between is now convinced ALTO is going to ram a rail line right through their living room. This gives a huge population to draw opposition from.

As soon as they release refined corridors the opposition will drop precipitously as the list of "impacted" will shrink by like 99%.

If I were ALTO I would have released 4-5 refined corridors off the start instead of these ridiculously vague swathes of corridor review areas. They may have opened a pandoras box now that will be hard to shut, even after 99% of people realize it won't actually impact them.
 
The problem is that ALTO went and threw out very wide swathes of "potential corridor" across half of southern ontario between Toronto and Montreal.

Surprise surprise, every land owner in between is now convinced ALTO is going to ram a rail line right through their living room. This gives a huge population to draw opposition from.

As soon as they release refined corridors the opposition will drop precipitously as the list of "impacted" will shrink by like 99%.

If I were ALTO I would have released 4-5 refined corridors off the start instead of these ridiculously vague swathes of corridor review areas. They may have opened a pandoras box now that will be hard to shut, even after 99% of people realize it won't actually impact them.

At least indicate where there are existing or mothballed rail lines that could be straightened out as the potential routes. This would at least give people something tangible.
 
There's a danger in thinking this. When the conservatives get elected and their MP is in caucus (cause they only vote blue), they will expect their demands fulfilled.

The good thing is, with no real election on the horizon (both leaders do not seem to want one), they can whine all they want. With no real expectations for an election till October 15, 2029, I would expect by then the final route is decided and then you only need to contend with those landowners. Maybe by then the new Siemens sets are reliable,and the speed restrictions are a thing of the past to. Maybe by then, Via communicates what a post ALTO Corridor service looks like.
 
Maybe by then, Via communicates what a post ALTO Corridor service looks like.
Reminder that Cadence is supposed to run both the high-speed, dedicated corridor, and the not high-speed, CN corridor, services for the duration of their franchise. The RFP asked for a service pattern based on Kingston as a hub, instead of as a stop on the route between Toronto and Ottawa/Montreal. I agree that there's been no mention of this recently but the Federal Govt. should hold Cadence to this commitment from their proposal.
 
Reminder that Cadence is supposed to run both the high-speed, dedicated corridor, and the not high-speed, CN corridor, services for the duration of their franchise. The RFP asked for a service pattern based on Kingston as a hub, instead of as a stop on the route between Toronto and Ottawa/Montreal. I agree that there's been no mention of this recently but the Federal Govt. should hold Cadence to this commitment from their proposal.
I think this 'little' piece of the puzzle would mean a lot to a lot of people that right now have no idea. If it were part of their public presentations and open houses,it might have been better received.
 
I got into a big argument with a friend about the southern alignment. He thought that a Kingston stop was critical. I told him that this compromises the HSR service as well as the traditional service. The HSR route becomes too indirect and slows the service between the biggest cities. Of course, he expected a stop right in Kingston which means a big diversion to Ottawa defeating the purpose of HSR. I pointed out that he is rural and would never use the train to go to Kingston let alone use HSR at all. Sometimes. you cannot reason with people.
 
I agree that there's been no mention of this recently but the Federal Govt. should hold Cadence to this commitment from their proposal.

The feds *should* do that, but…I am still pessimistic that the fix is in. Alto is said to be the revenue generator and the legacy service is likely to remain a subsidy proposition. Wouldn’t take much more than a nudge, nudge wink, wink for both parties to agree that the legacy service can be downgraded.
What is needed is a separate business case dealing with the capital and operating aspects of the legacy service on its own. Arguably that might require addition of track, but it should not only document how the existing service standard will be preserved but also how it can be upgraded.
We know that track can be added - the 2907-2009 plan said as much, but the money got spent badly and the program was cur. The point being, the plans already exist - they just have to be revived based on a new service plan that assumes that through passengers shift to Alto.
The legacy service may deserve to be coat shared between Ottawa and Ontario. It’s a matter of spending a billion now rather than 50 billion in ten years.
I challenge anyone to show a tangible, enforceable commitment to the legacy service. It will be easily forgotten and shifted aside to die by a thousand paper cuts.

- Paul
 
Online consultation has been extended and more virtual meetings are coming up per this LinkedIn post.

We’re extending our online public consultation until Friday, April 24.
Didn’t have time to take part earlier? Now’s your chance to explore the interactive map and share your comments on our online consultation platform 👉 https://lnkd.in/gYnWqZRW

There will also be additional virtual sessions on:
▪️ Monday, March 23, 7:00–8:45 p.m. – English
▪️ Thursday, March 26, 7:00–8:45 p.m. – French.

Have your say: https://lnkd.in/gQ5wKb95
 
Online consultation has been extended and more virtual meetings are coming up per this LinkedIn post.
I think they need to better explain that the actual corridor is probably 100m wide not 20km. It's like looking at a paper map and assuming that the earth is flat.

If there was space along the 401 corridor, would that not have been considered?
 
I think they need to better explain that the actual corridor is probably 100m wide not 20km. It's like looking at a paper map and assuming that the earth is flat.

If there was space along the 401 corridor, would that not have been considered?
For the 401 corridor - perhaps proponents are wondering if ALTO tracks can go above given Fordo wants to dig a tunnel to double the highway anyway. No sun for cars!
 
If there was space along the 401 corridor, would that not have been considered?
The corridor is quite wide. They could build along the highway.
The 401 is designed with a curve radius meant for speeds of 100-130km/h. Alto will be designed in mind for at least 300km/h, which means the curve radii need to be almost 7km. The 401 is not as straight as you think it is, if you were to build Alto along it you would need significant realignments in many places. The corridor is also not as wide as you think it is, an Alto corridor would probably need at least 30m of space, maybe even more in some places, which simply does not exist nicely to the side or anything in the 401 corridor. In fact, from my rudimentary Google Maps measurements, the 401 ROW is maybe only 60m itself in many places if we are being generous. So it would require a new expropriated corridor somewhere next to the highway anyway...
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