lol right, 500-1000 people arriving at one time would overwhelm the public transportation system in a city of 1.2 million people. The CoE must just grind to a halt every time there is an event with over 500 people attending

Nothing wrong with that. You build it at the speed of a car and it will be plenty popular. Doesn’t have to be hypersonic.

Lack of connectivity upon arrival?? again your car centric mentality shines through. I travel to Calgary regularly by Red Arrow and upon arrival I can take any of these options to get to my next destination: LRT, Bus, Taxi, Communato (car share), UBer/Lyft, friends/family pick me up, walk (if...

That makes zero sense. You build a paradigm-shifting project like this to actually facilitate and encourage things like density, positive perception of public transit, etc. Good thing 150 years ago our forefathers didn't take the Ian route.... l'et's wait until Canada is developed and has a...

Attitudes have (very slowly) begun to change a bit since I moved here from Europe in 1993, but there is a loooooong way to go unfortunately. The car-first mentality is very deeply engrained here.

sure, what's a cool $2b if it means drivers won't have to slow down for 2 minutes.

Ok so this is where we need to remember the HSR debate. What's going to happen is that the province is going to spend $200m+ to make 'improvements' to this stretch just so drivers don't have to slow down by 30 km/h for a minute or two (watch, it'll happen....drivers will demand it). What drives...

^ yes we are here to debate, but this 'is HSR viable or not' debate has gone on non-stop for the past 10 years. This is a commuter rail thread anyways. Why do we pave a road to Grande Cache for hundreds of millions of dollars? Gravel would suffice. Governments constantly spend large amounts of...

Crossing provincial boundaries also adds massive complexities, as does population density and topography.

Like I said, I won't get into a debate here. To understand the value of a passenger rail link between Edmonton and Calgary you have to look at things holistically, not just if the line can pay for itself. What would having a link do for Alberta's economy overall. If you don't get it, you don't...

But really no point in arguing, as clearly people see it different ways. Things will happen when they happen, and it may surprise you how soon that will be.

I agree with the second part of your statement. YYC to Banff makes sense even without an Edmonton to Calgary connection (which will take much longer to build anyways because it will largely be 'greenfield'). The first part of your statement is incorrect, in my opinion. We spend hundreds of...

^ Ministers tend to have a better chance of survival in their portfolio when they fall in line with what the premier wants. Smith has made it clear this is a TOP priority for her. Expect the minister to fall in line.

With Parks Canada's new mandate to encourage public transportation, one would think they would fall in line. The single best and easiest way to encourage people to take public transit instead of private vehicle would be to change the park fee structure. Get in free (or cheap) if you take...

Admittedly I'm not too familiar with the local politics in Banff, but I know the support for CABR is very strong. I believe these are 'details' that would fall into place in time.

Well yes, of course. But the CIB doesn't recommend projects to the GoA unless they have done their due diligence. The main issue that needs to be resolved is the tight spot in downtown YYC in relation to CP, but that needs to be solved for any rail project going through Calgary, not just CABR...

The feasibility study currently being undertaken is not specific to the CABR project, but rather looking at all options relating to the Calgary airport connection. The CABR project is feasible, which is why it has funding lined up from the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB).

Yes and in fact it was also specifically highlighted in the most recent speech from the throne.

Don't forget YYC - Banff

Turn that main floor from awkward small room + two car garage into actual livable space and I would even consider it at $800k. Most skinnies in my neighbourhood are more expensive than that.