TBM update: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=214696212489798251360.0004e908bf153fd87ea17&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=43.687395,-79.481398&spn=0.004593,0.008393&source=embed TBM Dennis is haulin'.

I didn't know cities without glass condo towers constitute being called "total fails". I think when it comes down to urbanism and being in an urban environment, downtown Brampton takes the cake. Try walking in downtown Mississauga, then try walking in downtown Brampton. Does a skyline trump a...

Thanks! Those were the things I was thinking about. Just wanted to be sure.

On a somewhat unrelated note to the current discussion, would GO travel times between Winston Churchill/403 and Square 1 be faster if buses traveled on the 403 or the transitway? I assume that during rush hour, the answer is obvious and the transitway is faster. What's the answer/prediction for...

I think the PC's only downside is Hudak. The guy is unelectable (as premier). As much as people hate the Liberals, I think they notice that the PC's don't have a transportation plan for the GTA, and neither do the NDP. Hudak will be dumped after the next election, which will produce another...

The TBM tracker has been updated today. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=214696212489798251360.0004e908bf153fd87ea17&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=43.687395,-79.481398&spn=0.004593,0.008393&source=embed TBM #1 (Dennis) is almost at Kane Ave, while TBM #2 (Lea) has been stuck between Yarrow and...

I stopped reading when Phoenix and Houston were lauded as model cities...

Rather than tunneling 2 express tracks parallel to Yonge, wouldn't the DRL effectively relieve Bloor/Yonge AND increase transit service to neighbourhoods east and west of the financial district? Aren't we trying to increase service to those areas with the DRL?

^Well written, ShonTron. The Star really did back the Neptis review blindly, IMO.

I take it this would only be possible in Canada where CN and CP are willing to lease out their tracks. Is anyone aware of any stretches where CN or CP lease out their tracks, and something like this would be possible (stretches where passenger rail service exists or would be warranted)? CN North...

Scaling things down a bit, could it be done on the GO rail network? GO owns most of the track that they operate on. CN North Mainline will also be interesting to watch around 2017, to see whether CN will sell the line or lease it out again. Could the government one day say "here's the...

What is the funding breakdown like in the US, with entities like Amtrak California? How much funding do the feds pitch in, to a State-run entity?

How about as a potential VIA Rail replacement?

*This thread is not intended to become a political battleground.* As the topic states, would "rail franchising" work in Canada? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_franchising_in_Great_Britain Does contracting out rail service make sense, similar to how we contract out waste collection...

Do you know if once these upgrades are complete, whether GO's schedules will reflect the increased travel speed/decreased travel time, or will the schedules still remain padded? Thanks.

This may not necessarily be the case. The structure of the Planning Act and OMB does not allow for enough time for planners to fully review development applications (try reviewing a full subdivision and all of its components in 180 days, on top of your other workload), which then opens up the...

TJ O'Pootertoot's post sums it up well. Municipalities coasting on development charges, while keeping tax increases unrealistically low over the last couple of decades has been unsustainable IMO. Mississauga, without the constant revenue flow from traditional greenfield developments, will have...

That's true. I think Places to Grow and the Greenbelt were put in place largely to address municipalities that are still capable of greenfield development (Toronto is a different beast with little to no greenfields left, and Mississauga is almost fully built out, if not fully built out already)...

There is a chance that Harper won't be in power after 2015. With a rail-friendlier government in power, anything is possible.

The GEXR lease on the CN North Mainline expires in 2017... Here's hoping for a Metrolinx purchase. Investment is possible.