innsertnamehere
Superstar
no way the 50 minutes saved is correct, GO currently takes 57 minutes from Milton.. thats suggesting it would only take the train 18 minutes to travel over 40km..
|
|
|
no way the 50 minutes saved is correct, GO currently takes 57 minutes from Milton.. thats suggesting it would only take the train 18 minutes to travel over 40km..
I think we will still see infrastructure improvements outside of the big move projects in the coming years, politicians are still going to need vote buying projects like Cambridge GO.
Interesting. A fundamental question arrises though when discussing exurban services like this: who pays for it? This will become especially true when Metrolinx implements its new revenue tools, as these exurban areas will likely not fall under the purview of them. It will be a lot easier for people within the "revenue tools taxation area" to argue for increased service levels, because the money they will be spending in taxes will go to help pay for it. But for people outside? The question of "how are you ponying up for this extra cost?" becomes a lot less clear.
Personally, I think Waterloo Region should be subsidizing GO for the added cost of doing runs to Kitchener or Cambridge vs the cost of doing runs to Georgetown or Milton, especially because those added trips aren't anywhere close to breaking even (at least for Kitchener, Cambridge remains to be seen). If Waterloo Region does manage to get great local connections to the GO service and it ends up breaking even, Waterloo Region pays nothing and everybody is happy.
I wonder how CP would react to GO extending rail service to Cambridge, as that's a busy section of track for them.
Simple, it's not going to happen unless CP lets it. You'd think they would be able to squeeze in 4 extra trips a day but the problem is, having those scheduled trips operate on their line would interfere with their operational flexibility, that's a big no-no for CP. The line is single track(Galt sub.)west of Guelph Jct.(Campbellville). I wouldn't be surpirsed if CP demanded GO build them a second track to Cambridge if the want the service. As is, even in the unlikely senario that CP doesn't require that, GO is not really going to want to run an operation where the trains are going to be stuck in a siding for 15 mins or more. All of which leads me to believe this mayor is guilty of failing to do the research and just talking from his ass or just trying to look good to his constituents.
This mayor is notorious for not doing his research. He's spewed Rob Fordian facts about the LRT project in Waterloo Region, and believes that because there are railway tracks in Cambridge, it means GO can operate their trains here. He fails to acknowledge simple things, like CP owns the tracks through Cambridge, and GO has much larger priorities to deal with.Simple, it's not going to happen unless CP lets it. You'd think they would be able to squeeze in 4 extra trips a day but the problem is, having those scheduled trips operate on their line would interfere with their operational flexibility, that's a big no-no for CP. The line is single track(Galt sub.)west of Guelph Jct.(Campbellville). I wouldn't be surpirsed if CP demanded GO build them a second track to Cambridge if the want the service. As is, even in the unlikely senario that CP doesn't require that, GO is not really going to want to run an operation where the trains are going to be stuck in a siding for 15 mins or more. All of which leads me to believe this mayor is guilty of failing to do the research and just talking from his ass or just trying to look good to his constituents.
How do you measure break even though? In neither case is the service established simply to get to those communities but, rather, an extension of much busier corridors.
As for who pays for it....it has yet to be seen but every discussion about revenue tools I have seen has them covering capital costs not operating costs....so in the case of a low capital cost extension like Milton-Cambridge I guess they will find a way for the province to cover the capital costs and have the GO operating budget cover the operating deficiency (if there is one).
Question: Could half hour service work?
I can see a couple of reverse runs and a few off-peak runs added on the Barrie line but I would think that GO will stay away from any significant schedule on the route until the Davenport Diamond Grade Separation Project is restarted and funded.
It doesn't have to be 4 trips per day. I'd think day 1 it would be one or two trips per day. I'm sure for the right price, CP would make it happen, and give it priority. The question is, would GO and/or Cambridge meet their price. Perhaps the Mayor of Cambridge would like to put his money where his mouth is.Simple, it's not going to happen unless CP lets it. You'd think they would be able to squeeze in 4 extra trips a day but the problem is, having those scheduled trips operate on their line would interfere with their operational flexibility, that's a big no-no for CP.
Break even may have been the wrong phrase. What I meant to say was reach the same fare recovery ratio as other routes. I agree that in some cases it's hard to split the cost of part of a route vs the entire route, but it should be possible to tell whether or not the new service is "worth it", or if it's decreased the overall cost recovery ratio of the route.
I believe that revenue tools are meant to go 75% towards capital, 25% towards operating.
It doesn't have to be 4 trips per day. I'd think day 1 it would be one or two trips per day. I'm sure for the right price, CP would make it happen, and give it priority. The question is, would GO and/or Cambridge meet their price. Perhaps the Mayor of Cambridge would like to put his money where his mouth is.