[hw621]

Someone recently posted a doc mentioning the PC's intention to maintain previous stated funding in the Ontario Budget for GO RER etc. can someone repost it? If they actually followed through with that would RER be safe?

PC just released their full platform. Here is the transit and infrastructure portion:

rebuilding Ontario

Ontario families deserve major infrastructure investments in both our biggest cities and our smallest towns.

We can also do more to help other parts of Ontario get moving. Whether it is by investing in expanded broadband, increasing local infrastructure funding, or exploring highway expansion across the province. Ontario businesses, families and workers can all count on an Ontario that will move faster than ever before.

We will:

• Deliver two-way, all-day GO service, including expansions to Bowmanville, Kitchener and completing the Niagara GO Expansion, and support regional transit projects in places such as Ottawa, Hamilton, Mississauga/Brampton, Kitchener-Waterloo and London.
• Upload responsibility for subway infrastructure, including the building and maintenance of new and existing subway lines, from the City of Toronto to the Province. Add $5 billion in new subway funding to the $9 billion already available to build the Sheppard Loop with Scarborough, the Relief Line, and the Yonge Extension while building future crosstown expansions underground. Keep responsibility for day-to-day operations, including labour relations, with the City of Toronto along with a guarantee that the City will continue to keep all revenue generated by the subway system.
• Actively explore potential for high-speed rail and highway projects including the potential six-laning of Highway 401 to the 416 between Toronto and Ottawa. Also, complete the environmental assessment for the GTA West Corridor, invest in increasing safety on the 401 West and four-lane Highway 17 in eastern Ontario and Highway 3 in Southwestern Ontario.
• Expand natural gas distribution to rural communities by enabling private sector participation and use the up to $100 million in savings to invest in cellular and broadband expansion.
• Increase the Risk Management Program (RMP) cap by $50 million annually to help farmers and other producers better manage risks outside of their control.

What this will cost:

Two-Way GO/Regional Transit Projects – Will maintain current funding as detailed in Ontario’s previous transportation and infrastructure budget.

Upload Toronto Subway System - Costing to be amortized over life of subway projects once operational, plus $160 million per year for existing assets.

Highway Improvement Plan - $20 million for studies/401 improvements, $5 million per year for Highways 3 and 17 amortized over 50 years once completed.

Natural Gas and Broadband/Cellular Expansion – Up to $100 million in savings by enabling private sector to expand natural gas, with savings re-invested in broadband/cellular projects.

Risk Management Program Increase - $50 million per year, starting in year three.

 

[steveintoronto]

We will:

• Deliver two-way, all-day GO service, including expansions to Bowmanville, Kitchener and completing the Niagara GO Expansion, and support regional transit projects in places such as Ottawa, Hamilton, Mississauga/Brampton, Kitchener-Waterloo and London.

Is that before or after consultation with Baron von Munchausen? No dates, no details. And no more nukes in North Korea either. Whoops, got my liars mixed up there...

 

[cbrown2009]

Also conspicuous by its absence, the specific mention of RER continuing...

 

[raptor]

Also conspicuous by its absence, the specific mention of RER continuing...

That really means nothing, since only a tiny fraction of the people of Ontario knows what 'RER' means.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

That really means nothing, since only a tiny fraction of the people of Ontario knows what 'RER' means.

Also, the PCs may have avoided using "RER" as it was the Liberals who branded the program that way.

 

[cbrown2009]

Also, the PCs may have avoided using "RER" as it was the Liberals who branded the program that way.

Based on a similar service of the same name in/around Paris, France though

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Based on a similar service of the same name in/around Paris, France though

Yes, I just got back from Paris and was quite impressed. To make the program look like their own, I could see the PCs going with GO Surface Subway, or something dumb like that.

 

[TOareaFan]

Also conspicuous by its absence, the specific mention of RER continuing...

It would be a pretty safe bet that ReR is what is being referred to here after the forward slash:

Two-Way GO/Regional Transit Projects – Will maintain current funding as detailed in Ontario’s previous transportation and infrastructure budget.

 

[cbrown2009]

It would be a pretty safe bet that ReR is what is being referred to here after the forward slash:

One can hope...

 

[muller877]

Yes, I just got back from Paris and was quite impressed. To make the program look like their own, I could see the PCs going with GO Surface Subway, or something dumb like that.

I'm guessing the inner frequent stops will be called the Toronto Overground as an ode to London UK. Very easy to understand what it is even if you have not been to the UK or Paris (RER).

 

[steveintoronto]

Based on a similar service of the same name in/around Paris, France though

RER *is* a generic term.

I'm guessing the inner frequent stops will be called the Toronto Overground as an ode to London UK. Very easy to understand what it is even if you have not been to the UK or Paris (RER).

Regional and commuter rail[edit]
Main articles: Regional rail and Commuter rail
Regional rail (also called metropolitan rail, commuter rail, or suburban rail) is an electric or diesel propelled railway for urban passenger train service consisting of local short distance travel operating between adjacent cities and towns, or between a central city and adjacent suburbs, using either locomotive hauled or multiple unit railroad passenger cars.[1]

Regional rail usually provides rail services between towns and cities, rather than purely linking major population hubs in the way inter-city rail does. Regional rail operates outside major cities. Unlike Inter-city, it stops at most or all stations. It provides a service between smaller communities along the line, and also connections with long-distance services. Alternative names are "local train" or "stopping train". Examples include the former BR's Regional Railways, France's TER (Transport express régional) and Germany's DB Regio services. Regional rail operates throughout the day but often at low frequency (once per hour or only a few times a day), whereas commuter rail provides a high-frequency service within a conurbation.

Regional trains are usually all seated and provide luggage space, although they seldom have all the amenities of inter-city trains such as a buffet or dining car. Since their invention, the distinction between regional and long-distance rail has also been the use of multiple unit propulsion, with longer distance trains being locomotive hauled, although development of trains such as the British Rail Class 390 have blurred this distinction. Shorter regional rail services will still usually be operated exclusively by multiple units where they exist, which have a shorter range and operate at lower average speeds than services on Inter-city rail networks. Not using a locomotive also provides greater passenger capacity in the commuter role at peak periods.

British Rail, during sectorisation, did once create a "Regional Railways" subsidiary, however this was so named to differentiate it's 'all other regions' lines from the other sectors Network SouthEast, which heavily focused on commuters services to London terminal stations but operated rail services across the South East region, and the Inter-City sector which operated long distance services.

Commuter rail in North America refers to urban passenger train service for local short-distance travel operating between a central city and its suburbs. Such rail service, using either locomotive-hauled or self-propelled railroad passenger cars, is characterized by multi-trip tickets, specific station-to-station fares, and usually only one or two stations in the central business district. It does not include heavy rail, rapid transit, light rail, streetcar, tram, or intercity rail service.[8] Some commuter rail systems do link nearby cities, e.g. Boston and Providence (MBTA) or Baltimore and Washington (MARC Train). The national passenger rail provider, Amtrak, uses the term Regional to distinguish its slower trains on the Northeast Corridor from its Acela high-speed express service. The term regional railroad refers to second-tier freight lines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_rail_terminology#Regional_and_commuter_rail

 

[Sandpit]

I've said it before, but it's most likely that both RER and SmartTrack are project/working names. Much like how the Air-rail Link became the UP Express and Acceleride in Brampton became Zum, there will be a new name once construction is about halfway complete. IIRC someone on here suggested GO ReX (short for Regional Express).

 

[Streety McCarface]

I've said it before, but it's most likely that both RER and SmartTrack are project/working names. Much like how the Air-rail Link became the UP Express and Acceleride in Brampton became Zum, there will be a new name once construction is about halfway complete. IIRC someone on here suggested GO ReX (short for Regional Express).

Do we really have to attach stupid names to everything? Can't we be like most cities and just call it the regional rail if we're under one system or GO Transit if we're still separate entities? We call the streetcar network: "the streetcar network", not the HOST (High Occupancy street transit, or something). We call the subway network: "The Subway Network", not Underground Smarttrack.

 

[aquateam]

Yes, I just got back from Paris and was quite impressed. To make the program look like their own, I could see the PCs going with GO Surface Subway, or something dumb like that.

It would honestly be hard for them to beat "SmartTrack"

 

[JSF-1]

We don't really need to give RER a name. At the end of the day its just GO Transit with new technology. We already have a name for this, we call it the GO Train. Its not like High Speed Rail which is a completely different beast and would likely not operate under the GO Banner (plus HSR tends to have a unique name wherever you go).