[crs1026]

That would be nice, but T1 is the platform it would make most sense to leave low-level, since it's the northernmost platform and GO diverges toward the north.

T1 had always been the most-used platform, because it’s a straight level(ish) stair-free walk to the street. And it’s the best signalled through track route. Similar to Ottawa, it’s most convenient for passengers to board at T1 without using an underground passageway with a down-and-up stairway or elevator route. So I would vote for retaining it as the primary platform. T2-3 needed to be brought up to modern accessibility standards, and to look a lot nicer - but I would hope that this remains the secondary platform.

- Paul

 

[lenaitch]

Of course, otherwise they wouldn’t allow for level boarding at VIA’s existing high-level platforms. And, please, the company name is “Siemens” (no apostrophe), named after Werner von Siemens…

Then in the context of the sentence I think it would be Siemens'.

 

[KevinT]

Then in the context of the sentence I think it would be Siemens'.

Do you drive a Ford F-150, or Ford's F-150? If the latter, did you get permission from Doug first?

 

[Mr Finish Line]

Radio-Canada interview with the CEO of VIA HFR. Could one of our resident french-speakers provide a brief summary?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1760097474448933241

He spends time talking about why he moved from the port of Montreal to this project. They talk about TGF vs TGV. He talks about the Eurostar between Paris and Amsterdam as being the example they want to be compared to, which he says runs at 200km/h. The interviewer asks about Paris to Marseilles and he says that's 300km/h and above... "maybe". They talk a lot about what we already know, asking the bidders for a 200km/h scenario and a higher speed one. Interviewer asks if we'll just pick the cheapest one, he responds that they'll pick the one that's best for Canadians. He's asked about restricting air travel between the cities, he says that's not his area. Clarifies that the current map is approximate, but that these will be the stations (i.e. confirming previous ones have been cut). Says the development partner will be selected in the fall. Process will taking around 3 years.

 

[reaperexpress]

He spends time talking about why he moved from the port of Montreal to this project. They talk about TGF vs TGV. He talks about the Eurostar between Paris and Amsterdam as being the example they want to be compared to, which he says runs at 200km/h. The interviewer asks about Paris to Marseilles and he says that's 300km/h and above... "maybe". They talk a lot about what we already know, asking the bidders for a 200km/h scenario and a higher speed one. Interviewer asks if we'll just pick the cheapest one, he responds that they'll pick the one that's best for Canadians. He's asked about restricting air travel between the cities, he says that's not his area. Clarifies that the current map is approximate, but that these will be the stations (i.e. confirming previous ones have been cut). Says the development partner will be selected in the fall. Process will taking around 3 years.

The Eurostar from Paris to Amsterdam runs at 300 km/h. There is not a single segment of 200 line on the route. It's all 300 km/h high speed lines or ≤160 km/h conventional lines. That's a pretty fundamental lack of understanding on his part. Especially if he's the one who brought up that example.

300 km/h in red
200 km/h in beige (one line heading east from Brussels)
130-160 km/h in green

 

[afransen]

Says the development partner will be selected in the fall. Process will taking around 3 years.

In other words, this whole thing is going to get put to bed by PP. Don't get your hopes up, folks.

 

[guavadelic]

hy he moved from the port of Montreal to this project. They talk about TGF vs TGV. He talks about the Eurostar between Paris and Amsterdam as being the example they want to be compared to, which he says runs at 200km/h. The interviewer asks about Paris to Marseilles and he says that's 300km/h and above... "maybe". They talk a lot about what we already know, asking the bidders for a 200km/h scenario and a high

The Eurostar from Paris to Amsterdam runs at 300 km/h. There is not a single segment of 200 line on the route. It's all 300 km/h high speed lines or ≤160 km/h conventional lines. That's a pretty fundamental lack of understanding on his part. Especially if he's the one who brought up that example.

300 km/h in red
200 km/h in beige (one line heading east from Brussels)
130-160 km/h in green
View attachment 547706

He also used that example in a previous interview with La Presse.

'The latter had notably mentioned the route which connects Paris (France), Brussels (Belgium) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). On the Old Continent, trains connect Paris and Brussels in nearly 90 minutes, reaching speeds of around 300 km/h. Subsequently, they take around 2 hours 15 minutes to complete the remaining 200 kilometers to Amsterdam while several stops are made.

On average, trains travel at 156 km/h across the entire network.'

Train à grande fréquence | Montréal–Toronto en trois heures ou moins

Un défi envisageable, selon le responsable du projet entre Québec et la Ville Reine

www.lapresse.ca

 

[Bordercollie]

He also used that example in a previous interview with La Presse.

'The latter had notably mentioned the route which connects Paris (France), Brussels (Belgium) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). On the Old Continent, trains connect Paris and Brussels in nearly 90 minutes, reaching speeds of around 300 km/h. Subsequently, they take around 2 hours 15 minutes to complete the remaining 200 kilometers to Amsterdam while several stops are made.

On average, trains travel at 156 km/h across the entire network.'

Train à grande fréquence | Montréal–Toronto en trois heures ou moins

Un défi envisageable, selon le responsable du projet entre Québec et la Ville Reine

www.lapresse.ca

It doesn't need to be 300kmph to compete with the car. Sustained 160kmph is faster than a car and with downtown to downtown service can compete with flying. Start there and then work your way to faster speeds.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

Proposal for Via Rail all economy (or limited Business class) GTAH regional commuter service.

With the Venture train sets giving VIA some flexibility I was thinking if VIA could introduce some peak period commuter style service to the GTAH. For example VIA currently shows the travel time from Port Hope to Union at about 1 Hr 15 mins with provisional stops at Oshawa (Via currently does not sell Guildwood-Union tickets), about the same time it takes to ride Lakeshore E from Oshawa to Union. A couple of morning trains would allow people in Port Hope to be downtown in the morning and return home in the evening. For example three trains departing Port Hope around 6, 7, and 8. would arrive at Union around 7, 8, and 9. In the West Kitchener to Union is a similar distance and so would be similar travel times, Hamilton Union is a bit shorter. And in the North Barrie has a similar distance/travel time.

The obvious issue is that the last few routes are already served by GO and so VIA would be cannibalizing some of GO's ridership, however I think an arrangement could be made where VIA takes over some of GO's super express and/or provides an elevated more comfortable method of travel for those who want it. This would allow GO to deploy more trainsets on it's core service area, namely the central GTA.

With hybrid work from home models I can see people paying a bit higher fare for a more comfortable ride when they go into the office 2 or 3 times per week.

Some back of envelope calculations, a thee car train (one cab car + two coach cars + locomotive) seats about 200 passengers, or staying with the typical corridor configuration of 5 cars (one cab car + 3 coach cars + 1 business class + locomotive) seats 322 passengers. So six daily trains (three in am peak, 3 out pm peak) would be 600 to 900 passengers per day, about 250,000 riders per year. Giving riders on the outer edges of the GTAH a more comfortable and faster trip to Union.

Just a thought

 

[Bordercollie]

Proposal for Via Rail all economy (or limited Business class) GTAH regional commuter service.

With the Venture train sets giving VIA some flexibility I was thinking if VIA could introduce some peak period commuter style service to the GTAH. For example VIA currently shows the travel time from Port Hope to Union at about 1 Hr 15 mins with provisional stops at Oshawa (Via currently does not sell Guildwood-Union tickets), about the same time it takes to ride Lakeshore E from Oshawa to Union. A couple of morning trains would allow people in Port Hope to be downtown in the morning and return home in the evening. For example three trains departing Port Hope around 6, 7, and 8. would arrive at Union around 7, 8, and 9. In the West Kitchener to Union is a similar distance and so would be similar travel times, Hamilton Union is a bit shorter. And in the North Barrie has a similar distance/travel time.

The obvious issue is that the last few routes are already served by GO and so VIA would be cannibalizing some of GO's ridership, however I think an arrangement could be made where VIA takes over some of GO's super express and/or provides an elevated more comfortable method of travel for those who want it. This would allow GO to deploy more trainsets on it's core service area, namely the central GTA.

With hybrid work from home models I can see people paying a bit higher fare for a more comfortable ride when they go into the office 2 or 3 times per week.

Some back of envelope calculations, a thee car train (one cab car + two coach cars + locomotive) seats about 200 passengers, or staying with the typical corridor configuration of 5 cars (one cab car + 3 coach cars + 1 business class + locomotive) seats 322 passengers. So six daily trains (three in am peak, 3 out pm peak) would be 600 to 900 passengers per day, about 250,000 riders per year. Giving riders on the outer edges of the GTAH a more comfortable and faster trip to Union.

Just a thought

Pre pandemic there was a morning and evening train that started and ended at Kingston but VIA has been reluctant to bring it back.

They still need to retire all LRC's so it's not like they have all of their needs met in terms of equipment.

 

[cplchanb]

Pre pandemic there was a morning and evening train that started and ended at Kingston but VIA has been reluctant to bring it back.

They still need to retire all LRC's so it's not like they have all of their needs met in terms of equipment.

will the ventures be a 1:1 swap with LRC or did they include more for expansion. if its the former then theres no extra trains to put for commuter to begin with.

 

[Bordercollie]

will the ventures be a 1:1 swap with LRC or did they include more for expansion. if its the former then theres no extra trains to put for commuter to begin with.

GO is already planning an expansion to Bowmanville. You can build a bus link to Port Hope.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

GO is already planning an expansion to Bowmanville. You can build a bus link to Port Hope.

Bus from port hope to Bowmanville + go train to union would be a trip time of close to 2 hrs. By train it could be done in 1. That's a massive difference when someone is commuting daily or 2-3x per week.

It's the difference between getting home in time to do something in the evening and getting home with just enough time to eat dinner and prepare for bed.

 

[Bordercollie]

Bus from port hope to Bowmanville + go train to union would be a trip time of close to 2 hrs. By train it could be done in 1. That's a massive difference when someone is commuting daily or 2-3x per week.

It's the difference between getting home in time to do something in the evening and getting home with just enough time to eat dinner and prepare for bed.

Then lobby the minister of transport to bring the train back.

 

[crs1026]

will the ventures be a 1:1 swap with LRC or did they include more for expansion. if its the former then theres no extra trains to put for commuter to begin with.

The new fleet is an exact 1:1 replacement of seats within the old fleet. There may be opportunity for growth in the short term thanks to new trains needing less maintenance, hence higher utilisation. For a while anyways. Presumably the HxR, when funded, would add some new trainsets. In the short term, the opportunity is mostly in squeezing every last seat mile out of the HEP II fleet - the LRc's are pretty much done.

- Paul