p_xavier
Active Member
Virtue signalling is the core value of this government.
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- Thread starter ehlow
- Start date
kEiThZ
Superstar
Reading between the lines. This could mean no through service in Montreal. So...
Toronto-Ottawa 3:15 hrs
Ottawa-Montreal 1:45 hrs
Montreal-Quebec City 2:45 hrs
So maybe 2 hrs for changing stations and pre-boarding?
crs1026
Superstar
^ That low-quality audio echoing through a cavernous, empty building sure reminded me of the days before VIA when CN installed its Da-dah-dah-dahhh sound system at Toronto Union, but wouldn’t let CP use it…. So all the CP trains were announced in the older PA system, which was perfectly unintelligible. Pretty ironic that this first step towards a new age in passenger rail was a recreation of times past.
I kinda suspected that the announcement woukd be this vague. Sounds like the government is getting on with some obvious prerequisites such as indigenous consultation, but no real dollar commitment or sense of urgency. This isure looks like a file that will be milked for photo ops before anything really happens.
- Payl
I kinda suspected that the announcement woukd be this vague. Sounds like the government is getting on with some obvious prerequisites such as indigenous consultation, but no real dollar commitment or sense of urgency. This isure looks like a file that will be milked for photo ops before anything really happens.
- Payl
Northern Light
Superstar
However its divied up, overall travel times listed remain too high.
Never mind TGV; and we all understand practical limits around time and money; but I want to see something tangible...........even its a commitment with a 10 year stretch to get those times down.
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I also want to see a proper plan extending to S/W Ontario as well. Again, this need not be done all at once, but some hard targets on frequency, reliability and speed would be nice.
roger1818
Senior Member
sacred
Active Member
I honestly think the province should do this. The Feds are just so ineffective and slow while provincial transit has actually been gaining steam.
Northern Light
Superstar
I'm fine w/Mx buying the balance of the CN North Mainline to London, so long as we shift that line to a passenger-rail first operation.
Via should probably be the owner of the remaining CN track from London-Chatham.
Beyond that, I would say VIA is probably the better operator for long-distance travel, if travel time is over 2hrs you really want a higher level of comfort and amenity that what you require from a more typical commuter service.
That said, I see no reason VIA can't be contracted to run that service by Mx.
GO rolling stock might make sense for shorter, City-Pair routes like K-W-London and the two services could interleave appropriately.
Whatever, I'm not fussed on the detail, I'm fussed on the outcome.
Better, more frequent, more reliable, faster, passenger rail service throughout the corridor.
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kEiThZ
Superstar
LOL. That's the point of this announcement. They don't want to commit to any of that before the election.
Hard to go west of Union without the Kitchener RER upgrade and the Pearson Transit Hub. If those get sorted out, VIA would run service through Union.
Bureaucromancer
Active Member
Agreed on all points, but the conclusion I've ended up with is that Metrolinx should probably just take the full North Mainline while VIA rebrands the southern corridor as an express service.
nfitz
Superstar
Skip Dorval? I'm sure you've seen how many people board at Dorval - wouldn't skipping it with express trains, make the journey longer for many riders?
I don't recall the speeds through St. Laurent junction being an issue - it's from St-Henri into Central Station where it crawls.
I didn't notice anything about electrification - nor do I think there's anywhere near that much money budged.
Is there something to indicate that this won't be a diesel service, at least for the first decade or so?
Hang on ... even with the relatively slow schedules currently in place, it's only about 8 hours 45 minutes (such as using 33/63). Probably closer to 7.5 hours at some point in the past.
Edit ... looking the winter 1997 schedule, using trains 25/67 it was 7 hours 29 minutes from Quebec City to Toronto, with a 45-minute layover in Montreal.
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roger1818
Senior Member
In a perfect world, yes. However, given that the Dundas Sub is CN's mainline, I don't know how feasible it is for VIA to have dedicated tracks or any sort of HFR along it.
kEiThZ
Superstar
Yep. Skipping Dorval is a bonkers suggestion. With HFR, Dorval is now 1 hr from Ottawa. It just became Ottawa's second airport.
crs1026
Superstar
We are moving VIA off the Kingston line because express service is incompatible with freight, but you suggest the same issues don’t apply west of Toronto ?
The CN line thru Brantford is best left as CN’s main line. The north route can match the timing and handle HFR to Windsor if the right investment is made.
- Paul
p_xavier
Active Member
So 10 years to build (if on time), and a budget of 6-12G$ for this. CN and CP refuses electrification. Why the government don't force them for the 10% of the routes that they own.
Urban Sky
Senior Member
The Southern Route has the freight trains, the Northern Route has the population centers (Brampton-Guelph-Kitchener). Oakville and Hamilton will be better served by a corridor towards Buffalo...