Should canada have high-speed rail?

[AnnaG]

Others have pretty much echoed my thoughts on this.

1) A trans-Canada HSR link would be impractical because of terrain reasons and also for usage. How many people make regular sojourns from coast to coast? Not enough to pay for the expense and upkeep of that type of capital expenditure.

Yeah, there aren't any mountains and difficult terrains in Japan or Europe. :roll:

2) HSR links in high density areas could well be feasible as long as they are competitive in both cost and travel time. People keep mentioning a Toronto-Montreal link, probably one to Ottawa from those two centers, Calgary-Edmonton is another possibility too. Not sure about many others. Studying airline usage across the country might give some indicators. One thingno one really mentions is security on HSR lines. Sure we're closer to the ground but a lot of the precautions present in air travel will still need to be in place for them as well won't they, thus limiting the time savings?

You'd rather have a few thousand airplanes and buses and cars motoring around than a hundred bullet trains?

People are always criticizing Canada's transportation network for its inefficiency but as JLM alludes to, comparing us to Japan or Europe isn't valid most of the time because of our population density. We also don't suffer the same constraints on energy supply that these other countries do. Sure some changesin our systems are desireable but they need make us more efficient, not just copy what works somewhere else.

Yeah yeah, population density blah blah. Russia uses a cross country rail line and it is almost 1.5 times the size of Canuckville.. It's problem is that it gets poor maintenance.

 

[AnnaG]

Service? :lol: Too bad that given a choice, most companies would lay off the most expensive employees, even if they are the better ones 8O. HR usually has no idea what goes on on the shop floor, or anywhere else for that matter.

If you are a trucking company, your employees either truck goods around as well as they can or they don't. What shop floor?

 

[AnnaG]

Morning JLM...I'm moving slower than a Via Rail train this morning...must be the weather! :lol:

I brought up Japan orginally but you are right - you can't do a head-to-head comparison with Canada or anywhere else...different countries, different needs.

etc. etc.

And then there's the idea that we don't need to run the things as often as the Japanese runs theirs either. Maybe a couple trips per week across Canada and the intercity connections adjusted for population needs. We have a ferry service near here that uses one ferry most of the year when traffic isn't high and another ferry is added between May something and September something.

 

[AnnaG]

One thing for sure, it would probably be a better investment than these Olympics. LOL

... and the firearms registry.

 

[AnnaG]

I think you're likely right. And, after the smoke clears, there might be more people (in the Lower Mainland) with a higher appreciation for "high speed" anything. I think the traffic "issues" are going to be a bit heavy...8O

lol They already are, IMO.

 

[countryboy]

... and the firearms registry.

That is one, for sure! I wonder if there are more... :-|

 

[countryboy]

Yeah, there aren't any mountains and difficult terrains in Japan or Europe. :roll:

You'd rather have a few thousand airplanes and buses and cars motoring around than a hundred bullet trains?

Yeah yeah, population density blah blah. Russia uses a cross country rail line and it is almost 1.5 times the size of Canuckville.. It's problem is that it gets poor maintenance.

I'm a bit baffled the comment on terrain that keeps coming up. You're right - we're not the only country in the world with mountains. In fact, we have an advantage over Japan on that one - ours generally don't "move", the ones in Japan do. Frequently.

I once sat on the bullet train and watched an underwater volcano erupting just off the coast, at a place called Izu. Pretty impressive geyser. The train had to slow down to around 160 km/hr for a short stretch there, due to the earthquakes that were being caused by the eruption. Pretty impressive show. Once we got past that zone, it was 'pedal to the metal' and it doesn't take long for one of those babies to reach 'crusin' altitude."

Anyway, we don't have that much 'excitement' to contend with over here...just another difference...

 

[AnnaG]

I'm a bit baffled the comment on terrain that keeps coming up. You're right - we're not the only country in the world with mountains. In fact, we have an advantage over Japan on that one - ours generally don't "move", the ones in Japan do. Frequently.

I once sat on the bullet train and watched an underwater volcano erupting just off the coast, at a place called Izu. Pretty impressive geyser. The train had to slow down to around 160 km/hr for a short stretch there, due to the earthquakes that were being caused by the eruption. Pretty impressive show. Once we got past that zone, it was 'pedal to the metal' and it doesn't take long for one of those babies to reach 'crusin' altitude."

Anyway, we don't have that much 'excitement' to contend with over here...just another difference...

Just the occasional idiot trying to beat a train (or "not seeing it to begin with) and getting squashed. Or the odd critter wandering into the path of one. Or the odd snowslide/mudslide. lol

 

[countryboy]

Just the occasional idiot trying to beat a train (or "not seeing it to begin with) and getting squashed. Or the odd critter wandering into the path of one. Or the odd snowslide/mudslide. lol

Good point, AnnaG. Level crossings - for one thing - would be pretty much a thing of the past with these kinds of speeds!

 

[countryboy]

Just thought I'd mention that President Obama - in last night's State of the Union - mentioned a high speed rail project underway in Florida...just in case anyone would like to comment!

 

[TenPenny]

Good point, AnnaG. Level crossings - for one thing - would be pretty much a thing of the past with these kinds of speeds!

Not 'pretty much', they have to be, period. No options. There are no level crossings with high speed rail, and the right of way has to be fenced the whole way to keep wildlife from venturing onto the tracks.

 

[talloola]

Not 'pretty much', they have to be, period. No options. There are no level crossings with high speed rail, and the right of way has to be fenced the whole way to keep wildlife from venturing onto the tracks.

good point, the wildlife are first and foremost the concern
in this matter, in my opinion, and, oh yeah, people too. hmmmm

 

[Mowich]

Just thought I'd mention that President Obama - in last night's State of the Union - mentioned a high speed rail project underway in Florida...just in case anyone would like to comment!

Heard on the news tonight that they are also considering one between Montreal and New York. I can imagine that would be an extremely popular run.

Not so sure about the line they are running in Florida. Guess it depends on where they are placing it. Shame to spend all that money and have the tracks blown away by a hurricane.

 

[countryboy]

Heard on the news tonight that they are also considering one between Montreal and New York. I can imagine that would be an extremely popular run.

Not so sure about the line they are running in Florida. Guess it depends on where they are placing it. Shame to spend all that money and have the tracks blown away by a hurricane.

Yeah, it's a good question...Obama just mentioned it quickly but no details. Of course, that makes sense...it was the State of the Union & not a speech on rail transportation, but still would be interesting to find out where...

 

[TenPenny]

Between Tampa and Orlando, and it won't be built for 5 years.

 

[countryboy]

Between Tampa and Orlando, and it won't be built for 5 years.

Thanks...that's apparently a high traffic corridor, and I think it's less than 100 miles/160 km. Wow, that should make it a trip of less than a half hour or thereabouts, depending on the speeds they're anticipating...

 

[YukonJack]

By the time I go to the railroad station in Winsor, park my car, buy ticket, go thru the security and board the train, I could be in Toronto, driving my car.

The rest of the way to Montreal? Perhaps the quick rail could beat me, but arriving, I would still have to get off the train, line up at the car rental, before I could reach my destination in Montreal.

High speed rail maybe the be all in postage stamp sized countries like Japan and France, but it is oh so 19th century in Canada.

 

[Avro]

By the time I go to the railroad station in Winsor, park my car, buy ticket, go thru the security and board the train, I could be in Toronto, driving my car.

The rest of the way to Montreal? Perhaps the quick rail could beat me, but arriving, I would still have to get off the train, line up at the car rental, before I could reach my destination in Montreal.

High speed rail maybe the be all in postage stamp sized countries like Japan and France, but it is oh so 19th century in Canada.

We don't have high speed rail, so comparing out current crap of a transit system to ones superior to ours is ridiculous. Ever been on a train in Japan, you should try it sometime....wicked fast.

 

[YukonJack]

"We don't have high speed rail, so comparing out current crap of a transit system to ones superior to ours is ridiculous. Ever been on a train in Japan, you should try it sometime....wicked fast."

I am doing no such thing. What I am envisioning is the HIGH SPEED rail system between Windsor and Montreal.

Let's say the train would do 200km/h. It would still have to stop at least in London, Toronto and Kingston. So, its effective REAL spead would be only about 90km/h.

On the 401 I can do an average of 110km/h, nonstop from Windsor to Montreal. Yeah, I've done it. I also have done Vancouver-Burlington in 42 hours, and Burlington-Edmonton in 36 hours.

You take the train, I will take my car.

 

[Avro]

"We don't have high speed rail, so comparing out current crap of a transit system to ones superior to ours is ridiculous. Ever been on a train in Japan, you should try it sometime....wicked fast."

I am doing no such thing. What I am envisioning is the HIGH SPEED rail system between Windsor and Montreal.

Let's say the train would do 200km/h. It would still have to stop at least in London, Toronto and Kingston. So, its effective REAL spead would be only about 90km/h.

On the 401 I can do an average of 110km/h, nonstop from Windsor to Montreal. Yeah, I've done it. I also have done Vancouver-Burlington in 42 hours, and Burlington-Edmonton in 36 hours.

You take the train, I will take my car.

That's funny, I take the train to Montreal quite often since I have season tickets for the Habs and it takes about two hours less than the car, imagine what high speed can do?

The high speed train in Japan can go 320 km an hour.

Beat that.....:roll: