[gjhall]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

I'd just abandon that site, build tracks back to Union Station and get everything back downtown. That would be especially advantageous for commuter rail service, but having VIA trains run right to the core would also increase ridership there too. The train yards development sure turned out to be a huge waste of land and the existing station has far less redevelopment potential.

If the LRT proposal is not revised, then the best place to reconnect to downtown would be at the Hurdman curve (convert into a wye), with tracks crossing the Rideau River and the remaining sections all underground. The tunnel would have to be designed to clear the underground LRT AND also clear any future truck route to Gatineau. Buses should be moved to a possible bus terminal (shared with OC Transpo and STO for downtown-terminating routes) on the northeast corner of the Rideau Centre, which is currently a parking lot about 400m away. The Rideau Centre could easily expand over the bus terminal, and also encompass the abandoned (heritage?) building at Rideau and Nicholas. That area would become a huge transportation hub.

The tunnel would be about 3.2 km in length, with 2 tracks initially then widening to at least 6-8 tracks into the station (2-3 tracks for VIA and 4-5 tracks for commuter trains). It would run beneath Major's Hill Park where storage tracks could be added. In the future, if a Gatineau extension is desired, the Alexandra Bridge could be re-used by returning the tracks to the surface after clearing Major's Hill Park.

There are lots of complications to this but I think we all know that this would be the best end result. We need to dream bigger in this city and demand the kind of major funds other large cities get out of provincial and federal governments.