Quote:
Originally Posted by acottawa
I agree, while ripping up all the rail infrastructure downtown was probably a bad idea, trying to put it back would entail enormous cost because it would be mostly underground (I can't imagine getting agreement to tear up Colonel By, Nicholas and the grass). Terminal stations cause all sort of problems (particularly in North America where they are not designed for bidirectional travel) and given the speed heavy rail trains go as they approach stations, I can't image train getting downtown faster than an LRT vehicle.
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I figure that it would cost about half a Scarborough subway
The way that I see it, it would entail a new crossing of the Rideau river then a rail trench covered by the Nicolas Expressway, not unlike the option currently being pursued for Phase 2 under the Ottawa River Parkway. Past Laurier, you could bore a station under Union. It's a big project, but I don't see it being a tremendously difficult one.
As for having a terminus station, this is something which was possible in Ottawa in 1965 and is still done for passenger trains in Halifax, Vancouver, Toronto and both of Montreal's stations (albeit poorly in the case of Station Centrale).