Not sure if anyone's suggested something like this before, but I was looking at the city on google Earth (as one does) and began wondering about all that industrial-era track we have laid. Before the LRT, were there ever investigations into using the existing railways in the city as a form of transit? Knowing that the GO network is mostly built on track bought/leased from CN/other carriers, I began wondering if the same tracks around our city centre could have ben turned into some sort of metro- one so cheap, we wouldn't even need to lay a lot of track. Furthermore, the current Government has actively been making it EASIER to run trains along such existing track already, so if we ever wanted to do it, it would only get easier from here.
Obviously, not all this track is available for free use, which is probably a large part of why were' building the LRT. However, GO has proven that running alongside inconsistent trains is an acceptable reality and that leasing is more than viable for just getting people from point A to B. Now, I am no train expert so I can't say if there are trains that could run on such track safely, quickly, or consistently. What I picture is LRT/metro-like capacity vehicles running on existing track, carrying people to and from the two downtown GO stations. GO trains might be the model here, but their obviously too big for this, hence the need for a smaller train-perhaps a modified GO train with a few fewer cars. I'll try to attempt a rough map of what I am describing.
This kind of rail-reuse seems viable mostly because Metrolinx is already doing it on a larger scale. Now the question of demand is obviously the most important factor here, and with a future LRT we have our transit bases covered. However this could offer a potential low-cost 'metro' for Hamilton that involves laying minimal track to supplement a future Hamilton experiencing rapid growth. Naturally, upgrades/connections will only be made if an initial run has any success, so maybe something like this already has existed, in which case I'd love to hear about it.
Hypothetically, what's the harm in having the city operate a few shortened GO trains between West Harbour and Confederation, or Centre GO and some future station(s) anywhere along that long stretch of track? Both of these sections might need additional track/regrades over road, but the cost of that is likely minimal compared to clearing land and laying brand-new tracks altogether. A more interesting discussion might be how, when or why we might ever need such retrofitted lines for just Hamilton, but the prospect is definitely appealing. pardon my photoshop skills, but I threw this together to illustrate what I think such a system could look like on existing tracks and a few (hopefully low-cost) stations. [IMG]
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Obviously this is all vision, not based on any actual plans. Thats especially true for all the stations I drew and rail extensions (dotted lines); just fantasy for where I figured a reasonable distance apart might be.