Quote:
Originally Posted by goodgrowth
Think you'd need 200km/h minimum..otherwise people would just drive.
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I disagree. The train between Ottawa and Toronto has a top speed of 100 mph (161 km/h) and is slower than that for much of the way and it is quite popular. Part of its success is the frequency of service (they have 10 trains a day during the week). If a similar service could be created for Calgary-Edmonton, it would likely also be popular
Both cities are of similar size to Ottawa, but much smaller than Toronto. They are also closer together (300km vs 450km), so I wouldn't expect exactly the same service or response.
The keys are getting the speed and frequency high enough that it is convenient. It doesn't need to be faster than driving, as the convenience of not having to waste your time stuck behind a wheel is worth something.
People often try to have trains compete with planes, but that isn't a great option. On the distance that trains are viable, a small minority of people currently fly. The vast majority of them drive, making for a much larger target market. Sure if you make the service good enough, you will win some of them over, but that shouldn't be the target demographic.