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Originally Posted by Taeolas
Well this went in a different direction then I was expecting, but it is interesting to see the chatter.
That said, to touch on the regional passenger rail side of the equation, I agree and have advocated that a Halifax-Moncton-SJ service is way past due. Ideally we should be looking at twice daily service between those three cities. Since it is interprovincial, that does overlap VIA's mandate, and VIA has no interest in anything outside the Corridor.
So thinking more of this, I wonder if NB should go it alone to start. Set up an NB GO company that will set up a PAX service between SJ and Moncton. The rail lines are there, but overburdened, but it might be enough to negotiate for daily services between the cities to start, at least until the impetus for rail line twinning (or even tripling) can get through. Since it's just within NB, it can be sold as a regional Commuter rail system, similar to the GO network around Toronto. (And spurring out to Shediac would be an easy obvious expansion).
Expanding to Halifax would be a second no brainer, but would probably require negotiating with the Feds and/or cooperation with VIA somehow. But maybe NS could get the ball rolling by setting up a company that does Truro to Halifax with obvious expansion plans to Amherst (with extra obvious plans to eventually link to Moncton once the politics are sorted out.)
The NB line would expand out to Sackville with a similar obvious intention to link to the NS company in the future.
Back to the NB side, Higgs won't even consider anything like this. But maybe this is something Coon and the Green party could start pushing for, especially if we end up with a Liberal minority gov coming forward.
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Any incoming Liberal government will get back to work on Kent and Westmoreland coastal highways. They know who butters their bread. For better or worse, the PCs don't do local patronage very well. Hell, even the jail only ended up in Austin's riding because Fredericton didn't want it! The Nova Scotia PCs are more than willing to spend taxpayer money on rural highways. Greens are not super likely to burn their political capital on new infrastructure, either.
As convenient as taking a train from Harbour Station to the Avenir Centre would be, there is almost no economic impetus. If it had more limited stops, say, Harbour Station-one stop in KV-Sussex-Avenir Centre, it would get decent use on Fridays and on the weekend. But three hours to Moncton would be absolutely brutal if you're stopping 5-6 times. I'd drive in that case.
Truro-Enfield/YHZ-Bedford-Halifax would be functional, probably more than an NB leg, and could fill in later. Stopping in Amherst AND Sackville would be a political necessity for any connection, but would be annoying.