Transit Fantasies

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by allan_kuan

err... xD

The only problem I see of your dream to see HSR connecting Vancouver and the rest of western Canada is that it is just that... a dream. = \ The current transport, political, and economic situation surrounding inter-Canada travel is that:
- there's very low demand for such a service
- build costs will be high, especially in BC with the Rockies in the way
- returns may be very small due to low ridership
- in effect, it's unlikely unless there's a string of new cities built along the way, which will never happen in today's world due to all the environmental assessments and such.

Well, the MOST expensive and complex part would probably be through boggy lake lands in Ontario (as it was with the original Transcontinental). You would have to contend with unstable land and impassible lakes. At least with mountains, while it might take years, you can tunnel through them and what you get is very stable and suitable for high speed rail.

But what you bring up is what people brought up when building the Transcontinental railroad. It's hard, expensive, and who is going to use it. CP borrowed tens of millions (comparable to billions today) from the federal government, and then paid it back in just a few years. It prompted multiple railroad companies to build highly complex railways throughout BC. Some failed, but some remain (the ones that failed were mostly due to low employment in towns stations were located in, competition from other railroads, and the arrival of roads and cheap cars).

And transcontinental HSR would have a lot of benefits besides passenger service. Imagine how much fuel is burned from carrying mail and parcels on planes and trucks. As fuel gets more and more expensive, ground shipping via HSR could be the only way to quickly get priority mail across the country without it costing $100 to mail an envelope. I believe they have dedicated mail trains in France running on the TGV, and freight passes through the Chunnel daily. We could ship fresh salmon to Toronto and the Maritimes could send us lobsters, fresh. HSR could change a lot more than just passenger service.

And as jet fuel does become increasingly expensive, shorter trips via rail might be the only way to travel reliably. A friend went to see her family in Kelowna for Christmas. She took the bus on the day before boxing day. The red-eye overnight bus was so full, they put on an extra 3 buses to handle the load. A friend of mine went to Kamploops for Christmas, he took the train (The Canadian) and said it was perfect, a bit longer than the bus, but far more comfortable. I would say there is a lot of potential demand, especially as Vancouver moves away from being car centric. As more people give up the car and get around on Transit in Vancouver, they are going to need ways to travel outside the city. If there is no way to travel throughout BC without needing a car, many people will never give it up. You can whip them with the stick all you want but it won't work, sometimes they really crave that carrot.