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Originally Posted by Djeffery
I don't see why Ford throwing support behind HSR is something that would get him votes. He already has the rural areas of the southwest and those areas are against HSR. I don't know why all the support for HSR without any details being put out anyway. Like, how many trains a day, and how much for fares. VIA is mostly $50-75 each way to Toronto, other than the few really cheap seats and the pricier business class. What's HSR going to cost? $100 each way? Are people really going to spend a grand a week to go work in downtown Toronto just so they can live in London?
After they do Kitchener to Toronto, that will be the end of it, if they even do that line. Just doesn't make economic sense to go as far as London, let alone to Windsor. It is definitely a want, not a need, down this way. Now, if Ford wants to buy some votes with HSR, he will promise Toronto to Montreal. That actually makes sense and will gain him lots of votes in the GTA.
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VIA Rail is already proceeding with a new rail line from Toronto to Montreal via Ottawa and Peterborough, that will cut down travel times between those cities (which is definitely needed). The province likely can't touch that corridor without running into problems with the federal government, so they're going to go with the next best option for a new rail connection.
I don't know why nobody seems to be aware of that VIA plan. And I still maintain that a lot of Torontonians are woefully unaware of how many people travel between London and Toronto all the time, and how that might grow as both cities grow. I highly doubt the government would be wanting to do this if they didn't see the future demand - London is one of the only areas of Ontario outside the GTHA or Ottawa that is forecast to see population growth beyond 2041. If this were an HSR line to, say, Kingston without any continuation to Ottawa or a line to Sudbury, I'd say there was a problem.
Pricing is a definite concern, but hopefully the province learned from the bungled UP Express launch.
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