Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
I do want HFR to be successful. But I doubt it'll be the windfall some think it will be.
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That's your narcissism talking. Your comments below show quite a bit of ignorance on VIA's current Corridor services, the HFR proposal and alternatives. Let's break down your misunderstandings.
Starting with this idea that HFR isn't all that substantial a change. I'd say a forecast of 10 million riders for just the Corridor, when VIA's entire annual ridership is currently under 5 million, is quite notable.
Pre-Covid, VIA was already filling every train they put on. That 10 million target for trains that are faster, more comfortable and possibly cheaper (because of higher asset utilization) will have no problem meeting that ridership target.
Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
The line will not be much faster than it currently is. I am talking hour(s), not minutes.
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Says you.
3.25 hrs between Toronto and Ottawa and 2.2 hrs between Montreal and Quebec City is competitive with flying for a lot of travelers. Compare that to a 5 hr train ride today for the former and 3+ hrs for the latter. If you do the door-to-door trip time math, the time savings with flying will be so marginal, that most won't bother with airfare.
And 1.5 hrs between Ottawa and Montreal makes that segment commutable for ex-urban commuters. Compared to 2 hrs today by train or car. It's also 1 hr from Ottawa to Dorval with HFR, which makes that airport competitive for a lot of travelers originating in Ottawa.
There's only one segment without a substantial reduction in travel time: Toronto-Montreal. It saves 19 mins as per the link above. And even this will finally see travel times better than driving or the bus and most importantly consistent travel times as opposed to today where the trains routinely average 20+ minutes late on top of the 5+ hr travel time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
The line likely will not be much more frequent than the planes are.
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Pre-Covid, VIA already had 10 departures each way per day. HFR presumes 15 departures per day. See the link above. That is damn close to Air Canada and Porter's flight schedules. Possibly more than WestJet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
In short, how well it does will only benefit Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal.
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You mean the first, second and fifth largest metros in the country with a combined CMA population of 12 million and includes the country's political and financial centre?
Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
The line will do nothing to show a city pair that does not have an abandoned line should get service.
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Like all of the above, this shows your ignorance of what is proposed and the impact it would have. And it's driven entirely by your narcissism.
A line that connects a third of the country's population, is competitive with flying on several segments, that more than doubles VIA's ridership, built for less than what the Eglinton Crosstown costs in Toronto will be a fantastic demonstration of what can be done to boost intercity rail ridership in Canada. And will be absolutely transformative for the region.
That demonstration is what will build the case for investment elsewhere.