Quote:
Originally Posted by waves
Speaking of the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, and thinking about how YVR thinks it should be the hub for High Speed Rail, AND, with all the talk going on about the George Massey, it's got me thinking about the possibilities again for a rail connection from Bridgeport to the Ferry.
If HS Rail is intended to connect to the Airport, and if the new GM was designed to handle future rail tracks, could a portion of the Airport Canada Line track be set up to handle HS rail trains of 200m such as the Frecciarossa 1000 high speed train set with overhead electrification? Could the HS rail to be the south also be set up to handle the Hyundai Rotem EMUs (90 km/hr) with a third rail and overhead electrification between Bridgeport and the turn off to Ladner? Could we then get a 3rd rail electrified track out to the Ferry with Canada Line Style 60m platforms on the median of the 17A and 17? Or perhaps light rail vehicles with a high speed capacity like Alstom Citadis Spirits (130 km/hr) with transit priority for the very few intersections along the way?
Ferry / 4.8 / Tsawwassen / 6.2 / Ladner / 2.6 / Hwy99 » Total 12.6
Hwy 99 / 3.1 / Steveston / 8.2 / Bridgeport / 1.0 / Canada Line Switch » Total 12.3
Canada Line Switch / 0.5 / Templeton / 1.9 / Double Track Ends / 0.4 / New Airport HS Station » Total 2.8
Travel Times
Code:
+-----------------------+----------------+---------------+---------------------------+
| Segment | 130 km/h train | 90 km/h train | Current 620 & Canada Line |
+-----------------------+----------------+---------------+---------------------------+
| Airport to Bridgeport | 2:21 | 2:57 | ~ 7:00 |
+-----------------------+----------------+---------------+---------------------------+
| Bridgeport to Ladner | 7:01 | 9:41 | ~ 20:00 (+7m Transfer) |
+-----------------------+----------------+---------------+---------------------------+
| Ladner to Ferry | 5:41 | 7:45 | ~ 18:00 |
+-----------------------+----------------+---------------+---------------------------+
| Moving total | 15 min | 20 min | 52 min |
+-----------------------+----------------+---------------+---------------------------+
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1XZts6CYHfrGUTXnXwrvWe9fal7eAkQI&usp=sharing
Image Source: Own work |
Love the scenario of HSR to the airport. It seems like a likely scenario that if the Americans get around to building HSR, they'd do it either on the existing alignment or up Interstate 5. I do think that Highway 99 would be easier to build an alignment on then Highway 15 looking at your full alignment map.
I would think a Bridgeport Terminus get's 90% of the way there without the need for a tunnel though, that's a fairly easy value engineer. YVR still gets HSR to what is effectively their people mover, and there's a reasonable connection to Downtown and the existing bus terminus in the short term.
I was wondering to see what you think about an interchange in Surrey being left open for a modern high speed metro down King George Blvd that could also serve HSR? Sort of a backbone of a regional rail system that can be phased in over time using the HSR capable tracks. Using KGB you could get reasonably fast travel times from Surrey Central to the Airport using the trainsets you suggest.
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