Quote:
Originally Posted by GoTrans
The twinning from Greenboro to Dows Lake north tunnel portal is not a difficult job and the track should only need to be shut down for short periods of time but it will cost substantial amounts of money due to bridge structures and the additional tunnel.
From the tunnel's north portal to Gladstone will require significant work and shutdowns. The most significant problem other than the width of the rock cut is storm water drains entering the cut. If the storm water was diverted, then the width of the cut expansion could probably be reduced.
CN and CP somehow manage to complete many major infrastructure works without complete shut downs of their mainlines. These shutdowns to do the work is the result of the city not demanding the contractor work around rail operations in many cases. I think the extended shutdowns are really only required for the rock cut expansion. The demolition and rebuild of the Decarie and Hwy 20 interchange over the CN 4 track mainline has not required a significant shutdown of rail traffic.
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I have heard this many times before, yet every significant change to the Trillium Line has involved lengthy shutdowns. Considering that the corridor is constricted with many grade separations needing to be replaced, and all the other alternate rail routes have been pulled up, it will be very difficult to do what freight operators routinely do when upgrading track. Also, since freight operations tend to be long distance, some delays resulting from using relocated track or alternate routes are not as critical as with an urban passenger service, where every minute counts.
I believe the MUP trail on the east side of the Trillium Line was the original rail corridor before the Dow's Lake tunnel was built. That allowed freight service to be maintained throughout construction. Not so easy today, unless we are willing to use surface operations as we had before the mid-60s. That will never happen. South of Carleton is only slightly easier. The Rideau River bridge will have to be replaced or twinned, many road overpasses will have to replaced, stations relocated (as proposed), and sidings prepared for mainline service. This means all the signalling will have to be upgraded and the whole new service thoroughly tested. This is not going to happen with brief periodic shutdowns, unless we are prepared to pay more and for the construction period to be considerably longer.
Perhaps, anything is possible if you throw enough money at it, but an already expensive project will be done as cheaply as possible to prevent project costs from getting out of hand.
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