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Originally Posted by milomilo
All that VIA have really shown us is some PowerPoint slides and a general map. Most of the rest of what we are talking about is speculation. It's hard to say whether what VIA originally pitched is similar to whatever is being developed but it always seemed like a given that it would be a diesel single track line. Electrified and "up to" 200km/h that they are saying now sounds like a more substantial project to me, but it really doesn't matter, we'll see what it looks like if we ever get concrete details.
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We'll see the RFP in the Fall. But honestly electrified and "up to 200 kph" isn't as big a deal at you might think. Electrification was always an option in the original proposals. One could argue, it was split out that way to give the politicians a path to upgrade. The 200 kph line is also a bit of puffery on the part of the the minister. It's not anywhere close to a sustained speed. And their suggested travel times are still in line with rumours. Just yesterday, in Ottawa, he said Toronto-Ottawa would be 3 hrs. An actual sustained 200 kph line would be faster.
Quote:
Originally Posted by milomilo
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I read this piece. And I am pissed about it. This is former Liberal Transport Minister David Colenette. If he thought HSR was so important, why the — didn't he do convince his cabinet colleagues in the 6 years he was in that office? Given that on his watch, ViaFast was shot down and he authored the provincial Toronto-Kitchener-London HSR proposal that the Wynne government slow walked and Ford government canned, I would think he, of all people, should understand the concept of political feasibility.
Quote:
Originally Posted by milomilo
I fully understand why you fear scope creep, but it's inevitable and it may not be so bad. There's been so much disappointment with improved rail in Canada that pessimism is warranted, but maybe this is the project that gets over the finish line. I don't think hoping for this to be quietly be built under the radar are realistic, once the plans start getting unveiled people will have things to say, we can only hope our politicians and VIA keep pushing it through, and that the population is interested.
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It's not just about getting something good built. Let's not forget that this is existential for VIA. Freight volumes are growing. If something isn't in service by 2030, the worsening delays will simply push future governments to dismantle VIA.
So yes, I really hope they understand that delivering faster is probably far more important than delivering a service that runs faster. All they need to do is build something that is more reliable, more frequent and sightly faster than today. They can build on this later.
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