Planning underway for new commuter ferry between Bedford and Halifax

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

While some councillors (like Tim Outhit) were supporters of rail, HRM staff never supported the option. I doubt that Halifax ever seriously negotiated with CN with any strength. Consider, for example, that in Illinois, CN will carry Metra commuter trains on an expanded section of its network in exchange for local municipal council support for its double-tracking plan.

So we now propose to go forward with the ferry proposal. I hope my skepticism is misplaced and such a service can succeed. But there is no denying that commuter rail has a significant advantage over the marine service. It has the potential to serve far more people. As a general rule, commuter rail operations in North America have been well accepted and used, often greatly surpassing ridership projections. The rail corridor parallels our most congested road routes, directly serving our fastest growing neighbourhoods. Allowing passengers to board in Windsor Junction, Bedford, Rockingham and Armdale offers far more potential for access and growth than the marine option ever will. In my opinion.

I fully agree. Just the fact that the ferry proposal includes no parking at the terminal tells us that it will not be moving a significant number of people, not that ferries ever do anyway. A rail-based or rail ROW-based service would be far more appealing to many with multiple points of boarding and disembarking. Halifax Transit cannot run any service well or reliably and I expect this will be more of the same.