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Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere
I don't disagree - but HSR is an extremely, extremely expensive project with dubious short term benefits for it's cost. It's discussed as some sort of panacea of modern infrastructure that will make Canada a "real country" if it's built. It's been politicized for the very way you are discussing it outside of any real cost-benefit analysis.
Infrastructure under construction in Canada right now, even without HSR, will completely transform mobility and the economy. Toronto's RER and Ontario Line, Montreal's REM, the Gordie Howe Bridge, Broadway subway, etc. are all big, important projects which will make big differences in mobility.
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The issue I have with Canadian politics is that there appears to be infinite budget to keep increasing entitlement programs like OAS and other Trudeau pet projects, and yet fundamental infrastructure like HSR is written off as a frill with dubious benefits. There is no long-term vision in this country, that's why we end up doing the basics like RER now, rather than decades ago when it was already needed, and HSR gets shunted to the side with excuses like AI and EVs will make rail obsolete.
From a global perspective, travel times between Canadian metropolises especially in the Corridor are embarrassingly long compared to most highly developed countries (and expensive!!), and it acts as another substantial inter-provincial trade barrier that kills our national competitiveness. There's no other mode of transportation we can tap aside from high-speed rail to drastically improve travel times and bring it up to global standards.
The lack of time-competitive intercity connectivity is also why the housing crisis in the GTA is so amplified, because the commuter shed in the GTA is too small, our overloaded highway infrastructure with low speed limits and unreliable rail infrastructure simply can't cope.