Quote:
Originally Posted by ns_kid
The idea that Danielle Smith's Conservatives might prioritize public transport alternatives seems surprising to many, but the Alberta government announced its "Rail Passenger Master Plan" earlier this week.
To be clear, all the premier committed to was a $9 million study, due to be completed by the middle of next year. (It won't be the first one.) But the government's vision is an ambitious 15-year delivery plan that could include:
- a high-speed (or higher-speed) rail link between Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton (there hasn't been a passenger train between these cities since VIA left the route in 1985);
- Calgary-Banff and Edmonton-Jasper rail links;
- commuter rail linking the downtown LRTs with the Calgary and Edmonton suburbs and airports.
The government proposes to set up a provincial Crown corporation to oversee it all, similar to Ontario's MetroLink.
Three years ago a couple of credible partners, the developer Ellis-Don and engineering firm AECOM, proposed a h igh-speed rail link between Calgary and Edmonton but it doesn't seem to have gone far. And two years ago a Banff resort owner, Liricon, proposed a Calgary-Banff rail service.
The newly green Smith was quoted as saying that continuing to expand highways "is not always feasible, nor is it always wise." With forecasts saying the province's population will near 8 million by 2051, Smith says Albertans deserve "a fast, safe, and reliable choice of transportation that also meets our goals of reducing emissions."
Her decision to make the announcement standing in front of an old steam locomotive may not have conveyed the message she intended.
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I'll start off by saying that I thought standing in front of a steam locomotive was kind of cool, like a nod to the fact that in the past Canada depended upon rail travel before personal vehicle technology and good roads replaced it (or more accurately, how the popularity of personal vehicle travel allowed the government to let it be killed off). Now, as we expand our population at previously-unimagined rates, we have to consider the practicality of overloaded roadways, when a good percentage of the travel between major population centres (as well as tourist attractions) could be replaced by age-old rail travel... again.
Okay... enough of that. I find it interesting that Danielle Smith is often characterized in the digital world as being some kind of far-right nutjob, but then when I see her actually speak, she seems mostly reasonable and pragmatic. That said, I don't really follow her at all, nor do I have an appetite for the political back and forth that seems to be so popular today, so I can't speak for anything other than this rail proposal, which sounds actually quite intelligent and insightful.
Of course it's only a study, but everything has to start somewhere. It's recognizing that the future will require more capacity, and a different way of doing things. So, might as well face it head-on, and start planning now (something which Halifax, and NS in general, doesn't seem to be very good at).
Bringing this into the realm of local rail-based transit, how do people feel that this sort of action could translate to Halifax/Nova Scotia? For example, we don't really have the equivalent of Calgary and Edmonton, separated by 3 hours of highway travel without other practical alternatives, but we do have a lot of commuters traveling in from exurban areas to work/play in the city. Our land area, and perhaps level of activity, is much less than that of these busy Alberta areas, but there are still parts of our transportation systems that aren't working very well at all times.
A forward-thinking, well-thought-out rail plan would be very welcomed by myself, and I'm sure many others in NS.