Paving the Railway Cut

[hfx_chris]

Originally Posted by sdm

Got to admit, i think Uteck is bang on here.

Absolutely. Rail, rail, rail. I keep railing about this, but I can't rail on about rail enough! CN tearing up the second set of tracks through the cut was a bad decision, especially now when we need to use rail for freight more than ever! An intermodal terminal needs to be built somewhere near the 102, between Fall River and the airport, where the freight can be transferred from train to truck. It makes so much more sense than this half-assed dangerous idea to pave half of the cut and allow trucks to operate adjacent to trains, that's an accident waiting to happen. CN recognizes that. I've been against this since the first mentions, it just makes no sense what so ever. We have the rail infrastructure in place, let's use it!

[spaustin]

I'm with Uteck on this one. Paving the cut is a stunned solution that only relocates the problem to someone else's neighbourhood. I live at Hollis/Morris and I would be happy to not have trucks rumbling through my neighbourhood, especially at night, but I wouldn't want them out of my neighbourhood only to screw someone else. A inland terminal would be a great idea. In the long term you really have to ask is this the best place for the port? Maybe it belongs over on the Dartmouth side where there is good access to highways and rail. The relocation would cost billions but the phased redevelopment of the port's valuable land would also net a lot.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by spaustin

In the long term you really have to ask is this the best place for the port? Maybe it belongs over on the Dartmouth side where there is good access to highways and rail. The relocation would cost billions but the phased redevelopment of the port's valuable land would also net a lot.

The cost obviously depends on the site and the design/features, but the bottom line is that Halterm needs to go. With the continued decline in volumes and the emergence of Melford, it is rapidly becoming redundant anyway.

[hfx_chris]

Well, if Halterm was to be phased out, paving the rail cut would be an expensive exercise in futility. An inland intermodal terminal wouldn't require near the investment, and the terminal itself would be useful for Fairview as well.

[Spitfire75]

Good. I never liked the idea of paving it in the first place. I'm glad they're actually considering using the tracks for what they're made for.

[spaustin]

Today's Herald has a good editorial on this one



Halifax rail cut: Do Gateway a smart way


Fri. Feb 13 - 5:57 AM
THERE’S no question the Halifax peninsula rail cut – running from Fairview to the Halterm container terminal – is an underused transportation corridor in a city that could certainly use some faster, cleaner and greener transportation links to the downtown and the port.

But it’s hard to fathom why the provincial government is stuck on only one way of using the rail corridor – to put a truck and bus expressway alongside the existing rail line – to improve Halifax’s position as an Atlantic Gateway for trade and business.

Only three years ago, a thorough study for the city and the port authority by MariNova Consulting found a rail-cut "truckway" was not the best way to address truck congestion in the city, reduce greenhouse gases or improve the efficiency of the port.

"By far the best option," it said, was to build an inland terminal adjacent to the Rocky Lake quarry, near Bedford. The rail cut would be used to rail-shuttle containers directly from ships to the inland terminal to make connections with trains or trucks.

MariNova envisaged a minimum $40-million price, plus the cost of a new rail bridge at Chebucto Road, for the truckway. This would widen the cut for a one-lane truck road, with a safe separation from the rail line. The single lane would be reversible, alternating between inbound-only and outbound-only, with traffic waiting at holding areas at each end. About half the port’s truck traffic was expected to use the road, less if truckers found the wait inconvenient.

MariNova said the cost of a two-lane road beside the track would be "much higher" since this would mean replacing 14 bridges and nearly doubling the width of the cut (from 38 feet to 77 feet) for about half its length. The study concluded even a $40-million price "cannot be justified" by the small savings for truckers, a mere $140,000 a year.

Media reports now say $40 million wouldn’t begin to cover the tab. CTV News says a draft report for cabinet puts the bill between $205 million and $270 million. That sticker shock prompted Halifax Councillor Sue Uteck to urge city council to take another look at the inland terminal study before being stuck with a huge bill for bridges. Wisely, councillors agreed.

The province, too, should be looking at the rail-shuttle and inland-terminal version of the Atlantic Gateway. Unlike the truckway, the inland terminal actually provides for future growth of the port by increasing its container-handling capacity.

And where a truckway merely moves some truck noise and pollution from downtown streets to residential neighbourhoods, the inland terminal removes trucks from the whole peninsula by shuttling containers on railcars. That’s fairer to residents and good for the environment, too.

MariNova concluded the inland terminal was "the best option for removing trucks from city streets, reducing GHGs and adding port capacity." This sounds like the smart way to create a Gateway to growth. Why isn’t the province considering it?

[someone123]

It does seem like a very strange plan. Originally I thought they were going to go with an inland processing facility somewhere along the rail line.

Is all of this happening for corrupt political reasons? Why do containers need to be processed in Burnside? Putting them immediately on trucks saves a little time but isn't the truck traffic more regional and less time-sensitive to begin with?

Why is another container terminal being built in the province when Halterm is so far below capacity?

It is also very strange that they tore up the second rail track. Why would you go to that expense when it can just sit there? Again, it seems a little sketchy. Halifax container traffic has been stagnant, but Montreal traffic has been growing. Coincidentally, a single Montreal-based rail company has a monopoly on rail service in the Halifax area (which uses rail lines that originally were bought and paid for by NS and NB taxpayers, long ago).

At the very least it's hard for me to imagine that the city's port is being well-managed overall given the circumstances.

[hfx_chris]

To what Montreal-based company are you referring?

[someone123]

Originally Posted by hfx_chris

To what Montreal-based company are you referring?

CN

[hfx_chris]

Just making sure

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by someone123

It is also very strange that they tore up the second rail track. Why would you go to that expense when it can just sit there?

I wondered that too when they did it. Perhaps those rails (physical steel) are worth more as material than just sitting there.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by terrynorthend

I wondered that too when they did it. Perhaps those rails (physical steel) are worth more as material than just sitting there.

They tore up the second set of tracks running through Moncton as well. The reason given for doing this was that there was not enough traffic to justify double-tracking through the city.

Apparently, they couldn't just leave the second set of tracks in place hoping for a return of business. If the tracks were there, they were legally obligated by Transport Canada regulations to maintain them. It was simply cheaper for them to tear them up!

Pretty stupid eh.

At least they are still keeping the right of way.

[Dmajackson]

Apparently East Hants (Municipality) has picked up one the idea of an inland terminal;

East Hants talks inland port
Council explores plan for transferring station in Milford Station as part of Atlantic Gateway
By CATHY VON KINTZEL Truro Bureau
Fri. Feb 27 - 4:46 AM
East Hants is positioning itself to be Nova Scotia’s rail and road transportation hub for the Atlantic Gateway.

With a consultant’s study in hand, East Hants municipal councillors agreed this week to explore the idea of creating what they call an inland port for the Port of Halifax along Highway No. 2 in Milford Station.

"I can’t say whether there’ll ever be a need for such a port, but we want to be sure we’re prepared to move forward," Warden John Patterson said in a telephone interview Thursday. "We want to provide a location if this type of facility goes ahead and if people in the area (accept) the concept."

Atlantic Gateway projects would provide improvements to transportation routes and ports across Nova Scotia.

The municipality hired a consultant to prepare a report on ways it could benefit from the Atlantic Gateway.

The report concluded there was opportunity to begin planning an intermodal logistics centre, or inland port, where goods could be transferred from one form of transportation to another; for example, from rail to truck or vice-versa.

The report will soon be posted on the municipality’s website and a public meeting will be held in March, although the date hasn’t been set.

East Hants chief administrative officer Ian Glasgow sees the concept as a rare opportunity that should be explored.

"These types of facilities, and the manufacturing and distribution centres that locate around them, can mean new jobs as well as significant new tax dollars for the municipality," he said in a news release. "That would make a big difference in terms of the services that we could provide to our residents."

Municipal councillors, including Milford’s representative, Willy Versteeg, hope people will think the concept is sound. At the very least, he’s urging them to get familiar with the idea and share their opinions.

"I think the community’s going to be very curious about the project," Mr. Versteeg said in an interview.

"East Hants has what it takes to make this work. We’ve got absolutely fantastic transportation links to air, rail, sea and highway."

Such a port could be located on land along Highway 2, which runs parallel to Highway 102 between Halifax and Truro. The property has access to a CN rail line and is roughly a 20-minute drive to Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

The Colchester Regional Development Agency is also exploring the potential of an inland terminal in Debert, close to where highways 102 and 104 intersect and with access to air and rail.

That potential is one small part of a regional transportation master plan that the development agency recently commissioned in connection to the Atlantic Gateway.

[worldlyhaligonian]

This is good news... it is amazing how this forum produces some of the most innovative ideas going.

[Dmajackson]

All I can say is thank-god. Now maybe they'll consider the inland port idea.

Integrated Transportation Corridor Not Feasible
Transportation and Infrastructure RenewalMarch 4, 2009 9:43 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A proposal to develop an integrated transportation corridor in Halifax will not move forward.

A report examining the feasibility of developing a roadway into the CN rail corridor to consolidate truck and rail shipping says costs are too high from a Gateway perspective. The report estimated the project would cost more than $220 million.

"Using the existing corridor for commercial vehicles and public transit has been studied at a high level, but this was the first detailed study that looked at all aspects and provided a full costing of the project," said Brooke Taylor, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal on behalf of Angus MacIsaac, Minister responsible for the Atlantic Gateway. "This report gave us the valuable information needed to make the right decision about this proposal.

"We will continue to identify opportunities to improve the competitiveness of our province's assets with Nova Scotia's Gateway partners."

The integrated transportation corridor was one of several projects identified for consideration under Nova Scotia's Gateway initiative. The goal of the initiative is to maximize strategic use of Nova Scotia's transportation infrastructure to move goods and visitors through the province.

"I want to thank the many partners and citizens who took the time to give their input and ideas during the study," said Mr. Taylor. "We appreciate all of the ideas put forward and encourage all stakeholders to continue their interest and work to improve our shared transportation system."

The final report can be viewed online at www.nscorridor.ca .

A number of projects have begun to support Nova Scotia's Gateway initiative, including pre-dredging activities in Sydney Harbour, planning the Burnside Expressway, twinning Highway 104, building a multi-user air cargo facility at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, educational programming led by Dalhousie University and various partnerships with the private sector.

Nova Scotia is also an integral partner in the Atlantic Gateway, a regionally based partnership among the four Atlantic provinces, Transport Canada and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency that will deliver a regional strategy to guide Gateway activity by October.

[spaustin]

Great news! The railcut idea was half-baked from the start and the city could have told them as much since they studied it in the past. Hopefully that'll put this away for good.

[Haliguy]

This is really to bad. This is a great asset the city has and should be taken advantage of to make our port more competative . I'm not sure why they jusy can't pave one lane to get trucks in and out instead it has to be bid multilane project.

[hfx_chris]

I agree it is an asset and should be taken advantage of, but for rail, not trucks. It's not called the rail cut for nothing.

[Spitfire75]

The final report at www.nscorridor.ca is a good read, but I'm glad they scraped this project.
I think we should wait and put this corridor towards a better use (LRT?) in the future. It's not too often you get a rail corridor from the south end to Bedford (easily expandable to Burnside and "downtown" Sackville), let's not mess it up.

[Barrington south]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

This is really to bad. This is a great asset the city has and should be taken advantage of to make our port more competative . I'm not sure why they jusy can't pave one lane to get trucks in and out instead it has to be bid multilane project.

in what way would trucks using the rail cut make the port more competitive?...it would relocate the semi's from Hollis and Lower Water...yes...but if you want to make the port more efficient...competative...an in land terminal is ideal, than the big rigs avoid the city altogether....and Hey, the rails are already there!!