u/Rail613

1. The CTF “Taxpayers Foundation” always criticizes any government expenditure and believes no government executives anywhere should ever get a bonus. But they never complain that banking, CN, CPKC, Air Canada, or consulting engineering company execs get bigger bonuses (and salaries). Or it’s impossible to attract/retain good people without paying them.

2. Right now is the HSR planning stage. If you were building a house, you would spend the first months/year finding the land and “designing” the house. Long before you dug the hole or even poured concrete. Same with Alto HSR.
   Sigh.

Ottawa and Boston have North America’s busiest low-floor LRT lines and both run double trainset MU’s. Some 15 years ago, RTG proposed a CAF LRV similar to this one that was used in Europe, but the city rejected it because of insufficient experience. So RTG was forced to find an alternative which was a modified version of the Alstom Citadis. Boston is now replacing its LRV Green Line C trams with these.

Would it have been a better solution?

The city is supportive of HSR and even signed an NDA to get in on early plans/discussions.

There is not much new here…when Alto decides on the precise line, then we will all know. And some conservation and farmland will be required.

They have been underutilized/vacant for years. But the Canlands Master Plan for the area includes getting rid of the RA Centre and fields, and replacing the Airport Parkway / Brookfield Bridge with something level, as well as getting rid of various other Heron/Bronson “ramps” all to enable loads of new, dense housing development. And traffic congestion on major EW and NS roadways through there.

Maintaining access across the future high-speed rail corridor is a priority for Alto. 
 
Federal and provincial roads will be maintained through an overpass or an underpass, unless exceptional circumstances apply. Roads classified as major will also be maintained. In every situation, Alto will work with municipalities and emergency services to ensure safe and continuous access. Solutions such as bridges and underpasses will help maintain connectivity and avoid isolating areas. Priority will be given to direct access where traffic volumes are high and detours could significantly increase travel times.
 
We take the concerns raised by the agricultural community seriously and will continue engaging with farmers, landowners, and local communities to better understand regional realities and minimize project impacts.
 
Learn more 👉https://lnkd.in/ePbgYAQc

Official video on the Alto LinkedIn site.

The (Alberta) Passenger Rail Master Plan identifies a phased 30-Year Network focused on the passenger rail connections with the greatest potential demand and economic benefit, including:

High-speed (more than 300 km/h) regional service between Edmonton and Calgary via Red Deer with more than one train an hour.

Higher-speed (more than 160 km/h) regional service between Calgary and Banff with up to one train an hour.

Hopefully Alberta and Canada can work together to build HSR between Calgary and Edmonton someday!

This (unofficial) website tracks all VIA on time / late arrival information. It looks like some improvement over the last few weeks, although some trains are consistently late (in spite of timetable changes?).

How much, in the corridor, is due to improved Venture reliability? To better Spring weather compared to winter ice/snow buildup? Better coordination with CN and GO with whom most trackage is shared? See my reply for an example of overall results.

Support for HSR!

Sadly the city / OCTranspo kicked the volunteers out a few years ago and it has been lingering way out in East end. Sounds like they may get it running within 12 months! Good reason to stop by Smiths Falls.