[Newsbot]

Title: Report to outline benefits of Alberta high speed rail
Category: Misc CDN
Posted By: WDHIII
Date: 2009-07-06 08:06:13
Canadian

[bootlegga]

Let's build it already!

[martin14]

50 bucks each way for a train ride that can drop you
in 5 locations, 2 of which you can fly to ?

too much money.

[dino_bobba_renno]

martin14 martin14:

50 bucks each way for a train ride that can drop you
in 5 locations, 2 of which you can fly to ?

too much money.

I wouldn't go say it's a bad idea. I think there would be a lot of people who would take advantage of it. It pretty much costs 50 bucks to drive to Edmonton as it is so cost wise it would be competitive. I know I'd use it if I had a business trip down there which I often do. In fact it would be nice, I could get some work done or catch some shut eye. It really depends where the stops in town would be though. They say down town but that’s a bit vague. Center of down town, the far west side of down town by Currie barracks ....? Would it be close (ie less than a block or two) from transit or out in the middle of now where? Would there be car rental facilities close by?

If they did it right it could be pretty darn nice for business people. The only question I would have is can it generate enough income to support it self or will the tax payers be stuck paying for a convenience for the business community.

*oh one company I could see getting pissed off about this if it happens would be Red Arrow, the bus company that runs the same route for about the same price.

[bootlegga]

martin14 martin14:

50 bucks each way for a train ride that can drop you
in 5 locations, 2 of which you can fly to ?

too much money.

You can fly into Red Deer too, but that's not the point. Given that airfare is way more than $50, and it takes almost as long as it does to drive to the other city, it's a great idea. If they had that, people could easily live in anywhere in the corridor and work anywhere else in the corridor.

[dino_bobba_renno]

bootlegga bootlegga:

martin14 martin14:

50 bucks each way for a train ride that can drop you
in 5 locations, 2 of which you can fly to ?

too much money.

You can fly into Red Deer too, but that's not the point. Given that airfare is way more than $50, and it takes almost as long as it does to drive to the other city, it's a great idea. If they had that, people could easily live in anywhere in the corridor and work anywhere else in the corridor.

Flying is way more expensive and if you're going on a traditional airline such as Air Canada or West Jet you lose way more time considering you have to be there at least an hour early and the planes only land on the outskirts of both cities (with Edmonton being the worst with the international located in Nisku)leaving you with anouther 20 to 30 minute drive to hit the cores.

This could also be a big boon to both Edmonton and more so Red Deer. Commercial rent in Calgary is insane, I could see a bunch of companies down sizing here and shifting more space out to both cities if it became more practical to travel between the three.

[ridenrain]

Why do we in Canada seem to be unable to make passenger rail work?
Good idea. Just build the damned thing.
$50 is way too much though.

[dino_bobba_renno]

ridenrain ridenrain:

Why do we in Canada seem to be unable to make passenger rail work?
Good idea. Just build the damned thing.
$50 is way too much though.

@ the first question *shrugs his shoulders* honestly I don't know.

They've been talking about this for years now. I can't help but wonder though, if you're going to pump all that money into a rapid rail system between the two cities and with all the risk it carries of being a white elephant why don't just add a third lane to hwy 2? Probably be cheaper and just as effective in the end.

[Regina]

I think it's a great idea. There's plenty of traffic to support it and it would have more considering the people who would normally take a plane. I know lots of people who travel between Toronto and Montreal who take the rails instead of jet because the the train is a bit more dependable and takes around the same time considering the time you need to clear security etc. High speed from Calgary to Edmonton would make it a quicker trip if you need a connector flight to either. I could see the airlines using it as part of their packages.

[Lemmy]

[Thanos]

Heh-heh! Mule!

[ShepherdsDog]

The THSR runs beyween Kaohsiung and Taipei. The stations are also linked into the mass ransit systems of all the cities on the line, which includes bus and subway, which also link to the international airports(Kaohsiung's MRT has it's southern terminal in the airport itself for domestic and international arrivals and departures.

The distance between Kaohsiung and Taipei is fairly similar to the distance between Calgary and Edmonchuk, the two Canadian cities are slightly closer. It takes about an hour and a half to travel, at 300 KPH, and a one way ticket is about $36 Canadian.

Here's the website.

http://www.thsrc.com.tw/en/?lc=en

[Newsbot]

Title: Tories put brakes on Alberta bullet train
Category: Provincial Politics
Posted By: WDHIII
Date: 2009-07-07 08:42:34
Canadian

[bootlegga]

Translation: no corporation will step up and join in the initiative.

I think the key here would be to get Budget (or another rental car company) onboard, and have them offer a hybrid/fuel efficent car rental at the otehr end of the trip for a day.

Another option would be to talk to Rd Arrow and get them onboard as a junior partner or something, because this train would kill their Edmonton-Calgary run, which is their bread and butter.

[martin14]

$1:

Yet the study--which incorporated the opinions of Albertans who travel up and down the QE2--found people are reluctant to park the car in favour of rail travel.

says it all right there boot.