Alstom TGV- HFR map presented November 2022
High Speed Rail Canada is proud to release the Alstom TGV-HFR Rail presentation and maps from November 2022 for the public. This is part of of our mandate of educating the public on the benefits of high-speed rail we are making them available at no cost.
Click HERE to view the presentation and the associated maps. You can also click on the maps icon on our website to view just the maps.
In what context did this presentation happen? Is there serious consideration for HSR again?
ReplyDeleteYes this is Alstom proposal for Canada
DeleteIt would be a dream come true to see the TGV type trains in this corridor. But I’m also pragmatic. The important question is what would be the fare.
ReplyDeleteExcellent and future oriented proposal. The most population growth is expected to occur in this corridor, and this infrastructure is needed to meet the demand for greater connectivity in the region. It will expand the job market and opportunities available for people in the region, generate economic activity, lift tourism, and cut down on carbon emissions. If Canada is serious and willing to invest in this, we should go for the top speeds to ensure the project actually cuts down on travel times enough to make it a viable alternative to flying or driving.
ReplyDeleteHigh *frequency* rail is useless. Still cheaper by car, faster by plane - so there is little consumer benefit in adding frequency of departure. Owning the rails adds reliability but that only means they can support the slow schedule and stop giving discounts when delays happen.
ReplyDeleteHigh *speed* - different story. Now it can reliably compete against the plane.
Ideally the line comes into Toronto at Summerhill as Union is overloaded by Metrolinx GO. From this location its easier to connect onwards to London.
HFR would basically be similar to very successful regular intercity trains (Oresundstag) running at up to 180 kph or 111 mph and so-called HSR trains (X2000) operating at up to 200 kph or 125 mph in Sweden, thereby offering affordable, effective, environmentally-friendly, reliable, and surprisingly fast transportation options for travellers.
DeleteAs a matter of fact, X2000 trains running at 200 kph or 125 mph, are as fast as Germany's HSR trains on some routes since a large portion of Germany's passenger rail system still comprises HrSR (Higher Speed Rail) speed limits of 200-225 kph!
If it works in Germany and Sweden, why would a similar service like HFR not be just as successful in Canada?
I know what I'm talking about, having personally experienced for myself all types of modernized passenger rail in Europe and in other parts of the world!
HFR isn't meant to mostly compete with airline travel, but with the automobile since travelling by car emits far more carbon than jet aircraft.
DeleteAnd it'll cost far more to take an HSR train than an HFR train due to the obvious need to recover the dramatically higher costs of constructing HSR infrastructure.
Why do you think far more Europeans (90%) choose regular intercity trains running at top speeds of 200-225 kph rather than significantly more costly HSR trains?
Even in the US NEC, at least twice as many people choose to take regular intercity trains operating at up to 200 kph or 125 mph rather than so-called high speed Acelas!
These facts speak for themselves!
HFR will remove far more cars from our highways and roads than HSR ever will because HFR will also provide fast and frequent rail service to small towns and cities located between start and end points.
To finalize, most European countries only migrated to HSR once they reached maximum capacity of their rail infrastructure.
Unfortunate the proposed route from Tor-Ott misses a very large portion of the population along the 401 (Oshawa, Kingston, Brockville-Cornwall). Alstom’s share of the mess in Ottawa’s LRT continues and is a bad sign for a greenfield project like this. On the positive side, this is a plan i’d support. We need high-speed rail on dedicated tracks in this corridor.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, it would be great to see some rail service in Peterborough and it's good to spread out the rail lines a bit, rather the current bottleneck along lake shore. There's always room for improvement on the existing lines, and someone can still take a train to Smiths Falls or Ottawa to transfer onto high speed travel to Quebec. The biggest reason we need HSR is the unnecessary flights between Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, which causes unnecessary congestion at airports, and tons of pollution/wasted jet fuel.
DeletePeterborough would be better served with a GO train.
DeleteWhen I use the VIA RAIL live train tracking website Vandvoyage I become so disappointed when I see how few lines we have between Canada's largest cities. We need multiple routes for redundancy.
ReplyDelete