Alto - High Speed Rail (Toronto-Quebec City)

[nfitz]

I wouldn't be surprised if these "citizen researchers" start advocating for rubbing ivermectin horse paste on VIA trains for speed benefits, based on the quality of work I've seen thus far.

Pretty much. To suggest running along the 401 shows such either astounding engineering and planning ignorance, or that this is simply a NIMBY move to stop the project.

Even if you could run along the 401 (which you can't given the curves), the amount of tunnels would be very expensive, akin to HS2, to solve the grade problems. And where 401 is straight the grade-separated crossings would be very expensive.

But those aren't the big issues. The expropriation along that corridor would be extreme - far worse than a northern alignment.

The extreme hypocrisy of such a laughable increase in expropriations and demolitions, in order to save split some fields in half, is an insult to the human race. Never have I seen such complete BS.

Even expropriating the CN Kingston subdivision and resurrecting VIA Fast would be a better option.

 

[ownthesky]

Pretty much. To suggest running along the 401 shows such either astounding engineering and planning ignorance, or that this is simply a NIMBY move to stop the project.

Even if you could run along the 401 (which you can't given the curves), the amount of tunnels would be very expensive, akin to HS2, to solve the grade problems. And where 401 is straight the grade-separated crossings would be very expensive.

But those aren't the big issues. The expropriation along that corridor would be extreme - far worse than a northern alignment.

The extreme hypocrisy of such a laughable increase in expropriations and demolitions, in order to save split some fields in half, is an insult to the human race. Never have I seen such complete BS.

Even expropriating the CN Kingston subdivision and resurrecting VIA Fast would be a better option.

I think what bugs me the most about folks pushing a 401 alignment, engineering and costs aside, is that there is an implicit component of "make it the problem of the tens of thousands of homes and businesses abutting the corridor" that I find so callous. Using the 401 would uproot way more people from their land and pushing it to the 401 rarely mentions that.

 

[micheal_can]

Business, tourism officials want high-speed rail to ‘arrive in the heart of Ottawa’

Ottawa’s main business and tourism organizations want to see high-speed rail bring passengers to a station in the downtown core, saying it “deserves to arrive in the heart of Ottawa.”

www.ctvnews.ca

Am I crazy or could you convert the LRT into a functional metro for a fraction of the cost of getting a high speed train into "downtown" Ottawa? In any other modern city, Tremblay would get you to parliament in a couple minutes using a modern metro. It feels like a joke that the huge and empty Tremblay station isn't the obvious choice, given that it already has a rapid transit station. The fact that Tremblay isn't the only option seems like more of a testament to how much of a joke the Ottawa LRT is and it's quite fascinating that the thought leaders in Ottawa want a second chance to screw up something that should be incredibly basic with other people's money. Get Tremblay working first, show the world the city isn't a total joke by not screwing up an elementary level planning task (does our metro-thing reach our urban core-thing from our main train station at a decent pace with good reliability?), and THEN build that fancy new downtown station once the HSR line shows its value.

... You are crazy...

Seriously though, the route is neither straight or flat, or that wide.

 

[lenaitch]

I wouldn't be surprised if these "citizen researchers" start advocating for rubbing ivermectin horse paste on VIA trains for speed benefits, based on the quality of work I've seen thus far.

Well, at least they wouldn't get Covid.

Pretty much. To suggest running along the 401 shows such either astounding engineering and planning ignorance, or that this is simply a NIMBY move to stop the project.

Part of me wants to think that there is some unwritten plan to simply flood the zone and bog the project down until a change of government (or heart) simply kills it of devalues it to something unrecognizable. That and the Randy Hillier effect in eastern Ontario.

 

[zang]

Well, at least they wouldn't get Covid.

They still would. But they’d claim it was an engineered weapon.

Part of me wants to think that there is some unwritten plan to simply flood the zone and bog the project down until a change of government (or heart) simply kills it of devalues it to something unrecognizable. That and the Randy Hillier effect in eastern Ontario.

HS2 all over again.

 

[StreetcarRider]

Why build something that has been successfully built around the world when you could instead implement technologies that are unproven and, in fact, do not even exist?

Electric short-haul commercial planes:

Why the proposed high-speed rail Alto project won’t work in Canada

It’s not necessarily that high-speed rail is a bad project, but rather that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

www.thestar.com

Self-driving lounges:

George Jetson’s commute: Why Alto is already obsolete

The Alto high-speed rail project will suffer the fate of other failed megaprojects, Rob Whittaker argues.

www.recorder.ca

And these articles are just from the last 24 hours or so.

 

[Thaboss]

Electric short-haul commercial planes:

I cannot believe what I just read...

Do they allow just anyone to spew their opinions in the newspaper nowadays ?

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/con...cle_8abf67cf-4b1b-46c3-b4e9-05d0ee8602a0.html

^^ i like this persons persepctive

 

[ericmacm]

Part of me wants to think that there is some unwritten plan to simply flood the zone and bog the project down until a change of government (or heart) simply kills it of devalues it to something unrecognizable. That and the Randy Hillier effect in eastern Ontario.

Flooding the zone is my interpretation of what is happening, and I believe it is, at the very least, being loosely coordinated. Call me over-optimistic, but I don’t really think it is going to work, given the broad and general national-level support for HSR. I have seen this happen before with the Gordie Howe Bridge, which had very wealthy and politically-connected individuals in opposition spending 20+ years pouring millions of dollars into trying to prevent the project from ever getting built. The opinion pieces from back then were framing it as a near certainty that the Morouns were too powerful of an authority to allow the GHIB to get built. However, it never worked out that way because the project was too important, and government/crown corp stuck to their guns to get it built, all the way through the extensive land acquisition process and political fighting with Michigan and White House Republicans. If the feds want to get HSR done, they will absolutely get it done, regardless of the stream of fecal matter coming out of these opinion pieces, NIMBY groups, and the federal opposition.

Also, just a casual reminder to everyone that nobody should be paying much attention to the endless deluge of emotionally-charged opinion pieces being spewed out by the media. Opinion pieces are one of the worst things to happen to journalism and I cannot believe what is being allowed to be published.

 

[Full Metal Junkie]

Electric short-haul commercial planes

cannot believe what I just read...

I mean, what about flying cars that are just around the corner? How about warp-drive-enabled hot air balloons? Lest we forget about passenger travel via SpaceX Starship. What if we invested the HSR money into inventing something actually useful (like the antimatter teleportation technology)?

 

[urbanclient]

@AJhyett awfully quiet now after getting their "analysis" exposed...

 

[micheal_can]

I mean, what about flying cars that are just around the corner? How about warp-drive-enabled hot air balloons? Lest we forget about passenger travel via SpaceX Starship. What if we invested the HSR money into inventing something actually useful (like the antimatter teleportation technology)?

Something I have noticed that is not unique to ALTO, that seems to happen when something new is introduced that could upset the status quo in a market - they all try to demonize it.
Whether it be EVs, solar/nuclear power, streaming services, etc, instead of welcoming the competition in a capitalist society, they want it demonized so that they can make maximum profits.

Proof? Instead of welcoming EVs,manufacturers have been adding things like auto start/stop and cylinder deactivation to eek out that minuscule fuel savings whereas if they offered an EV choice with every model line, they would solve their problems.

No part of short flying is good. Long hauls are getting bad too.

 

[DarwinP]

Canada and Toronto could dream big. With the help of Ai, this is my vision for Toronto’s new ALTO high speed train station at 1 Front St W. One of the most beautiful Architectural landmarks in downtown Toronto, restored, revitalized and repurposed to become the main station in the ALTO network.

This station would be an extension of Union Station, expanding the main transit hub in the GTA. Pedestrian improvements included reduce: traffic lanes on Front St, widened sidewalks, animating the street with restaurant patios, new light posts, architectural lighting , trees, planters and more.

Although, too ambitious, complex, and expensive for Toronto, we could only dream one day municipal, provincial and federal leaders can have a vision for the city that goes beyond functionality, convenience and the status quo.

 

[nfitz]

A single platform? I guess it's not going any further than Union.

 

[DarwinP]

A single platform? I guess it's not going any further than Union.

lol fixed. You can board the train.

 

[nfitz]

lol fixed. You can board the train.

I hadn't realised this was fantasy stuff. Which would explain how you'd knock down half of that heritage building to put in the platform ... (or would you knock down 141 Bay?)