General railway discussions

[Urban Sky]

It's also more comfortable and more scenic to take the Adirondack to Montreal then Corridor to Toronto if for some reason you did want a train from Manhatten to Toronto.

Lake Champlain is certainly scenic, but I remember from my overnight trip from (Montreal via) Schenactady to Chicago that as much as you can see of the Mohawk River during daylight, it was not much less of a scenic ride…

 

[Allandale25]

Quebec Central Railway to reopen to Thetford Mines

Quebec has announced $440M in funding to reinstate the Quebec Central Railway between Vallée-Jonction and Thetford Mines

www.transportaction.ca

 

[Northern Light]

Quebec Central Railway to reopen to Thetford Mines

Quebec has announced $440M in funding to reinstate the Quebec Central Railway between Vallée-Jonction and Thetford Mines

www.transportaction.ca

From the above:

 

[Urban Sky]

$440 million is quite an impressive capital cost for reviving some 50 km of freight railroads…

 

[crs1026]

$440 million is quite an impressive capital cost for reviving some 50 km of freight railroads…

True, but there is a 4-span crossing of the Chaudiere River that needs to be replaced (the spans are gone, and the piers may need work).

I am not familiar enough to know what industry remains (or is planned) that would make that expense worth it.

- Paul

 

[Northern Light]

$440 million is quite an impressive capital cost for reviving some 50 km of freight railroads…

~10M per km.

Looking on the map, at first blush, it appears a good chunk of he corridor was saved a velo-route (cycle path)

First Blush was wrong.

 

[crs1026]

~10M per km.

Looking on the map, at first blush, it appears a good chunk of he corridor was saved a velo-route (cycle path)

Google streetview says the rails are still in place for much of the route, although crossings have been paved over.

- Paul

PS - On further examination, the dates of the Google images are quite a while ago - 2012 in places.

 

[crs1026]

As a further PS - this press release from back in March put the cost of the restoration at only $106M.... still a fair chunk of change for 50 kms of track.

The project web page does cite the $440M figure.

One wonders how the escalation happened.

- Paul


PPPS - This presentation from the project web site explains some of the expensive work - ie raising the tracks and bridges to address floodplain issues.

 

[Northern Light]

Google streetview says the rails are still in place for much of the route, although crossings have been paved over.

- Paul

PS - On further examination, the dates of the Google images are quite a while ago - 2012 in places.

I followed the tracks down the wrong side of the river!

Missed that.

Unless I've missed the right route twice, there do appear to be some missing sections, this is Tring Junction:

A note on Streetview here, some images appear to go back as far as 2013, including aerials.

 

[Metroscapes]

One wonders how the escalation happened.

The same way cost escalation has happened in a bunch of places. Increased cost of materials and labour shortages are chief aggravators.

 

[Urban Sky]

The same way cost escalation has happened in a bunch of places. Increased cost of materials and labour shortages are chief aggravators.

Not referring to this project in particular, but scope creep is another aggravator (where features and requirements are added which had never been considered when the original cost and time calculations were made)..

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

I just returned from a trip to Italy where I was able to take the train from Venice (pop 250k) to Trieste (pop 230k, 400k metro) and back then high speed train-train-bus to a small village in the south where I have family.

I was amazed at the convenience and reach of the Italian rail system. It puts Canada system to shame

Granted Italy benefits from a higher population density than Canada (both the geographic size and population favour Italy) and Italy had a preexisting train travel culture. Still the fact that you can fairly easily connect two cities in the 100-250k population range is astounding, imagine being able to take a train from oshawa to Peterborough for example.

 

[Towered]

I just returned from a trip to Italy where I was able to take the train from Venice (pop 250k) to Trieste (pop 230k, 400k metro) and back then high speed train-train-bus to a small village in the south where I have family.

I was amazed at the convenience and reach of the Italian rail system. It puts Canada system to shame

Granted Italy benefits from a higher population density than Canada (both the geographic size and population favour Italy) and Italy had a preexisting train travel culture. Still the fact that you can fairly easily connect two cities in the 100-250k population range is astounding, imagine being able to take a train from oshawa to Peterborough for example.

Well we used to have a far more comprehensive passenger rail system here before car addiction wreaked havoc on it...

 

[Northern Light]

Amtrak is suspending service to Montreal (which only re-started in April) due to CN imposing slow orders due to the heat.

Article here:

Halted Montreal-New York City train route sparks concern among tourism outlets

‘Summer is the busiest tourist season in Montreal. And between New York and Montreal, there is no rail alternative,’ Tourisme Montréal spokesperson says

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[crs1026]

Well we used to have a far more comprehensive passenger rail system here before car addiction wreaked havoc on it...

The system that Canada once had in no way resembles the system that @Woodbridge_Heights experienced. I would not want it back.

And it seems to me that Italians (and Europeans generally) are certainly still in love with their automobiles.

We have to find alternatives to the auto, yes. But I push back on gratuitous car-hating. The auto isn't going away. It's a question of modal share, and investment alternatives.

- Paul