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Highway 401: Proposed Province-Wide Widening

I highly doubt that trucking will collapse. What you all seem to be forgetting is that once the price of oil rises enough, the substitution effect will kick in for fossil fuel alternatives. The upshot of that is that energy will probably never rise above say $5 - $8/L gasoline or diesel equivalent. I rather expect it won't rise above $3/L equivalent. While this makes trucking a whole lot less attractive, it'll hardly kill it. It will, however, increase the attractiveness of rail and sea transport to some extent, but given the built form of our cities, a certain degree of trucking will exist for a good long time. I think the only form of trucking that might be seriously threatened is long-haul trucking of dry goods (perishable will likely remain on trucks), which will likely rely more on intermodal.

The continental rail freight network is going to need to become much more sophisticated to seriously challenge the speed or versatility of trucking, even if fuel costs soar substantially.
 
I work in the transportation industry, and the way things are going, rail will never replace trucks as the main method of cargo transportation.

It's just way too slow.

For example, to ship something from Toronto to Edmonton via Rail will take 1-2 weeks.

Via a truck, it's a matter of hours.
 
Went to Sandbanks on the weekend. Bumper to bumper traffic most of the way back. Widening to Kingston to three lanes is probably a good thing. Looks like Port Hope to Colborne is underway.
 
Conrad Black said:
Went to Sandbanks on the weekend. Bumper to bumper traffic most of the way back. Widening to Kingston to three lanes is probably a good thing. Looks like Port Hope to Colborne is underway.
Click to expand...
Port Hope to Cobourg. Yeah I know I'm nitpicking.
 
Notice in the Mississauga News that the Ontario government is finally expropriating the land for the 401 widening, from the 410 to Mavis or the Credit River, I believe.

I might have put this in the wrong 401 widening thread though :-/
 
Jarrek said:
I work in the transportation industry, and the way things are going, rail will never replace trucks as the main method of cargo transportation.

It's just way too slow.

For example, to ship something from Toronto to Edmonton via Rail will take 1-2 weeks.

Via a truck, it's a matter of hours.
Click to expand...

Matter of hours, that some speed machine. It more like 3 days min. It took me 42 hr to get to Calgary just by car and driving more hours than truckers could in the first place.

Railroads kill/lost a lot of business as cars were always sent from yard to yards to be broken down and made into new trains in the past. Today, trains are made into blocks that can be cut off a long haul train as it travel from coast to coast, but still take too much time at time.

Over the years, business have move away from rail corridors where tracks ran right into the plants for loading or off loading. I have seen only 2 new business setup a plant that connected to the tracks in the past 5 years well seeing over a doz disappear.

One problem is paying for a full car of goods when it may only take up a 1/4 to 3/4 of a car in the first place.

I know some trucking companies are now working with small companies to combine goods into one truck than use 3 or more to move it because of fuel cost. If RR did this, it would help a fair number of companies.

Moving thing by rail is cheaper in the long run as well removing the number of rigs to move the goods as well the fuel, but rr still have along way to go to do it right.

Don't forget the TOFC are being gear to run more often and able to drop trailers off at more place along the route than in the past with very little delay to the whole train. More hotshots today.

Regardless, 401 needs to be 6 lanes for the full section with 8-16 lanes at various point. Until there is a truck only highway, mix traffic is require today.
 
Jarrek said:
I work in the transportation industry, and the way things are going, rail will never replace trucks as the main method of cargo transportation.

It's just way too slow.

For example, to ship something from Toronto to Edmonton via Rail will take 1-2 weeks.

Via a truck, it's a matter of hours.
Click to expand...

I can use CN to ship a rail car to Edmonton from Toronto in 130 hours which is less than a week (5.4 days) and it is cheaper than a truck. Using CN to ship a trailer or container (faster because it doesn't require shunting and goes via the intermodal terminal) I can send it door to door in 66 hours (2.75 days). Toronto to Edmonton is about 3,400 km if you don't cross the border (which could cause hassles) and if the truck averages 90 km/h that means almost 38 hours of driving. Canadian rules only allow truckers to work 14 hours, 13 driving. That means it takes about 3 days to send the goods by truck at a cost higher than a train and in about the same time door to door with containers or trailers, and only 2.4 days longer for a rail car which obviously requires my business and the receiver to have railway track and a train needs to come pick it up.

So, who are you shipping with that takes up to 2 weeks to Edmonton and how are you getting trucks to travel 3,400 km in a matter of hours?
 
what about from Brampton to Guelph or from Barrie to Scarborough.

Even with long distance trucking being reduced there is still a ton of truck traffic and its increasing.
 
I would love to see a subway running alongside a new electrified rail line right down the middle of the 401 instead of it being widened anywhere in the GTA.
 
Let's widen Sheppard and York Mills/Wilson to 6 lanes and you'll have my vote.
 
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