Quebec-Windsor Corridor

[rdaner]

I am hoping that this mega-project can be built in phases to make it more manageable.

 

[micheal_can]

I am hoping that this mega-project can be built in phases to make it more manageable.

Considering that the plan is to do the Havelock Subdivision first, and then the rest of the Corridor after, it seems that it will be.

 

[rdaner]

^Great! It may not be relevant to this thread but I was chatting with someone who worked with ML and he said that they have explored platform expansion in a really theoretical sense and the best option appears to be tunneling under the current tracks like the RER station at Gare du Nord in Paris.

And Oxford Properties must be loving this proposal as they own everything between York and the convention centre plus air rights over the tracks. Not too shabby!

 

[guavadelic]

Possible, but HxR will hurt Porter far more than it will hurt AC and Porter is filling the hole left behind by AC's strategy of funneling almost all travelers through Star Aliance hubs by offering direct flights from YOW that AC would rather have people connect in YUL or YYZ. As a result AC is likely embracing the proverb that "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

More likely in my mind is that AC would add VIA Rail to Star Aliance to get exclusivity on codeshares with VIA Rail for them and their partners. Don't forget that AC is the only ariline that offers direct flights between YOW and YUL (though Air France/KLM have buses between YUL and the Ottawa Train Station). Those flights are likely offered at a loss to give them a competative advantage on long distance flights. HxR risks opening that up that connection to all other ailines that fly into YUL (and to a lesser extent YYZ). A similar situation exists in Quebec City, though Porter and Air Transat also have direct flights between YQB and YUL.

My guess is they would rebrand VIA Rail Canada, dropping the VIA and adding their Maple Leaf logo, something like this (pardon the poor edit):

View attachment 590130

Could be wrong, but seems HxR will have a new name/branding seperate from VIA rail. Indicatations are the new consortium that's awarded the contract will be free to name the service what they want.

 

[smallspy]

I am hoping that this mega-project can be built in phases to make it more manageable.

That's going to be very dependent on how and where the line is built, and how it is staged.

It will be very hard to use it in stages if the first section is built from Peterborough to Perth, for instance. If the first section opened was from Montreal to Ottawa, then that could be used immediately.

Dan

 

[lenaitch]

404 Extension a Highway to Sprawl, Environmental Groups Charge | Pembina Institute

The extension of Highway 404 to Ravenshoe Road in the Town of East Gwillimbury (York Region), announced in the March 23 Ontario budget, and confirmed in the estimates released April 11, threatens the newly established Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt and will promote sprawling urban development of...

www.pembina.org

That's a 2006 article. Hint: the extension has already been completed. Not a word about extending Hwy 412. Try again.

 

[ARG1]

I have not heard said rumour.

The extension of the 404 to Ravenshoe was always intended to be a sort of "Phase 1" for a future extension to Hwy 12. You can see this by how the highway suddenly and inexplicably curves east right before actually reaching Ravenshoe Road. The ultimate goal of course is to provide people an alternate way to reach Northern Ontario by travelling on the east side of Lake Simcoe.

However this is the first time I'm hearing of a 412 extension north to meet it.

 

[micheal_can]

That's a 2006 article. Hint: the extension has already been completed. Not a word about extending Hwy 412. Try again.

"The long-term plan for the highway includes an extension eastward along the south shore of Lake Simcoe all the way to Highway 12." The work is not done it seems.

As for the 412 extension:

https://pub-whitby.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=16378

 

[generalcanada]

Quebec, Ontario billionaires join bidding for Via HFR electric train deal | Globalnews.ca

Global News learned that in 2023 federal officials planned to pay up to $20 million to each bid group for their 'compliant' high-frequency electric railway proposals - win or lose.

globalnews.ca

Apperently some billionaires are backing the bidders.

 

[Adjei]

The province should be advocating for a phase 2 of this kind going through Pearson, Kitchener, London, and Windsor.

 

[micheal_can]

The province should be advocating for a phase 2 of this kind going through Pearson, Kitchener, London, and Windsor.

If it were done in 3 phases, Phase 1 would be the TOM, Phase 2 would be west of Toronto. Phase 3 would be east of Montreal.

 

[crs1026]

If it were done in 3 phases, Phase 1 would be the TOM, Phase 2 would be west of Toronto. Phase 3 would be east of Montreal.

If the intent is to shift modal share from the highways and reduce the need to build more roads, then Phase 1 should be west of Toronto. That's where the current congestion is objectively worst and the greatest untapped market is located. Frankly, driving from Toronto to Ottawa or Montreal isn't at the level of a "serious societal impact" - whereas road congestion west of the GTA is.

But, that's a political quagmire in terms of interprovincial politics and federal provincial cooperation.

I know it won't happen - but Just sayin'.

- Paul

 

[micheal_can]

If the intent is to shift modal share from the highways and reduce the need to build more roads, then Phase 1 should be west of Toronto. That's where the current congestion is objectively worst and the greatest untapped market is located. Frankly, driving from Toronto to Ottawa or Montreal isn't at the level of a "serious societal impact" - whereas road congestion west of the GTA is.

But, that's a political quagmire in terms of interprovincial politics and federal provincial cooperation.

I know it won't happen - but Just sayin'.

- Paul

I do agree with you, but this is more political than congestion driven.

 

[Urban Sky]

TOM as Phase 1, SWO as Phase 2 and MQ as Phase 3 would indeed be the most logical sequence, especially now that the Mont-Royal tunnel has been thrown down the drain. However, Ontarians have nobody else than their provincial governments to blame for pursuing their own HSR election stunt pet project (Wynne) and cancelling it (Ford) without ever inviting VIA and HFR-TGF to expand the scope west of Toronto…

 

[urbancog]

WRT the Global News article:

The scope of the current RfP is Toronto - Peterborough - Ottawa - Dorval - Montreal - Trois Riviere - Quebec City. There was a commitment to look at improving rail services in SW Ontario but nothing was added to the RfP scope.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about HFR project? Read our FAQ to get answers to the most asked-topics on High Frequency Rail project.

hfr-tgf.ca

Also, it is not news that the RfP process included payments to the 3 proponents. That was clearly stated when the RfP was issued and justified by ownership of all deliverables transferring to the HFR project team on submission, so they can merge & repackage ideas if appropriate.