SaugeenJunction
Senior Member
^ It’s doable, likely cheaper than Don Valley bridges along the Belleville Sub, but the TPAP/consultation materials for the RER expansion Kennedy- Scarboro Jct make no mention of that option.
And as has been discussed, until the SRT is demolished the clearances on that corridor are pretty tight, so going beyond double track would be difficult.. Interference from RER would be a concern.
If VIA is about to EA that routing, on top of the RER TPAP’s, on top of the planning to abandon and demolish SRT, it’s a colossal left hand/ right hand collision.
My worry all along with HFR has been whether VIA, in the interest of keeping costs down, will make bad decisions about doing things on the cheap. Putting HFR on the Stouffville GO line, which has constrained width, feels like too many eggs in one basket. I would rather see HFR take the Don line, and build those bridges, so HFR gets a proper foundation for growth towards HSR.
- Paul
Exactly. GO plans to run tons of service on the Stouffville line for RER. There simply isn’t enough space for the numerous passing tracks that would be required to properly let “express” VIA trains pass “local” GO trains. If VIA chooses Stouffville, then they will be back to where they are right now in terms of their trains getting stuck in traffic, but with GO trains slowing them down rather than CN freight.