ssiguy2
Senior Member
There are several advantages of having this new line not being under the control of VIA:
1} If there is private money on the line, that means the damn thing will actually come in on-time and on-budget as any overrun costs would be born by the private company so you don't end up with a money pit that doesn't get built ala California HSR.
2} The company will be free from political influence so that the route and stations will not be determined by who's swing riding they go thru but rather which route and stops can be financially justified. This means they will use the fastest {and hence most direct} route ie London to Toronto via the southern route and not thru Kitchener and they won't be stopping at every little outpost along the way to satisfy the local MP taking the high-speed out of HSR. That will mean a direct route with stations only at Windsor/London/Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal/Quebec. They could perhaps run every 3rd train to include more local stations ie Chatham, Peterborough, and Trois Rivieres but only if it makes financial sense.
3} The company could buy some of the current CP/CN track to bring down costs and greatly reduce construction times but it would be far more politically palatable than Ottawa having to wave a huge cheque in front of large corporations that already make money hand-over-fist.
4} The private sector will still have to put up billions of it's own money and hence will make sure that any contract is iron clad and a legal document with very potent penalties if Ottawa wants to back out. This means that any future governments {ie Conservative} that may want to cancel the project would be forfeiting untold billions which would be political suicide meaning the project would be completed regardless of the party in power.
1} If there is private money on the line, that means the damn thing will actually come in on-time and on-budget as any overrun costs would be born by the private company so you don't end up with a money pit that doesn't get built ala California HSR.
2} The company will be free from political influence so that the route and stations will not be determined by who's swing riding they go thru but rather which route and stops can be financially justified. This means they will use the fastest {and hence most direct} route ie London to Toronto via the southern route and not thru Kitchener and they won't be stopping at every little outpost along the way to satisfy the local MP taking the high-speed out of HSR. That will mean a direct route with stations only at Windsor/London/Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal/Quebec. They could perhaps run every 3rd train to include more local stations ie Chatham, Peterborough, and Trois Rivieres but only if it makes financial sense.
3} The company could buy some of the current CP/CN track to bring down costs and greatly reduce construction times but it would be far more politically palatable than Ottawa having to wave a huge cheque in front of large corporations that already make money hand-over-fist.
4} The private sector will still have to put up billions of it's own money and hence will make sure that any contract is iron clad and a legal document with very potent penalties if Ottawa wants to back out. This means that any future governments {ie Conservative} that may want to cancel the project would be forfeiting untold billions which would be political suicide meaning the project would be completed regardless of the party in power.
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