1overcosc
Active Member
Canadian cities don't really have commuter rail, because our urban forms don't really need it.
Commuter/regional rail works in geographically large metropolitan areas with exurbs. Places too far for conventional rapid transit to work. Imagine trying to extend TTC subway or STM metro service from Oshawa to Stoney Creek, or from Repentigny to Hudson. That's just WAY too far for conventional rapid transit so regional/commuter rail has to fill in the gap.
Whereas in all of our smaller cities beyond the big 3 that already have commuter rail, the urban area is much more contained. There's really no exurban cities in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, etc.--rather the core urban area itself drops off directly to countryside. In Ottawa the existing rapid transit comfortably reaches outwards to Trim Road in the east & Terry Fox Drive in the west--the very outer limits of the city. Beyond that is countryside and small towns of only a few thousand people. It would be like if Toronto stopped at Steeles and everything north of that was small towns like Beaverton. GO Transit would have no reason to exist.
Commuter/regional rail works in geographically large metropolitan areas with exurbs. Places too far for conventional rapid transit to work. Imagine trying to extend TTC subway or STM metro service from Oshawa to Stoney Creek, or from Repentigny to Hudson. That's just WAY too far for conventional rapid transit so regional/commuter rail has to fill in the gap.
Whereas in all of our smaller cities beyond the big 3 that already have commuter rail, the urban area is much more contained. There's really no exurban cities in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, etc.--rather the core urban area itself drops off directly to countryside. In Ottawa the existing rapid transit comfortably reaches outwards to Trim Road in the east & Terry Fox Drive in the west--the very outer limits of the city. Beyond that is countryside and small towns of only a few thousand people. It would be like if Toronto stopped at Steeles and everything north of that was small towns like Beaverton. GO Transit would have no reason to exist.
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