Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Alberta high speed rail idea


There's a lot of talk (again) about a high speed rail link between Calgary and Edmonton. Those that are bringing it up are suggesting that the traffic on the highway connecting the two cities will reach capacity soon with all the massive growth, so a high speed rail line may be justifiable. In an effort to gauge viability, they're setting up cameras between the two cities to determine if highway users are in fact driving the whole stretch.

First of all, even if 90% of the highway's traffic were made up of people going all the way from one city to the other, this is not justification to build a rail line. If getting from one to the other without their cars was an option, these people would have already been inclined to take a flight. But they're not. Why? Cost is one issue. I think mostly because they need (want?) their cars when they get to the destination. A rail link is not going to be useful to anyone whose start point or destination falls outside the downtown core, especially the 2 cities' transit systems being what they are. I can tell you right now it's not a viable solution in the form they're going to suggest.

The real solution would be a high speed rail line that has train cars like they have on the Eurotunnel Shuttle line between the UK and France. The kind that accommodates cars. If people had the choice to drive onto the train, sit back for an hour (or so) for the trip and drive off the train at their destination, it would sell like hotcakes. Because the worst part of the trip isn't just the boring drive there, it's the "how do I get the rest of the way?" upon arrival.

No comments: