swimmer_spe Report post Posted January 15, 2015 The GTHA has the GO. AMT is run throughout the Montreal area. The WCE runs on the Lower Mainland to Vancouver. What Metro area will be the next to get a Commuter rail service? I am thinking it will be Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton or Winnipeg. I wonder which area is the most likely to get one first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
D40LF Report post Posted January 15, 2015 Scratch Calgary off that list, they have no interest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
armorand Report post Posted January 15, 2015 Scratch Calgary off that list, they have no interest. Winnipeg and high speed rail... to where? other than Minneapolis, there's honestly no other major urban areas nearby, that would attract either VIA or Amtrak notice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyfirenet Report post Posted January 15, 2015 In a way, Ottawa already has it with the O Train. It's just a matter of extending it to better fit the definition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M. Parsons Report post Posted January 15, 2015 Not likley in Edmonton. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomsbuspage Report post Posted January 15, 2015 In a way, Ottawa already has it with the O Train. It's just a matter of extending it to better fit the definition. Keep in mind, though, that Ottawa has very little in the way of railway infrastructure, and almost nothing downtown. If no new contruction is considered, most of the CP railway lines in what are now Ottawa and Gatineau were abandoned and torn up in the mid-1990s, and the few that remain are single track and are being used by other railways. Also, the only realistic location for a station at the moment would be at Bayview, which would require a transfer to the O-Train Confederation Line to go downtown. CN Alexandria Sub: VIA Rail, potential connections to Carlsbad Springs, Limoges, Casselman, Maxville and Alexandria CN Smiths Falls Sub: VIA Rail, potential connections to Richmond and Smiths Falls, as well as Perth, Merrickville and Brockville via connecting CP corridors. CN Renfrew Sub: Nylene Corporation, potential connections to Carp and Arnprior CN Beachburg Sub: Abandoned, to be torn up CP Elwood Sub/Prescott Sub: OC Transpo O-Train Trillium Line CP Maniwaki Sub: Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train/Chemin de fer de la Gatineau, potential connections to Chelsea and Wakefield CP Lachute Sub: STO/Chemin de fer Quebec-Gatineau, potential connections to Angers, Masson, Buckingham, Thurso, Montebello, Grenville (Hawkesbury) and Lachute Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TTCOrionV9408 Report post Posted January 15, 2015 BTW in toronto we are having the Union Pearson Express by spring 2015 and it goes to Pearson airport and back to Union station. Edit 100th post on CPTDB. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swimmer_spe Report post Posted January 15, 2015 Vancouver had the Canada line up for the Olympics. Montreal still needs the connection. The O-Train is proposed to go to the airport in Ottawa. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IRT_BMT_IND Report post Posted January 15, 2015 I honestly can't think of any. Ottawa's train station is IMO too far from the CBD for commuter rail to be viable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swimmer_spe Report post Posted January 15, 2015 I honestly can't think of any. Ottawa's train station is IMO too far from the CBD for commuter rail to be viable. Well, why does it have to go there? For that matter goes, with the current O-Train and the Confederation line, why not have the termius of commuter rail go to one of those stations? Then use the LRT or O-train to get to the local area? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomsbuspage Report post Posted January 15, 2015 Well, why does it have to go there? For that matter goes, with the current O-Train and the Confederation line, why not have the termius of commuter rail go to one of those stations? Then use the LRT or O-train to get to the local area? The current Via Rail station is next to the Confederation Line Tremblay station, the Via tracks cross the Trillium line near Confederation station, and the Walkley Yard and Line cross the Trillium Line near Greenboro station, so the possibility already exists for the connections to the O-Train. As for the Via station being located too far from downtown, keep in mind that neither London nor Paris have train stations located right in the centre of the city. However, both cities have excellent subway systems connecting the train stations to each other and the rest of the city, so if Ottawa can make the connections work, and they will really need to improve their service levels from what exists now, then I think that the Via station could be the main hub of the commuter rail system. Just my . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
D40LF Report post Posted January 16, 2015 Winnipeg and high speed rail... to where? other than Minneapolis, there's honestly no other major urban areas nearby, that would attract either VIA or Amtrak notice. Thread isn't about high speed rail, but commuter rail. BTW in toronto we are having the Union Pearson Express by spring 2015 and it goes to Pearson airport and back to Union station. But Toronto already has commuter rail, so it's not like the UPE is new. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GM5000 Report post Posted January 16, 2015 I thought I read somewhere that Halifax was studying it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smallspy Report post Posted January 16, 2015 I thought I read somewhere that Halifax was studying it. They have been for some time now. No idea how it's progressing however, as they seem to be looking at a BRT/bus lanes on a similar route. Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidW Report post Posted January 16, 2015 If commuter bus service is a forerunner of commuter rail (or at least an identifier of potential corridors) then the situation in Winnipeg is pretty bleak. The only commuter bus operations is Beaver Bus Lines service between Selkirk and Winnipeg. It's old and well established (frequent commuter service began in 1908 by electric interurban railway, and it was converted to buses partly in 1931 and completely in 1937). Beav' still operates eleven weekday trips (and four on Saturdays) but the service has been declining in recent years, not increasing. Passenger train service (CN + CP) between Winnipeg and Portage-la-Prairie in the old days (before about 1955) was frequent enough, and short enough (about 75 minutes on Via's current schedule), to be almost commuter rail. Portage is bigger than Selkirk, and there is significant daily commuting to Winnipeg, but there's no bus now (Greyhound is too sparse to commute), and both rail options are very busy freight mainlines. As late as the mid 1980's Grey Goose Lines offered an outbound trip from Winnipeg to Portage scheduled for commuting (The inbound commute was covered by a long distance bus from further out). CN used to operate commuter trains between Winnipeg and its shops at Transcona (now also Winnipeg). Winnipeg Transit covers Winnipeg -- Transcona now of course. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TTCVIAFan25 Report post Posted January 17, 2015 How about London, ON? They could have a service to Kitchener/Stratford (and connect to a GO Train) or west to Chatham... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rollsign29 Report post Posted January 19, 2015 The O-Train is proposed to go to the airport in Ottawa.It hasn't been proposed to go to the airport for a number of years now, and has never been suggested under the new plan (it's to bypass the airport). Express buses would run between the airport and either Greenboro or South Keys station to connect with the O-Train (aka Trillium Line). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomsbuspage Report post Posted January 20, 2015 It hasn't been proposed to go to the airport for a number of years now, and has never been suggested under the new plan (it's to bypass the airport). Express buses would run between the airport and either Greenboro or South Keys station to connect with the O-Train (aka Trillium Line). Actually, Ottawa now has a plan to provide O-Train service to the airport, as long as the airport pays for the extension: http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/public-consultations/transit/project-overview Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dowlingm Report post Posted January 27, 2015 Has an early VIA ex Kingston or Brockville ever been seriously proposed? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyfirenet Report post Posted January 27, 2015 Has an early VIA ex Kingston or Brockville ever been seriously proposed? You mean train 651? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidW Report post Posted January 27, 2015 Are there any metropolitan areas in Canada that might be able to apply the European "tram-train" model to commuter service? As I understand it "tram-trains" are services using multiple-unit vehicles (often dual mode) that traverse railway infrastructure on the outer parts of their journeys, and then urban light rail (or tramway) infrastructure to complete their journeys into the city centre. Karlsruhe in Germany is often considered the textbook example. Edmonton comes to mind as a potential Canadian application. I can imagine dual-mode (diesel and electric) LRV's from one or more of the commuter burbs (Leduc, Fort Saskatchewan, Spruce Grove, etc) running on mainline tracks towards Edmonton, and then joining LRT tracks to complete their journey into the central business district. The biggest hurdle to the concept in North America is probably regulatory. The Europeans have settled for safety by superior signals for lighter passenger vehicles mixing with heavy trains. North American safety is still governed by crash-worthiness, and an LRV heavy enough to survive a head-on with a freight train would be too heavy for a head-on with an urban LRV. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swimmer_spe Report post Posted January 27, 2015 The O-Train is the closest I can think of.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dowlingm Report post Posted January 27, 2015 You mean train 651?i meant in the Ottawa directionSent from my iPad using Tapatalk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidW Report post Posted January 27, 2015 i meant in the Ottawa direction Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk I've seen calls for a commuter train service between Smiths Falls and Ottawa (and calls on VIA to consider operating it). The calls have come from local politicians in Smiths Falls. I haven't noticed anything suggested trains from further afield like Kingston... Transit system talks set for next week Smiths Falls Record News Jun 21, 2012 All welcome to upcoming commuter rail discussion Smiths Falls Record News Sep 15, 2011 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skyfirenet Report post Posted January 27, 2015 North American safety is still governed by crash-worthiness, and an LRV heavy enough to survive a head-on with a freight train would be too heavy for a head-on with an urban LRV. Then again, they can just do what they did in Ottawa and separate freight movements from passenger service based on time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
