Quote:
Originally Posted by Resolute 14
The love affair with the train doesn't take into account the 20-25 minutes it takes to drive into downtown just to get to the train station, then another 20-25 (or more) waiting for a taxi or bus to get to your destination in Edmonton. Nor does it take into account the fact that you have a limited number of daily departures. You can drive any time, and there are about 30 flights every day to Edmonton. If I want to leave at 9AM, but the next train is 10AM, I might as well just drive, especially if downtown Edmonton isn't my destination.
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Assuming you'd drive or take a taxi once you arrived in the other city is a pretty car centric view. One of the basic pre-conditions for an inter-city train to make sense is for the LRT in both cities to go to a reasonable number of places that intra-provincial visitor's would wish to go to.
Calgary has downtown, stampede/dome, Chinook Centre, Max Bell, University, SAIT, etc.
Edmonton has downtown, the University, Coliseum, Rexall, etc.
If the LRT in both cities is expanded with a few more lines, then and only then would high-speed make sense.