I know most of you don't actually watch the press conference videos, but why comment on it without watching? They didn't announce that they were going to do basically anything. They did not announce that they prefered a rail route. They did not announce that they will fund more rail development, anywhere. They did not even say that they think future rail development would be beneficial for the province.
They only said that they were going to do a master plan, a "historic decision" that their own predecessors only performed 8 other times. Though I suppose the historic here is that they are including weird commuter rail routes- almost definitely those will be highlighted as superior to developing the Edmonton-Calgary HSR route. Here is a list of other times they have done this work already:
1. 1985-HSR Prospects-in-the-Calgary-Edmonton-Corridor-1985-03 AB Government
2. 1986 - The Alberta High-Speed Rail Review Committee Report to Minister of Economic Development and Trade
3. 1995-Alberta-high-speed-rail-concept-findings-economic development trade-1981-1985
4. 2004 - Calgary/ Edmonton HSR - The Van Horne Institute
5. 2008 Economic Benefits and Market Assessment for Development of HSR Service Calgary/Edmonton Corridor (3 documents)
6. 2010 Study of High-Speed Rail Impacts on Rural Alberta - CPCS
7. 2013 - Updated Cost & Ridership/Revenue for Calgary Edmonton High-Speed Rail, Vanhorne Institute
8. 2014 The Feasibility of Establishing a HSR Transit System in Alberta
- Standing Committee on Alberta's Economic Future
|