Quote:
Originally Posted by _Q_
Nobody is really asking for a train network as extensive as France's though.
Look at cities like Marseilles and Toulouse as a case study. They're about the same size as Calgary and Edmonton, but they have high speed train service between them... and they make it work extremely well.
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But the Marseilles to Toulouse line doesn’t just support residents of Marsellies and Toulouse. It draws on cities and towns in the densely populated Marsellies and Toulouse regions, and many passengers embark and disembark in the densely populated region between the two cities.
If you count all the people who live within 45 mins of Marsellies and Toulouse, and within 45 min of the rail corridor between the two, it’s far more than live in the catchment of a Calgary-Edmonton route.
Outside the 401 corridor, Canada is a bunch of large cities separated by unpopulated wastelands. This is why passenger rail travel isn’t economical.