Bullet Train from Calgary to Edm

[Resolute 14]

Originally posted by GreaseIsTheWord@Oct 7 2004, 02:48 AM
There are alot of business people commuting back and forth. They want to get here quickly and efficiently, and I doubt that Greyhound is their preferred choice; they would much rather get to their destination without the hassle of cramped seats, and other downsides to bus transit. Saving an hour makes a huge difference for most people on the go.

Those people already fly, and save another hour in the process.

[Skip2mylou]

I was watching A-Channel and they said it would cost only 50 bucks a person not a 100. Eventually I think there will be a demand for a high speed rail but as of right now I would object to having tax dollars pay for it.

[Resolute 14]

$50 one way. $100 round trip.

[nfotiu]

Originally posted by Snakeeye+Oct 7 2004, 04:14 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Snakeeye @ Oct 7 2004, 04:14 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-GreaseIsTheWord@Oct 7 2004, 02:48 AM
There are alot of business people commuting back and forth. They want to get here quickly and efficiently, and I doubt that Greyhound is their preferred choice; they would much rather get to their destination without the hassle of cramped seats, and other downsides to bus transit. Saving an hour makes a huge difference for most people on the go.

Those people already fly, and save another hour in the process. [/b][/quote]
First of all 245 miles per hour going 270 miles = about 1 hour 8 minutes. I don't know why they said well under 2 hours. Let's say conservatively 1.5 hours downtown to downtown. Get there 10 minutes ahead of time, and allow 5 minutes for detraining and you are looking at 1:45 minutes total


Now let's say you have an 8:00 flight. You have to arrive by about 7:15. You call a cab and give yourself a little time for error, you get him to come at 6:30. You arrive in Edmonton at 8:45, get out into the airport by about 8:55. Take a 30 minute cab downtown and you are looking at about 9:30, or almost 3 hours. A lot of business people take the red arrow expresses these days, as they are cheaper and take about 2:45 downtown to downtown.

Why are airlines pretending they aren't subsidized????

[BlackArcher101]

Originally posted by nfotiu@Oct 7 2004, 10:43 AM
First of all 245 miles per hour going 270 miles = about 1 hour 8 minutes. I don't know why they said well under 2 hours. Let's say conservatively 1.5 hours downtown to downtown. Get there 10 minutes ahead of time, and allow 5 minutes for detraining and you are looking at 1:45 minutes total

Now let's say you have an 8:00 flight. You have to arrive by about 7:15. You call a cab and give yourself a little time for error, you get him to come at 6:30. You arrive in Edmonton at 8:45, get out into the airport by about 8:55. Take a 30 minute cab downtown and you are looking at about 9:30, or almost 3 hours. A lot of business people take the red arrow expresses these days, as they are cheaper and take about 2:45 downtown to downtown.

Why are airlines pretending they aren't subsidized????

First of all, it's 240 km/h top speed, not 245mph. Big difference, and since that is the top speed, it can be assumed that the average speed will be lower than that. Not sure where you are getting 270 miles from either? It's roughly 300km. The train would take 1.5 hours between cities. You still have to allow for loading/unloading time, and travel time between the train station and your final destination.

However, are you telling me that there is enough business people travelling back and forth each day to justify a train? What would the train do on weekends with no business people?

Don't forget another major point. Companies have reimbursments for travel expenses for it's employees. For the majority, employees have to travel by car or bus because that's all they can afford since that's all they get from their company. It's only the elite few who get to fly between edmonton and calgary. A train would probably take some passengers from the airlines, and some from travelling by vehicle, but not all would convert.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

personaly I love rail travel (went coast to coast 2 years ago on Via).

I'd love to see more (or some) high speed trains in Canada. Why should it take 24 hours to get from Halifax to Montreal?

It would be great to see a National high speed rail service, as I think it would help commerce tremendously. Rather than the hassels of the airports, or driving, you can take the train, at a (in theory) low cost, and quick alternative.

If you were to have a national high speed railway you couldn't do the milk runs, but stop only in major cities. (use the current network for the milkruns).

Mind you if you were to propose this, you'd also have to deregulate the airline industry (I would assume) to all carriers to allow for greater competition to increase productivity, and maybe even lower fares?

Also if you could get a Sydney-Halifax high speed train I'd be all over that like a fat kid on a smartie

[Bill Bumface]

I remember hearing that for the same price Highway 2 could be lined with wind turbines, and generate power for the whole province. As much as the whole rail thing is cool and I'd love to take a ride on it, It doesn't make any sense when you compare it to a few other things that could be done with the $'s

[MrMastodonFarm]

I don't know the cost, and I just skimmed quickly through this thread... but when I heard a rumour of a rail system going from Calgary - Edmonton - Fort McMurray I was thrilled.

[Lurch]

I remember hearing that for the same price Highway 2 could be lined with wind turbines, and generate power for the whole province. As much as the whole rail thing is cool and I'd love to take a ride on it, It doesn't make any sense when you compare it to a few other things that could be done with the $'s

This is not true. Wind costs $1.5 million/MW, best case. $3.7 billion in wind power would supply at most 15% of Alberta's power needs. I was interested in this, so I actually did the simple math. Alberta uses about 55,000 GWh of power per year, and each 1 MW turbine produces roughly 2.7 GWh per year. $3.7 billion gets you 2500 MW of turbines, and 6750 GWh of energy. Rounded off, it comes to 12% of Alberta's electricity needs.

I like the rail idea a lot. It would create economic growth in Calgary, Edmonton, Ft Mac (one of the big benefits is that workers could commute to Ft Mac by rail from Edmonton, lowering the cost overruns in the oilsands). Pollution would be reduced, traffic congestion on Hwy 2, etc. Roads are built by the gov't - not clear to me why rail is such a big issue.

[Bill Bumface]

The thing I love best about this idea is thumbing our nose at all of the other provinces that we have enough cash to blow on a highspeed railway between to mid sized cities.

[Looger]

Originally posted by MrMastodonFarm@Oct 7 2004, 04:00 PM
I don't know the cost, and I just skimmed quickly through this thread... but when I heard a rumour of a rail system going from Calgary - Edmonton - Fort McMurray I was thrilled.

no kidding - anyone who's been on that highway to fort mac on a sunday night knows it is an untenable situation - train or 4-lane, take your pick.

[Iggy=Flames4ever]

im up for this....i go to edmonton/red deer alot and have to take the dumb greyhound bus, taking the train would be alot faster...they should run this railroad all the way through alberta and they can name it "the Alberta railroad" :P

[KevanGuy]

I dont know why anyone would take the Greyhound over the Red Arrow. Very clean, quiet, laptop plugins, a movie, comfortable, pop and cookies, did I mention CLEAN? Its great for business trips to Edmonton or Red Deer. I've never been on the Fort Mac leg but I am sure it is the same quality.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally posted by Iggy=Flames4ever@Oct 7 2004, 06:47 PM
im up for this....i go to edmonton/red deer alot and have to take the dumb greyhound bus, taking the train would be alot faster...they should run this railroad all the way through alberta and they can name it "the Alberta railroad" :P

It would be a good idea until it hits the Edmonton planning committee, where they would make the station an hour away from downtown.

Can the edm airport BE farther away from the city center?? Must have been Sather planning that one.

[Wookie]

I call the big one Bitey!!

[browna]

Originally posted by Wookie@Oct 7 2004, 06:39 PM
I call the big one Bitey!!

No kidding.
That Simpson episode is a great example of what would happen to this train. White elephant big time.

Then, the schedule.

One train that takes 1h30 min to go downtown Calgary to downtown Edmonton. 45 minute break then back. 45 minute wait in Calgary before leaving for 1h40 min.


SO even if they are running back to back, you miss one train, it would be 3h until it'd be back, let alone the 1h40min to get back to Edmonton....in which time you could get to the bus station, and be in downtown Edmonton for less $$. Last time I checked, and I am sure its the same, buses leave for Edmonton (red Arrow or Greyhound) almost every hour.

Better then sitting in a Calgary (or worse, Edmonton) train station for 3 hours.

Its just an example of some opportunists crawling out of the woodwork, not coincidentally soon after Alberta announces our debt free status and high and rising oil prices/royalties(Bombardier), trying to bilk the governemnt (through supposed proposals that make financial "sense") and tax payers out of some of those funds, just like Lyle Lanley.

We be better off buliding the world's largest magnifying glass, or the escaltor to nowhere.

[HOZ]

Originally posted by Bertuzzied+Oct 7 2004, 06:52 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Bertuzzied @ Oct 7 2004, 06:52 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Iggy=Flames4ever@Oct 7 2004, 06:47 PM
im up for this....i go to edmonton/red deer alot and have to take the dumb greyhound bus, taking the train would be alot faster...they should run this railroad all the way through alberta and they can name it "the Alberta railroad" :P

It would be a good idea until it hits the Edmonton planning committee, where they would make the station an hour away from downtown.

Can the edm airport BE farther away from the city center?? Must have been Sather planning that one. [/b][/quote]
Give it a rest. It takes 20 minutes to get downtown from the airport. Only a Calgarian in his donkey-cart takes 40 minutes.

20 minutes is hardly an inconvenience considering that most of the world's airports are farther (timewise and distance) from their core.

Tokyoites must take a train for an hour to get to their main international airport (Narita)

New Yorkers are hardly near either of their two either. Most New Yorkers fret over which airport they will come in to because landing at the wrong one will add 2 hours onto their travel.

[TheCommodoreAfro]

Edmonton's airport, HOZ, is a bloody waste it's so far out. From a business standpoint, it is not 20 minutes out of the core.

Bullet train would be great. You can bet West Jet and AC don't want this to happen. You can show up for trains much earlier, and actually get dropped off for business meetings in Edmonton. The way I look at it.

Train (show up a few minutes ahead of time)
2 hours
10-15 minute walk from whereever you need to go.

Plane
Show up an hour early
1 hour door-to-door YYC YYX
30 minute rental car ride or expensive cab into town

I'd be all over that. Especially if they can get the suckers to leave from a good location.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

HOZ - OK which one of these doesn't belong here.... New York, Tokyo, Edmonton? 20 minutes to make it from Nisku International, up #2, past that clot known as the Whyte Ave turnoff, and across the river in NORMAL traffic? Good luck.

I believe Nisku International is placed where it is because planners though they thought Edmonton was going to be the next big thing. So much land was set aside for it that it's actually the largest airport in Canada by total land. It's ungodly location was like due to the planners forseeing Edmonton growing that much. I guess they saw those Edmonton-Murmansk flights as big business....

Afro - the bullet train to Edmonton's "downtown" is really a moot point. Most people from Calgary aren't going to Edmonton's so called downtown as they're typically going up to visit vendors, suppliers, or field sites who are mostly in the outlying areas. They'd all have to get cars afterwards.

[Faid1]

Sounds absolutely worthless to me. How many people really travel to Edmonton often?

Besides I think it would be cheaper and faster on Westjet.