CascadiaCalling
NotMackinVilleKeep on dropping those drips into a massive $100 billion budget bucket and pretty soon you will be talking about real money:
The dream of high-speed passenger rail connecting Vancouver to cities in the Pacific Northwest inched a little closer on Thursday, with the announcement of millions of dollars in new U.S. government funding.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration announced $US49.7 million for planning on a proposed Cascadia High-Speed Rail project. Washington state has kicked in a further US$5.6 million...
And then there is British Columbia's micro-drippage:
Since discussions began in 2018 on proposed high-speed rail service through Cascadia corridor, B.C. has provided $900,000 in development funding to explore this connection between Portland and Vancouver...
Now.
While they do play a half-dozen or so big time college football games a year there, why the heckfire would anyone want to lay out an additional ten or twenty billion to push the line all the way south to Eugene anyway?
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Speaking of trains and tracks and all that...Meanwhile, very sadly, in Stanley Park...
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Speaking of trains and tracks and all that...Meanwhile, very sadly, in Stanley Park...
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18 comments:
The small BC contribution to funding this mega project is an example of what the forthcoming American President says is a $100,000,000 subsidy by his nation to ours.
Knowing something about railways and high speed rail, this will never happen.
Once rail speeds pass about 100 mph, both track vertical and horizontal curvature come into play and the faster the train service the broader the curvatures. This means more bridges and tunnels to accommodate the trains.
So, unless there is the ridership to sustain will a minimum of four trains per hour per direction, a Pacific Northwest HST is nothing more than a pipe dream.
One could cut about 60 minutes of travel time by:
1) Increase the track speed from Vancouver to the Boarder to about 60 mph. This would entail fencing in Whiterock and pedestrian over/underpasses to the beach at at least 10 locations.
2) Do away with the border check at Blaine.
3) Increase the maximum line speed in the USA to 90 mph.
4) Replace the bridges from Marrysville to Everet with higher speed, double track lift/draw bridges and increase the speed crossing the bridges from 10 mph to 40/50 mph.
The cost for this, including signalling, new trains, is under USD $10 billion, with about $300 mil. to $400 mil. investment in Canada.
As reported on News1130, the Stanley Park train is not running for the rest of the season.
Forget the parks Board excuses, because this has been well choreographed as a prelude to get rid of the train.
The locomotives are from Chance Rides, a company that makes carnival rides. Because of this, spare parts are readily available.
From what I have read, the issue is one of exhaust from the gas engine (yes it has a gas engine and is not live steam). As Metro Vancouver has over 300,000 registered motor vehicles, the vast majority of them gas powered, fixing a damaged exhaust system is not difficult, a couple of hours at best. Any high school mechanics shop could fix this in a few hours.
What we see in Vancouver the parks Board using a compliant media to further their goal to rid the Park of the Miniature railway. We all know that the CoV hates kids, the Broadway densification Plan is testament to that and turning a children's ride into a politcal football, that I believe it should involve a criminal investigation, as the Vancouver parks Board have failed in their fiduciary duty, keeping the miniature railway in good repair.
Running a railway is not rocket science and there are thousands of miniature railways around the world, yet it is only in Vancouver that politcans and bureaucrats cannot safely operate one.
Just up Hastings St. the model engineers society operates live steam trains, which are one hell of more complicated to operate than the Stanley Park job.
Shame on the lot of them.
Mildly tangential, but I am not entirely alone in advocating for the renewal of the E&N Island Rail Corridor for both freight and passenger traffic. What a sad tale of lack of funding, especially in light of the magnitude of expenditures in Metro and on highway projects that continue to increase congestion rather than solving anything at all.
The cost now to rebuild the E&N, 230 km Victoria to Courtney route as a viable regional railway is now somewhat north of $3 billion. This would include a complete rehab of the line, providing 3 pathways per hour per direction for passenger/freight service.
Pricey yes, but compared to the 21.7 km expansion of the Expo and Millennium Lines, which is now costing in excess of $16 billion, or the Broadway subway, now costing around $4 billion, or the completion of the Broadway subway to UBC, now estimated north of $8 billion.
$3 billion doesn't look so bad.
Having gone down and partook in a couple handfuls of Grateful Dead shows in Eugene back in the day that train would have been nice back then. Once we camped out beside a reservoir that was across the street from a very small bar that was the place they filmed the bar/nightclub scene from animal house featuring Otis Day and the Nights. It was weird because there was nothing else around there, just this bar and a nice reservoir with a park and campsite beside it.
If this train were to happen, which Evil Eye thinks not, it would be great if BC, Canada would provide funding to get it out to Chilliwack area and back.
Having used BC rail when we had passenger service I used it to go hiking and camping at Whistler Garibaldi park and to visit friends, with by bicycle, in Pemberton and even to Kamloops. As a kid we took the train across the country from east to west. We need more trains, again.
Knowing the Rail for the Valley folks (not to be confused with the hydrogen rail folks), the cost for a 130km Marpole to Chilliwack regional rail service using the former BC Electric route would cost around $2 billion and provide a maximum of three trains per hour per direction. Travel time for the full route under two hours (less than 120 minutes. Google maps puts the fastest time at 75 minutes, but that is without accidents or rush hours.
Two billion ain't bad considering that the 16 km Surrey/Langley extension is now costing around 7 billion!
Graham, currently (Amtrak schedule) there are two daily train services from Eugene Oregon to Seattle.
The E&N, as expensive as it would be to restore, is a much better way to spend a whole lot of money. The idea has been around since 1871, was realized until the Island Highway was built—and even then the E&N continued to haul more freight than passengers. It even went down to Port Alberni (where I used to live)—but that grade, said to be the steepest in Canada, was among the many alleged impossibilities naysayers banged on about—along with “deadly level-crossings” and everything else couched in rhetoric of certain doom. It’s amazing the right-of-way is still continuous (although the city of Courtenay managed to acquire the last little bit of it, the block that the northern terminus sits on).
There’s a growing organization called “Restore Island Rail” which has done some vital work in raising awareness of what’s happening to the E&N—and it’s not nothing. It seems to me that—Islanders at least—are not chanting “Eugene! Eugene! Eugene or Bust!”
What I do not understand is that the government completely ignores the tourist potential of the line, especially to Port Alberni.
I guess our politicos would rather watch a FIFA football match than invest in the province for the future.
Thanks E.E. I know giys where I worked at the airport that came from as far as Chilliwack and then on in at most of those Fraser Valley townsites. As it took them at least 1-1.5 hrs travel every morning and afternoon I bet a train ride of similar length would be not bad. One could have a nap and breakfast, catch up on reading etc as they went. And you’re right $2 billion or so doesn’t sound bad at all.
Is there a John Perkins in the house?
A train on Vancouver Island for passengers and freight would be an excellent idea. The Inland Highway is getting more crowded as the years go by. There are even traffic jams at some stop lights during various times of the day. Its not going to get better because more people continue to ,move to Vancouver Island. If there was rail, people could stop whining for some solution to the Malihat. A train could go to Campbell River and Port Alberni and leave land available for rail up to the top of the Island. This isn't about this year or this decade, but about the next 50 to 100 years. If we use the land now for other things, rail would be much more expensive. As I recall Timber West owns approx. 80% of all private land on the Island. Just wait until they start developing it all for towns, resorts, etc.
It doesn't take long for the need to expand transportation. Just look at how fast the Fraser Valley has gone from farm land to towns, businesses, and requiring more freeways.
Rail is more environmental and less expensive. In Norway there is a rail line which runs from through very steep territory and is powered by electricity and has been for a very long time.
The Norwegians, with a slightly larger population than BC, have invested heavily in rail.
The Norwegian railway system comprises 4,109 km of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) track of which 2,644 km is electrified and 274 km double track. There are 697 tunnels and 2,760 bridges.
The railway you mention is the Falm Bahn, which runs from Flam, at the end of a long Norwegian Fjord to Mydral in the mountains, where it connects with the Bergen Bahn.
The Flam railway is considered one of the top ten scenic railway routes in the world.
https://youtu.be/RBDFJYcWDhk?si=F2zMozDzD-4WgCM9
Saw a documentary about the railway. It is amazing. That would be a fun trip. Thank you for including the youtube so I can watch it on my computer.
There used to be a small passenger train from Steveston to Marpole back in the day, 1950s, and it was quite good. Walked to the end of the street, got on and went into Marpole and could catch a Granville St. bus to downtown. It had a stop at Garden City Rd., and Ferndale Rd.
That was the interurban service from Steveston to downtown Vancouver, via the Arbutus Corridor.
We need to toss this project until....Until the US decides which way it's going.....Trump's Christmas message today on his TS.
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@realDonaldTrump
Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in “repair” money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about “anything.” Also, to Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens’ Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World. Likewise, to the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for National Security purposes and, who want the U.S. to be there, and we will!…
@realDonaldTrump
…Page 2: Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics, who are constantly trying to obstruct our Court System and our Elections, and are always going after the Great Citizens and Patriots of the United States but, in particular, their Political Opponent, ME. They know that their only chance of survival is getting pardons from a man who has absolutely no idea what he is doing. Also, to the 37 most violent criminals, who killed, raped, and plundered like virtually no one before them, but were just given, incredibly, a pardon by Sleepy Joe Biden. I refuse to wish a Merry Christmas to those lucky “souls” but, instead, will say, GO TO HELL! We had the Greatest Election in the History of our Country, a bright light is now shining over the U.S.A. and, in 26 days, we will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113715171941661598
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US media has caved.....CNN mistitled an article yesterday...Here is their actual article title..
'Trump is teasing US expansion into Panama, Greenland and Canada"
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/23/politics/trump-us-expansion-panama-canada-greenland/index.html
Shouldn't the title read something like this......
(Trump contemplating going WAR AGAINST CANADA, PANAMA and GREENLAND)
Merry Christmas everyone
CNN is US media is dead.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWo3HQ_N-h8
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