High Speed Train Coming?-split from boosting Canada’s military spending"

[ytz]

I don’t disagree at all. But we all know those calculations are made all the time. Was it a coincidence the Feds said no to expanding the island airport at the same time they have a by-election in Toronto?

The Feds have said no to Island Airport Expansion from the very beginning. They only said yes to a runway extension for the purpose of making the RESA compliant with current standards. The provincial government then demanded a 50% increase in runway length that stretches it to half the length of the downtown Toronto waterfront. It substantially impacts channel access for boaters. I think this would be a hard sell even outside an election.

But even beyond that. The feds are looking a rail line that would take more than half of Porter's current passengers. So what exactly is the extra runway capacity for? How many flights from downtown Toronto to Sudbury and Chicago are needed, over and above the current capacity that would be re-allocated post-Alto? I think a smaller runway extension that fell between the RESA and the 6000+ ft the province wants would be workable. But as it stands, when you look at what the provincial proposal looks like on an actual map, it genuinely looks comical.

 

[ytz]

One argument being made in favour of HSR over HFR was the need to be competitive with flying. High frequency service, while better than current VIA in terms of on-time performance, was never going to be able to compete with flying; HSR can. I understand France has recently mandated the cancellation of a number of flights between cities that are now served by HSR.

Don't even really need mandates. Every place with HSR has seen substantial migration of passengers over from air to HSR. It Italy, HSR famously bankrupted Alitalia. Even in the US where Acela isn't competitive with air travel, it takes more pax than air for the last two decades. The French mandate was basically symbolic. It forced the airlines and their rail company to focus on air-rail integration at CDG airport so that a handful of flights could finally be eliminated. In our case, given how expensive intercity air travel is, Alto will take a huge chunk. Air Canada and Westjet are fine with this, they want the slots at Pearson and Trudeau airports to go to more profitable routes. It's really Porter at YTZ that is worried. They'll have to build up new markets to make up for the loss of Corridor business.

 

[ytz]

Makes sense, since I do only go to Ottawa and Montreal when I jump in my car.....[insert sarcasm emoji]

Let's be honest. Do you even leave your town much?