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

[ytz]

Transportation between points within a province is a provincial responsibility. Alberta is in the very early stages of their proposal. Once they get into dollars that start with a 'B', it will be interesting to see if they go it alone. I'm not, out of principle, against federal contributions - they do it for all provinces.

The Ontario-Quebec HSR is inter-provincial.

VIA intra-provincial routes are the remaining carry-overs from the routes they inherited from CN and CP.

The feds can and should contribute to AB building their HSR line. We need to think less about provincial boundaries (which we all just randomly made up a century and a bit ago) and more about connecting regions where the bulk of Canadians live. I would be more than happy to see my tax dollars connect Edmonton and Calgary.

 

[ytz]

AI ASSISTED
This video explores the growing auto loan bubble in the United States, arguing that a cycle of debt driven by luxury pickup truck financing could trigger a significant economic downturn, similar to the 2008 housing crisis.

Key Takeaways:​

• The Debt Trap: Many Americans are taking out massive loans for expensive, high-trim trucks (e.g., Ford F-150, GMC Sierra) that they cannot afford. These vehicles are often used as status symbols rather than work tools (0:33 - 1:02, 7:35 - 8:07).
• Financial Engineering: Dealerships and lenders are pushing 84-month loan terms to make high monthly payments appear manageable. This long-term financing, combined with rapid vehicle depreciation, leaves a high percentage of owners with negative equity (1:47 - 2:03, 9:06 - 10:25).
• Systemic Risk: Risky auto loans are being bundled into Asset-Backed Securities (ABS), allowing investors to profit while consumers struggle with default and repossession. Delinquency rates for subprime auto loans have reached alarming levels, mirroring trends seen before the 2008 recession (12:53 - 14:45, 19:47 - 20:03).
• Economic Impact: As inventory piles up on dealer lots and repossessions increase, the cycle of debt is effectively trapping a generation, potentially delaying homeownership and destroying personal savings (17:00 - 18:03, 18:19 - 19:27).

Ultimately, the video characterizes the modern truck market as a tool for financial extraction rather than utility, warning that the fallout from this bubble may start in dealership parking lots before rippling into the broader economy (21:30 - 22:19).

It says America but I've personally seen the same thing happening here.

I listen to the Autoline podcasts. They are pre-dominantly Boomers and Gen X and are often panicked over dying auto culture among younger generations. Make new cars >$50k on average. Make homes with garages > $500k. Gee I wonder why young people don't want cars anymore.

 

[ytz]

so never a harmonized system. Bad news and the leftover infrastructure from VIA doesn't extend beyond the corridor. I know that Altair and YTZ have high hopes for this thing but I fear they are leaving most of the market completely out of the picture.

Most of the market is the Corridor. Other than the Corridor and Alberta, passenger rail isn't going to be competitive. There's no real case for it other pouring extraordinary subsidies per passenger (not just initial capital). Most of the country doesn't have enough traffic to even justify segregated and divided highways the whole way. And we're supposed to care about building a mode of transport with literally an order of magnitude more capacity? And HSR is an order of magnitude above that.

At best beside, QW and CalEd, maybe there's a case for Vancouver-Abbotsford-Chiliwack. But that's approaching more some kind of upgraded regional/suburban rail. Ditto for Halifax-Moncton.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Most of the market is the Corridor. Other than the Corridor and Alberta, passenger rail isn't going to be competitive. There's no real case for it other pouring extraordinary subsidies per passenger (not just initial capital). Most of the country doesn't have enough traffic to even justify segregated and divided highways the whole way. And we're supposed to care about building a mode of transport with literally an order of magnitude more capacity? And HSR is an order of magnitude above that.

At best beside, QW and CalEd, maybe there's a case for Vancouver-Abbotsford-Chiliwack. But that's approaching more some kind of upgraded regional/suburban rail. Ditto for Halifax-Moncton.

But, apparently, Canada is 'the most European of non-European countries' so I guess we'd better get us some of that high speed rail (which the UK still doesn't have btw)

The Politics of Touting a 'European' Canada - Policy Magazine

On June 23rd, during the Canada-European Union Summit in Brussels where he signed a new Security and Defence Partnership with the EU, Prime Minister Mark

www.policymagazine.ca

 

[ytz]

But, apparently, Canada is 'the most European of non-European countries' so I guess we'd better get us some of that high speed rail (which the UK still doesn't have btw)

The UK runs a good bit of their rail network at 125 mph (201 kph). Not high speed. But not quite VIA either.

Also, as I've pointed out before. Southern Ontario (118/km2) and Southern Quebec (158/km2 along the St. Lawrence from Montreal to Quebec City) have population densities that mimic southern France (80/km2 in Occitane to 160/km2 in PACA) or sourthern Spain (100/km2 in Andalusia). So yes, despite all the protestations, our settled regions have settlement patterns that aren't that different from Europe. Sure, urban density itself may be different. But the spacing of cities and towns? Not as much. The same holds true for large chunks of the US. Even if they don't want to admit it (much like so many here).