03-19-2024, 02:12 PM
I mean, I wouldn't put any stock in the economic numbers...they're more made up than the timelines and cost estimates for building the thing.
To me, this sounds like a pipe dream...or maybe more accurately, a pitch to government VCs...they're looking to gain investment with a flash (but easy) project.
The reality is, the Milton line is a better option, but it involves actually work. This option just involves spending money, which is easy. You see it in the "we'll make the trains battery powered" BS...which tries to make the project look fancy, but without doing hard things like electrifying the line or cheap things like just using standard diesel trains.
But the thing which shows me most strongly that this is a pitch for money and not a real idea is that this is a 35 minute drive. The city owns buses. If they were serious about doing this, rather than seeking funding for a flashy project, they'd be running buses to/from Guelph Central tomorrow to demonstrate and build demand. It's how the ION started with the iXpress bus and how GO built demonstrated demand for expanded Kitchener line service. But this is expensive and difficult.
The fact is the city needs a single seat rail link to Toronto. Service to Guelph is a good thing too, but if it's not a single seat to Toronto, it's losing most of it's potential, Guelph and Cambridge are too close and too car friendly for transit to be a huge success at the moment.
Honestly, this kind of thing makes me very cynical...because I see how it's being decided and it isn't being decided on "what is good transit" it's being decided on "what can we sell, by avoiding all political risk, and maximizing shininess."
To me, this sounds like a pipe dream...or maybe more accurately, a pitch to government VCs...they're looking to gain investment with a flash (but easy) project.
The reality is, the Milton line is a better option, but it involves actually work. This option just involves spending money, which is easy. You see it in the "we'll make the trains battery powered" BS...which tries to make the project look fancy, but without doing hard things like electrifying the line or cheap things like just using standard diesel trains.
But the thing which shows me most strongly that this is a pitch for money and not a real idea is that this is a 35 minute drive. The city owns buses. If they were serious about doing this, rather than seeking funding for a flashy project, they'd be running buses to/from Guelph Central tomorrow to demonstrate and build demand. It's how the ION started with the iXpress bus and how GO built demonstrated demand for expanded Kitchener line service. But this is expensive and difficult.
The fact is the city needs a single seat rail link to Toronto. Service to Guelph is a good thing too, but if it's not a single seat to Toronto, it's losing most of it's potential, Guelph and Cambridge are too close and too car friendly for transit to be a huge success at the moment.
Honestly, this kind of thing makes me very cynical...because I see how it's being decided and it isn't being decided on "what is good transit" it's being decided on "what can we sell, by avoiding all political risk, and maximizing shininess."