ION Phase 2 - Cambridge's Light Rail Transit

[cherrypark]

Is there a rail alignment that would enable them to still transport LRVs to the KW ION section and O&M facilities without connecting the two? To me, it seems like so much of the cost is bridging (literally and figuratively) the space between KW and Cambridge with the Preston/Eagle St. mess in the middle making it worse.

Though one would want to eventually connect them, is there an alternate reality where Hespeler - Cambridge North - Galt is its own leg of LRT with a BRT in the middle? I imagine the crossing at the Grand plus all the elevated sections between Fairview and Pinebush are much of this cost escalation, while I don't really understand if the passengers going from Cambridge to Kitchener are really that large in number vs. their respective intracity stops. Just seems like a huge amount of cost, if it were that much, vs. the relative utility of building another 1-2 alignments in K-W and making something more flexible to link Cambridge.

In the original route evaluation, I remember that BRT performed better between Fairway and Pinebush than LRT did because of the existing highways that are there.

Given the distances, lack of development potential on Floodplains and in Hidden Valley, and the current maximum speed of our LRVs, the connection between Kitchener and Cambridge really ought to be something more like an inter-urban EMU mainline rail service more than an extension of the existing ION line, or a full BRT line. I can't imagine the existing alignment will be any faster than the combination of Highway 8 and 401 to get to Pinebush station. 

I also have trouble seeing the development potential along Hespeler Road without removing the transport trucks from it first. I imagine we will be seeing both the GO rail service between Guelph and Cambridge  as well as the East/South Cambridge bypass road built before we see any movement on the current ION alignment.

Yeah this and ZEBuilder's response is where my reasoning lies. I realize Dan's point is partly correct that its not necessarily fully divisible since a ton of the escalating costs here are layers of engineering, though I would guess all the bridging and elevated sections are a huge magnet for that pile on.

It just seems that the tri-cities municipal arrangement is leading to a sense this has to be one continuous system, when I don't see how this is the most efficient use of funds in the mid-term when more LRT service or expanded BRT could serve more people in more parts of the region than such a large and costly span from Fairview to Pinebush, which I'm not convinced with the jogs and extra legs (for the miserable conclusion on Eagle St. et al) isn't already becoming too long to be useful.