3104 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

It’s also a single route in and out of a major city and therefore any tolls would be challenged in the courts.

Tolling the Malahat, even if it were improved significantly, is not on the books.

[Victoria Watcher]

how about a gofundme?

[Jackerbie]

Cllr. Isitt has submitted a resolution to ask the Province to immediately provide necessary funding to restore rail infrastructure on the island. Full resolution is here: https://pub-victoria...ocumentId=31035

 

The resolution will be debated and voted on at Council today.

Edited by Jackerbie, 31 January 2019 - 09:30 AM.

[Nparker]

...The resolution will be debated and voted on at Council today.

And will result in exactly the same passenger rail services in the future as we have today. The region's fragmented governance all but assures this.

[Mike K.]

Luckily the province flushed its nice-to-have fund with wood splitters and cuff links.

 

Joking aside, this is Isitt's way of positioning himself as an obstructionist regarding Malahat improvements and the detour route, while claiming that he's working hard to secure a rail-based alternative and the proof is in his ask for immediate provincial funding.

[Bob Fugger]

The resolution will be debated and voted on at Council today.

 

What was the result?

[Nparker]

This may be the one time that the leaders of our fragmented local governance system have actually agreed on something.

Immediate action is needed to restore rail service on the E&N corridor between Langford and Victoria -- that's the message delivered to BC's Premier and Transportation Minister from all 13 mayors in the Capital Regional District. The mayors have sent a letter to John Horgan and Claire Trevena telling them the impacts of inadequate transportation infrastructure are having dramatic and negative impacts on quality of life, regional economic performance -- and adding to greenhouse gas emissions...

http://www.iheartrad...-line-1.8716121

But will it make any difference?

[Victoria Watcher]

no. 200 or 300 people on a train each day will not make a difference.

is that what you meant?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 February 2019 - 12:20 PM.

[Nparker]

...is that what you meant?

No, but thanks for your upbeat input.

[Victoria Watcher]

ok. 13 mayors asking then. it would take at least 3 years to get trains moving even if they started track and bridge repairs today. i think you’d need trains. and accessible passenger cars and stations.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 February 2019 - 12:47 PM.

[Brantastic]

Here's the letter, signed by all 13 mayors:
 

https://www.victoria...John Horgan.pdf

[Mike K.]

Here's the response:

 

Please see the following statement, attributable to Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure:

I understand people’s frustration when they get stuck in gridlock, whether for work, appointments or simply trying to get home. 

 

The E&N tracks are sitting unused. Passenger rail service on Vancouver Island was discontinued under the former government’s watch, and they failed to get service reinstated.

 

We are working to find the best use of the corridor, which is owned by the Island Corridor Foundation, so people have another way to get where they need to go.

 

This is no simple undertaking and it comes with many challenges. The tracks have been sitting unused for years, which means they will require significant upgrades. Any solution will require cooperation and respectful dialogue between communities along the route, First Nations, the ICF and the Province.

 

The letter from the 13 mayors acknowledges the importance of ensuring that the process puts reconciliation top of mind. Partnership with First Nations is key to this work and must be in line with government’s commitment to UNDRIP. It’s crucial that the ICF, as the owner of the line, engages in consultation with Indigenous governments.

 

Before decisions are made around investing significant public dollars along the E&N corridor, an up-to-date and in-depth track and bridge assessment is necessary. This includes the cost of imperative safety work, including a seismic risk assessment and rock fall review to ensure any passenger rail service meets current day safety standards. This work is happening. The ministry anticipates the assessment to take six months.

 

We are also undertaking a South Island Transportation Strategy, which will lead to a comprehensive plan for the whole region.

[Nparker]

See, I told you we are a region that specializes in studies. I wonder what new angle this next study will take?

[Victoria Watcher]

it’s convenient to hang this on native consultation. nobody will speak up against that.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 February 2019 - 07:14 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

‪The region is already committed to rapid bus lanes. Making those work would be a faster and cheaper way to move people around.



https://www.timescol...e-n-1.23630925‬

[jonny]

‪The region is already committed to rapid bus lanes. 

 

The region is also committed to doing things in the least cost effective and most virtue-signalling manner.

[Cassidy]

They really only need to open the track from Goldstream Village into town to start with, perhaps to end with.

Stations at Goldstream Village, Jacklin Road, Veterans Memorial Parkway, Six Mile Road, Helmcken Road, and Tyee/Esquimalt Rd area ... and you're done.

 

They have to run a double ended train, as there is no turning facility anywhere in the system.

That's primarily why the old Budd Cars were used before the line was shut down ... as they were a double ended, self-powered car.

 

The last Budd Car was made in 1962, so we won't be seeing any more of them on the line. But there are plenty of push-pull options these days, and running a push-pull, multi-car, double-decker train isn't particularly unusual:

https://en.wikipedia...Push–pull_train

 

Depending on how many cars in a single train-set the current track design will accommodate, such a rig might move 500-800 people at a time, with perhaps two or three trips in the morning, and then the same again at close of business.

The wake-up though is that still only totals around 1500+ people ... and even if everyone was a single driver, that's really only taking maybe 1500 cars out of the Crawl equation.

No doubt a dent, but for what would be many tens of millions of dollars spent, would it be a dent worth trying to make?

 

I suspect investing in a double-track, high speed contemporary mass-transit system would be the better investment ... one that can move thousands of people per hour, and one that terminates in multiple locations in the Westshore and then again throughout the downtown core.

Something running parallel with current highways would be typical in such a design.

 

The focus on re-opening rail transit up and down the island really does miss the entire point IMO, and does nothing for 95% of commuters currently dealing with one of the worst daily traffic jams in Canada.

Leave the old E&N line for the cyclists and hikers, and focus on solving the issue using contemporary technology and engineering.

 

[Victoria Watcher]

nobody wants to drive a car to a park and ride. wait for a train. walk into downtown. and do all that in reverse again at dinner time. the only reason people use the park and ride now is because the buses are fairly frequent. a less frequent train and the downtown walk negates any time saving on that portion of the trip.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 February 2019 - 07:15 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

The bus only takes 28 minutes from juan de fuca to downtown at 7:30am. the train would take about the same amount of time.

[Mike K.]

Did the throne speech deliver?