3104 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

skytrain is a closed system. it’s never been in a collision. and it carries no flammable fuel. bct buses have dozens of crashes every year. including the odd one where fire breaks out and immediate evacuation is necessary.

https://www.timescol...-lake-1.2287386

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 February 2019 - 07:48 AM.

[G-Man]

West Coast Express then.

[Victoria Watcher]

west coast express has accessible cars and a conductor to assist. same as go trains.

[Mike K.]

The US fed is seeking to reclaim $2.5 billion it gave to California for its high speed rail project which, for lack of a better term, has gone off the rails. The fed also plans to cancel nearly a billion dollars worth of additional grants.

Meanwhile BC and Washington are doing what, again?

[Victoria Watcher]

the seattle/vancouver rail line has always seemed odd.  how much people traffic is there between those centres?

[Jackerbie]

the seattle/vancouver rail line has always seemed odd.  how much people traffic is there between those centres?

 

A lot. The Peace Arch crossing is the third busiest Canada-US border crossing, and the Pacific Highway crossing is usually in the top 5. Early ridership estimates for the proposed rail link place annual ridership at 1.5 million, with 25% of that being Vancouver-Seattle.

[Victoria Watcher]

A lot. The Peace Arch crossing is the third busiest Canada-US border crossing, and the Pacific Highway crossing is usually in the top 5. 

 

but it's not that easy to just say all that traffic is seattle<>vancouver with no other points of travel/stop or use of a car desirable.

[Coreyburger]

A lot. The Peace Arch crossing is the third busiest Canada-US border crossing, and the Pacific Highway crossing is usually in the top 5. Early ridership estimates for the proposed rail link place annual ridership at 1.5 million, with 25% of that being Vancouver-Seattle.

 

 A true high-speed rail between the two would likely capture a lot of the driving & flying traffic between the two, as they are in the high-speed rail goldilocks zone in terms of distance.

[Victoria Watcher]

 A true high-speed rail between the two would likely capture a lot of the driving & flying traffic between the two, as they are in the high-speed rail goldilocks zone in terms of distance.

 

looking at yvr departures tomorrow only shows 8 flights to seattle.  is that enough?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 February 2019 - 03:40 PM.

[Mike K.]

How many passengers currently travel by rail and bus between the two cities?

[jonny]

I know a few Seahawks fans that travel to home games to/from Seattle/Vancouver via Amtrak. 

[Jackerbie]

How many passengers currently travel by rail and bus between the two cities?

 

Amtrack's 2017 numbers indicate that there were 167,000 "on-offs" at the Vancouver Pacific Central Station. The way they define on-off makes it sounds like a complete trip, not a total of departures and arrivals, but I'm not certain.

 

In terms of revenue on the cascades line, Seattle-Vancouver accounts for 19%, Vancouver-Seattle 5%, Vancouver-Portland 3%, and Portland-Vancouver is less than 2% so doesn't appear as a unique data point in their published statistics. Here's the document: https://www.wsdot.wa...eReport2017.pdf

[Jackerbie]

The important thing to note when looking at the Amtrak numbers, though, is that the train service only operates twice daily, at 6:35AM and 5:45PM. The other four trips are on Amtrak coach buses. The trip from Seattle to Vancouver has much more agreeable train service, leaving Seattle at 7:45AM and 7:00PM. That may be why the Seattle-Vancouver trip accounts for 19% of revenue, while the return journey is only 5%. Hard to convince people to take an Amtrak coach!

[jonny]

From a tourism perspective, there may be a large number of tourists who make the trip up to Vancouver via the train to connect with their cruise ship. 

[Victoria Watcher]

From a tourism perspective, there may be a large number of tourists who make the trip up to Vancouver via the train to connect with their cruise ship. 

 

i don't follow. why not just fly into vancouver if the cruise ship/line you want departs from there?  people that actually live in seattle and want to cruise are likely to just choose a seattle ship departure unless something on a vancouver ship is overwhelmingly attractive.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 February 2019 - 04:16 PM.

[lanforod]

^ for many that'll make sense, but not for all. I'll note that there are better cruises out of Vancouver usually, and it would open up options in terms of cruise availability and timing.

[Victoria Watcher]

^ for many that'll make sense, but not for all. I'll note that there are better cruises out of Vancouver usually, and it would open up options in terms of cruise availability and timing.

 

but if you are one of the 315 million americans that do not live in seattle you can still just fly into vancouver.  only a tiny sliver of alaska cruisers live in seattle and would use the train first.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 February 2019 - 04:19 PM.

[jonny]

i don't follow. why not just fly into vancouver if the cruise ship/line you want departs from there?  people that actually live in seattle and want to cruise are likely to just choose a seattle ship departure unless something on a vancouver ship is overwhelmingly attractive.

 

When people are on vacation they often like to do things that are different, or relaxing or scenic. 

[Cassidy]

When people are on vacation they often like to do things that are different, or relaxing or scenic. 

I'd offer as proof of the above that very few (if any) people on business trips use cruise ships to get to their destination, and only a few more than that use trains.

Edited by Cassidy, 20 February 2019 - 07:18 PM.

[jonny]

Trains in North America are very much a leisure mode of transport, except for maybe in the Northeast megalopolis.