Moderator: Ken V
Via’s HFR proposal would see 18 trains per day between Montreal and Quebec City. Of those trips, 10 would be on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, going through Trois-Rivières, which is about 50 minutes faster than the southern route that goes through Drummondville, making the trip time between the two cities a little more than two hours. However, that northern route is the one that would require VIA trains to use the Mount Royal Tunnel.
Lacroix said there is technology coming to allow heavy rail cars to be adapted to a light-rail track. However, he did not say how much this new technology would cost. Because VIA’s proposal is not yet public, it isn’t known if it includes adapting heavy rail trains to run on the Deux-Montagnes Line.
NH2060 wrote:That's one of the options on the table, along with terminating any new VIA service to Quebec City (along with the Mascouche commuter trains) outside downtown Montreal with no access to Gare Centrale:Via’s HFR proposal would see 18 trains per day between Montreal and Quebec City. Of those trips, 10 would be on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, going through Trois-Rivières, which is about 50 minutes faster than the southern route that goes through Drummondville, making the trip time between the two cities a little more than two hours. However, that northern route is the one that would require VIA trains to use the Mount Royal Tunnel.
Lacroix said there is technology coming to allow heavy rail cars to be adapted to a light-rail track. However, he did not say how much this new technology would cost. Because VIA’s proposal is not yet public, it isn’t known if it includes adapting heavy rail trains to run on the Deux-Montagnes Line.
http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-n ... ve-the-rem
Tadman wrote:I think this is a serious journalism whiff. Via and CN prior to 1990 did share the tunnel. There are rare pictures of the ex-CN boxcabs hauling the Senneterre trains, tied on in front of the FP9, through the tunnel. Further, that tunnel is heavy rail as is the Deux-Montagnes line. It was once run by CN heavyweight coaches and double-headed boxcabs. When the boxcabs were double-headed, the pair weighed as much as an SD40. It is part of the national network and not part of a subway or light rail.
Tadman wrote:Ah thanks for the clarification. I'm not an expert on the current affairs of Montreal, but I can't imagine why they want to go from Class 1 to rapid transit when there are two competing designs of EMU for high-voltage AC catenary (the Kawaski M8 and the Rotem SL5).
Tadman wrote:Also, how many Quebec City trains are there? 5-10? 50 minutes is a big difference on what should be a 3 hour trip.
mdvle wrote:As for whether REM is a good idea or bad, I don't live in Montreal so I don't know enough about the area to judge it. But I suspect at the end of the day a funded transit project is better than no project.
...
According to the REM website the contractors for the equipment and the building of the lines should be announced soon (mid-February), which means at this point it will be difficult to stop.
Return to Canadian Passenger Operations: AMT, Go Transit, VIA, etc.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest