by adrianvia
Hi all. I'm a new member, this is my first post. Anyways, with all the talk of establishing high speed service between Calgary and Edmonton, what about the other cities on the prairies? I'm sure the market is large enough to merrit a Winnpeg-Regina-Calgary train, as well as a Winnipeg-Saskatoon-Edmonton Train. If they were both run daily in each direction (perhaps starting at each end in the morning and arriving at their destination in 12 or so hours later, in the evening), many people would turn to the train as it would be a consistant, reliable service. Are speeds of around 100-120 km/h possible on the CP between Calgary and Winipeg? It would also be worth looking into the possibility of beginning service between Regina and Saskatoon, as they are two major centres on 3 hours away from each other. If there were 2 or so departures from each end per day, VIA would definately run a profitable service. I think running trains between these cities would make much more sense than, say, a train connecting all the way from Toronto, or to Vancouver. Times involved would be much larger, as with the mountains and sheer distance to Toronto, and there would be more customers between the large prairie centres. I believe it is something to consider before any other expansion projects get the green light.