it's bad enuf when Japan beats the US in rail. But CANADA?!?! (fwd)

[danny burstein]

Ok, Japan. And France. And Germany. And Red China.

But now Canada?!

Of course, this is merely a press release at this time. But
at least they're thinking about it.

[Blogto.com, where the "to" stands for Toronto]

Toronto will soon have 200 km/hr trains connecting
to Quebec City

Trains will soon zip along the over 1,000-kilometre stretch between Toronto and
Quebec City at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour.

Transport Canada announced a major step forward in its High Frequency Rail
project on Friday, advancing the project that will span the Quebec City to
Toronto rail corridor with dedicated passenger tracks capable of supporting
lightning-fast speeds.

Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant Pablo Rodriguez announced the
project's next steps, launching a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to secure
bids.
======
rest:
https://www.blogto.com/travel/2023/10/toronto-200-kmh-trains-connecting-quebec-city/

_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dan...@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Friday, October 13, 2023 at 3:33:38 PM UTC-4, danny burstein wrote:
> Ok, Japan. And France. And Germany. And Red China.
>
> But now Canada?!
>
> Of course, this is merely a press release at this time. But
> at least they're thinking about it.
>
> [Blogto.com, where the "to" stands for Toronto]
>
> Toronto will soon have 200 km/hr trains connecting
> to Quebec City
>
> Trains will soon zip along the over 1,000-kilometre stretch between Toronto and
> Quebec City at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour.
>
> Transport Canada announced a major step forward in its High Frequency Rail
> project on Friday, advancing the project that will span the Quebec City to
> Toronto rail corridor with dedicated passenger tracks capable of supporting
> lightning-fast speeds.
>
> Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant Pablo Rodriguez announced the
> project's next steps, launching a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to secure
> bids.
> ======
> rest:
> https://www.blogto.com/travel/2023/10/toronto-200-kmh-trains-connecting-quebec-city/

Hey! Canada sent us those lousy Bombardier subway cars!

And in a Nova(?) hour about London's new "Elizabeth Line" to Heathrow --
which they seem to have located in all the worst places to try to run a
new subway -- they said they got their cars from Bombardier. (Not a
Quebec plant, but one up north in England or Scotland.)

And the opening was delayed weeks while they figured out why the cars
weren't working properly.

The ribbon-cutting was just about the last public appearance of the Queen.

[John Levine]

According to Peter T. Daniels <petert...@gmail.com>:

>Hey! Canada sent us those lousy Bombardier subway cars!

Now, now, they were built in Plattsburgh NY. Credit where credit is due.

>And in a Nova(?) hour about London's new "Elizabeth Line" to Heathrow --
>which they seem to have located in all the worst places to try to run a
>new subway -- they said they got their cars from Bombardier. (Not a
>Quebec plant, but one up north in England or Scotland.)
>
>And the opening was delayed weeks while they figured out why the cars
>weren't working properly.

The problems were with signalling, due to stitching together of new
build underground railway with existing lines east and west of the
city. On the other hand, it's done, it works. I have hopped on a train
in the middle of London that leaves every 10 minuutes or less and in
half an hour been at the airport terminal. It's what the JFK Airtrain
should have been.

I would not hold my breath waiting for the Canada TGV, since this
1991 article said they were looking into it then, too.

https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/28/business/company-news-bombardier-returns-to-earth.html

If they can get their act together, it's a good candidate for high
speed rail. A lot of people drive or fly between Toronto, Montreal,
and Quebec. Outside of the cities it's quite rural and pretty flat so
building new high speed lines would not be hard.
--
Regards,
John Levine, jo...@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 11:13:34 PM UTC-4, John Levine wrote:

> I would not hold my breath waiting for the Canada TGV, since this
> 1991 article said they were looking into it then, too.
>
> https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/28/business/company-news-bombardier-returns-to-earth.html
>
> If they can get their act together, it's a good candidate for high
> speed rail. A lot of people drive or fly between Toronto, Montreal,
> and Quebec. Outside of the cities it's quite rural and pretty flat so
> building new high speed lines would not be hard.

Windsor to Toronto would be nice, too. I got to drive from Ann Arbor
to Toronto for an international meeting in 1990. (Couldn't have done
it direct from Chicago.)

My last visit to Canada was in 2000. They started requiring a passport
after 9/11; I'd gotten my first one back in '92.

[John Levine]

According to Peter T. Daniels <petert...@gmail.com>:

>> If they can get their act together, it's a good candidate for high
>> speed rail. A lot of people drive or fly between Toronto, Montreal,
>> and Quebec. Outside of the cities it's quite rural and pretty flat so
>> building new high speed lines would not be hard.
>
>Windsor to Toronto would be nice, too. I got to drive from Ann Arbor
>to Toronto for an international meeting in 1990. (Couldn't have done
>it direct from Chicago.)

It's flat and rural, but it's a lot less busy than Toronto to
Montreal. If they do Toronto to Montreal, the extension to Quebec is
fairly short, under 250 km, and mandatory for political reasons. I'm a
litle surprised they aren't talking about Ottawa, but I suppse nobody
goes to Ottawa if they don't have to.

>My last visit to Canada was in 2000. They started requiring a passport
>after 9/11; I'd gotten my first one back in '92.

If you live in NY and don't have a passport, you can get an Enhanced
Driver's License for $30 which lets you travel overland to Canada.
I don't have one because for $50 I got a NEXUS card which is good
for air travel too.

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Sunday, October 15, 2023 at 3:01:47 PM UTC-4, John Levine wrote:
> According to Peter T. Daniels <petert...@gmail.com>:

> >> If they can get their act together, it's a good candidate for high
> >> speed rail. A lot of people drive or fly between Toronto, Montreal,
> >> and Quebec. Outside of the cities it's quite rural and pretty flat so
> >> building new high speed lines would not be hard.
> >Windsor to Toronto would be nice, too. I got to drive from Ann Arbor
> >to Toronto for an international meeting in 1990. (Couldn't have done
> >it direct from Chicago.)
>
> It's flat and rural, but it's a lot less busy than Toronto to
> Montreal. If they do Toronto to Montreal, the extension to Quebec is
> fairly short, under 250 km, and mandatory for political reasons. I'm a
> litle surprised they aren't talking about Ottawa, but I suppse nobody
> goes to Ottawa if they don't have to.

The have a nice Imperial War Museum.

> >My last visit to Canada was in 2000. They started requiring a passport
> >after 9/11; I'd gotten my first one back in '92.
>
> If you live in NY and don't have a passport, you can get an Enhanced
> Driver's License for $30 which lets you travel overland to Canada.
> I don't have one because for $50 I got a NEXUS card which is good
> for air travel too.

Even down here in Downstate? Presumably that was Cuomo looking
for republican votes in the Adirondacks or Erie County, but how did
he get a Federal waiver? Do all the border states have it?

[John Levine]

According to Peter T. Daniels <petert...@gmail.com>:

>> litle surprised they aren't talking about Ottawa, but I suppse nobody
>> goes to Ottawa if they don't have to.
>
>The have a nice Imperial War Museum.

They do, and some OK restaurants but really, there's a lot mre to do
in Montreal.

>> If you live in NY and don't have a passport, you can get an Enhanced
>> Driver's License for $30 which lets you travel overland to Canada.
>> I don't have one because for $50 I got a NEXUS card which is good
>> for air travel too.
>
>Even down here in Downstate? Presumably that was Cuomo looking
>for republican votes in the Adirondacks or Erie County, but how did
>he get a Federal waiver? Do all the border states have it?

Any NY license, or learner permit, or even non-driver ID can be
upgraded to an Enhanced version for border crossing. I think they're
fairly popular among people who used to just wave at the border guards
before 9/11 when visiting friends in Canada.

They're also available in Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, and
Washington, so I'd say they're more of a Democrat thing. In Canada,
British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec issue them, although
Ontario sensibly encourages people to get NEXUS cards instead.

https://www.dhs.gov/enhanced-drivers-licenses-what-are-they

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/canadian-citizenship/proof/enhanced-drivers-license.html