My grandparents used to take the train from Winnipeg to Winnipeg Beach to dance at the bandstand for the night and then come home at midnight. https://www.winnipegbeach.ca/p/the-old-days
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This is another level of train, but as a Winnipegger who has deep roots here now but also has a deep longing to be in the mountains, I've always wanted to be able to catch a fast train west after work Friday. ESPECIALLY after visiting Europe in my 20s.
I was going to say it's too far compared to Europe but Paris to Rome is almost the same as Winnipeg to Banff. The only issue is are there enough stops to make it worthwhile? Although maybe I am just ignorant of the economics and not doing it is just a function of government will.
So I've thought about this a lot (buckle up, haha) and there are a few problems. One is the speed limit on most of our current track is around 130km/h (there are "classes" of track with different limits, most of the main east west rail is class 4), class 5 (160km/h) being the highest in Canada.
The highest in USA right now is class 8 (260km/h), class 9 would be 320km/h, but presumably for that class of track you'd require a full grade separation, fencing, etc (Don't want to hit a deer, or bigger, at those speeds) at which point you've gotta dig a trench from coast to coast essentially.
The lack of stops is a good thing for travel speed (the true high speed rail in Europe doesn't stop much, but it's fed by a network of other trains that connect everything) but yeah, the density of southern Ontario and Quebec would support it, but you would need an enormous amount of coast to coast
I met an elderly woman recently who lives in Sioux Lookout. When she first moved out there as a young woman to teach, she used to be able to hop on a train after work and be home to Brandon by midnight or so. You can barely drive that distance now in that amount of time. If they could do it then...
Yeah and honestly, if there was snow in the forecast (big skiier, haha) I'd sleep in a sleeper car out to BC to be there in the morning. (Though that would cost more) And an airplane has a few hours of airport time that a train doesn't have so the difference for shorter trips is less than it seems.
A pal is in a relationship with someone in Gillam. She doesn't have a car. It is unbelievable how difficult it is and how many hours she requires to get there. It would faster to fly to Europe.
oh wow that's wild. I think a general rule of transportation is that it shouldn't be cheaper and faster to fly to europe than to get around our own province/country.
My sister is out in Newfoundland, and there are definitely times when it would be cheaper (and sometimes with layovers/connections, faster, too) to fly to Paris than to visit her in St. Johns. And that's with both of us living in the capital cities of our provinces.
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