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High Speed Rail Study
Project creates issues for
rural residents
reprinted from Red Deer Advocate (Paul Cowley) November 3, 2010
A new report says a
high-speed rail link could mean longer trips for rural drivers and
emergency services, split up farmland and pose a barrier to
wildlife.
While running trains at speeds up to 300 km/h from Edmonton to
Calgary will create a number of issues for rural residents and
communities, the report commissioned by the Alberta Association of
Municipal Districts and Counties does not weigh in on whether
high-speed rail is desirable or even feasible.
"We're not saying we're for or against at all," said association
president Donald Johnson. "That's not the point of the exercise."
The association undertook the report to ensure that the concerns of
rural residents are understood and taken into account if the
high-speed rail project moves ahead.
"It was a proactive approach," said Johnson. "We felt like if you
wait until this happens it's too late."
The 129-page Study of High Speed Rail Impacts on Rural Alberta is
being billed as the first of its kind. The study by Ottawa-based
CPCS Transcom Limited identifies the impacts of the rail line and
what can be done to reduce potential problems -- such as putting in
overpasses and underpasses, new fire stations and hospitals and
ensuring they are suitable for farm machinery and livestock.
Johnson said it's likely if high-speed rail was to go ahead it would
only make sense if 300 km/h trains were used.
The route would also have to be mostly at ground level because of
the cost of elevating tracks and would be fenced for safety reasons.
The study suggests the number of crossings would be lower than those
on the existing rail line.
If that's the case, some serious planning about crossings needs to
take place, and rural communities need to be involved, said Johnson.
One of the important issues will be how will emergency services
access be addressed.
"If you get a fire, there's going to be re-routing that's going to
have to happen."
A high-speed rail line could make it more difficult to move farm
machinery or livestock and also leave some landowners with divided
farms.
"There's commercial and economic potential impacts, not just for
rural municipalities, but also for our small towns that are our
service centres, like Innisfail and Olds and so forth."
The study also looked at how a high-speed rail corridor might affect
land opportunities. Rural landowners are leery of development
restrictions being imposed on land that may not be needed for
decades.
The association argues that it is clear from the study that if the
government plans to go ahead with high-speed rail the best way to
reduce impacts on rural communities is to get moving on the
multi-billion dollar project.
"The longer the wait, the more development will take place that may
interfere with route alignments," he said, adding the government
should consider picking a route now if it's serious about the
project.
Complicating efforts to make any predictions about the impact of the
line is the fact no route has been endorsed by the provincial
government and the effect on rural areas also depends on the type of
rail line chosen, the number of crossings and other unknowns.
In the absence of a route, the study looks at three potential
options: on the existing Canadian Pacific Railway right-of-way, next
to Hwy 2 and a new corridor through less populated rural areas.
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