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Province offers update on
high speed rail
reprinted from Red Deer Express (Mark Weber) July 8, 2009
There's been a wave of
positive response to a market assessment study of high-speed rail
service for the Calgary-Edmonton corridor.
Released by the province this week, the reports says travelers could
get from city to city within one hour, and that by 2021 as many as
six million riders will have used the service. There would be a
stop-off in Red Deer as well.
Mike Axworthy, president of the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce, said
it's important for both the province and interested stakeholders to
take a long-term look at it.
"I can see where 20 years down the road we'd think what a great idea
that we did it," he said.
And although it could be a tough sell in a time of overall
constraints and cutting back, Axworthy said the province could do
its part by obtaining the right of way for a proposed route and
holding onto that land.
He also believes that the public would support the initiative, and
all the more so if gas prices took a significant jump down the road
and the public in general took on more of an
environmentally-friendly stance.
About 10 million trips took place along the corridor in 2006, of
which 91% were by automobile.
Mayor Morris Flewwelling said he's very supportive of the idea.
"It puts us in closer proximity with Calgary and Edmonton," he said,
adding that there would likely be more and more people working and
studying in the bigger centres while still calling Red Deer home. He
thinks more and more people will opt for the service as the QEII
will only get busier over the coming years.
Flewwelling would like to see the train's Red Deer stop located in
the new Riverlands area off downtown, or just north of CrossRoads
Church.
Urban transport in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer has to be beefed
up in the meantime so those arriving on high speed rail can get to
their destinations more conveniently, he said. A bolstered transit
system linking Central Alberta communities is also important, as
many from around Red Deer would likely take advantage of the service
as well.
"It's absolutely imperative that the infrastructure is in place at
both ends and in the middle of the route."
The report also says that given the projected growth of the overall
travel market along the corridor, it's estimated that high-speed
rail ridership would jump by about 35% from 2021 to 2031 and by
about 43% from 2031 to 2051.
Meanwhile, Bill Cruikshanks, CEO of Alberta High Speed Rail Inc.
said the best option is the $3.5 billion 300-km/h electric overhead
train. The company's corporate aim is to be the operator of the
high-speed passenger rail service.
According to the Alberta High Speed Rail Inc. web site, a potential
route for the rail system has even been mapped out just west of the
QE II Hwy. Bridges would be used to separate the roads from the
railway and the entire route would be fenced for safety.
Next up, the province will pass on the data to the Standing
Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities for its final
report.
The committee starts up again in September.
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