tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218149071529011844.post8729530985594593069..comments2024-03-09T05:03:54.979-05:00Comments on Public Transit in Ottawa: More of Ottawa's rail history in jeopardyPeter Raaymakershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10883553886241429786noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218149071529011844.post-28754569973354591742010-12-16T14:11:10.452-05:002010-12-16T14:11:10.452-05:00Jacques Gréber.Jacques Gréber.WJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218149071529011844.post-5789978851940086022010-12-16T14:09:59.350-05:002010-12-16T14:09:59.350-05:00Can we really call the loss of row upon row of tra...<b>Can we really call the loss of row upon row of train tracks along the canal a "loss"? </b><br /><br />Yes. Rail and trains provide energy and activity, which were sacrificed on Ottawa's sacred NCC-sponsored altar of prettyism.<br /><br />And what's "terrible" about trains?<br /><br />I'll take trains over buses, any day, any where.WJMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218149071529011844.post-37259572386490870992010-12-06T20:37:11.302-05:002010-12-06T20:37:11.302-05:00Thanks to Michel Gréber and his spiritual heirs......Thanks to Michel Gréber and his spiritual heirs...and we've got to recover from these particular consequences.<br /><br />Quickly.Dwight Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14389833479219422837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218149071529011844.post-49654739568733468972010-12-06T18:13:49.460-05:002010-12-06T18:13:49.460-05:00^^^
"Terrible trains" going through a f...^^^<br /><br />"Terrible trains" going through a few times a day would be a vast improvement over the 4 lanes of expressway and the Transitway that runs there now...<br /><br /><br />As to the post itself, the notion that it's unclear what purpose it would serve is puzzling, to say the least. From Arnprior westwards, the line, if connected to another line on the outskirts of Arnprior that comes from Ottawa, could serve as the basis of a commuter rail service through Renfrew County. We also do not know that the line is unprofitable. The big railways routinely get rid of profitable track because it's not profitable enough - that's why shortline railway now exist. The portion through Renfrew County from Arnprior as far as CFB Petawawa, when assembled with the other former CN trackage, could easily be put together to form a viable service. One of the problems with the way CP is disposing of the line is that they are refusing to consider partial sales. It's "all or nothing". This reduces the options for different entities to acquire the pieces they need for their own purposes (e.g. CFB Petawawa from Pembroke to the base, Renfrew County from Arnprior to Pembroke).<br /><br />In addition to the above, the CP line from Pembroke to Mattawa (or indeed Sudbury) is the last remaining east-west rail bypass of Toronto. If, for any reason, there comes a need to reroute rail traffic not destined to Toronto around Toronto, we will not be able to do it.<br /><br />We in Ottawa also have to admit a disturbing fact that relates to this line: virtually everything we buy that has come from elsewhere in the world has moved by rail for a significant part of its journey but virtually none of it arrived in Ottawa by rail. That's because we don't have container handling facilities in Ottawa, so it all has to be transferred to trucks in Montreal and Toronto and driven here. We're the largest city in the country not to have such a facility, and, indeed, smaller cities like Winnipeg and even Saskatoon have *two* of them. Were we to have some vision and appropriate investment in such a facility, that line all the way through to Sudbury would suddenly find itself economic.Davidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7218149071529011844.post-85030517828164745612010-12-06T10:09:37.411-05:002010-12-06T10:09:37.411-05:00Can we really call the loss of row upon row of tra...Can we really call the loss of row upon row of train tracks along the canal a "loss"? <br /><br />Sure, it would be lovely to have a more central train station, but who would ever want terrible trains rumbling past the canal at all hours instead of the scenic driveway and park space we have now?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04993161300724978104noreply@blogger.com