Rail Thoughts: Shinkansen in the Corridor?

[dewline]

Crossposted from viarail_fandom:

Looks like Queen's Park and Ville de Québec are taking another look at the idea of high-speed rail in the Windsor-Ville de Québec "Corridor".

Seems to me - as to the premiers - that the urgency of adding this kind of capacity has only grown in the years since the last study on the subject. No?

Comments

[mencc1701.livejournal.com]

Hopefully this will happen, but I won't let myself get too optimistic until I see construction taking place.

I have to say that $23 billion seems cheap for that much HSR, if it's true HSR.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Your definition of high-speed rail would be...?

[mencc1701.livejournal.com]

True high speed rail is somewhere in the 140-150 mph or faster range, with very gradual curves and grades, and no level crossings.

I think the best we could manage for $23 billion would probably be to remove level crossings and get a British-style semi-HSR system, which would clock in at a max speed of 110 mph or so. As I recall it, our current rail infrastructure couldn't support anything much faster.