[Kaizen]

As we start 2021 with feelings of hope and renewal, we wanted to first take this opportunity to thank you for supporting and following the TransPod project.
We are moving full steam ahead in Alberta, Canada: We will deliver a full feasibility study this year, and will also be finalizing the private investment that will finance the development of a high-speed test track in the Edmonton-Calgary corridor.

 

[bodsbods9090]

Wow...what a time to be alive!

 

[Platinum107]

'We believe using unproven transportation technology to link two of Alberta's largest cities, which haven't been linked by passenger rail for decades, will be a great success!'

We don't need Lyle Lanley coming here and selling us a monorail when tried and true HSR systems have been successful worldwide.

As of recent I've come to this conclusion regarding this situtation: Let them test and research this technology here in Alberta if they really want to, that's perfectly fine and can only be good for further building our reputation as a great place for research and innovation. However, should they be allowed to start building the Edmonton-Calgary connection as soon as they can? No!! It's still not proven that this system will even work, much less be safe and practical for passenger usage. While they start developing their technology, let's get the ball rolling on a functional normal rail connection in the interim to build ridership along the corridor. Even a 150-200 kph train would be so much better than a 100 kph bus or a $500 plane ticket. I personally still think HSR reigns as the best option in our case but, of TransPod can prove their tech works and address all concerns regarding safety and costs, then I'm for it.

 

[Macroman520]

Call it my love of trains, but I remain sceptical of hyperloops. It seems to like monorails or people movers, which were similarly exciting (and gimmicky) technologies that ultimately failed to have any significant impact on the nature of mass transportation. I don't think its proponents really account for the incredible vulnerability of the concept itself to breakdowns, mechanical faults, and flaws in design or construction. Traditional high speed railway, or perhaps even maglev, is definitely the way to go here.

 

[CplKlinger]

One concern I have is that the proposal is from Edmonton airport to dt Calgary. So someone going to Edmonton pays $150 for ticket and then another $50 to get dt? Or hope on public transit for another 45 minutes?

Their test track will be between Edmonton and the city proper, so I guess it depends on where the city stop is located. Ideally it'd at least be located near an LRT station.

 

[archited]

"Not I" said the bull pawing the ground in the corral!

 

[kcantor]

^^

that jobs number was the annualized cumulative number of jobs over a 9 plus year period. annualized that's 15,566 jobs for one year.

presumably it also included transpod's staff and their engineers and consultants and the concrete and steel plant employees and the pod manufactures and seat suppliers etc. i don't believe it was ever "alberta jobs", never mind on-going jobs.

i'm a bit surprised they didn't extend it for 30 years rather than just 9 but my guess is that the number of actual permanent jobs after 9 is so low that it would bring the annualized count down more than doing so would add.

 

[kcantor]

Don't forget Ken that there is two-way traffic which would cut your numbers in half in terms of usage in one direction -- 16 pods going south; 16 coming north. Still it is an ambitious number!

i think using $150 probably allows for the two way count as one way coach is only $90 and one way business class was $150 and the maximum capacity per pod (presumably without business class or other amenities is 50). probably inexact in my preference for nice round numbers but i'd still say probably closer to 30 than 16 and that's still before freight pods are factored in.

it's also worth noting that from an engineering perspective this might be more intriguing than a hyperloop system but the downside is that you can't make longer trains - each unit has to be an independent pod so you can't increase capacity beyond what headway will allow.

at the end of the day however, the hypotheticals don't really impact the fact that there simply isn't enough density or ridership between edmonton and calgary to make sense of this whether the this is transpod or hyperloop or true high (or even medium) speed rail. transpods efforts in europe are likely to be much more successful than even the toronto - hamilton corridor which they don't seem focused on anymore. from transpod's perspective, it doesn't really matter where they build and you have to wonder if alberta isn't simply the most attractive place to build their test track rather than an attractive place to build an actual operating loop.

 

[kcantor]

i don't think the head-fake will ever be a $30 billion dollar proof of concept link between edmonton and calgary. that's the carrot for ric mcivor who has always been a railway buff. in reality, even if it happens the test track for the head-fake won't be any longer than the 10 km stretch initially dedicated for it by the ndp (strange how that earlier commitment by the government of alberta wasn't acknowledged by the current government of alberta) but the first actual corridor if the test-track validates the concept is likely to be in the south of france or italy based on their ownership structure and office locations etc.

 

[EdmTrekker]

The report is there for you to read in the news release. You need to download it to your email address.

 

[kcantor]

^
from their own reports, marseilles to nice makes way more sense than edmonton to calgary.

 

[CplKlinger]

i don't think the head-fake will ever be a $30 billion dollar proof of concept link between edmonton and calgary. that's the carrot for ric mcivor who has always been a railway buff. in reality, even if it happens the test track for the head-fake won't be any longer than the 10 km stretch initially dedicated for it by the ndp (strange how that earlier commitment by the government of alberta wasn't acknowledged by the current government of alberta) but the first actual corridor if the test-track validates the concept is likely to be in the south of france or italy based on their ownership structure and office locations etc.

Regarding the test track, it won't be Edmonton-Calgary. According to the article, they want to do testing on a 20km stretch from EIA to Edmonton from 2022-2027, and start construction on the Calgary leg in 2025. I personally doubt they'll start testing next year though, given they still need to build the darn thing.

*Actually, I might have misinterpreted the test track's location. Their news release says that they're working with the province to identify suitable land for it. Here's the quote from the article which mentions the EIA, make of it what you will.

"Then we'll start the process of looking at the land acquisition or land agreements between the Edmonton airport and the city and public consultation, construction permits and environmental assessments."

 

[RH van der Rohe]

I just can't see how Alberta can be the best place to do the first application. There are so many more economic corridors that don't have high speed rail and are congested to the point of collapsing (California and Texas just in North America) on top of the south France and Italy locations already mentioned.

I really think it's great that the proof of concept is done here, we have smart engineers and a good reputation around the world for safety standards, there should be a nice spillover effect to this effort in the area.

 

[CplKlinger]

I just can't see how Alberta can be the best place to do the first application. There are so many more economic corridors that don't have high speed rail and are congested to the point of collapsing (California and Texas just in North America) on top of the south France and Italy locations already mentioned.

I really think it's great that the proof of concept is done here, we have smart engineers and a good reputation around the world for safety standards, there should be a nice spillover effect to this effort in the area.

Maybe it's a mixture of the Provincial government's eagerness, and the relatively straightforward Geography? I get that there's hills and ditches, but it's basically a flat straight line between the two cities. I'm not sure how Texas and California compare in these regards.

 

[kcantor]

Maybe it's a mixture of the Provincial government's eagerness, and the relatively straightforward Geography? I get that there's hills and ditches, but it's basically a flat straight line between the two cities. I'm not sure how Texas and California compare in these regards.

dallas has a population of about 1.4 million, fort worth has a population of close to 1 million they have an international airport that includes a large duty free zone about half way between them. they're about 40 miles apart.

if you wanted a test track, you could do one there that could test use ridership as well as physical possibility.

from there its about 240 miles sse to houston; 195 miles ssw to austin; and 165 miles from austin to houston to complete the triangle.

their terrain is pretty much flat as a pancake although there are some lovely rolling hills around austin that make you think of tennessee (much like the foothills only better treed).