[Urban Sky]

I really hope that it’s no longer a question of whether this project will survive, but how much of it. The only good thing about the shameless scope creep of the last 5 or so years is that even drastic cut-backs of the project’s eyewatering price tag would still allow for a project which would be nothing short of a gamechanger for intercity rail travel in this country…

 

[micheal_can]

To me, the fact that The Star did a "status check on HxR and the position of Liberal candidates on it" shows to me that there is support for it beyond the rail fan community, and while it might not be an election issue per say, opposing it would make more than a small number of people unhappy. How large that group is, remains to be seen.

FWIW, I feel it is like most regular things that are on a platform. It is definitely not a ballot box question,but there is a group of people who are not railfans that will be looking for it. No different than widening projects for the provincial election. The railfans come on here to debate the merits....

 

[MisterF]

I really hope that it’s no longer a question of whether this project will survive, but how much of it. The only good thing about the shameless scope creep of the last 5 or so years is that even drastic cut-backs of the project’s eyewatering price tag would still allow for a project which would be nothing short of a gamechanger for intercity rail travel in this country…

Do we know the price tag? There have been some eye watering numbers here and on Reddit but it's never been clear to me if they're official or just speculation.

 

[Urban Sky]

Do we know the price tag? There have been some eye watering numbers here and on Reddit but it's never been clear to me if they're official or just speculation.

The price tag will only be known when the scope has been finalized, which is the objective of the “co-development phase” which is supposed to kick off once the winning consortium has been announced and to take a few more years before the project and funding/finance agreements are to be signed.

With that said, media reports so far suggest that the aspired scope has moved well beyond $40 billion and thus anything Conservative governments or private investors would possibly be prepared to contribute…

 

[MisterF]

I wonder how much of the media reports are based on speculation too. People seem to be assuming that it will cost the same as California HSR but our plan could end up being more modest.

 

[micheal_can]

I wonder how much of the media reports are based on speculation too. People seem to be assuming that it will cost the same as California HSR but our plan could end up being more modest.

This could be the case of lack of information filling the void.

 

[chrisw]

I'm not sure if Carney has commented on this project but, his slogan is "It's time to build."

He's made a commitment to balancing the operational spending of the budget in 3 years. But, investments won't be included in that. Very similar to Ontario where infrastructure spending has no impact on the budgetary deficit.

 

[micheal_can]

I'm not sure if Carney has commented on this project but, his slogan is "It's time to build."

He's made a commitment to balancing the operational spending of the budget in 3 years. But, investments won't be included in that. Very similar to Ontario where infrastructure spending has no impact on the budgetary deficit.

One way he can Support Canadian steel is by laying track. There is a subdivision that needs track laid for Via to become better.

 

[ssiguy2]

I'm not sure if Carney has commented on this project but, his slogan is "It's time to build."

He's made a commitment to balancing the operational spending of the budget in 3 years. But, investments won't be included in that. Very similar to Ontario where infrastructure spending has no impact on the budgetary deficit.

When it comes to VIA, every party and every PM has said "it's time to build". Well , needless to say, they haven't built anything but in their defense, they have gotten c studies and reports down to a fine artform.

If I live long enough to see the first track laid {little alone the line actually opening}, the first segment should be Tor/Ott/Mon but the second phase should be BOTH Mon/TR/QC and Tor/Lon/Win at the same time.

 

[Northern Light]

I'm not sure if Carney has commented on this project but, his slogan is "It's time to build."

He's made a commitment to balancing the operational spending of the budget in 3 years. But, investments won't be included in that. Very similar to Ontario where infrastructure spending has no impact on the budgetary deficit.

Carney listed 'new rail corridors' as among the infrastructure he would prioritize. He was no more specific than that, in the comments I've seen.

 

[ARG1]

Carney list 'new rail corridors' as among the infrastructure he would prioritize. He was no more specific than that, in the comments I've seen.

I'm willing to do unspeakable things to live in the timeline where Carney pulls a rabbit out of a hat and manages to push through his own version of Corridor ID.

 

[crs1026]

Carney will have watched the debates and course corrections for HS2. Maybe gave input into its financing and cost/benefit.

He is likely well informed about HSR generically.

- Paul

 

[micheal_can]

Carney will have watched the debates and course corrections for HS2. Maybe gave input into its financing and cost/benefit.

He is likely well informed about HSR generically.

- Paul

He also had the benefit of living where HSR exists (UK). That may help with what he does if he ever used it or saw what benefit it was.

 

[ssiguy2]

Carney listed 'new rail corridors' as among the infrastructure he would prioritize. He was no more specific than that, in the comments I've seen.

Carney has named everything as a "priority" and yet has said absolutely nothing specifically about any of them. In this way he has gone from a banker to a politician remarkably fast. He speaks in complete generalities about what he would like to see but offer absolutely no policies on how he would get there and how he would pay for them. Think about it............can you imagine.a leader who is desperately trying to rebuild their part in vote rich Ontario & Quebec actually saying they didn't support it?

I don't mean to turn this to turn into a political thread so I will simply say that a politician being aware of an issue and doing anything about it are 2 completely different things and HSR exemplifies this beautifully.

 

[ARG1]

Carney has named everything as a "priority" and yet has said absolutely nothing specifically about any of them. In this way he has gone from a banker to a politician remarkably fast. He speaks in complete generalities about what he would like to see but offer absolutely no policies on how he would get there and how he would pay for them. Think about it............can you imagine.a leader who is desperately trying to rebuild their part in vote rich Ontario & Quebec actually saying they didn't support it?

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he's leaving it vague and open ended so that he can leave it up to experts at VIA or whatever to figure out what to build. Mark Carney, whilst he has spent a lot of time in Canada in the past, has also been working oversees in the UK for the past decade. I think its fair to say and be reasonable that its more than expected that he wouldn't have a strong grasp of what projects are on the table, and how strong their Cost+Benefit Ratios are.

I'd much rather have a Carney saying he's willing to invest into anything that makes sense vs someone like Ford who comes out and starts promising projects with dubious merit like the Missing Link. Even if the latter is more specific, it very much reeks of politicking.