micheal_can
Senior Member
Anything is possible. Especially if there is a need for a 'make work' project.
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- Thread starter kEiThZ
- Start date
CapitalSeven
Senior Member
Don't want to go too far down a bunny chute on this, but actually, the idea of a tunnel, and even station platforms, under the canal is not technically preposterous. The canal is hewn straight into bedrock, which is just below the surface. Originally Rideau station was to be mined out spanning the canal, with entrances near the NAC and the current Senate building. Only later was the current location developed. It started to cave in because just east of Colonel By, there is a large and hidden glacial trench full of unstable rubble. It was actually the riskiest place in all of downtown Ottawa to build a station, so naturally it was chosen.
You could dig about 6 km of tunnels from the area around Hurdman and the current station converging under the canal. The station could be mined out or dug down by draining the canal for a few years. A concourse could be built across to the old station, and likely to the NAC area as well. The chances of any of this happening approach zero. It would cost billions of dollars, and would be a vanity project that on balance did not really improve access to anyone but visitors. Ottawa is used to vanity projects but I think this is a tunnel too far. Improvements to the rapid transit network would be much more useful.
micheal_can
Senior Member
We could go back and forth on the merits of this, but since it is technically possible, lets just file this under the "wait and see" part of the plans. If they came back with this,plus a tunnel between Central station and the QC section, it would not surprise me. It would also not surprise me if they didn't.
CapitalSeven
Senior Member
The new tunnel in Montreal (theoretical, but vaguely suggested in some HFR and HSR documents) makes a lot of sense from a network perspective, and it could potentially be shared with EXO, improving its service at the same time. Moving back to downtown Ottawa makes no financial sense. One of the reasons for quitting the old Union Station was that it sits at the most convoluted set of intersections in the city and vehicle access is very difficult. Yes it's on a subway now but so is the current station.
Urban Sky
Senior Member
The only way I see a tunnel to be constructable in downtown Montreal is to keep it at the existing track level and to build it underneath Robert-Bourassa, with a station between the intersection with Rene-Levesque (above) and Sainte-Antoine (below):
andrewmaps
New Member
I've posted this before... But any tunnel idea would benefit in buy-in from EXO commuter trains (to help pay for it) - I wonder if they are thinking of that? - excuse this map has the old LRT de L'est concept. With only one underground station, it perhaps wouldn't cost toooo much?
micheal_can
Senior Member
Alto - HSR
If you zoom into the Montreal area, I laid out where I feel it could go. It is almost a straight line to the tracks it needs to meet north of the Mont.
If you zoom into the Montreal area, I laid out where I feel it could go. It is almost a straight line to the tracks it needs to meet north of the Mont.
Urban Sky
Senior Member
I hate to disappoint you but there are unfortunately severe vertical alignment issues which would make a tunnel crossing underneath Gare Centrale in West-East direction extremely challenging:
- The existing passenger concourse at Gare Centrale is above the existing tracks. You would have to build elevators and escalators through the existing platforms, which are rather narrow.
- You need to avoid the Autoroute Ville-Marie with its various ramps, which reaches more than 40 meters deep.
- You can only dive up to the CP Westmount Sub once you‘ve cleared all the various road underpasses beneath it (Guy, Georges-Vanier, Atwater, Glen, Sherbrooke, Girouard, Cavendish), some of which (Glen Road) are listed heritage structures and can therefore hardly be altered.
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