Coast to Coast 2024: Exploring Canada’s Passenger Rail Projects and Progress

[@jimvanmeggelen2213]

It is so great to see Canada investing in rail across the country. I'm hoping to see HSR between Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal as well as Calgary/Edmonton, as those are no-brainers; and then hopefully more high-speed rail on the inevitable success of those. Fingers crossed.

[@RailFansCanada]

We really hope that, given the current political landscape, HFR will go forward as a HSR program. Hopefully some good news sooner than later. -David

[@jimvanmeggelen2213]

@@RailFansCanada Without committing to the high-speed aspect, I think the HFR project would be an expensive and embarrassing mistake. The success of high-speed rail has been proven, and anything else for these sub-500km inter-city links is frankly silly, to my mind. They need to go all-in on this, for so many compelling reasons.

[@themanyouwanttobe]

I just don't see oil-loving conservatives giving Canadians a viable alternative to driving.

[@auroraiskindacool]

@@themanyouwanttobe honestly I've seen a lot of shockingly rail positive conservatives lately

[@Polytrout]

​@themanyouwanttobe I sure hope that you are wrong. But do you think that oil-loving conservatives just don't want change or do they want to protect the interests of Big Oil? Ard you talking about small "c" or large "C" Conservatives?

[@PedalAndPlan]

Nice video! High Speed Rail in Canada really can't come soon enough.

[@davidreichert9392]

Excellent job! You really are doing Canada a great service by bringing people's attention to passenger rail. I for one am very grateful.

[@RailFansCanada]

Thank you for your support! We are very excited to talk about those massive projects that are transforming how people can navigate their cities! -David

[@highway2heaven91]

Glad to see Canada getting more rail. Hopefully officials from US cities could visit, take notes and follow suit.

[@haweater1555]

Thanks for showing real progress in Steel City. The currently all-bus local transit agency "Hamilton Street Railway" will finally live up to its own name again.

[@bink023]

Love this! Very comprehensive information. Thanks for sharing!

[@RailFansCanada]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@fernbedek6302]

Still a race to see if Hamilton or Quebec will be the next metro to get rail.

[@alexjhorner]

Or Gatineau!

[@fernbedek6302]

@ Gatineau is part of the Ottawa metro. The amount of cross-river commuting is massive.

[@rommelangus]

@@fernbedek6302both STO and OC Transpo need to get on cross river commuter rail.

[@Kresimir_]

absolute travesty that both of these municipalities are smaller than Winnipeg and yet we have zero rail even in the concept phase

[@fernbedek6302]

@ When it comes to their metros they're only slightly smaller than Winnipeg, and Winnipeg actually has from BRT, so I'd put it ahead. Grade separated buses beat street running trams.

[@donteatthechalk]

I would love to see Winnipeg, London, and Halifax step up and build some rail transit. They can do it.

[@ronclark9724]

Why spend so much MORE for rail transit when buses are considerably less expensive and do a better job of moving people to more areas? As a senior citizen I enjoy buses stopping at several doors to a hospital, not one door using rail transit, a door on the other side of the hospital than the emergency room...

[@eugenetswong]

Thank you for passenger rail information!

[@RailFansCanada]

Our pleasure!

[@rebeccawinter472]

Great summary!

[@Neville60001]

1:36-Amazing how STM can get this Reseau Express built and progressing in expanding, but Metrolinx can't get the Eglington Crosstown built and finished.

[@ikelom]

To be fair, the Réseau Express Métropolitain isn't managed by the STM, but rather CDPQ Infra. STM is way slower (see how long the blue line extension is taking!)

[@AG7-MTM]

Odd the new Skytrain Mark V Trains weren't mentioned - Will we see these in action soon?

[@EJW2003]

So excited to watch this

[@OkThisllbeMyName]

unfortunately the TBM seemed stuck somewhere in Scarborough and they're building an intervention shaft so there might be delays to the SSE project

[@globetrotter7778]

Appliquons la philosophie japonaise du kaizen : l'amélioration continue. Un pas en avant à la fois, peu importe la vitesse, l'important c'est qu'on fait un pas suivi d'un autre.

[@spinladen1774]

Nice video, lots to look forward to visiting our major cities

[@RailFansCanada]

There is indeed! We hope 2025 turns out to be a year of new openings and confirmation of work proceeding in many cities! -David

[@rmdvto]

the provinces not named Ontario and Quebec are not making the rapid transit investments needed

[@rmdvto]

Winnipeg, Halifax, Victoria-Nanaimo are all places that could use rapid rail transit but their respective provinces do not see it as a priority 😔

[@juliansmith4295]

As always, thank you for all the work that goes into making a great video. NB: 13:50 route /ru:t/ a way to get to a destination rout /raʊt/ to defeat easily

[@hairyflea03]

Very interesting video! I would have been great to see something regarding Alberta's rail projects or the revival of VIA's Gaspe service but you can't cover everything. A lot of good information nonetheless!

[@RailFansCanada]

VIA's Gaspe service restoration is one I didn't even think of! As for Alberta's rail projects, the issue is that other than a series of line on a map, there is not much to show for now... I do hope the regional rail and high speed line do happen sooner than later. However, it will, as things get on the way, get added in future editions! -David

[@hairyflea03]

@@RailFansCanada Alberta is in the public engagement and various studies phase. I hope it happens too but until they start building the lines, it is just dreams. As for the Gaspe service, it is hard to find info on that if you are an anglophone out here is BC - Vince.

[@sc0tte1-416]

It's great to see them build all these LRTs but man, can't they run a bit faster? The ones I've seen them run only seem to be going like 45.

[@Trainsaregreat365]

YEAHHHHHHH

[@rebeccawinter472]

Any updates on whether GO will go with EMUs once electrification is complete? And when electrification will even begin? Anyone want to take bets on whether Eglinton & Finch West will open this year? 😂

[@RailFansCanada]

Unfortunately we don't know for either… we asked our crystal ball but it said ask again later! Hopefully we get more information regarding GO electrification sooner than later. -David

[@rebeccawinter472]

@ yeah, my magic 8-ball says “situation unclear”. EMUs (with fast acceleration and stopping vs a diesel train) would be a game changer particularly with the plans to add additional stops. I live Parkdale in Toronto and I think the preliminary work to build the new Liberty Village GO has begun. I know they want to also build new or expanded stops at Bloor/Dundas, St.Clair/weston, Eglinton/Weston (Mt. Dennis).

[@stickynorth]

Slow and steady progress is still better than none... It will be interesting to see if the province really does have a proper rail plan ready this Spring or if that was just bluster just like the ill-fated design of the Green Line through downtown Calgary... A sensible albeit more expensive plan was scrapped for some flakey napkin plan from a MAGA-working nit wit who lucked into being a transportation minister...

[@paulbadics3500]

Halifax, Gatineau(& across to ottawa), London, Winnipeg need LRT

[@paulbadics3500]

Need real HSR London-KW-Pearson-Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec City & Calgary-Edmonton

[@ccudmore]

Great recap video. I thought the Via Rail Corridor Fleet Renewal project would have received a shout-out as they hit some big milestones in 2024.

[@RailFansCanada]

Yeah, each year I debate whether or not to include it... Since they are already in service for almost a year and a half now, we count it as complete, but we will likely mention it next year as "completion of the fleet"! -David

[@statusworldchanger595]

Those bucket seats in the new park car, if those are implemented, that will totally look unfashionable! Via do not build any horsebucky seats!

[@TDIMAXDIESEL]

Malheureusement, le tramway de Québec n est pas chose faite encore, après 4 ans !😕

[@jimbobogie8204]

Let's talk about the Eglington Avenue subway in Toronto...or let's not! Meanwhile every time somebody on Vancouver City Council farts they get a new Skytrain line...maybe the Vancouver workers should come to Toronto to finish the job. As for VIA-the hijacking of the CP line has taken away the scenic Great Lakes line through Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay, while isolating Regina and southern Saskatchewan and restricting the Kicking Horse Pass from Calgary to Vancouver to only the "Rocky Mountaineer" luxury train-again cutting off the BC towns between Calgary and Vancouver.

[@Patrickair4444]

I’m actually flying to Ottawa this summer

[@Wiseguy1138]

I'll believe in the 2027 target date of western Line 1 O-Train when I actually see it. We've been burned so much in Ottawa that I just have my doubts this system will actually open when promised, which is already late. The line is also pretty much useless as most government jobs can easily be done from home. 99% of a public servant's job can be an email and given that most public servants can't even get a desk in their office buildings, this all makes the system that Ottawa built rendered useless upon delivery. And since transit doesn't actually move people within their neighbourhoods easily to get people to/from shopping and services and is still geared towards work commuting in this city, I just think this has been a major boondoggle that will never be able to justify itself. It's a real shame given Ottawa had a really good transit system when we were using primarily buses but ever since the transition to rail and then the pandemic just made our system here inefficient, unsustainable, and inconvenient. Having bought an EV has been a game-changer for me being able to get where I need to go reliably while limiting my carbon footprint.

[@EastofVictoriaPark]

Hopefully the next Federal Liberal or NDP government is serious about HFR. This current one basically gave up on it when it announced the HFR would be HSR. Though, maybe it was never serious about HFR.

[@vincentng2392]

Waterloo update?

[@RailFansCanada]

Unfortunately not much to report regarding ION Stage 2. Work on the business case (supposedly) started in February, but we haven't heard any updates since. I keep an eye on it though! -David

[@tommyvohs8815]

I sincerely hope that, moving forward ,city or expansion projects DO NOT opt for the Siemens charger equipment. I’m a via rail engineer and the new equipment the govt purchased from Siemens is absolute junk. There is no longevity in its future. It can’t handle the cold and quite frankly I didn’t think I’d ever miss our old GE or GM engines but they are far more reliable that what is supposed to be German engineering.

[@peterjaniceforan3080]

🚃🚈👍

[@StewartMidwinter]

No projects in the Maritimes?

[@qjtvaddict]

Look at population you know that BRT is best there along with HSR replacing the ocean service

[@vincentng2392]

There is also a plan to expand the ferry network in Halifax.

[@strangehobbyist]

What’s puzzling is that there’s a real obnoxious vocal minority in CA who can’t stop complaining about rail transport, yet even to a US citizen like me there’s plenty to be excited about for the future.🤷‍♂️

[@Polytrout]

Let's forget about a TGVs in Canada. They're a waste of time. Looking towards the 2030s and beyond, levitation trains or perhaps an even more advanced concept should be explored. The use of existing track for a TGV is out of the question as it cannot accommodate high speeds and duch trains require wider track to have a lower centre of gravity. The fastest means of transportation from Toronto to Montreal is currently by plane. Something from downtown to downtown eould be more practical. But again, a who new and different infrastructure would be required.

[@3IS2UR]

look at all the money spent in Ontario not much in alberta or bc lol🤣

[@rommelangus]

Every provincial ministries of transportation need to build viaducts full of intercity passenger railway tracks so we can have our own Canadian answer to flixtrains, Ouigo, Brightline, Virgin Trains, you name it. 😮😮

[@stephendoherty8291]

Now that Trump wants CAN, love to see them putting a HSR line in quicker than the US. After all the CA one will take some time

[@marinlorre5207]

RIP Québec public transit, you've never been any good anyway 🤷‍♂️

[@jonathanbiggs-straul8973]

BANK STREET SUBWAY NOW. PLEASE GOD BUILD IT NOW.

[@jonathanbiggs-straul8973]

Yes I agree, it should be built, thank you for speaking up.

[@gorthaur1231]

@@jonathanbiggs-straul8973 forget to change to your other burner account? Also, a subway under exclusively Bank Street is a terrible idea, and prohibitively expensive. I can think of like three projects off the top of my head that would be easier, and cheaper.

[@ethanbowering9944]

@@jonathanbiggs-straul8973 Forgot to change accounts there Clint?

[@artificial_S]

Amtrak Canada