Canada is great at high-speed rail studies — but not at actually building high-speed rail. So why is it the only country in the developed world considering a new conventional-speed passenger network?
Created by Paige Saunders with special guest Reece Martin
“Speed costs, how fast can you afford to go?” Doesn’t matter if it’s cars, motorcycles, trains or sailboats. It’s not a linear increase either.
Having said that, what I’d love to see is all fixed rail infrastructure turned over to a non-profit corporation. Private or public rail companies with the rolling stock would pay fees to run trains on given schedules controlled by the infrastructure company, with priority given to passenger trains. The fees would be enough to cover the costs of rail maintenance and expansion.
With railways open to anyone with rolling stock, competition is increased. Exclusive routes would be eliminated, which would help reduce freight rates.
Over time, separate passenger rail lines would be developed, at least partially subsidized by fees on the freight companies, as passenger rail typically has very thin margins.
This is key. I used to work for one of the major railroad companies, and passenger trains are an afterthought. There are so many freight trains traveling that there isn’t time for anything else. There was barely time for us to get on the track to do maintenance.
Are you a regular Paige Saunders viewer? That’s exactly what he proposed in another one of his videos!
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Nope, haven’t seen it. I will now though.
I have a soft spot for trains in general. Dad (marketing director) and my grandfather (sales agent) worked for railways. Some of my ideas come from them.
They talked me out of following suit. It’s a pretty tough business these days.
By law passenger rail does get priority.
It’s just that the fee is so small that it’s worth giving priority to freight.
There’s a US law that passenger trains get priority, but that’s rarely enforced. In Canada, there’s no such law.