"Action is also urgent because Canada has fallen so far behind the rest of the industrialized world in this area, Jeanes added. 'Every aspect of high-speed rail has been studied to death. What we need is the political will,' he said. 'There's a renewed interest. And the money is there,'" the Gazette reported.
"Jeanes said the upfront costs would be manageable if a high-speed line was built in increments, beginning with a segment between Montreal and Toronto. A high-speed train could use existing track and newly built dedicated track, and then the dedicated line could be expanded later. He said a piece-by-piece approach has been successful in introducing high-speed rail in every industrialized country except Japan ... What you need to do is get started'," the Montreal Gazette reported.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/High+speed+trains+needed+Advocate/1186184/story.html
"Parisien said (to avoid bad proposals getting the green light) 'citizens have a responsibility to get involved and insist on having their say on what gets built and what doesn't. After all, the point is for the spending to benefit society as a whole', he noted. 'That means us'," the Gazette reported.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/Travel/Quebec+aboard+stimulus+gravy+train/1188358/story.html
Hon. David Collenette, Dean Del Mastro, MP, Greg Gormick, transportation journalist, Ashley Langford, Alstom Transport, Harry Gow, founder Transport 2000 Canada, Glen Fisher, CPCS Technologies, and David Jeanes, President, Transport 2000 Canada are also on the speakers' list. For more information -- Paul Langan: (519) 654-0089.
L'investissement dans ces infrastructures représente selon eux la solution la plus efficace pour stimuler l'économie montréalaise tout en contribuant à l'atteinte des objectifs de Kyoto.
"On constate que les usagers sont loin d'être les seuls à tirer des bénéfices de l'investissement dans ce secteur, puisque chaque tranche de 10 millions rapporte entre 30 et 35 millions de retombées économiques à tous les points de vue", ajoute Normand Parisien, directeur général de Transport 2000 Québec.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2009/19/c8617.html
On Jan. 9 the OPP reported a 29% drop in Ontario road deaths in 2008.
The story includes a report on New Brunswick's test of long combination vehicles (LCVs), (125-foot long tractor rigs which pull two full-size trailers). Dr. Frank Wilson, an engineer with the University of New Brunswick Transportation Group said the test has been extremely successful. According to the Moncton Times & Transcript Wilson said LCVs should also be encouraged and promoted due to their safety on the road. Ontario and Quebec are reportedly considering LCV pilot projects.
Campaign for Better Transport said the government should tax aviation fairly. Airplane fuel is not taxed at all. There is no VAT on air travel or even new aircraft when they are bought. And airport landing fees are much lower than they should be because they are cross-subsidised by retail sales from airport shops.
Campaign for Better Transport responded to the consultation on the proposed expansion of Heathrow last year by demonstrating how the Government could increase rail use and eliminate the need for aviation expansion. It published research in November 2008 that showed the Government how it could cut domestic aviation by 30%.
http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/campaigns/climate_change/aviation/whats_needed
"The city is studying rapid transit -- which it hopes will result in provincially funded light rail -- on the B-line, from Eastgate Square to McMaster University. In July, the provincial transportation agency Metrolinx is expected to finish an analysis of the B-line, to determine whether it warrants rapid buses or light-rail vehicles.
"In November, the B-line was listed as a Top 15 priority project in the first 15 years of the Metrolinx regional transportation plan. It also identified an A-line (downtown to the airport) within 15 years, and longer-term, backward L-shaped lines from the east end to Ancaster. Mayor Eisenberger does not expect to hear before July on results of the Metrolinx analysis of the B-line," the the Spectator reported.
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/499209
"The success of Proposition 1a should come as welcome news to Canadian
high-speed rail advocates, who have long dreamed of such service between
Windsor and Quebec City, and connecting Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090116.wcorail19/BNStory/specialComment/
"As a former member of the mayor's Task Force on Transportation, I know that
there is a better way to manage Ottawa's transit system. In our final report
"Moving Ottawa" on June 1, 2007, we recommended the formation of a public
transit commission to govern OC Transpo under city policy direction.
"The current strike demonstrates how political management of public transit is
dysfunctional and counter-productive. The nastiness, name-calling and
grandstanding on both sides of the city-union fence are ample demonstrations
of the harmfulness of political transit interference," Gow's letter to the
Citizen said.
"I call again for the creation of an arms-length transit commission similar to
the STO commission in Gatineau -- but first, let's push for a provincial
investigation into the whole Ottawa transit mess," Gow wrote.
"He should know, as many Canadians do, that the issue is not transit versus
child care, but investment in transit and rail instead of pouring billions
more into an expanding road network which crumbles into potholes, or bridges
which rust out and are a continuing drain on federal and provincial taxpayers
for future repairs.
By contrast, investments in capital improvements to economically and
environmentally superior rail infrastructure are a one-time expenditure, as
our private railways fund their own maintenance and should not need to return
to the public trough for many years, if at all.
"At the meeting, someone from the Ecology Action Centre asked how public
transit and railways would fit in with Mr. Ignatieff's priorities. At this
point, the Liberal leader remonstrated that we are in a deficit and must watch
our spending. He said he must be careful not to agree to everything people
suggest, and that his party must make some "tough choices, be honest
and keep focused."
"What better focus than preparing for a low-energy future, reducing global
warming, offering alternatives to car-dependent, sedentary lifestyles, and
providing affordable access to education, health care and jobs? We will always
need trucks and cars, but we also need rail lines and public transit," the
Transport 2000 rep wrote in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald.
11 - California: $9.9-billion in bonds for a high-speed rail line
"All but unnoticed amid the excitement over Barack Obama's election last
November, California voters endorsed a highly anticipated ballot proposition
to approve raising $9.9-billion (U.S.) in state bonds for the first leg of a
high-speed rail line extending from San Diego to San Francisco and Sacramento
... a resounding vote of confidence in a $40-billion infrastructure scheme
... (with construction starting) as soon as 2011," the Globe and Mail reported
on Jan. 19.12 - A Transit Commission is a much better way to run OC Transpo
Transport 2000's Harry Gow said in a letter published by the Ottawa Citizen:
"With the prolonged bus strike, many citizens are questioning how OC Transpo
is being run and how we can do better."13 - Opposition Leader urged to rethink transit and rail
At last Friday's open house in Halifax, Michael Ignatieff told his audience,
in response to suggestions for investment in transit and rail, that he likes
trains, but that we can't afford to say yes to everything. He posed the
question: "Do we spend money on public transport or on the motherhood issue of
child care?" Transport 2000's John Pearce wrote in the Halifax
Chronicle-Herald on Jan. 15.14 - Michael Ignatieff: The truck is in the ditch
"Michael Ignatieff chose an ironic picture for stimulating the Canadian
economy at his Halifax "town hall" meeting last week: "The truck is in the
ditch! Liberals must get out of the truck and push" to get it back on the
road, or something to that effect," Transport 2000's Marcus Garnet wrote in
the Halifax Chronicle-Herald on Jan. 15.
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