Canada Needs a High Speed Rail Strategy!
by Andre Laplume
“Andre is one of the newest additions to Waterloo’s Green Party executive, and was extremely excited at the chance to share his research on high-speed rail in a forum like this one. I strongly believe in expanding and modernizing our national rail network, so this topic was a perfect fit for the blog. Hopefully you’ll be as convinced as I was that investing in high-speed rail is both the cheaper and more sustainable option for the country in the long run!” - Nick
Governments the world over are embracing high-speed rail as a means to reduce greenhouse gasses while providing a transportation system for the future.
Where are Canada’s green visionaries? Ottawa's latest budget completely omits high-speed rail. The budget fails to mention high-speed rail as an alternative solution; it only offers to maintain and incrementally improve our outdated diesel-based system.
How will all of our mobility needs be accommodated? How can Canadian cities and towns be green without rationing travel and curtailing mobility?
The government seems to have limited its imagination to an electric car future. There are 25 million cars to replace with electric cars at $50,000 each on average, that is a $1.25 trillion investment expected of consumers to make the transition.
Keeping Canada’s cities connected despite physical distance requires high-speed rail. Not only are electric bullet trains much more energy efficient than cars or airplanes, but high-speed rail is linked to regional economic development.
The French TGVs are fully electric since the 1970s oil crisis. Image source.
There are ready plans for a stretch from Toronto to Windsor thanks to former provincial government efforts and a similar effort currently trying to link Toronto to Montreal and QC. Why not build on the work of previous regimes instead of trashing the best parts? There have been plans for a stretch over the 401 since the 1970s. Large infrastructure projects require long term commitments. There are ambitions for routes from Vancouver to Calgary to Edmonton too. Let’s act on all of these low hanging rail fruit.
Pan-Canadian rail dreams?
One thing that even the GPC doesn’t yet formally enforce with policy is the idea of a pan-Canadian line. Most Canadians live in the south of the country along the border. A single line can link the majority of Canadians. At an estimated cost of $150 billion, it’s only about a tenth of what the electric car revolution will cost.
Pay for it with Green Bonds. Instead of using money earmarked for green initiatives to pay for carbon sequestration and other subsidies for fossil fuel industries, we can raise funds to pay for high-speed rail.
Seems like a bargain and makes green travel accessible at lower cost for the many who can’t afford a EV or who might just not buy one if bullet trains were a real thing in Canada. If 25 other countries can do it, so can we!
