# Ontario HSR Progress?



## Anderson (Apr 11, 2018)

I could make a case for this going under VIA or HSR, but Ontario just signed an agreement to put in an HSR line from Toronto to Windsor by 2025.

https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/ontario-fund-toronto-windsor-high-speed-rail/

Now, there's an election on and Wynne (the incumbent premier) is going head-first in the polls right now (one poll had her party on 19%), so this could all come crashing down _a la_ Scott Walker, so it's going to depend on the nature of the agreement (among other things).


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## bretton88 (Apr 14, 2018)

I really hope this is an election joke. 11 billion for a fancy commuter train? That's only phase 1 to boot, the total with Phase 2 to Windsor is supposed to be 25 billion . If you look at the populations on the route (or worse, the proposed Windsor terminal), they aren't even close to justifying this level of investment. Possibly if they commit to crossing the border into downtown Detroit it might be justifiable, but that border crossing would have a lot of issues. This money would more than pay for VIA's proposed Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal line, which would be very viable.


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## Anderson (Apr 14, 2018)

A border crossing would be nice (especially if they could do a preclearance-type operation in Detroit which somehow offered a sane transfer to Amtrak...that would be a big deal for the Wolverines).

Of course, if VIA's project were primarily funded at the federal level and this is kept primarily at the provincial level, that seems to be a "best of both worlds" situation (and I'd have to wonder if Quebec would be inclined to do something Quebec-Montreal to finish the corridor).


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## bretton88 (Apr 14, 2018)

Anderson said:


> A border crossing would be nice (especially if they could do a preclearance-type operation in Detroit which somehow offered a sane transfer to Amtrak...that would be a big deal for the Wolverines).
> 
> Of course, if VIA's project were primarily funded at the federal level and this is kept primarily at the provincial level, that seems to be a "best of both worlds" situation (and I'd have to wonder if Quebec would be inclined to do something Quebec-Montreal to finish the corridor).


I guess you could do all customs at the Detroit station. Just VIA said it would only take 5 billion to get their corridor built out and this is 11 billion for a much less useful Phase 1. To note, this project also has little to do with VIA, so I have another concern that it will be a disjointed system.


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## Anderson (Apr 19, 2018)

bretton88 said:


> Anderson said:
> 
> 
> > A border crossing would be nice (especially if they could do a preclearance-type operation in Detroit which somehow offered a sane transfer to Amtrak...that would be a big deal for the Wolverines).
> ...


Well, the plan explicitly uses Toronto Union Station as far as I can tell, so I am not as worried as I might be about it being physically disconnected (a la Brightline or Texas Central). That goes a _long_ way with this sort of thing. Additionally, given VIA's ability to cross-ticket, I suspect that VIA will be able to give you a ticket that connects through on this line even if a transfer is necessary.


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