Train to Winnipeg

[Metra Electric Rider]

Ditto on faiviewroads post on Winterpeg! ( Canadians like to say downtown Winnipeg is the Coldest place in Canada in the Winter!)

Other cities in Canada that might surprise you are Calgary and Edmonton,Alberta, both rapidly growing,prosperous outposts in the Big Nowhere that is the Canadian West!

Edmonton had, a one point, the most people living above the 8th floor (or something along those lines) per capita of any North American city. I think we'll probably see a corridor train from there to Calgary before Chicago to Winnipeg unfortunately.

However, I think that the Cape Codder must've won the poll because it exists again!

 

[WICT106]

Some more comments are relevant here:

From "Amtrak: The History And Politics Of A National Railroad," David Nice, pp. 65 - 66 :

We now turn to the question of why some international routes have direct rail service while others do not. This question is one aspect of the broader issue of how Amtrak route services in general are distributed … … … . As in domestic service, political factors and bureaucratic decision rules based on cost-effectiveness bear examination. In particular, size of population -- linked to size of the potential pool of customers and size of traffic volume -- and the relation of route lengths to time-competitiveness emerge again as influential.

By combining population and route length considerations, we can develop indicators of the traffic potential of the various international Amtrak routes. One indicator is the ration of the smaller of each routes terminal ( endpoint ) cities to the length of the route. Routes with relatively large terminal cities and covering short distances receive higher scores on this measure, and the degree of variation is quite large, from a high of .83 of the Pacific International to a low of .06 for the Chicago -- Winnipeg route.

Higher scores indicate higher traffic potential. A second indicator of traffic potential is the ratio of the length of the route to the total population of major cities along the route.

Using the second measure, the Chicago -- Winnipeg route had a figure of 1.41. Los Angeles -- Tijuana had a figure of 9.50, L. A. -- Mexicali a figure of 5.48, the Adirondack a figure of 5.40, the Montrealer a figure of 4.35. So, by both measurements the Chicago -- Winnipeg route has some considerable shortcomings. While we here at AU would either look forward to or actually use it, the general public might see it as less than practical. Any train service along this route has to avoid the common flaws of Amtrak service. For example, offering a minimum of two frequencies of service each 24 hours in both directions.

 

[jamesontheroad]

Edmonton had, a one point, the most people living above the 8th floor (or something along those lines) per capita of any North American city.

Only way to stay above the snow :giggle:

 

[jphjaxfl]

The last private Railroad passenger service to Winnepeg was a branch of the Western Star from Grand Forks to Winnepeg via Crookston. It was a day train that ran until April 30, 1971 the day before Amtrak started. It carried a through coach from St. Paul and a coach/dining car. Just 5 years earlier, there had been 3 St Paul-Winnepeg trains on 3 different railroads.

 

[jebr]

I almost think it'd be better to try and start it as a weekender service out of Winnipeg. Driving I-94 the past couple years to the Cities it seems that Manitoba license plates are second only to Minnesota license plates. I've heard it's very popular for Winnipegers to go to the Twin Cities to shop once in a while. A service that would cater to a weekend crowd could be popular enough to be worthwhile.

(Selfishly, I'd ideally like to see it be a weekender both ways, but if that's not possible I think starting with Winnipeg - MSP on Friday or Saturday and back on Sunday would be a good start.)

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Edmonton had, a one point, the most people living above the 8th floor (or something along those lines) per capita of any North American city.

Only way to stay above the snow :giggle:

I think they are in the snow shadow of the rockies to a greater or lesser extent. And they get those crazy chinook winds in winter which can warm it up above freezing in a few hours.

 

[CCC1007]

Edmonton had, a one point, the most people living above the 8th floor (or something along those lines) per capita of any North American city.

Only way to stay above the snow :giggle:

I think they are in the snow shadow of the rockies to a greater or lesser extent. And they get those crazy chinook winds in winter which can warm it up above freezing in a few hours.

In the town where I grew up, we also get chinooks, and most of the time the roads are bare and dry within a few days of a snow storm.

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

Edmonton had, a one point, the most people living above the 8th floor (or something along those lines) per capita of any North American city.

Only way to stay above the snow :giggle:

I think they are in the snow shadow of the rockies to a greater or lesser extent. And they get those crazy chinook winds in winter which can warm it up above freezing in a few hours.

In the town where I grew up, we also get chinooks, and most of the time the roads are bare and dry within a few days of a snow storm.

That's usually what happens here too - big snow, then warm up, most of it melts and then it gets cold again, but no snow.

 

[norfolkwesternhenry]

the only reason for me to ride this train, apart from I live in MSP, would be to connect with the Via Canadian, and get the heck out of WPG, seemingly a ghost town compared to MPLS/ ST Paul

A "ghost town" that is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, by the way. With an airport that's broken its own record for passengers each of the past two years. A city whose culinary scene is drawing national attention. A city that laughs at winter and builds the

ok, my opinions can be a quite exaggerated, when I was there, almost no one walking around, everyone was in cars, and there are a ton of pay phones everywhere. I feel like it is kind of stuck in the past.