Quote:
Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere
I wonder if we will end up with 300km/h rail between Toronto and Montreal and he 200km/h option to Quebec. Honestly, that is what makes the most sense.
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I'm normally a "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" kind of guy, but I'm inclined to agree here.
The state of the right of way between Peterborough and Ottawa (the majority of the route length) is in such poor shape that it would need significant engineering work to travel at 200 km/h. Might as well build it to 300 km/h standards. Some of the other barriers to high speed operation, like grade separation everywhere, are less of a concern because this route travels through remote wilderness with very few road crossings.
There are other obstacles that need to be dealt with to make the line time competitive, whether at 200 km/h or 300 km/h. Crossing Peterborough on the existing alignment will be very slow and they have to replace the Trent Severn canal bridge (currently a 120 year old swing bridge) in any case. Might as well build an entirely new alignment that allows Peterborough to be bypassed at speed.