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  #41  
Old Posted Mar 10, 2009, 4:49 AM
jayrod19 jayrod19 is offline
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That's what I thought. Thanks for the response. There will be alot of land available for re-development when the yards are moved out but with the tracks still there how do you connect downtown to the new development in that area plus the warehouse district? Do you build bridges over the tracks? Is there an example of any Canadian city that has successfully integrated their downtown over the CP or CN mainline?
I think Calgary is a good example. They have passes that go under the tracks on most streets in the downtown area. They also have a couple of parkades that are built over the tracks.
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  #42  
Old Posted Mar 18, 2009, 2:30 PM
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I've heard many rumours over the years that there is a huge tunnel behind the casino that could be redeveloped and used as a connector. I have no idea whether its true or not, and if not I would assume a few pedestrian overpasses would be built, would likely make for some amazing views of the downtown towers as well as the new stadium that is being rumoured for the land.
A tunnel would make a great connector. Even better if it already exists. It's a tourist attraction waiting to happen. Why don't we know if the tunnel rumour is true or not ? The station has been there for 100 years. There should be some info on it somewhere. Unless they're still hiding booze down there from the days of prohibition and want it kept a secret!

You're right. The pedestian overpasses would make for some great views of downtown. As for vehicles the only way to allow access would be to construct under passes like the ones on Broad, Winnipeg and Albert. Wonder if that could be done or not.
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  #43  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2009, 5:10 PM
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http://www.leaderpost.com/business/H...209/story.html

High hopes for the Hub
By Bruce Johnstone, Leader-Post October 4, 2009


Work is progressing on a 500,000-square-foot, $200-million distribution centre near Regina's western boundary.
Photograph by: Don Healy, Leader-Post, Leader-Post

The Global Transportation Hub (GTH) isn't some sort of 'field of dreams, build-it-and-they-will-come' fantasy, according to Wayne Elhard, chairman of the GTH.

"This project has the potential to really transform the way we do transportation in this province,'' said the former Highways and Infrastructure minister, who was appointed to head the GTH in June.

In fact, Elhard believes the GTH will be as important to Saskatchewan in the 21st century as the railroad was for the province in the 20th century.

"I think this project could be of equal importance to the future of Saskatchewan's transportation as the coming of the railway was in the 1880s,'' the Cypress Hills MLA said in a recent interview with the Leader-Post.

That's a tall order to be sure, but Elhard has his reasons for making this admittedly "grandiose" prediction for the GTH.

The GTH, for the uninitiated, is the name of the massive transportation infrastructure project being developed in the city's west end, incorporating rail, truck and potentially air cargo facilities, along with large-scale distribution centres.

CP Rail got the ball rolling last year when it officially announced its intention to relocate its existing intermodal facility (IMF) from downtown Regina to a location five kilometres west of the city. The intermodal facility transfers shipping containers from train to truck, increasing the efficiency of transporting goods across the continent.

The $93-million IMF project became the impetus for Loblaw Companies Ltd. -- Canada's largest food distributor and CP Rail's biggest customer -- to announce the construction of a $200-million, 500,000 square-foot distribution centre near the CP intermodal facility in July 2008.

The project, which would employ up to 750 people in two years, would be the first phase in a one-million-square-foot, $350-million distribution and warehouse facility that would employ up to 1,500 by 2017.

With 1,400 trucks per week using the Loblaw facility, the roads and highways around the intermodal facility and distribution centre would have to be upgraded and expanded.

The infrastructure project, which would include a new overpass at the Trans-Canada Highway and Lewvan Drive and a connector road from the Trans-Canada to Highway 11, will cost the province about $45 million.

Those two projects and the related infrastructure would result in an investment of close to half a billion dollars. But that's just the beginning, Elhard says.

As our transportation and distribution systems integrate and increase in speed and efficiency, the potential to move goods, not just east and west, but north and south, becomes much greater.

"We can take goods from China and send them to the Gulf of Mexico in a fairly quick time line. That's where our opportunity is,'' Elhard says.

In fact, Regina's GTH stands at the northern crossroads of this evolving continental transportation network. "Being a land-locked province was seen as a disadvantage for 150 years. Now it's a positive attribute.''

"That's why we think this Global Transportation Hub ... presents such great potential."

John Law, deputy minister of Highways and Infrastructure, says the growth of Asia as both consumer and producer of goods for the North American market has given added impetus to the GTH.

"There's a strong interest in trying to make improvements to the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor, which accounts for a lot of the incoming traffic ... We're interested in how we can get access to move our stuff back the other way.''

That's why the province, the City of Regina and CP Rail were able to negotiate $27 million from the federal government in December 2007 as its share of the $93-million IMF.

The IMF, in turn, attracted Loblaw, which was looking to expand its presence in the growing Western Canadian market, as well as taking some of its products "off of the road'' and reducing its fuel costs and environmental footprint.

"When they looked at us strategically, (Loblaw) recognized that our location was preferable to other locations in terms of where we are in North America,'' Law said.

Of course, when private sector companies are prepared to invest multi-millions of dollars in logistics infrastructure in Saskatchewan, the province needed to step up to the plate.

"Whereas we had some plans that were probably 15 years out, in terms of the infrastructure investments ... Loblaw was ready to go in about 18 months. They were talking about 1,500 new jobs, a couple of hundred million in new investment ... We recognized we needed to be in a position to respond," Law said..

"We went from the original estimate of $28 million to $168 million in new transportation infrastructure.''

Mayor Pat Fiacco said getting the GTH project off the ground required co-operation and participation from all three levels of government, as well as the private sector.

"A project of this magnitude, there's no way that a municipal government could advance this on their own. There's no way a provincial government could do it on their own. This was true collaboration."

Fiacco said CP Rail, which had outgrown its existing container yards on Dewdney Avenue, was receptive to incorporating the relocation of the IMF with the Asia-Pacific Gateway concept.

Larry Hiles, president and CEO of the Regina Regional Opportunities Commission (RROC), agreed the collaboration of all three levels of government was critical in getting the private sector partners on board for the GTH project.

"It's not a formal P3, but it has a lot of the aspects of a public private partnership,'' Hiles said.

"How everybody approached this challenge and opportunity really helped us move this project forward quickly.''

Hiles said Regina's central geographic location, the confluence of the CP mainline and Soo Lines, two major highways (Trans-Canada and Highway 11) and proximity to skilled labour in Regina and Moose Jaw were the key factors in siting the GTH near Regina.

"The GTH is located in the Regina-Moose Jaw corridor, which has 25 per cent of the labour force of Saskatchewan, roughly 25 per cent of the GDP of the province, tremendous access to all the utilities,'' Hiles said. "There's all kinds of reasons to put more than just a railway facility there. There's all kinds of reasons why other industries would want to be there."

Hiles said Regina has most, if not all, of the things companies look for to site or relocate their business operations, including transportation infrastructure, cost of labour and cost of doing business. "We rank very high in all those things.''

In fact, Hiles said the GTH will attract complementary businesses -- transportation service and supply companies, trucking firms, warehouses and distribution centres, manufacturing plants and assembly operations.

"We've always wanted to build the case that the companies would want to be here because it's the best choice they could make, not because there was some kind of incentive,'' Hiles added.

"That's what we wanted and I think we're well on the way to having that happen.''

In fact, Hiles believes the GTH could attract more than $1 billion-investment in the area in the next five or six years. In the longer term, the sky's the limit.

"What started out as a relatively good idea is maturing into a big idea and it's moving really quick,'' Elhard said.

"It's like a runaway freight train.''

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
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  #44  
Old Posted Oct 5, 2009, 10:20 PM
timewilltell timewilltell is offline
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Originally Posted by Scruff Bucket View Post
http://www.leaderpost.com/business/H...209/story.html

High hopes for the Hub
By Bruce Johnstone, Leader-Post October 4, 2009


Work is progressing on a 500,000-square-foot, $200-million distribution centre near Regina's western boundary.
Photograph by: Don Healy, Leader-Post, Leader-Post

The Global Transportation Hub (GTH) isn't some sort of 'field of dreams, build-it-and-they-will-come' fantasy, according to Wayne Elhard, chairman of the GTH.

"This project has the potential to really transform the way we do transportation in this province,'' said the former Highways and Infrastructure minister, who was appointed to head the GTH in June.

In fact, Elhard believes the GTH will be as important to Saskatchewan in the 21st century as the railroad was for the province in the 20th century.

"I think this project could be of equal importance to the future of Saskatchewan's transportation as the coming of the railway was in the 1880s,'' the Cypress Hills MLA said in a recent interview with the Leader-Post.

That's a tall order to be sure, but Elhard has his reasons for making this admittedly "grandiose" prediction for the GTH.

The GTH, for the uninitiated, is the name of the massive transportation infrastructure project being developed in the city's west end, incorporating rail, truck and potentially air cargo facilities, along with large-scale distribution centres.

CP Rail got the ball rolling last year when it officially announced its intention to relocate its existing intermodal facility (IMF) from downtown Regina to a location five kilometres west of the city. The intermodal facility transfers shipping containers from train to truck, increasing the efficiency of transporting goods across the continent.

The $93-million IMF project became the impetus for Loblaw Companies Ltd. -- Canada's largest food distributor and CP Rail's biggest customer -- to announce the construction of a $200-million, 500,000 square-foot distribution centre near the CP intermodal facility in July 2008.

The project, which would employ up to 750 people in two years, would be the first phase in a one-million-square-foot, $350-million distribution and warehouse facility that would employ up to 1,500 by 2017.

With 1,400 trucks per week using the Loblaw facility, the roads and highways around the intermodal facility and distribution centre would have to be upgraded and expanded.

The infrastructure project, which would include a new overpass at the Trans-Canada Highway and Lewvan Drive and a connector road from the Trans-Canada to Highway 11, will cost the province about $45 million.

Those two projects and the related infrastructure would result in an investment of close to half a billion dollars. But that's just the beginning, Elhard says.

As our transportation and distribution systems integrate and increase in speed and efficiency, the potential to move goods, not just east and west, but north and south, becomes much greater.

"We can take goods from China and send them to the Gulf of Mexico in a fairly quick time line. That's where our opportunity is,'' Elhard says.

In fact, Regina's GTH stands at the northern crossroads of this evolving continental transportation network. "Being a land-locked province was seen as a disadvantage for 150 years. Now it's a positive attribute.''

"That's why we think this Global Transportation Hub ... presents such great potential."

John Law, deputy minister of Highways and Infrastructure, says the growth of Asia as both consumer and producer of goods for the North American market has given added impetus to the GTH.

"There's a strong interest in trying to make improvements to the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor, which accounts for a lot of the incoming traffic ... We're interested in how we can get access to move our stuff back the other way.''

That's why the province, the City of Regina and CP Rail were able to negotiate $27 million from the federal government in December 2007 as its share of the $93-million IMF.

The IMF, in turn, attracted Loblaw, which was looking to expand its presence in the growing Western Canadian market, as well as taking some of its products "off of the road'' and reducing its fuel costs and environmental footprint.

"When they looked at us strategically, (Loblaw) recognized that our location was preferable to other locations in terms of where we are in North America,'' Law said.

Of course, when private sector companies are prepared to invest multi-millions of dollars in logistics infrastructure in Saskatchewan, the province needed to step up to the plate.

"Whereas we had some plans that were probably 15 years out, in terms of the infrastructure investments ... Loblaw was ready to go in about 18 months. They were talking about 1,500 new jobs, a couple of hundred million in new investment ... We recognized we needed to be in a position to respond," Law said..

"We went from the original estimate of $28 million to $168 million in new transportation infrastructure.''

Mayor Pat Fiacco said getting the GTH project off the ground required co-operation and participation from all three levels of government, as well as the private sector.

"A project of this magnitude, there's no way that a municipal government could advance this on their own. There's no way a provincial government could do it on their own. This was true collaboration."

Fiacco said CP Rail, which had outgrown its existing container yards on Dewdney Avenue, was receptive to incorporating the relocation of the IMF with the Asia-Pacific Gateway concept.

Larry Hiles, president and CEO of the Regina Regional Opportunities Commission (RROC), agreed the collaboration of all three levels of government was critical in getting the private sector partners on board for the GTH project.

"It's not a formal P3, but it has a lot of the aspects of a public private partnership,'' Hiles said.

"How everybody approached this challenge and opportunity really helped us move this project forward quickly.''

Hiles said Regina's central geographic location, the confluence of the CP mainline and Soo Lines, two major highways (Trans-Canada and Highway 11) and proximity to skilled labour in Regina and Moose Jaw were the key factors in siting the GTH near Regina.

"The GTH is located in the Regina-Moose Jaw corridor, which has 25 per cent of the labour force of Saskatchewan, roughly 25 per cent of the GDP of the province, tremendous access to all the utilities,'' Hiles said. "There's all kinds of reasons to put more than just a railway facility there. There's all kinds of reasons why other industries would want to be there."

Hiles said Regina has most, if not all, of the things companies look for to site or relocate their business operations, including transportation infrastructure, cost of labour and cost of doing business. "We rank very high in all those things.''

In fact, Hiles said the GTH will attract complementary businesses -- transportation service and supply companies, trucking firms, warehouses and distribution centres, manufacturing plants and assembly operations.

"We've always wanted to build the case that the companies would want to be here because it's the best choice they could make, not because there was some kind of incentive,'' Hiles added.

"That's what we wanted and I think we're well on the way to having that happen.''

In fact, Hiles believes the GTH could attract more than $1 billion-investment in the area in the next five or six years. In the longer term, the sky's the limit.

"What started out as a relatively good idea is maturing into a big idea and it's moving really quick,'' Elhard said.

"It's like a runaway freight train.''

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
unbelievable , this hub that is what it is going to be , who would of ever thought , thanks for the post , just as 980 news has reported that regina is the envy of the west , good read , someone keeps changing my posts

Last edited by timewilltell; Oct 6, 2009 at 3:24 AM.
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  #45  
Old Posted Oct 6, 2009, 2:05 AM
socialisthorde socialisthorde is offline
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Originally Posted by timewilltell View Post
unbelievable , this hub that is what it is going to be , who would of ever thought , thanks for the post , just as 980 news has reported that regina is the envoy of the west , good read

Yoda, you are?
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  #46  
Old Posted Oct 6, 2009, 2:17 AM
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swilley swilley is offline
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I am still trying to figure out what "envoy of the west" means??
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  #47  
Old Posted Oct 6, 2009, 3:26 AM
timewilltell timewilltell is offline
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I am still trying to figure out what "envoy of the west" means??
envy , some one is changing my posts
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  #48  
Old Posted Oct 6, 2009, 5:10 PM
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cutterp cutterp is offline
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envy , some one is changing my posts
It's a moderator and it's a good thing if they are correcting them for you when you are making spelling mistakes.

Also another tip if you are going to quote a HUGE article, like the GTH post you quoted, edit the contents of the quote so we don't have to scroll through the article again and again.

Newb.
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  #49  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 12:37 AM
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Ruckus Ruckus is offline
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Originally Posted by timewilltell View Post
envy , some one is changing my posts

In the past I suggested you clean up your posts to make them more understandable. I have never, nor will I ever edit your posts to correct careless spelling and grammar mistakes. If you want to be misunderstood it's your choice, not mine.
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  #50  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 5:19 PM
Neil Neil is offline
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unbelievable , this hub that is what it is going to be , who would of ever thought , thanks for the post , just as 980 news has reported that regina is the envy of the west , good read , someone keeps changing my posts
I have a few questions raised by the GTH, and some directly about the GTH I'll put in a second message.

Can anyone say for sure if rail lines and traffic will definitely be removed from the city?

I've heard different people both say two different things:
one: that this GTH will eliminate trains from the city as they will skirt along the outside instead
two: that rail relocation is multi-billion dollar project that would take decades


Regarding the downtown rail yards I've also heard two stories:
one: everything is being removed soon to make way for stadium
two: proper environmental removal of the grounds will cost too much and take too long, and is not in anyone's scope

So it's unclear to me, what will be net change to the average citizen who encounters train crossings in the city? Will the rail yards downtown be completely removed or will they stay?
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  #51  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 5:25 PM
Neil Neil is offline
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Can someone explain the basics of how this GTH will work, what the real world advantage will be, etc. I'm not questioning the benefit, I'm trying to figure out what exactly it is.

I get the sense it's a big yard and warehouse where plane, train, and trucks will meet up and exchange packages. Which I guess is nice, but what is the enhancement over the current situation? Size? Proximity? Property taxes?

Can they operate 24x7 out of town, but not in the city?

The spokesperson describes being able to transfer goods from China to Gulf of Mexico. OK, but wouldn't it be more economic and sensible just to have the goods go from China and land directly on the western shore of Mexico? How does it help to have the goods travel from China to BC, BC to Saskachewan, Saskatchewan to USA, USA to Mexico. All those extra legs seem like extra cost and time and risk.

Also I was wondering about Loblaws advantage of 'getting goods off the road'. What do they mean by that and how does the GTH factor into it?
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  #52  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 6:08 PM
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djforsberg djforsberg is offline
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Originally Posted by Neil View Post
I have a few questions raised by the GTH, and some directly about the GTH I'll put in a second message.

Can anyone say for sure if rail lines and traffic will definitely be removed from the city?

I've heard different people both say two different things:
one: that this GTH will eliminate trains from the city as they will skirt along the outside instead
two: that rail relocation is multi-billion dollar project that would take decades


Regarding the downtown rail yards I've also heard two stories:
one: everything is being removed soon to make way for stadium
two: proper environmental removal of the grounds will cost too much and take too long, and is not in anyone's scope

So it's unclear to me, what will be net change to the average citizen who encounters train crossings in the city? Will the rail yards downtown be completely removed or will they stay?
The rail lines will remain in the city. Only the rail yard is being relocated. There have been some talk that CN connections to the current CP rail yard in the city might be removed.

The stadium thing is still up in the air with the old CP rail yards being a possible location for one.

The net change for the average citizen in regards to rail traffic is most likely close to nil.
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  #53  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 6:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Neil View Post
I have a few questions raised by the GTH, and some directly about the GTH I'll put in a second message.

Can anyone say for sure if rail lines and traffic will definitely be removed from the city?

I've heard different people both say two different things:
one: that this GTH will eliminate trains from the city as they will skirt along the outside instead
two: that rail relocation is multi-billion dollar project that would take decades
From how I understand it, the lines will remain in the city. The costs associated with actually moving the lines out of the city would probably be too high to do this at the present time. Who knows, maybe if the GTH takes off and the rail traffic grows to a high enough level, you may see the rails moved in a couple decades... But for now, it's just the rail yards being moved.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil View Post
Regarding the downtown rail yards I've also heard two stories:
one: everything is being removed soon to make way for stadium
two: proper environmental removal of the grounds will cost too much and take too long, and is not in anyone's scope

So it's unclear to me, what will be net change to the average citizen who encounters train crossings in the city? Will the rail yards downtown be completely removed or will they stay?
Your guess is as good as mine for what's going to happen with the space. It will be developed because it's definitely prime space; between the Warehouse district and Downtown. We will have to wait until January for the Stadium study to come out to see if there will be a stadium there in the future.

However, even if a stadium is constructed there, it wouldn't take up the whole space, so I'm thinking some commercial and residential would go there as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil View Post
Can someone explain the basics of how this GTH will work, what the real world advantage will be, etc. I'm not questioning the benefit, I'm trying to figure out what exactly it is.

I get the sense it's a big yard and warehouse where plane, train, and trucks will meet up and exchange packages. Which I guess is nice, but what is the enhancement over the current situation? Size? Proximity? Property taxes?

Can they operate 24x7 out of town, but not in the city?
I think some of the benefits to it come from the fact that the highways are right there at the GTH site so they don't have to waste time travelling through the city and there would probably be fewer issues because of it. Also the airport is right there, so it also makes transferring cargo from the air to ground a lot more convenient as the storage facilities would be right there. Also the rail lines go there, so it includes that form of transport as well. And as far as I know one of the major benefits is space; the rail yard in the city right outside downtown is fully in use and cannot be expanded at all and the only way to really grow is through expansion.

And I think the 24x7 could be a benefit, but I am not completely sure about that; it would make sense.

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Originally Posted by Neil View Post
The spokesperson describes being able to transfer goods from China to Gulf of Mexico. OK, but wouldn't it be more economic and sensible just to have the goods go from China and land directly on the western shore of Mexico? How does it help to have the goods travel from China to BC, BC to Saskachewan, Saskatchewan to USA, USA to Mexico. All those extra legs seem like extra cost and time and risk.

Also I was wondering about Loblaws advantage of 'getting goods off the road'. What do they mean by that and how does the GTH factor into it?
Vancouver as it is, is a major harbour for the transfer of goods from the Pacific, and I don't think that will change. I'm not sure there is a port on the Pacific in Mexico that would be able to handle the volume of goods necessary. I would also think that as we are on the other side of the Mountains that could be a benefit, but as for why it completely makes sense, I couldn't really tell you as I don't know enough about it.

When Loblaws mentions getting the goods off the roads, I think they are referring to getting them on the rails. It's a more environmentally friendly form of transportation and you can also move a lot more at once.
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  #54  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 6:30 PM
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Can someone explain the basics of how this GTH will work, what the real world advantage will be, etc. I'm not questioning the benefit, I'm trying to figure out what exactly it is.
Without going into too much detail, a hub such as the GTH provides a central location where goods can be manufactured or transferred and shipped out to customers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil View Post
I get the sense it's a big yard and warehouse where plane, train, and trucks will meet up and exchange packages. Which I guess is nice, but what is the enhancement over the current situation? Size? Proximity? Property taxes?

Can they operate 24x7 out of town, but not in the city?
It's still within the city limits, which recently annexed the land. It was put far west to allow it to expand. It has reached its maximum capacity in its current location.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil View Post
The spokesperson describes being able to transfer goods from China to Gulf of Mexico. OK, but wouldn't it be more economic and sensible just to have the goods go from China and land directly on the western shore of Mexico? How does it help to have the goods travel from China to BC, BC to Saskachewan, Saskatchewan to USA, USA to Mexico. All those extra legs seem like extra cost and time and risk.
Hopefully someone else can explain this.

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Originally Posted by Neil View Post
Also I was wondering about Loblaws advantage of 'getting goods off the road'. What do they mean by that and how does the GTH factor into it?
Have you seen how much one or two locomotives can haul?
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  #55  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 8:17 PM
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From how I understand it, the lines will remain in the city. The costs associated with actually moving the lines out of the city would probably be too high to do this at the present time. Who knows, maybe if the GTH takes off and the rail traffic grows to a high enough level, you may see the rails moved in a couple decades... But for now, it's just the rail yards being moved.
OK, so that is maybe the source of the confusion. The rail YARDS are being moved, the rails themselves will not.

So the train noise, safety issues, crossings, and other problems will remain, it's just that the loading and unloading will take place elsewhere.

I'm not sure the average person realizes this. I've had people tell me the lines and everything will be gone from the city.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan View Post
I think some of the benefits to it come from the fact that the highways are right there at the GTH site so they don't have to waste time travelling through the city and there would probably be fewer issues because of it. Also the airport is right there, so it also makes transferring cargo from the air to ground a lot more convenient as the storage facilities would be right there. Also the rail lines go there, so it includes that form of transport as well. And as far as I know one of the major benefits is space; the rail yard in the city right outside downtown is fully in use and cannot be expanded at all and the only way to really grow is through expansion.
It makes a sense on one hand - having all 3 transportation modes in the one area. But on another hand it doesn't since the airport is not exactly at the site. Air goods would need to be transported from the city out to the GTH, missing out on the potential benefits. Right now, there are warehouses and things like Fed-ex located right at the airport, which seems sensible. Wouldn't it have made more sense to put the GTH right next to the airport in that case, perhaps in the big gap between the airport at Regina Ave and the rail line at Sask Drive?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan View Post
Vancouver as it is, is a major harbour for the transfer of goods from the Pacific, and I don't think that will change. I'm not sure there is a port on the Pacific in Mexico that would be able to handle the volume of goods necessary. I would also think that as we are on the other side of the Mountains that could be a benefit, but as for why it completely makes sense, I couldn't really tell you as I don't know enough about it.
Yeah, this part doesn't seem to make any sense.

Goods come off the harbour in Vancouver already loaded in rail containers. Couldn't they just take them by rail straight down the coast to Mexico? Once there, it's a shorter, easier, cheaper trip to the gulf side than it would be crossing half of Canada to get to the Saskatchewan GTH and then go from there.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan View Post
When Loblaws mentions getting the goods off the roads, I think they are referring to getting them on the rails. It's a more environmentally friendly form of transportation and you can also move a lot more at once.
Well this makes some sense then. I'm guessing Loblaws gets most of their food and other products from China, so it would land in Vancouver and then proceed through here on its way to the populous east. So it is sensible that it would pass through the GTH on the way. But what I'm still not clear is how the GTH helps them. If hundreds of rail cars are heading from Vancouver through to Toronto, what does the GTH do for them other than act as a rest stop?

Don't get me wrong, I assume there's some advantage since so much money is pouring into it, but I'm just trying to understand what that might be.
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Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 8:24 PM
Grumpy Goat Grumpy Goat is offline
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Hi I'm new, so i'll have to figure out how to do everthing on this forum as i go. The answer to the question of what's tracks are moving from the cp yards are the container tracks, of which there are 4 possible 5 at the north end by Dewdney,cp has their main line,yard tracks,leads,storage,shop.repair and connections to cn at Dewdney. As far as i know, nothing else is moving west just the intermodel.
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  #57  
Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 8:41 PM
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djforsberg djforsberg is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil View Post
Well this makes some sense then. I'm guessing Loblaws gets most of their food and other products from China, so it would land in Vancouver and then proceed through here on its way to the populous east. So it is sensible that it would pass through the GTH on the way. But what I'm still not clear is how the GTH helps them. If hundreds of rail cars are heading from Vancouver through to Toronto, what does the GTH do for them other than act as a rest stop?

Don't get me wrong, I assume there's some advantage since so much money is pouring into it, but I'm just trying to understand what that might be.
There are dozens of Loblaw's stores (i.e. Superstore, Extra Foods, Real Canadian Wholesale Club, and No Frills) in and around Saskatchewan so it brings distribution closer to a number of their locations. Don't be surprised if we get a Wal-Mart Distribution center in the future. There are plenty of locations in Saskatchewan to warrant one.
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Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 8:42 PM
someguy someguy is offline
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I would suspect that in the long term, we will see manufacturers set up at the GTH, and be able to provide their products directly to the shipping point.

The GTH is directly adjacent to the airport, it just seems to be a distance away because of the huge scale of the development. Loblaw is installing a distribution centre, so the product will come into the centre, be divided up, and shipped to its independent stores. In time, there will be some other retailers set up shop in the same central location, and provide a shipping point for central canada, and even into the north central us.
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Old Posted Oct 7, 2009, 9:37 PM
Neil Neil is offline
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Originally Posted by djforsberg View Post
There are dozens of Loblaw's stores (i.e. Superstore, Extra Foods, Real Canadian Wholesale Club, and No Frills) in and around Saskatchewan so it brings distribution closer to a number of their locations. Don't be surprised if we get a Wal-Mart Distribution center in the future. There are plenty of locations in Saskatchewan to warrant one.
Fair enough, although it's not really obvious what would be changing. The dozens of Loblaw's stores currently receive stock, they would continue to do so after the GTH. What's changing?

Also, my question was about the guy who was bragging about the advantage of having Chinese goods flowing to Mexico through Saskatchewan. He didn't say anything about distribution within the provinces. It's that whole China-Mexico thing that I'm trying to decipher.
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Old Posted Oct 8, 2009, 3:00 AM
saskdave saskdave is offline
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Some more info

Here are some sites to help you out:

GTH:

http://www.highways.gov.sk.ca/global-hub/

Loblaws facility example:THis article is from the G&M about their Ajaz facility.

http://www.stockhouse.com/Bullboards...9&l=0&pd=2&r=0

Dave
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