by NH2060
[I've also posted this in the High Speed Rail Forum as well]
Having been intrigued for some time about the history and operations of the Newfoundland Railway and the contributing factors to its demise I've been wondering lately about what if rail transport returned to the island. I should point out that I've neither visited nor researched much about Newfoundland so I can't say that I know enough about its economy, centers of commerce, traffic/travel/commuting patterns, theoretical ridership numbers/demographics, etc. to know if re-establishing rail service could work. However, I have noticed a few things that I believe could work in it's favor:
1) The drive from Port aux Basques to St. John's (according to Google Maps) is roughly 560 miles long and takes just about 12 hours to complete.
2) The weather there (especially in the winter), and correct me if I'm wrong about it's climate, can make travel for cars, trucks, and buses difficult if not dangerous.
3) The Trans Canada Highway, as did the railway, connects several towns and cities with significant population numbers (some even with air force bases and airports).
4) Having a faster mode of transport would better connect the island as a whole in much less time.
My (hypothetical, of course) proposal for restoring rail service would consist of the following:
1) A brand new 125-150 mph single track non-electrified main line with stations at Port aux Basques, Stephenville Crossing, Corner Brook, Deer Lake, Hampden and/or South Brook, Badger, Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander, Clarenville, Placentia, Downtown St. John's (with a stop by the harbor instead of the old station), St. John's Int'l Airport (via a tunnel under Fort William) and Torbay. More stations could be added later if demand is strong enough. In addition, the new line would be built with standard gauge trackage and could be accommodated for electrification if determined to be more cost effective.
2) Branch lines between Port aux Basques-Burgeo/The South Coast, Deer Lake/Hampden-St, Anthony, and Grand Bank-Clarenville-Bonavista could be added at a later date if need be.
3) Passenger trains operating every hour to every 2 hours consisting of rebuilt British Rail HST 125 train sets (or JetTrain-type high speed locomotives bracketing coaches) which would become available (and potentially for a discounted price) once delivery of new trains in the UK takes place. These would be used unless ridership demand or other factors warrants the purchase of new rolling stock (diesel or electric powered). Given the proposed speed they could actually be officially dubbed "The Newfie Bullet" this time!
4) Should there be a strong demand for freight service, rebuilt and/or new North American locomotives and rolling stock could be used. Furthermore, facilities at Port aux Basques, St. John's and other locales can be built to accommodate ferries, tankers, container ships, etc.
Keep in mind this is only just a rough idea of what could be built if the government (or someone else) were to pursue the restoration of rail service on the island.
In general though could a high speed rail line (or something similar) conceivably work in Newfoundland, even if it's decades down the road before anything is officially proposed?
Having been intrigued for some time about the history and operations of the Newfoundland Railway and the contributing factors to its demise I've been wondering lately about what if rail transport returned to the island. I should point out that I've neither visited nor researched much about Newfoundland so I can't say that I know enough about its economy, centers of commerce, traffic/travel/commuting patterns, theoretical ridership numbers/demographics, etc. to know if re-establishing rail service could work. However, I have noticed a few things that I believe could work in it's favor:
1) The drive from Port aux Basques to St. John's (according to Google Maps) is roughly 560 miles long and takes just about 12 hours to complete.
2) The weather there (especially in the winter), and correct me if I'm wrong about it's climate, can make travel for cars, trucks, and buses difficult if not dangerous.
3) The Trans Canada Highway, as did the railway, connects several towns and cities with significant population numbers (some even with air force bases and airports).
4) Having a faster mode of transport would better connect the island as a whole in much less time.
My (hypothetical, of course) proposal for restoring rail service would consist of the following:
1) A brand new 125-150 mph single track non-electrified main line with stations at Port aux Basques, Stephenville Crossing, Corner Brook, Deer Lake, Hampden and/or South Brook, Badger, Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander, Clarenville, Placentia, Downtown St. John's (with a stop by the harbor instead of the old station), St. John's Int'l Airport (via a tunnel under Fort William) and Torbay. More stations could be added later if demand is strong enough. In addition, the new line would be built with standard gauge trackage and could be accommodated for electrification if determined to be more cost effective.
2) Branch lines between Port aux Basques-Burgeo/The South Coast, Deer Lake/Hampden-St, Anthony, and Grand Bank-Clarenville-Bonavista could be added at a later date if need be.
3) Passenger trains operating every hour to every 2 hours consisting of rebuilt British Rail HST 125 train sets (or JetTrain-type high speed locomotives bracketing coaches) which would become available (and potentially for a discounted price) once delivery of new trains in the UK takes place. These would be used unless ridership demand or other factors warrants the purchase of new rolling stock (diesel or electric powered). Given the proposed speed they could actually be officially dubbed "The Newfie Bullet" this time!
4) Should there be a strong demand for freight service, rebuilt and/or new North American locomotives and rolling stock could be used. Furthermore, facilities at Port aux Basques, St. John's and other locales can be built to accommodate ferries, tankers, container ships, etc.
Keep in mind this is only just a rough idea of what could be built if the government (or someone else) were to pursue the restoration of rail service on the island.
In general though could a high speed rail line (or something similar) conceivably work in Newfoundland, even if it's decades down the road before anything is officially proposed?