this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2024
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Canada

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 6 days ago (3 children)

I'm gonna take a guess without watching and say:

Because freight company CP owns the lines people use riding Via.

And the various governments for decades have done nothing about anything to make rail better.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Actually, Canada is a leader in high speed rail studies.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Our studies are exemplary.

[–] xmunk 14 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

You should see our UBI studies! We've got studies coming out our fucking ears.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] Cracks_InTheWalls 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

I mean we have at least two study trials, Mincome in Manitoba in the 70s and the Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project in 2017 (though that one was cancelled after a few months due to a change in government).

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

So that's "no, not really." At least, that's my understanding, also.

[–] Cracks_InTheWalls 2 points 6 days ago

Could definitely use more sustained for a reasonable amount of time, that much I'm sure of.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago

I may be wrong but I recall learning somewhere that the recent rail project used the UK and Australia as a study for it. Neither of these countries are known for amazing high speed rail. Why didn't we look at Japan, France, Spain, or other countries that have world renowned high speed rail, high ridership rates, and good frequency?

The the time to build this rail was decades ago, lets use some of the most successful examples to study so we can catch up and build a modern system instead of building something that is already outdated.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago

VIA operates on CN tracks in the west, but that doesn't negate the overall correctness of your statement.

They're always late because they don't own the infrastructure and have to take a back seat to their "landlord's " schedule.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The way to get the highest score in railroad tycoon (classic game) is to prioritize the mail and passenger trains. Government could pay CN to let VIA prioritize traffic.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Ugh. Why did we ever privatize rail. People would riot if we privatized the highway network, and yet...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago

Because the rails were there before Canada!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

When were the railways ever not private in Canada? One barely solvent passenger service that's a crown corp hardly constituted nationalized rail.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Wasn't it originally a huge public undertaking? It was my understanding that the rails and CN began their lives in public ownership before being privatized.

Did I misunderstand things?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

The railways were built privately for the most part, and eventually most of them defaulted on loans and became CN. Which I guess was public for a long time, but competed with a number of private operators still like CP. Via was a heavily subsidized passenger crown corp because nobody could make passenger service profitable.