RC111 MarApr 2024 - Magazine - Page 30
TRANSPORTATION
Not taking away from the importance of improving urban transit
within cities, the argument in favour of the HFR is more about moving people between cities and in Hampshire’s words, creating “decent transport links to encourage frictionless trade (and) frictionless
movement, which is a much more environmentally friendly mode of
transport,” not only pertaining to cars, but air travel.
Adding up the benefits of HFR
Based on current StatCan projections, Canada’s population will increase
from over 40 million to up to 68 million by 2068 (high growth scenario)
and re昀氀ecting that growth, a parallel stat o昀昀ered by HFR projects future
annual ridership for this transit service of 17 million by 2059.
With those kinds of numbers, if we truly care about climate change
and reducing our carbon footprint, Hampshire opines that “it is far
better and more e昀케cient to have people on a train,” instead of simply
building more roads or airports.
And if HFR comes to fruition after years of debate and delays,
Hampshire notes that with this being “one of the biggest railway
projects in the world… there will be signi昀椀cant opportunities for
Canadian 昀椀rms. The construction will create jobs… operation of
the railway will create jobs… and (HFR) will create more jobs in the
broader economy.”
Initially, Hampshire says “there will be opportunities for Canadian
昀椀rms in terms of the design work and preparation of ideas. A lot of
site investigation for instance is going to be needed… (and) there’s a
lot of environmental studies that are going to be needed within the
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next couple of years.” Followed by construction tied to the current
procurement process.
As shared on Transport Canada’s website, the three consortia
that were invited to participate in the Request for Proposal are:
Cadence (CDPQ Infra, AtkinsRéalis, Systra Canada, Keolis Canada);
Intercity Rail Developers (Intercity Development Partners, Kilmer
Transportation, First Rail Holdings, Jacobs, Hatch, CIMA+, First
Group, RATP Dev Canada, Renfe Operadora); and QConnexiON Rail
Partners (Fengate, John Laing, Bechtel, WSP Canada, Deutsche Bahn).
So, some Canadian representation, but also a heavy concentration
of foreign players, which doesn’t sit well with the likes of Terence
Johnson, president of Transport Action Canada, a non-pro昀椀t organization which as their website conveys, promotes sustainable transport
through advocacy and education.
Presenting to the House of Commons Standing Committee on
Transport, Infrastructure and Communities last fall, Johnson observed
that “the long-awaited start of procurement (for HFR) should have
been cause for celebration. Instead, morale at VIA Rail took an absolute body blow.”
Johnson was referencing the fact that RFP format is tied to a P3 model
that encompasses not only the design and construction of the HFR line,
but also transfers long-term management from VIA to a private operator. “So, we’re worried about the future viability of the rest of VIA Rail’s
network—its long distance and remote services—if the government goes
ahead with its plan to hand its busy Quebec-Windsor corridor over to a
private sector partner,” Johnson observes.
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