Regina - Saskatoon VIA Rail

[ikerrin]

I am just wondering if you feel the time is right for a service like this?

[Greco Roman]

Somehow doubt there is enough demand to provide this service.

[CCF]

Its been coming up in a lot of council meetings of late. Not sure if that means much though.

I'd rather take the 20 minute flight!

[newflyer]

I doubt VIA would consider it ... but perhaps STC could operate that rail line.

[adriancanada]

Definately worth trying...it's a no-brainer. Except Saskatoon's Via station location sucks and well, Regina doesn't have a station...

ps. make it work and show Alberta how its done

[CCF]

Yeah, how would that work given that we don't have a station. Guess they'd have to build one...

[babo]

^Gut the casino and restore the station in Regina, construct a maglev, make a loop to include Moose Jaw.

[Ruckus]

Re: S'toon-Regina rail line operated by STC

Can Saskatchewan afford a large operating deficit under a Crown corporation? Yes, of course

Would taxpayers support a Crown corporation running a deficit for the purpose of inter-city rail? No....then again, maybe? Must have a flashy exterior paint scheme, some L.E.D. lighting too

Re: Rail line

Relocate the Riders and a couple provincial Crown corporation head offices to Davidson (or other viable town) then maybe

Saskatoon and Regina have a significantly lower interaction level than the Calgary and Edmonton set, I'm making this judgment based on the quantity and quality of attractions which foster interaction between the respective cities (e.g. overall population, sports teams, retail stores, natural environment features, family connections, private industry competitiveness/complementariness). Saskatoon might be better off exploring a connection with Calgary or Edmonton

Saskatoon should also explore other possibilities = increasing the interaction level with Prince Albert and Northern Saskatchewan (recreation, lakes, rivers, Boreal forest, abundant natural resources).

Regina and Southern Saskatchewan have many things to offer as well (comparable urban environment and amenities, government jobs, University of Regina, large population, home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders).

I haven't been to Prince Albert since 1995ish, so my memory is a little fuzzy...has potential with the North Saskatchewan River

Obviously the concept of Saskatchewan inter-city rail requires further analysis.

I'm sure we'll learn more from our Western neighbors before anything of substance develops in Saskatchewan.

[molasses]

I was just going to say the same thing about extending it up to Prince Albert...with the potential diamond mines and other resources in the north, the prince albert saskatoon corridor could be seeing much more activity than regina-saskatoon....though in my perfect world I'd still love to see passenger rail linking pa, saskatoon, regina, moose jaw. It would be so great to get on a train in downtown saskatoon and head down to regina for a meeting or for an evening etc, without the hassle (and amazing expense/environmental cost) of getting on an airplane.

[Rob D]

Originally Posted by ikerrin

I am just wondering if you feel the time is right for a service like this?

Up until the late 70's or very early 80's there was a "day-liner" (one self-propelled train car IIRC) passenger train service between Saskatoon & Regina.