Quote:
Originally Posted by lrt's friend
Grade separation is more important where population density and traffic is higher. In more remote areas, some grade crossings can simply be closed and traffic rerouted.
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Exactly! Two of the key factors in Canada’s new
Grade separation assessment guidelines are traffic volume (both directly and as a “Cross product” with train traffic) as well as “Queuing.” Both of these are much more likely to be an issue in an urban area than on a rural road in the middle of nowhere.
Regardless of the guidelines, I can’t imagine at a location where the CPKC track is grade separated, VIA being allowed to construct a parallel track, on the same ROW without grade separation.
Also as a combination of the two, if the guidelines say that an at grade crossing should now be grade separated, VIA would likely need to pay to not only grade separate their new track, but CPKC’s existing track, potentially with design considerations for future doubling of CPKC’s track. It should be obvious that a wider grade separation for additional tracks would further increase costs (not to mention the cost of potentially having to change the elevation of an active rail line).