'This gives people a chance to get to the city': Saskatoon speed rail line concept looking for public support
In a province where there are vast distances between cities and towns, one local group is hoping to get public support for an idea to bridge those gaps with a rail line.
A project called SaskReconnect aims to get support for a mass transit solution which would be uniquely Saskatchewan. It’s the brainchild of Henry Feldkamp, who is spearheading this project.
Henry Feldkamp stands between First and Ontario Avenues in the downtown core, the proposed site of a proposed above ground high-speed rail terminal.
He says one of the goals of the service is to give residents living in rural areas transportation options, ultimately helping making them feel less isolated.
Sask Reconnect released a concept video showing how the train, which would operate on existing rail lines, would carry passengers and freight, making the connection to bigger centres easier.
“That’s where the services are and that’s where they are increasingly, and decreasingly in the outlying areas, so this gives people a chance to get to the city,” Feldkamp told CTV News.
The idea has been in the works for years, but officially released it this spring according to Feldkamp.
The first phase would be to build a platform close to the original CPR station on Idylwyld Drive at 24th Street. Service to Prince Albert would be the first test route.
The concept would be unique because while it focuses on the major centres, the ultimate goal is to have service to smaller centres too. Feldkamp recommends residents look at an old provincial railway map, which will demonstrate the potential for many routes in all directions, not just north and south.
“There are eight directions from Saskatoon while the same is true from Regina and Moose Jaw,” he says.
Utilizing existing rail lines will come at a rental cost to the train companies, but Feldkamp sees it as a positive relationship.
There’s no hard cost projection at the moment, because the project will be phased in over several years with various elements being added based on demand.
The City of Saskatoon was cautious in its comment about the proposal.
“The city is generally supportive of the philosophy of people having options for travel between large population centres within the province.”
Another major part of the project is to build a central terminal around the site of the former STC bus station on Ontario Avenue. That terminal will be above street level, a few stories up as to not interfere with street traffic and existing buildings.
There’s no definite timeline on the rail line, as Feldkamp maintains it will be driven by public support and a need for this alternative type of transportation. He is confident city officials will come on board if the public deems it necessary.
However, Feldkamp does admit that the new arena project slated for the downtown core is a factor in getting it going expeditiously. He wants to see the rail station planned in conjunction with the arena design, so they coincide in a beneficial way.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.