Every time I bring up transit/rail here, everyone gets so pessimistic about it. Having the option to take rail is so underrated and I don’t think anyone really understands the potential. The excuse usually is “no one will use it” and “no one wants to pay for that, where will the funding come from? My taxes”.
We won’t know until we actually try. To me there is no point to ask “what if?” And then snuff things out in protest. I really want to see some change to public transport and something like this could be the start.
I find rail more comfortable than bus and it is cheaper to run at high frequency. The main downside is flexibility (you basically need to close the route to fix the tracks, or if something is blocking them) but overall I find it much better, especially with grade separation.
This would be really good for WestJet particularly so that they can effectively expand their operation across both cities without needing to have so many unprofitable short haul connections.
The scheme RMTransit suggested at the end where the Alberta Government maintains the right-of-way infrastructure while both public and private operators can run high speed services on it, would be a classic Alberta move and might make it popular and competitive price-wise.
