Author of Straphanger | Words @nytimes @natgeomag @guardian @wsj | Latest book @lostsupper | highspeed.blog | Talks: taras-grescoe.com/contact
Based in Canada
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"A passionately argued and important book." —The Guardian
In #Straphanger, I travel world looking at best (and worst) in transportation + urbanism.
(NEW: Buying here directly funds my writing—and my new project, about the passenger rail revival.)
shorturl.at/oJpZu
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Not to worry: Straphanger is alive and well! I'll continue to post about transit, bicycles, and alternatives to car-based urbanism under the "Straphanger" tag.
highspeed.blog
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Compare this to #Amsterdam, where 7% of space is allocated for micromobility, and large parts of #Berlin, where 8% is set aside.
The authors conclude Montreal could *double* the space allocated to bike lanes (still just 3%) with no impact on automobile traffic flow.
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Need some positive news?
Around the world, a passenger rail renaissance is well under way.
I document the train-love, as well as the latest in sustainable urban transport, in my weekly newsletter HIGH SPEED.
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For more accounts of my travels by train, as well as dispatches on transit and passenger rail, sign up for my weekly newsletter:
highspeed.blog
#trains
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I've got a #longread in the @globeandmail today about #Florida's Brightline, and the promise of privately-run, for-profit passenger trains in North America.
Spoiler: Not all "high-speed" rail is created equal...
#trains
theglobeandmail.com/opinion/…
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Also, what are you still doing on X? I post here once in a blue moon out of courtesy, but, honestly, it's like being in the Chernobyl Zone of Exclusion.
The real action is over here: bsky.app/profile/taras-gresc…
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And in this one, I dig deeper into the lost history of the interurbans that took people deep into the countryside, and sometimes between cities...
highspeed.blog/interurban-na…
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You can read more in this week's HIGH SPEED newsletter. (Blast from the past, in more ways than one)
highspeed.blog/electric-aven…
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The cable cars of SF may be the most steampunk form of transit to have survived into the 21st century.
"Kout for the coive!"
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They still run in #Philadelphia, San Francisco, and on the Mattapan, the old "High Speed" Line outside #Boston.
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(The video above shows a vintage 1932 trolley from Scranton, the "Electric City" of Pennsylvania.)
Some years back, I sought out still-running cable cars and trolleys from Kennebunkport to San Diego. I loved the PCC, the streamlined Cadillac of electric streetcars...
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By 1920, the network of interurbans in the US was so dense that a determined commuter could theoretically hop interlinked services from Waterville, Maine, to Sheboygan, Wisconsin—a journey of 1,000 miles—exclusively by electric trolley.
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I offer a cautious "Hurrah!" in my latest HIGH SPEED dispatch. (Ft. a very Canadian cameo from @rickmercer !)
Read more here (no paywall on this one; to see full post, enter your email to become a member and receive regular dispatches):
highspeed.blog/viva-alto/
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It's about time Canada stopped building pipelines, highways, + runways.
We should get back to the railways that really built this nation.
We're good at trains, and these days, trains—especially the electric variety, powered by renewables—are good for the world.
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I can't think of a better way of pissing off King Trump than for #Canada to build the Alto high-speed rail line.
A multi-billion high-tech megaproject, that would deliver 186 mph trains, using Canadian steel + aluminum.
Might even kick off a 21st-century space race...
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I didn't get to bunk with Marilyn in a Pullman, but I did sleep in a cozy Roomette, and ate well in the Dining Car... 2,000 miles, 46 stations, 10 states, and lots of good conversations with fellow train-lovers.
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Can't think of a better way of pissing off Trump than for #Canada to go ahead and build its proposed Alto high-speed rail project.
A multi-billion-$ megaproject, delivering faster trains than the US has, using Canadian steel + aluminum.
Might even kick off a new space race.
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And this is my own first-blush reaction to the Alto announcement, on my newsletter.
As someone who thinks Canada should be investing in electric rail, not pipelines and highways, I've got to say I'm beyond intrigued. But I've got a lot of questions...
highspeed.blog/viva-alto/
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Here's the official report. (Not sure why they're using a Russian non-high-speed train to illustrate the concept—moving on.)
altotrain.ca/en/wp-content/u…
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In the Alto report, they estimate the cost for a conventional rail (high-frequency) approach at being $45B-$75B. Alto's projected cost is $60B-$90B.
But they see the benefit to GDP for conventional rail being $4.9B a year, vs. $24.4B/year for Alto.
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Those travel times would kill high-polluting short-hop flights btwn Montreal + Toronto. (Airport security and transfer makes that into a 5-hr experience.)
Here's a map from report that makes shrinking of distances between cities visible; green loop shows high-speed time savings.
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Canada's proposed high-speed rail project, Alto, would run 300 km/h (186 mph) trains in #Ontario + #Quebec.
It would cut travel times in half.
@alexglista has made this stylized map showing by how much: from 5 hours 30 mn between #Toronto + #Montreal to just over 3 hrs.
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I offer a cautious "Hurrah!" in my latest HIGH SPEED dispatch. (Ft. a very Canadian cameo by Rick Mercer.)
Read more here:
highspeed.blog/viva-alto/
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Also: Go to Hell—or Mars, same thing—Elon.
Everyone else, you'll find me posting here:
bsky.app/profile/taras-gresc…
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Follow my ongoing adventures on trains around the world, slow and fast, in my newsletter HIGH SPEED. You can sign up for regular dispatches here:
highspeed.blog/
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I write about this 52-hour odyssey in my feature in the Financial Times' travel section.
@FinancialTimes @FT
on.ft.com/4hAqljP
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It’s a hell of a ride. Two nights in a roomette, and lots of good conversations in the dining and café cars.
@Amtrak is one place where travelers still get to know one another, and chat in a civil fashion. (Mostly!)
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Read about this developing story in my highspeed.blog, devoted to the global passenger rail renaissance.
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I'm covering the story in my HIGH SPEED newsletter—about the global passenger rail renaissance.
I see the future—and it's full of trains. (Sorry, Elon and company.)
Sign up for regular dispatches, free or paid, here:
highspeed.blog/high-speed-2/
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Lots of issues—the Liberals' future is up in the air (though less so than a month ago, thanks to Trump); the $3.9B will go for studies and prep work by the chosen consortium (SNCF-Air Canada-CDPQ Infra); and what happened to Windsor?
Here's the announcement:
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BIG NEWS! Official announcement of high-speed rail in Canada. And it has a name: Alto.
300 km/h all-electric trains to run from #Toronto to #Quebec City.
Trudeau made the announcement at a press conference in #Montreal today.
cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau…
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Don't buy your tickets yet, though. The news today is that the consortium has been picked. It looks like most of those billions will be going to a study of the route.
As Canadians know, we are world leaders—in High Speed Rail Studies.
piped.video/watch?v=W32klYkT…
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Trains will be electric, rather than diesel (that's huge) and would serve Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montréal, Trois-Rivières, and Québec City.
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"Trudeau said the consortium Cadence — made up of CDPQ Infra, AtkinsRéalis, Keolis, SYSTRA, SNCF Voyageurs, and Air Canada — was selected to build the line. The group was only informed in the last 24 hours that their bid was the best of the three submitted."
newswire.ca/news-releases/ca…
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BIG NEWS! Official announcement of high-speed rail in Canada. And it has a name: Alto.
300 km/h trains to run from #Toronto to #Quebec City.
Trudeau made the announcement at a press conference in #Montreal today.
cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau…
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You can read the English-language original in my new newsletter HIGH SPEED, about the global passenger rail renaissance...
highspeed.blog/the-state-of-…
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Dans ma dernière dépêche dans @Lactualite , je me penche sur l'état de la vitesse dans les trains de voyageurs du monde entier. (Attention : les États-Unis et le Canada sont les tortues parmi les lièvres).
lactualite.com/societe/letat…
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J'ai eu l'occasion de prendre le mag-lev à #Shanghai, où le compteur de vitesse a atteint 430 km/h. Beaucoup de technologie et d'électricité pour des résultats que les TGV classiques sont déjà capable d'atteindre.
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La Chine vient d'introduire le CR450, qui roule couramment à 400 km/h, mais qui pourrait atteindre 450 km/h en service quotidien.
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Quelle est la vitesse maximale d'un train aujourd'hui ?
Le record du monde de vitesse, toujours en vigueur, a été établi par un train à grande vitesse (TGV) français en 2007, avec une vitesse maximale de 574,8 km/h (357 mph).
[English follows]
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High speeds significantly increase the *capacity* of rail lines.
I dig deeper in this week's HIGH SPEED dispatch:
highspeed.blog/theres-more-t…
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