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Keeping Our Future

On Track

A modern, efficient and reliable railway system connecting rural and urban communities of Saskatchewan.

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Saskatchewan is a land of opportunity but due to its relatively smaller population, our province faces the challenge to connect its rural population to the urban centers of Saskatoon and Regina where the population continues to grow, while rural areas are getting left behind. There is an urgent need to connect these rural areas to the metrocenters to ensure that all people of Saskatchewan can get access to the services that they pay for and can reliably receive goods and services from the metro hubs.

Saskatchewan has a golden opportunity built by previous generations for our use, the rail lines which connect nearly all cities and towns serving as sub supply centres in the province. Increased and expanded use of the rail system by adding digital high-speed railway system will benefit Saskatchewan by making the essential urban and rural infrastructure, including the economically vital rail lines themselves, more sustainable.

Video Overview

A Regional Rail System would support and improve access and services throughout our province, helping bridge the gap between between Rural, Urban and First Nations. Expansion in markets through improved supply chains would be realized for local producers and consumers. The Digital High Speed Railway System would utilize existing railway infrastructure to provide transportation for people, goods and services throughout the province.

Quick Facts

  • Boost Economy; expansion in markets for local producers, consumers and businesses
  • Modernize Transportation
  • Sustainable Development
  • Lower Fuel Costs (when shipping larger volumes of freight)
  • Improved Access to services and opportunities for rural population
  • Spur economic potential in the Agricultural sector
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Given that Saskatoon is the largest city in the province and is already a major Transportation Hub for Rail, Road, Air and Telecommunication, it is the logical choice to pilot a project to showcase the success of a provincial railway system.

It is the ideal place from which the first service to Prince Albert can be kick started as the rail spur between Saskatoon and Prince Albert has low freight volume over most of its length so it could be easily utilized for passenger travel for the remaining time. Further, the distance is modest at about 140 km, allowing for multiple trips each day with limited rolling stock.

This first step would enhance the symbiotic relationship between the rural and urban parts of Saskatchewan, a truly win-win affair. 

Video Overview

The Metro cities of Saskatoon and Regina are the key service centers and have the responsibility to support Health Care, Education, Business and Employment Centers to the people of Saskatchewan. The demographics in rural Saskatchewan are aging which makes access to these centers difficult, costly and time consuming. The city of Saskatoon is centrally located, it is the provincial service hub and start of the provincial supply chain which is the perfect place to be chosen for this pilot project. Minimal work is needed to complete the existing infrastructure to close the loop in Saskatoon. Reusing the existing railway tracks is both economical and viable which would inevitably attract investors and warrant the support of the provincial and federal governments. The financial commitment by the province would be essential and necessary for the success of the project.

 

Quick Facts

  • Demographic trends show Rural communities losing services and amenities
  • Need for outlying communities to connect where services are located
  • Growth and prosperity requires increased accessibility
  • North/South passage proposal to overcome rural/urban disparity
  • Starter route from Saskatoon to Prince Albert
  • Provision of safe, modern passenger rail service
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The City of Saskatoon (‘City’) and Saskatoon Business Associations have been trying very hard to revive the once lively Saskatoon Downtown. The City is planning to build a downtown Arena and Entertainment District, however, this plan does not address the transportation issues for bringing people into downtown, especially people from outside the City. For these reasons and more, the Arena and Entertainment District is unlikely to be a positive game changer for Saskatoon Downtown. A game changer would be getting more people downtown without the use of cars and coming from the entire Saskatoon trade and service areas. A central station in Saskatoon downtown will enable the transport of people and goods from all other towns outside the Metro area of Saskatoon into Downtown as well as the shipment of parts and other goods to the rural area of the province.

Video Overview

The city is in the planning stages of a revitalization of downtown Saskatoon which will encompass an arena and entertainment district. However, the issues surrounding transportation to and from the arena, especially those from rural areas need to be addressed. This issue supports a need for a railway transportation service to the city’s center, providing access to the arena but as well to support travel for improved access for medical, education, employment and professional services. The current CPR station would have limited capacity and be unsuitable for the multi-route service required. Therefore, a multi-functional split level Central Transportation Station (with a raised rail path) is proposed with no disruption to vehicle traffic below. SaskTrack will connect to all existing operational rail lines throughout the province supporting Urban and Rural growth while providing investment opportunities for P3 partnerships.

Quick Facts

  • Low cost entry proposal for project
  • Convenient, stress free mode of transportation all year long
  • Reduction of vehicles on highways and GHG emissions
  • Proximity to arena; allurement of rural attendance
  • Transform city’s downtown; create new vibe
  • Impact and benefit First Nations, Rural and Metro communities
  • Promote Tourism

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STARTING POINT

Given that Saskatoon is the largest city in the province and is already a major Transportation Hub for Rail, Road, Air and Telecommunication, it is the logical choice to pilot a project to showcase the success of a provincial railway system.

It is the ideal place from which the first service to Prince Albert can be kick started as the rail spur between Saskatoon and Prince Albert has low freight volume over most of its length so it could be easily utilized for passenger travel for the remaining time. Further, the distance is modest at about 140 km, allowing for multiple trips each day with limited rolling stock.

This first step would enhance the symbiotic relationship between the rural and urban parts of Saskatchewan, a truly win-win affair. 

STARTING POINT

Given that Saskatoon is the largest city in the province and is already a major Transportation Hub for Rail, Road, Air and Telecommunication, it is the logical choice to pilot a project to showcase the success of a provincial railway system.

It is the ideal place from which the first service to Prince Albert can be kick started as the rail spur between Saskatoon and Prince Albert has low freight volume over most of its length so it could be easily utilized for passenger travel for the remaining time. Further, the distance is modest at about 140 km, allowing for multiple trips each day with limited rolling stock.

This first step would enhance the symbiotic relationship between the rural and urban parts of Saskatchewan, a truly win-win affair. 

Saskatchewan has a very large area but relatively very small population. To put it in context, Saskatchewan’s area is larger than many European countries such as France, Ukraine, Germany and about twice the size of United Kingdom. The Southern half of our province is based on Agriculture as the prime driver of the economy with Saskatoon as the prime hub for all the mining companies. Therefore, most of our population is concentrated in the urban centers with a relatively smaller proportion in the rural areas.

Combined with all these challenges, comes a declining supply chain for individuals and businesses resulting in declining viability and future prospects in rural areas. Therefore, Saskatchewan has experienced and continues to experience the shift toward two metros of Saskatoon and Regina, sometimes at the direct expense of the widespaces of the province.

Some of the main reasons why our rural areas are suffering include an aging population that is not being revitalized with younger generations staying there or moving to these rural areas due to lack of attractive jobs and broad-based services, that are primarily located in urban center. Critical services such as medical services are generally not delivered, instead they must be obtained, picked up and travelled to, therefore people find their individual solutions by moving to the top service centres like Saskatoon and Regina.

The trend towards decline in services in rural areas is continuing and is practically irreversible. There are a number of technological options being implemented to provide services to rural areas, but technology can’t substitute for human contact. Regional, intermittent service centres in smaller cities and towns are declining in attractiveness, asthey increasingly fall short of full-service centres. It requires vision and strong will to slow and possibly halt this nearly universal downward spiral. Our proposal does exactly that, by increased and expanded use of the rail system, that will benefit Saskatchewan by making the metro based services and supplies more accessible to rural populations, individuals, farmers and businesses more sustainable by connecting rural population to urban centers.

High speed rail Infrastructure offers the convenience and flexibility to access downtowns and urban centers in less time as compared to buses or cars. It also reduces the dependence on roads, weather, adequate downtown parking and on driving personal vehicles.

A high speed railway network in Saskatchewan will connect nearly all cities and towns serving as sub supply centresin the province. Just imagine the effect only a single train would have on rural areas arriving in the morning and leaving the city at night, daily, seven days a week, all the time. Saskatchewan already has a vast rail/road system of the provincial and national bulk good and container transportation system on which we would piggy-back, which has to be maintained, modernized and expanded to meet the needs of an expanding provincial economy regardless. One of the main drivers of Saskatchewan’s growth plan will be immigrants who will be settling in the province over the coming decades. The addition of high-speed network will enable these new residents to settle in rural centers (due to affordability) and help revitalize the economy of smaller cities and towns.

Due to the existing loop, it is relatively simple for the implementation of a passenger rail network from the city of Saskatoon all the way to Prince Albert.

The loop is a rail spur line running around the City Core and within the Circle Drive North and West.

  • The loop is made up of both CNR and CPR rail line sections, currently, inter-connecting the two CNR mainlines, one running east-west through Warman and the other running east-west south of the City through the CN Chapelle
  • Currently, a gap exists in the loop where previously a rail connection existed between the CPR mainline and the CNR inter-connecting line from Warman to the Chapelle The gap is located north of the old CPR station and the CNR inter-connecting line located north-east of Woodlawn Cemetery.
  • Rail travel to Prince Albert would require loop closure and our proposal sees construction of a new line from south of the old CPR station alongside the CPR main line and joining the existing CNR inter-connecting spur north-east of Woodlawn. This would permit rail travel on all rail lines emanating from Saskatoon going into all major directions of the company.

Saskatoon is the ideal place to kick start the pilot project with the first service to Prince Albert however the benefits are far beyond Saskatoon’s boundaries. Prince Albert has a population of nearly 40,000 and a total of 140,000 in it trading area who all will benefit from this connection.

Our proposal is directed at rural Saskatchewan. In Canada, North America, indeed worldwide, rural areas have generally not been focal points, an error we wish to avoid. Most cities have admittedly been too late in planning this infrastructure as it is very difficult to build this infrastructure in already congested areas.

Saskatoon has a unique advantage of existing connectivity in all eight directions (N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE and SW), an advantage that few of the other metropolitan cities in Canada have. Building a transportation hub in Saskatoon to connect rural populations to the metro area, while there is still opportunity and while the metro area is still growing is the right time to invest in infrastructure. This would be a game changer that will bring more people downtown without cars and coming from the entire Saskatoon region trade and services areas.  

Downtowns are the places where roads converge, trains stop and people meet, where many exclusive services are provided and goods exchanged. Therefore, downtowns are or ought to be very special places. Saskatoon Downtown once was a special place – people wanted to be there, needed to go there, and were able to get there. Gradually, over several decades, all three conditions have changed and Saskatoon Downtown is now, like many others, struggling to hold its own. It is still time before already present centrifugal forces have diluted the downtown even further to accommodate the car driving urban and rural clientele.

The City believes that an Arena and Entertainment District will provide the spark to change the trajectory toward future prosperity. The question many people ask is whether that expensive single step can be the catalyst toward new vitality in the downtown. The addition of an Arena might help, if we were not continuing to lose unique, one-of-a-kind services to more accessible suburban locations. This trend continues to also move people from outer urbanareas, satellite cities and the rural areas of Saskatchewan away from Downtown. Connectivity and transportation to downtown is a challenge that is still not being addressed in this plan. Therefore, a Central Station, in conjunction with the planned Arena and Entertainment District will be a true catalyst in bringing people from within Metro Saskatoon and beyond into the core Downtown area, leading to symbiotic economic and social prosperity. The combination of an Arena and Entertainment District along with a central terminus would also be make it attractive for private investments and branding.

Despite efforts to have them moved, rail lines wont go away. Initial Surveying data has been completed and it suggests that a Central Station in Saskatoon Downtown can be built in the vicinity to the old STC building. It will cause no disruptions to existing traffic and will provide access and connect all rural communities directly to Downtown Saskatoon. Downtown will return to be a destination away from the trend of becoming a thoroughfare.

Saskatoon would use spaces previously used for rail transportation and that are still available. The terminus wouldbe bilevel with the trains elevated to not block existing road traffic, also making good use of sloping terrain.  The terminus would be fully accessible and give an entirely new look and new perspectives to the city, its trade and service areas and the province.

DESTINATION

The City of Saskatoon (‘City’) and Saskatoon Business Associations have been trying very hard to revive the once lively Saskatoon Downtown. The City is planning to build a downtown Arena and Entertainment District, however, this plan does not address the transportation issues for bringing people into downtown, especially people from outside the City. For these reasons and more, the Arena and Entertainment District is unlikely to be a positive game changer for Saskatoon Downtown. A game changer would be getting more people downtown without theuse of cars and coming from the entire Saskatoon trade and service areas. A central station in Saskatoon downtown will enable the transport of people and goods from all other towns outside the Metro area of Saskatoon into Downtown as well as the shipment of parts and other gods to the rural area of the province.

DESTINATION

The City of Saskatoon (‘City’) and Saskatoon Business Associations have been trying very hard to revive the once lively Saskatoon Downtown. The City is planning to build a downtown Arena and Entertainment District, however, this plan does not address the transportation issues for bringing people into downtown, especially people from outside the City. For these reasons and more, the Arena and Entertainment District is unlikely to be a positive game changer for Saskatoon Downtown. A game changer would be getting more people downtown without theuse of cars and coming from the entire Saskatoon trade and service areas. A central station in Saskatoon downtown will enable the transport of people and goods from all other towns outside the Metro area of Saskatoon into Downtown as well as the shipment of parts and other gods to the rural area of the province.