Feb 20 on Health Care (for The Eagle). Superb, you hit the mark. A fine service for a small community and an excellent newspaper. If you were in the U.S. you would probably receive an award for superior journalism. Both for editorial content and news articles. I especially like the environmental stuff from Howard May.
Feb 27 on trains. You need to rethink portions of that editorial. Farkas has come out in support of trains as well and I have communicated my thoughts to him. A public infrastructure train in the Toronto/Quebec City corridor makes sense, as does a train from downtown Calgary,with a stop at the airport, and a few other places, ending in Edmonton after E airport stop. But a train to Banff makes no economic sense. I have not come across anybody who would use it. Overseas travellers rent cars at the airport for a national park trip that includes Banff, Lake Louise, Icefields parkway, and onto BC parks (Mt. Robson) and Vancouver. A train to Banff just doesn't cut it unless that is the only destination. I know this as I worked for the hostels in Jasper for 5 years (5 different hostels) and nobody ever came to these hostels I worked in by public transportation. They all wanted to access the many hiking trails which allow individual mobility with a car. As for Calgarians or Cochranites if they are going to the park for a hike anyplace other than Banff town site being dropped in town and then having to find alternate transportation is a non starter.
Finally, there is no way a passenger train can run on the CP tracks without major delays for freight traffic. I can't tell you how many times I have been prevented from crossing the tracks, either on foot or in a car, because a freight train is passing through Cochrane. A Banff train running more than once per day needs a designated track which means appropriating land from big time UCP supporters on the other side of the Bow River or putting the tracks through Glenbow Park. Although Farkas is leaving the park his hair would be on fire after having fought off the Dam on the Bow.
Finally, let's say you live in deep south Calgary and want to ski at Sunshine just for the day. Depending where the train leaves from you must load up the car with gear, find a place to park the car for many hours ($$$$$costs), jump on the train, get to Banff, off load gear, find transport to Sunshine, find a place to store gear in Banff while you go for a meal, and then rinse and repeat the process-- in essence a 15 hour day. Thanks but no thanks. A train to Banff is pie in the sky.
James Perras
Cochrane, AB
