The Railway

Trains were once a main source of transportation among communities, and provinces nationwide. Even here in Victoria there was a rail line that ran from the Northern peninsula down to Sooke which is now known as the Galloping Goose, a bike trail. Why one wonders?

Recently local politicians pushed to renew the E&N rail line for freight and commuters. The rail line runs 225 kms along the island, and rehabilitation would be environmentally, economically and socially beneficial. As stated in our environmental relations class, each hour of commuting decreases social capital by 10%. This is mainly because people are in separate vehicles, and focused on driving (hopefully). If they were to be on a train they could read the paper, do office/home work or even chat with their neighbor all the while efficiently lowering GHG's, avoiding traffic congestion and getting to work quicker. I think a light commuter train would be very beneficial, even if just connecting the western communities to downtown. A 40 minute, dangerous drive in traffic or a safe 10 minute train ride to get to work?

I wonder why we have lost such an efficient mode of transport? Is it just because everyone can afford to have their own vehicles? I always thought it would be so wonderful to have a car that drove it-self, you know had a auto-pilot. Hmmm, now that I think of it I guess you could call that the train, or bus. Whether one has a nap, reads the paper, eats breakfast or gets a head start on the work day they would definitely be able to utilize time that would be otherwise wasted by driving.