(Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

By CJME News

Train Travel

A new plan to reconnect Saskatchewan by train

Jul 9, 2023 | 9:23 AM

Reconnect Saskatchewan is a new plan that hopes to make travelling across the province easier.

The plan is to place four train stations in four major hubs throughout the province. That would mean places like Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and La Ronge would all get stations according to the Sask Reconnect.

According to their chairman Henry Feldkamp, the hope is that these trains would be to make it easier for people who don’t drive.

“Saskatoon is the logical spot to start for a number of reasons, one being they have the most population out of any Saskatchewan city, the other reason is because it has the most railroad connections,” said Feldkamp.

Saskatoon has eight different railroads that disperse in eight different directions which would allow making Saskatoon the central hub easier.

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But with these trains would come train stations and the wonder of where they would be placed.

Feldkamp said his vision would see stations placed downtown to allow for more central access.

“Our suggestion is that you would build these stations close to 10 metres above the street level,” said Feldkamp.

Feldkamp also noted that with these stations above the ground it wouldn’t impact traffic and it could lead to another form of public transportation in the cities.

“That could quite possibly be the beginning to building what other cities call light rail trains,” said Feldkamp.

According to Feldkamp, the trains used won’t be the high speed bullet trains as the plan is to also transport goods not just people. However these trains will still go at high speeds.

“Well the basis that you would go is that they go as fast or faster than a car, and they don’t really need to go much faster than that,” said Feldkamp.

Feldkamp hopes that with a new election coming up next year that his project is a big talking point of the election.

“There is an election coming next year in the city as well as in the province, I hope by that time this project has enough traction,” said Feldkamp.

A project like this would cost a lot of money and according to Feldkamp he doesn’t know the exact dollar figure he does know the province won’t have to pre-finance the project.