On Trains & Buses

Learning about public transport in a faraway location using the web is hypothetical until you get there. Thus, it was when I based myself in Vancouver for a first Canadian getaway and went about sampling public transport in British Columbia. At the end of last month, I returned to Canada, this time basing myself in Montreal, adding yet more experiences to my life.

Around Montreal

Though I initially may have thought of Montreal more as a jumping off point for exploring other places, the reality was there were so many parks that leaving the island on which the city is located became the exception rather than the rule. That meant figuring out how to pay for the services that I used while I was out exploring.

First, you need to realise that the Greater Montreal area is divided into three zones. Zone A covers the island on which the city is located, which gives a lot of flexibility for any day ticket that you buy. This can be located onto an Opus card or bought as a paper ticket. It is when I started to venture into Zones B and C that my having a Zone A Opus card showed its limitations, necessitating the buying of paper day tickets, only after a staff member let me in on this state of affairs. My limited time in the area meant that it was not worth getting an Opus Plus card.

All of this starts to hit when you attempt to bus service 747 to get from Montreal’s international airport (YUL) to the city centre. In fact, you are presented with the same machines that you will find in metro, bus and rail stations around the city. This means dealing with a learning curve not long after coming off a long flight, which meant that the assistance that I eventually received was essential. This bus stops in various places, so it helps to pat attention so as not to end up in the wrong place, especially when one version of route terminates at a metro station instead of proceeding the whole way. An added complication was the closure of Rue Berri, which meant a search for the right stops from which to commence a journey to the airport at the end of my stay. You do need to allow for traffic congestion at times, which may have brought to the airport early, not that it bothered me at all.

One good thing is that any day tickets are multi-modal across Exo, REM, STM, STL (Laval) and RTL (Longueuil)services. Of these, I used Exo buses when visiting Mont-Saint-Hilaire, while REM automated rail services got me as far as Deux-Montagnes as well as allowing me to reach Cap-Saint-Jacques. In time, REM is set to serve YUL as well, which could have uses for avoiding any traffic delays. Otherwise, it was mainly STM bus and rail that got me around, with Google Maps helping to guide me as I went.

One thing that one needs to watch is the effect of any seasonal pedestrianisation on bus services. Meeting this on the way to Parc des Rapides was the cause of some confusion before I began to walk the rest of the way instead. On a warm sunny day, that was no affliction, especially when much of the journey was beside the St. Lawrence River. All that needed attention was the presence of passing cyclists until I veered off cycle paths.

Otherwise, I mixed metro train and bus to get me pretty much where I wanted to go. Parc Angrignon, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Parc-nature de la Pointe-aux-Prairies, Parc de la Visitation, Parc-nature du Bois-de-Liesse as well as Parc-nature du Cap-Saint-Jacques all were more than reachable using STM services, while voluntary walking took me by Vieux-Montreal, Vieux-Port, Parc Mont-Royal, Parc La Fontaine, Jardin Botanique and Pont Jacques-Cartier as well. At times, I was tempted by the possibility of hiring out a bike from one of the stands, only for the desire to keep walking to occupy instead. This was unlike Vancouver where the courage would not come, though cycling on another continent and trying out a different side of the road appeals when there are so many off-road cycle paths.

To Ottawa & Gatineau

My accommodation was near the Gare d’autocars de Montréal, making coach enabled day trips a possibility. One of these took me to Ottawa and Gatineau, making use of the services of Orléans Express for reaching Ottawa. The way there was timely and comfortable with much gazing out the window. This was as much about sightseeing as embarking on a journey with purpose. Picking a downtown stop instead of using a Via Rail station around five kilometres away from the city centre proved wise, even if it brought a little unfounded uncertainty about the way back.

My time around Ottawa centred around the Rideau Canal and Parliament Hill before I started to wonder about getting to Gatineau Park. That needed a consultation with OC Transpo staff before I got the day ticket that got me there and back. Both places are in different provinces, one in Ontario and the other in Quebec, with different transport operators. Thus, I needed to make use of STO services for my trip to Gatineau to reach greener shadier surroundings on a warm sunny day; the heat was starting to catch me around Ottawa.

Even with the time all that used up, I still had a relaxing way for my return coach to Montreal, watching Coach Canada and OC Transpo vehicles coming and going. Earlier, it had been a departure operated by Maheux to Montreal that hinted that the stop where I arrived was the one from which I needed to depart again. The gathering of others added to that certainty, while the arrival of the Orléans Express coach on time erased all doubt more effectively than any other means.

While we left on time, our arrival was to be delayed by our needing to await the delayed arrival of a coach from Toronto at Ottawa’s Via Rail station. When that appeared, we filled up even more before an accumulation of cars to collect those arriving by coach or by train meant that getting away from there was further delayed. Adding to all this was ongoing works around the station as well, which made for even more congestion as warned by Via Rail themselves. The holding of connections by Orléans Express continued with the service from Montreal to Quebec City, so this must be a typical experience and one that must add customer confidence too, even if a Toronto to Quebec City journey would be a lengthy affair needing a day of travel (think around twelve hours, and you would have the measure of it).

A Day Trip to Quebec

One thing about coach departures from Montreal is that they can be much more convenient and more frequent than going by train. That especially is the case when travelling between Montreal and Quebec City, which gains a near hourly timetable. Journeys take around three hours, and there can be delays on the way into Quebec City at times. One of them was when I went there, mainly because of a tall ships event in the city. That also curtailed my travel times: early departures on the morning of my intended travel day, Saturday, were fully booked, as were some departures from Quebec on that Sunday evening.

Nevertheless, Sunday morning worked, and I set off seeking a flavour of what is in Quebec. Once I got away from the quays where many strollers slowed me, I could make for the Plains of Abraham, where the British won over the French to change North American history, the Citadel and Old Quebec. Other sights such as the Parc de la Chute-Montmorency had to be left for another time should that come to pass, even if I glimpsed Chutes-de-la-Chaudière from a slow-moving coach on the way to crossing the Saint Lawrence again. The over and back travel was questioned in my mind, though it appears to facilitate the shortest travel times otherwise.

Unlike Montreal, Quebec’s coach and train stations are side by side, which can be handy for becoming provisioned with food and drink before setting off. Another thing is that I discovered that returning to Montreal by train gave me another ten minutes after a coach departure and gained an experience of travelling by intercity rail in Canada. If I had hoped that I would have riverside views that were missed on the coach journey, that was set to be foiled too. Via Rail services also are not known to be on time either, a possible consequence of being a guest passenger service on a busy freight railway.

The train journey was comfortable with customer hosts and a trolley service selling refreshments if I needed them. At times, the train approached junctions so slowly that anyone might have passed it on a bicycle with any aid from battery propulsion. Full speed was never held for very long anywhere, either, particularly given that much of the time was spent on single track railway line with passing places. That was brought home while awaiting a late freight train in the middle of nowhere. The result was a delay of around thirty minutes without any talk of delay repay that you find on British trains. You are forewarned of fifteen to forty-five minutes in advance and things are left at that. Even so, this was my first experience of North American intercity train travel, and I cannot fault it for that.

Much That Was Learned

For various reasons, my time around Quebec and Ontario became more of a learning curve than when I went to British Columbia. In Vancouver, you could charge up a travel card and pay fares using that, without having to pay again if connecting to a service so long as the journey time remained within a certain limit. That has echoes of how the Irish Leap card system works, and there is something to said in its favour too. Even getting to Vancouver Island by ferry and then travelling to and from Victoria by bus was not that taxing, and booking a shuttle to and from Squamish also was not so tricky to do either.

Maybe there is added complexity in the places that I visited during my latest visit to Canada, but their urban transport systems could do with being made easier to use by visitors like myself. After all, finding that I cannot access the OC Transpo website from this side of the Atlantic could fit a certain trend. However, having AI to hand on a mobile device had plenty of uses when navigating urban networks and orienting oneself at the same time. Occasional assistance from staff had to be sought at times, which never was needed during my time in British Columbia.

That also applies to identifying future possibilities like reaching the Laurentides (Laurentian Mountains), even if a 07:30 departure is not the handiest if you fancy getting breakfast in advance of a day trip. There is an afternoon departure which better facilitates relocation during a stay in Quebec, and that might be my choice if there ever was a return to this part of the world. Then, I would check out what is on offer from Galland Laurentides. Speaking of an escapade that overnights in different place, the luggage limits on Via Rail services were constraining enough to make me abandon thoughts of a counterpart that divided time between Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec, which is something to consider should one be thinking of moving around, for there are ample reasons for doing so. Intriguingly, Amtrak is much more generous in this regard, which makes a combined trip to Seattle and Portland (Oregon) all the more feasible.

Bus passengers across the Liverpool City Region are being asked to check their timetables carefully this autumn, as two changes land at the same time. The first is a routine reversion from summer timetables back to normal service patterns across several Liverpool routes. The second, and by far the larger, is the start of a genuinely new way of running buses in the region, beginning in St Helens from Sunday, the 6^th of September 2026.

For readers unfamiliar with the background, bus services in the Liverpool City Region have operated under a deregulated model since the 1980’s, with private operators such as Arriva and Stagecoach competing for passengers on commercial terms. That arrangement is now being unwound in stages, and St Helens becomes the first place in the region to see its network brought back under public control, planned and specified by Merseytravel and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority rather than by competing companies.

General Autumn Service Changes

Summer Timetables Revert Across Liverpool

Separately from the St Helens changeover, several Liverpool routes are reverting from their summer timetables to normal service patterns, and the timing of this reversion coincides closely with the St Helens launch, which makes it easy to confuse the two changes. Passengers using the 10, 10A, 10B and 10S corridor between Liverpool and St Helens, Huyton or Prescot should pay particular attention here, since this corridor sits at the overlap between both changes.

Stagecoach route 10A continues on its summer timetable until its last service on the 5^th of September 2026, after which the route is taken under public control. Arriva routes 10 and 10A follow the same summer timetable until the same date, after which the 10 and 10A will run on a separate timetable from the 10B and 10S. Passengers accustomed to treating this group of services as a single combined timetable will need to check the new bus changes information before travelling, since that combined pattern no longer applies from the 6^th of September.

Route 10B sees its Monday to Friday daytime service increased to about every 10 minutes as times return to the pre-summer pattern, with Saturday and Sunday services unchanged. Route 10S journeys, which had not been operating during the summer timetable period, are being reinstated in full.

Elsewhere in Liverpool, the pattern is largely one of frequencies and times reverting to what they were before the summer schedule took effect, with weekend services generally unaffected throughout. On the 12 and 13 Stockbridge Village circulars, Monday to Friday and Saturday daytime frequencies return to about every 15 minutes on each route, giving a combined frequency of roughly seven to eight minutes. The 15 between Liverpool and Huyton returns to a daytime frequency of about every 10 minutes, and the 26 and 27 Sheil Road circulars each return to a Monday to Friday daytime frequency of about every 10 minutes.

The 52, 52A and 52E group serving Netherton, Old Roan and Bootle returns to a combined daytime frequency of about every 10 minutes, while the 61, 61A and 61B between Bootle and Aigburth Vale, along with the 62 between Allerton, Penny Lane and Bootle North Park, all revert to their pre-summer Monday to Friday patterns. The 75 between Liverpool and Halewood returns to its pre-summer daytime frequency and times, with weekend services unchanged throughout.

The 79 and 79C corridor between Liverpool and Halewood or Murdishaw sees route 79 return to its pre-summer timetable with a daytime frequency increased to about every seven to eight minutes, while route 79C is unaffected. The 86 group linking Liverpool with Liverpool South Parkway, Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Childwall also reverts across its Arriva and Stagecoach variants, with the Arriva 86A regaining its Woodend Avenue, Gaskill Road extension on some journeys. Finally, the 500 between Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Liverpool sees its Monday to Friday and Saturday daytime service reduced to about every 30 minutes as it returns to the pre-summer pattern, with Sunday services unchanged.

School Service Adjustments

Some school services are affected from the 30^th of August 2026, ahead of the wider changes described above. For Birkenhead School and High School Academy, the afternoon 701 and 702 journeys now depart four minutes later, at 1604, with all other journeys unaffected. At St Anselm’s College, the same 701 and 702 afternoon journeys are similarly retimed to depart at 1604, and the 612 route is being extended to and from Eastham Village.

For Hilbre High School, all afternoon journeys are retimed to run four to five minutes later throughout, while morning journeys remain unaffected. These are minor adjustments in isolation, but worth noting for any family relying on a specific departure time for the school run.

St Helens Changes

St Helens Becomes the First Publicly Controlled Network

Merseytravel describes the 6^th of September as the start of a new era for buses in the region, and the scale of the preparation behind that claim is considerable. New vehicles have been purchased, depots upgraded and the first phase of the network readied, all while the authority has tried to keep the changeover as unobtrusive as possible for everyday passengers. Familiar stops and many established routes remain in place, even as the operating model behind them changes entirely.

That balance between continuity and reform runs through the whole St Helens rollout. Merseytravel has been explicit that the network and stops people rely on every day will continue to work much as before, with improvements introduced area by area rather than as a single disruptive overhaul. Wirral is due to follow in October 2026, with Liverpool, Knowsley and Sefton expected to transition by the end of 2027, so St Helens is best understood as the opening stage of a much longer programme rather than an isolated local change.

The stated purpose of bringing buses back under public control is to replace a system of competing operators with a single network planned around passengers rather than commercial viability. According to Merseytravel, this allows the public authorities to set consistent standards for cleanliness, safety and reliability, to invest in newer buses and to move the region gradually towards a simpler, capped fare system. It is a significant shift in principle, even where the day-to-day experience of catching a bus in St Helens looks little different at first glance.

Part of that shift is visible in the new low-emission buses being introduced alongside the changeover. Merseytravel describes these as owned by the people of the Liverpool City Region and designed around passenger needs, with USB charging points, more comfortable seating, additional space for wheelchairs and prams and audiovisual announcement technology all included as standard. They join a wider pattern of transport investment in the region, sitting alongside newly electrified buses already introduced elsewhere and ongoing renewal of the Merseyrail fleet.

Service Improvements From Day One

From the first day of the publicly run St Helens network, several practical improvements are promised. Routes that had run only every two hours are being increased to hourly, more weekend services are being introduced, and some routes are being extended specifically to improve access to hospitals and railway stations, addressing gaps that had persisted under the old commercial model.

The most visible new addition is the X3, a limited-stop express service linking St Helens town centre directly with Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Merseytravel presents this as making airport journeys quicker and more straightforward, whether passengers are travelling for work, leisure or onward connections. Alongside it, a new early morning express journey to Southport is being introduced, with a corresponding evening return, giving St Helens residents a more direct option for that coastal journey than previously existed.

Several existing routes are being extended or strengthened as part of the same package. The 33 is being extended to Waterside Village and Lowfield Lane, while the 35 is being extended to Bold during the daytime and will operate between Gillars Green and St Helens Junction in the evenings and on Sundays. The 34 and 34A are gaining an increased frequency, with evening journeys extended to Leigh, and a new 612 service is replacing the old service 20 to create new links across the borough. Bigger buses are also being introduced on the 89, 320 and 352 services to accommodate demand.

Further improvements are planned for access to Edge Hill University and Ormskirk, as well as St Helens Cemetery, alongside an improved frequency around Rainford Junction and revisions to services in Eccleston to link with Knowsley Road. Evening and Sunday journeys are being introduced on the route that becomes the 322, addressing a gap that will be familiar to anyone who has tried to travel across the borough outside peak hours.

A Simpler Route Numbering System

One of the less glamorous but genuinely useful changes is a wholesale renumbering of St Helens routes, intended to remove duplicate numbers and create a simpler network across the whole Liverpool City Region. Under the new scheme, the 12 becomes the 23, the 22 becomes the 322, the 37 becomes the 25 and the 60 becomes the 24. The 152 is split into the 37, 37A and X37, while the 153 becomes the 25A.

The full St Helens timetable from the 6th of September covers a substantial network. It includes the 10 and 10A between Liverpool and St Helens, the 23 town centre circular, the 24 to Windle Hall Drive, the 25 and 25A to Eccleston, the 28 Blackbrook circular and the 30 linking Widnes, St Helens and Laffak. Also included are the 31 to Parr, the 32 and 32A serving Clinkham Wood, Sutton Manor and Clock Face, the 33 to Thatto Heath and Sutton Heath, the 34 and 34A to Leigh and Newton-le-Willows and the 35 between Gillars Green Drive and St Helens Junction.

The remainder of the network extends further afield. The 37, 37A and X37 serve Rainford, Ormskirk and Southport, the 38 and 38A run the Rainford circular, and the 39 connects to Newton-le-Willows station. The 61 links Liverpool city centre with Rainhill and Halton Hospital, while the 89 runs to Liverpool John Lennon Airport and the 99 serves the Whiston and Prescot circular. Further routes cover the 137 to Billinge, the 156 linking Garswood, St Helens and Lea Green, the 157 between Rainford and Ashton-in-Makerfield, the 168 to Liverpool South Parkway, the 289 to Rainhill and Prescot and the 297 to Prescot and Kirkby. The network is completed by the 312 between Ormskirk and Rainford, the 320 and 352 to Ashton-in-Makerfield and Wigan, the 322 and 329 to Warrington, the 360 linking Warrington, Newton-le-Willows and Wigan, the 612 to Wigan and the 920, 921 and 922 industrial estate services, alongside the X3 airport express. Readers wanting the exact timings for any individual route are best served by consulting the new timetables published by Merseytravel, rather than relying on a general summary such as this one.

Ticketing Changes Passengers Need to Understand

Ticketing is where the practical impact of the changeover will be felt most immediately, and it is worth checking carefully if you travel regularly in the St Helens area. From the 6^th of September 2026, operator-only tickets, including those issued by Stagecoach and Arriva, will no longer be valid on most bus services in St Helens. Passengers will instead need a Metro ticket, a multi-operator ticket or one of the new passes.

For an occasional single journey, the simplest option is the capped £2 fare, payable on board by cash, card or contactless device. Passengers wanting all-day travel can buy a Solo ticket from the driver, from a Merseytravel Centre or through the Metro-Smart portal, while under-19s can buy a MyTicket for £2.20 covering unlimited bus travel for the day. Regular travellers are advised to pick up a MetroCard, available from PayPoint stores, Merseytravel Centres and rail stations for a £1 activation charge, and to load a Solo ticket onto it before travelling. Anyone buying tickets online should allow 24 to 36 hours for activation, since this is not an instant process.

Concessionary travel is unaffected by the changeover. Merseytravel over-60’s passes and national concessionary bus passes continue to be accepted exactly as before. Looking further ahead, fare-capped tap-and-go ticketing is due to be introduced once the full City Region network has transitioned to public control in autumn 2027, which should remove much of the current complexity around which ticket suits which journey.

There is also a transitional window for anyone still holding operator-only tickets. Daily passes remain valid until the 7^th of September, weekly passes until the 13^th of September and monthly or annual passes until the 5^th of October, giving passengers a reasonable grace period to use up what they already hold before switching entirely to the new system. Full details of the ticketing changes are available from Merseytravel.

Finding Out More Before Travelling

Merseytravel has organised a series of local information events for anyone who wants to discuss the St Helens changes in person rather than reading about them online. These include the Festival of Glass on Friday, the 28^th of August, from 10:00 to 15:00 and the Rainhill Farmers Market on Saturday, the 5^th of September, from 09:00 to 13:00.

Between the summer timetable reversions across Liverpool and the wholesale changeover in St Helens, this is not a straightforward week for bus passengers anywhere in the region, and the safest approach is to check before travelling rather than assume a familiar route still runs as it did the week before.

Why the St Helens Changeover Matters Beyond St Helens

The most important date to remember from all of this is Sunday, the 6^th of September 2026, when St Helens becomes the first part of the Liverpool City Region to operate under public control since deregulation in the 1980’s. What happens there over the following weeks will matter well beyond the borough itself, since it is effectively a working pilot for the model that Wirral, Liverpool, Knowsley and Sefton are all due to adopt over the following year or so.

Whether the promised improvements in frequency, reliability and simplified fares are delivered as described will shape how much confidence passengers elsewhere in the region place in the rest of the rollout. For now, the practical advice for anyone travelling in or through St Helens, or on the affected Liverpool routes, is the same: check the timetable, check the ticket and do not assume that what worked last week still applies.

In May, attendance of a conference carried me to Milan for my first ever visit to Italy. While the conference would take up most of my time, there were opportunities for explorations too. Mainly, these were around the city itself with Parco Sempione, the Duomo featuring as well as Naviglio Martesana and other city canals. That was not all for I also got to Lago Maggiore and Lago di Como, gaining me some alpine vistas and getting me out of the city too.

Getting Around Milan by Metro

Metro trains operated by ATM got me around Milan seamlessly. Though there is an app, and you can pay by that means, using your bank card to tap in and out is all the more convenient. Saying that, buying day passes might prove more cost-effective, which is something that the app will do for you as well as giving updates and alerts on any service changes due to such things as industrial action or the effects of major events in the city.

Because I arrived into and departed from Linate Airport, I made use of the M4 line, an automated affair with no drivers on board the trains and central oversight to ensure that all is well. That did not get me all the way to my hotel though, so I changed onto the M2 line at San Ambrogio to get nearer, leaving a short walk for the rest of the distance from the nearest station. That connection needed a longer walk between the M4 and M2 than one might have expected; the feel was like going between two different systems, with the M4 line being the newer of the two.

The more conventional human driven line M2 was to see a lot of me during my stay, though I also used line M1 at times to reach the Duomo and also the Naviglio Martesana for one evening stroll. The whole system worked well throughout my stay, without any intrusion from industrial action or a Sunday evening AC Milan celebration when some stations were closed for crowd safety. It helped that line M2 also connects with Milano Centrale, which was a boon for getting out of the city to those aforementioned alpine lakes. Metro stations have handy vending machines offering refreshments too, which have their uses when shops are not so convenient.

Experiencing Italian Regional Rail

My hotel may have been near Romolo station, yet I chose not to use the regional trains that stopped there, opting instead to use it solely for the Metro M2 line. The latter got me to Milano Centrale anyway, which gave me vastly more choice.

However, my first approach to Milan’s main train station was on foot in fading light. It looked an astonishing sight to someone accustomed to plainer buildings arranged around train sheds if anything. This expansive building has several floors and offers a plentiful range of food and retail options. Naturally, it is a busy place and an architectural marvel in itself, later guaranteeing a return with more daylight to do it more photographic justice.

Reaching Stresa on Lago Maggiore

Though there are high speed departures from Milano Centrale offered by Trenitalia under its Frecciarossa brand as well as Italo, a privately operated competitor, these did not take me where I wanted to go, so I made use of Trenord regional services. The first excursion using these took me to Stresa on the western shore of Lago Maggiore.

Getting a ticket took some doing though because the Trenord app did not always help, even if the Trenitalia counterpart did better and completed the task. Also, buying a ticket at a train station laden with Italo machines meant care to find the Trenitalia ones, which sometimes took its share of effort. All in all, it pays to take time to get oriented.

Beyond that, the main cause for concern with that experience was the announcement of a national strike to run from 21:00 that evening until 21:00 the following day, though there were guaranteed rush hour train services for those who needed them. That did not include me, so this curtailed my time around Lago Maggiore and put paid to any ambitions of hiking from there to Belgirate, probably a good idea given it would have had me leaving Stresa prematurely in any case.

Otherwise, the out and back journey was uneventful save for a delayed arrival and ample sightings of graffitied trains, an all too common occurrence in Italy compared to other places. Still, the journey was comfortable, and the double-decker carriages were far from overcrowded. Getting back to Milan well before the strike started made for a calmer state of mind too.

Making Crossings of Lago di Como

If my trip to Lago Maggiore was limited by a train strike, the one to Lago di Como had its own set of challenges. The first was that I only could get as far as Lecco by train before changing onto rail replacement coaches, the most chaotic such transfer in my life and one that I had not expected either. This was a badly managed situation with staff taking charge later than was ideal. Having nearly tripped on an unseen step did not help either, though I mercifully avoided crashing into someone else.

Thankfully, I still got to Varenna as I had hoped, which set me up for a day of lake crossings using the services of Navigazione Laghi. These proved to be smoother than my outbound journey from Milan as I got to Bellagio and Menaggio on single tickets before getting back to Varenna again. While day tickets are available, I was unsure of my itinerary and three single tickets were a euro cheaper anyway. All in all, this was a day with much strolling, albeit with the heat taking its toll on me at one point. Given that, it was just as well that I shelved thoughts of hiking the Greenway del Lago di Como, making this a prospect for any return visit.

The return to Milan was a crowded affair with many standing for much or all of the way. That included me until Monza after which the train became much less busy. The fine weather had lured out so many that even the long trains with double-deck carriages became packed. It also seemed that only one track was in use in both directions around Varenna, which cannot have helped to boost frequencies.

Collected Impressions

While my experiences with Trenord were a chequered lot, those with ATM metro trains were as solid as those of Navigazione Laghi ferry services. My not having much Italian was no limitation, especially with apps using English on my phone. Orienting oneself did not take so much effort either, a bonus on a visit that was just around a week in duration. All could be handy if a follow-up visit ever comes to pass.

Reading about travel in Canada a while back raised hopes of managing without a car than similar research into its neighbour to the south. At nearly ten million square kilometres, Canada is the second-largest country in the world by total area, after Russia, and that scale is where the real challenges emerge. Population density thins out sharply west of Ontario, and the Prairie provinces and British Columbia contain enormous distances between communities that public transport is only beginning to bridge. Even so, a surprising range of bus, rail and ferry options exists, and piecing them together into a workable itinerary is a more realistic prospect than the country’s scale might initially suggest.

National Rail

VIA Rail is the national passenger operator and the starting point for any rail-based itinerary in Canada. Its Windsor–Quebec City Corridor is the workhorse of the network and the section where rail most readily competes with other modes, while the long-distance trains, including The Canadian to Vancouver and The Ocean to Halifax, open up journeys where the ride itself is a large part of the point. A fuller account of how the network divides, where it performs well and where freight priority introduces delay is covered in An Introduction to Canadian Train Travel for Independent Travellers. One practical note worth carrying into any planning: corridor services are currently subject to routine delays of between 15 and 45 minutes, and long-distance trains can run considerably later, so building generous margins into any onward connection is strongly advisable.

Looking further ahead, Alto is developing Canada’s first high-speed rail service, connecting Toronto and Quebec City over approximately 1,000 kilometres of dedicated, mainly electrified track at speeds of 300 km/h or more. The route serves Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City, with the Ottawa–Montreal section announced as the first phase in December 2025. No construction start date has been set, but the project represents the most significant potential change to the Ontario–Quebec travel picture since VIA Rail was established.

Ontario

Nowhere is the layering of transport more apparent than in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. Arriving by air, the Union Pearson Express is a dedicated rail link covering the 23 kilometres between Toronto Pearson International Airport and Union Station in around 25 minutes, with departures every 15 minutes throughout the day. That same Union Station is where all seven GO Transit commuter rail lines converge, making it the natural hub for anyone continuing outward by regional train. GO Transit, operated by the provincial agency Metrolinx, runs those seven lines and 39 bus routes across 532 kilometres of track and a further 2,776 kilometres of bus network, carrying around 79 million passengers in 2025. The urban layer sits on top of this in the form of the Toronto Transit Commission, whose buses, trams and subway handled over 800 million passenger journeys in the same year, with Triplinx providing a single journey planning portal across both networks.

The outer municipalities each run their own transit systems, handling the local connections that GO Transit does not reach. Brampton Transit, MiWay in Mississauga, Oakville Transit, Burlington Transit, Milton Transit and York Region Transit collectively cover the suburban and lakeshore communities to the west and north of Toronto. Most of these places function as residential extensions of the city, though Burlington has its own waterfront and the Royal Botanical Gardens, Oakville has a well-regarded arts and restaurant scene along Lake Ontario, and Mississauga is where Toronto Pearson International Airport sits, making MiWay relevant for anyone staying outside the city centre and needing to reach the terminal independently of the Union Pearson Express.

Beyond the GTHA, municipal transit covers a wide arc of places that reward a visit in their own right. Grand River Transit serves the Kitchener-Waterloo area, home to two universities and the largest Oktoberfest celebration outside Germany. Hamilton, reached easily from Toronto by GO rail, has reinvented itself around arts and independent food culture, with HSR (Hamilton Street Railway) covering the city locally. Barrie Transit gives access to a city on Lake Simcoe that serves as the main gateway to Ontario’s cottage country. Guelph Transit, Peterborough Transit, Durham Region Transit and Orangeville Transit round out the commuter and smaller-city layer. At the southern end, Niagara Falls Transit and St. Catharines Transit Commission serve one of the most visited areas in Canada, where the falls draw millions of visitors a year and the Niagara Peninsula wine country offers a very different reason to linger.

For longer journeys across the province, Coach Canada and the separately operated Megabus connect Toronto with Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston and Niagara Falls. Where those corridors end, Ontario Northland takes over, with coaches reaching as far north as Hearst and the Polar Bear Express train providing the only link to Moosonee, a subarctic community with no road connection to the south. The planned Northlander rail service between Toronto and Timmins, covering 740 kilometres with 16 stops, will extend that reach further once it enters service. At the eastern end of the province, Ottawa sits on the VIA Rail Windsor–Quebec City corridor and receives GO Transit bus services from Toronto, with OC Transpo running the city’s own buses and light rail.

Quebec

Quebec’s transport divides between the dense commuter network that Exo operates around Montreal, with five rail lines and over 200 bus routes integrating with the Metro and the newer Réseau express métropolitain, and the long coach routes of Orléans Express that carry passengers between Quebec City, Rimouski, Rivière-du-Loup and points beyond. The two serve fundamentally different needs: Exo is a commuter and urban network built around Montreal’s geography, while Orléans Express is the intercity spine for the rest of the province, and understanding which applies to a given journey saves considerable time at the planning stage.

Quebec City itself has no suburban rail, though it is well served by both Orléans Express coaches and VIA Rail corridor trains from Montreal. Within the city, Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) operates 182 bus routes covering the wider urban area, including stops at Jean-Lesage International Airport and both the city’s train and coach stations. The old town and most visitor destinations are compact enough to explore on foot, but the RTC is the practical option for reaching the suburbs or the airport, and a development plan running to 2028 is expanding frequency and peripheral coverage across the network.

Alberta and the Prairies

Population density drops noticeably once Ontario gives way to the Prairie provinces, and the coach network becomes correspondingly more important. The largest presence is now FlixBus, the German operator that acquired Greyhound Lines internationally from First Group in 2021 and entered Canada the following year, expanding steadily to cover Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well as cross-border US routes that also serve Vancouver. On the Alberta corridors between Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Red Arrow has operated since 1979 and built a reputation for punctuality and a level of comfort that sets it apart from standard coach travel, with reclining seats, complimentary snacks and Wi-Fi on all routes. Its sister service Ebus, under the same Keolis ownership but with a no-frills approach, extends into British Columbia and since October 2025 has run a through service linking Vancouver and Calgary via the mountain communities of Revelstoke, Golden, Lake Louise, Banff and Canmore. At the other end of the spectrum entirely, the Keewatin Railway Company operates a twice-weekly mixed service between The Pas and Pukatawagan in northern Manitoba, a First Nations-owned railway line where the train remains the only realistic link for communities with no road alternative.

For travellers flying into Calgary International Airport, the options divide between those heading into the city and those heading straight into the mountains. The most affordable city connection is Calgary Transit’s BRT Route 300, which runs from the terminals to downtown along Centre Street in around 55 minutes for a standard fare of CAD 3.80, a surcharge having been abolished in 2023. Once in the city, Calgary Transit’s CTrain light rail gives access to much of the urban area, with two lines covering 59.9 kilometres and 45 stations and annual ridership of around 93 million trips in 2025. For the mountains, Banff Airporter has run eleven daily departures to Canmore and Banff since 1997, and Airport Shuttle Express extends the reach further, covering Canmore, Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper for those whose destination lies beyond the Banff Airporter’s range.

Once in the Bow Valley, Roam Transit connects Banff, Canmore and Lake Louise across 14 routes, seven of which run year-round. Annual ridership reached nearly two million in 2025 and is growing fast enough that the service is on course to hit three million well ahead of its 2030 target, with summer routes in Banff regularly running at capacity. Several hotels in Banff include free passes for guests on local routes, and those staying at campsites on Tunnel Mountain and Two Jack Lake are encouraged to leave their vehicles on site and ride into town without charge. For a national park where road congestion is a genuine constraint, Roam Transit has become a meaningful part of how both visitors and residents move around, and it makes car-free movement within the valley considerably more practical than the shuttle journey from Calgary alone might suggest.

Further north, Jasper Transit provides a municipal shuttle connecting the town with Whistlers and Wapiti campsite, Pyramid Lake Lodge, Jasper Park Lodge and Lake Annette. For Maligne Lake, which sits 44 kilometres south of Jasper town at the start of the Skyline Trail, Maligne Adventures runs both a return day-visitor shuttle from Jasper and a one-way hiker’s service between trailheads for those walking the Skyline Trail. Maligne Canyon, which lies on the same road, was closed through the 2025 to 2026 season due to damage from the 2024 Jasper Wildfire and its status should be confirmed before travel.

Edmonton is served by Edmonton Transit Service (ETS), which operates 181 bus routes alongside three LRT lines with 29 stations. Annual ridership exceeded 100 million in 2024, and the Valley Line West LRT extension was under construction in 2025, adding further coverage to the west of the city. Further east, Winnipeg Transit carries around 61 million passengers a year across 71 routes, with a substantially redesigned Primary Transit Network launched in June 2025 that reorganised services around a more frequent core and added connections to areas previously poorly served. Saskatoon Transit is more modest in scale but covers the main urban corridors of a city that sits on the South Saskatchewan River and is home to the University of Saskatchewan. A Link BRT system is planned to launch in 2028, which will significantly improve east-west and north-south connections across the city.

Alberta’s Passenger Rail Master Plan, completed in summer 2025 with government decisions on investment following in 2026, sets out a long-term vision for passenger rail across the province. The plan includes a high speed rail line between Calgary and Edmonton via Red Deer, rail connections from both cities to their international airports, and regional lines linking Calgary and Edmonton to the Rocky Mountain parks. A Crown corporation is proposed to develop the infrastructure and oversee operations, with the existing CTrain and Edmonton LRT systems forming the urban foundations on which the provincial network would build. The Calgary–Banff connection is the element most directly relevant to car-free mountain travel and, if delivered, would represent a qualitative change to what is currently possible on that corridor. Government decisions on the timeline and pace of investment are expected through 2026, so the plan remains at an early stage despite the ambition of its scope.

British Columbia

Cross the Rockies and the picture shifts to a pair of complementary networks. TransLink serves Metro Vancouver with bus, SkyTrain rapid transit, the SeaBus ferry across Burrard Inlet and the West Coast Express commuter rail service, with roughly one third of the region’s population using it each week. Its 2025 investment plan delivered the largest increase in bus service since 2018, adding frequency on 50 routes and launching 40 new or improved services. Beyond the metropolitan area, BC Transit covers the rest of the province from Victoria and Kelowna to Prince George and Whistler, and in many of those communities it is the only public transport available.

Arrivals into Vancouver International Airport are well served by public transport, beginning with the Canada Line SkyTrain, which runs directly from YVR to Waterfront Station in 26 minutes with trains every six to ten minutes. An airport surcharge applies on top of the standard zone fare, and as of January 2026 the N10 NightBus fills the overnight gap when the Canada Line is not running. For those heading to Whistler or Squamish, the choice is between YVR Skylynx, which departs from the terminal itself with up to fourteen daily coaches via Squamish and Creekside Village, and Epic Rides, which has operated from Burrard SkyTrain station in downtown Vancouver since 2012 and now carries over 200,000 passengers a year on the same corridor. The two complement each other rather than simply duplicate: Skylynx suits those arriving at the airport, while Epic Rides is the more practical choice for anyone already in the city. Skylynx also runs a Victoria service via Tsawwassen, connecting with the BC Ferries crossing to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island.

Atlantic Canada

Atlantic Canada requires a different kind of planning, one in which ferry crossings are not incidental but structurally necessary. The crossing that matters most is the Marine Atlantic service between North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador, which runs daily year-round and takes around six hours, with a seasonal extension to Argentia from June to September. Without it, the island of Newfoundland is unreachable by surface transport. On the island itself, Metrobus covers St. John’s and DRL provides inter-community coach services, while Maritime Bus handles connections across the Maritime provinces on the mainland. The Newfoundland & Labrador Local Transportation pages give a broader picture of what is available across the province as a whole.

Halifax is the largest city in Atlantic Canada and the natural base for exploring Nova Scotia. Halifax Transit runs around 65 bus routes alongside five ferry services linking Halifax and Dartmouth across the harbour, carrying around 30 million passengers a year. It is one of the more complete urban transit systems in the region, with routes reaching the airport and most visitor destinations within the municipality. New Brunswick’s three main cities each have their own bus networks: Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton all received federal funding in early 2025 to expand and modernise their fleets, though service frequencies in all three remain modest by larger-city standards and a car will open up considerably more of the province.

Travelling Car-Free Across Canada

Canada is large enough that the first and most important planning decision is not which services to use but how much ground to cover. Trying to see the country from coast to coast in a single trip is a different proposition from choosing one region, understanding its network thoroughly and moving through it at a realistic pace. The Corridor cities of Ontario and Quebec, the metropolitan areas of Vancouver and Calgary, and the Atlantic provinces each offer genuine car-free possibilities, but they are not easily combined into a single itinerary without either very long journey times or the kind of gaps in service that make connections unreliable. Picking one and doing it properly tends to produce a more satisfying trip than attempting to stitch together several regions under pressure of time.

Within a well-chosen scope, the network makes considerably more possible than Canada’s scale might initially suggest. Urban transit in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton is substantial, intercity coaches now cover most of the main corridors between them, and VIA Rail provides the long-distance spine where it operates. The places where the network genuinely thins out are the rural and northern areas beyond the reach of these systems, and knowing where those limits lie before departure is as useful as knowing what the services themselves can do.

A previous article on this site examined how Iarnród Éireann’s investment programme was enhancing the rail network across Ireland, covering work under way in Galway, Waterford, Limerick and Cork. Since that was published in April, a further wave of announcements has followed, adding new detail to some of the schemes already discussed and introducing several significant developments that were not yet in the public domain at that point. All of that is the subject-matter for what you find here.

Starting with County Meath, the Emerging Preferred Route for the Navan Railway has been published, and a public consultation has opened. In Cork, the second round of public consultation on the next phase of the commuter rail programme has launched, while two early stations at Blackpool and Dunkettle have moved into the planning process. Moving to Galway, Oranmore station’s main construction contract has been awarded, and Ceannt Station has reached a visible new milestone. Further west, work has started on a temporary station at Adare for the 2027 Ryder Cup, tied to the reinstatement of the Limerick to Foynes Freight Line. And at a cross-border level, the contract for a new Enterprise fleet between Dublin and Belfast has been formally signed.

The Navan Railway: A New Route Takes Shape

Emerging Preferred Route

The proposed return of rail to Navan is among the most consequential of the new announcements. Iarnród Éireann has published the Emerging Preferred Route for a new 34-kilometre electrified railway extending the existing line from M3 Parkway to Navan. The scheme would bring direct DART services to what is described as the largest town in Ireland not currently on the passenger rail network. New stations are proposed at Dunshaughlin, Kilmessan, Navan Central and Navan North, with the line terminating at Navan North.

The service pattern outlined is ambitious. Trains could run as often as every 15 minutes at peak times between Navan and Dublin Connolly, with an end-to-end journey time of approximately 60 minutes and capacity for up to 4,400 commuters each way per hour. Three park-and-ride sites are planned at Kilmessan, Dunshaughlin and Navan North, indicating the line is intended not only for the towns directly on its route but also for a wider commuter hinterland across County Meath.

Policy and Funding

The project is funded by the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority and sits within the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy. It aligns with the National Development Plan Review 2025, the Climate Action Plan 2025 and the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, as well as the Meath County Development Plan. In practical terms, the railway is presented as a means of connecting growing communities to the wider public transport network and encouraging a shift away from private car use.

There is also a historical dimension to the project. The preferred route broadly follows the old railway alignment that was lifted from 30th March 1963 onwards, making use of the disused corridor where possible. One significant revision has been made, however: a change in alignment to better serve Dunshaughlin and its surrounding area, which emerged from the route selection process and reflects how commuting patterns and settlement growth now shape railway planning in a way that was not a consideration when the line was originally closed.

Public Consultation

Public consultation on the Navan Railway opened in May 2026 and will run until 17:00 on Friday 3rd July 2026. This is the first of two non-statutory consultations and presents the Emerging Preferred Option for the project design. Iarnród Éireann has stated that input from communities, residents, businesses and other stakeholders will inform the design before a Preferred Option is identified. Consultation events are being held in Navan, Dunshaughlin and Kilmessan, with an online webinar also available. Full details and a feedback form are at irishrail.ie/navan-line.

Cork: Phase 2 Consultation Opens and Two Stations Enter Planning

Background

The Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme was covered in some depth in the previous article, which examined Phase 1 in detail, including the new Kent Station through platform, the Glounthaune to Midleton twin-track project and the signalling and communications upgrade. Since then, the focus has shifted to Phase 2, which sets out the proposals for new stations, a new depot and full electrification of the Cork rail network.

Second Public Consultation

The second public consultation on the Preferred Option for Phase 2 of the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme has now opened, running from 15th May to 12th June 2026. This phase is intended to deliver the remaining infrastructure needed for trains to run up to every 10 minutes on each of Cork’s three commuter lines to Mallow, Midleton and Cobh. The consultation covers six additional stations at Blarney, Monard, Tivoli, Ballynoe, Carrigtwohill West and Water-Rock, as well as electrification works, overhead line equipment, substations, construction and maintenance compounds, access to the proposed depot at Ballyrichard More and interventions to existing structures. Station upgrades at Cobh and Mallow are included, alongside a strategic park-and-ride site at Blarney and a further park-and-ride at Dunkettle.

Once this consultation closes, the project team will analyse submissions and a non-statutory findings report will be produced. A Railway Order application will then be submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála in late 2026, at which point a statutory consultation process will follow. Consultation events are taking place across the city and county, including at Kent Station, Cobh, Carrigtwohill, Blarney, Midleton and Mallow, with a webinar also available. Further information is at irishrail.ie/cacr.

Blackpool and Dunkettle Stations Enter Planning

Alongside the broader consultation, two of the eight proposed stations are being progressed more quickly. Iarnród Éireann has published its intention to lodge a planning application for Blackpool Station, with Dunkettle to follow within weeks. Both are being taken forward via separate Section 34 planning applications to Cork City Council and Cork County Council respectively, ahead of the wider Railway Order. They are being progressed on existing Iarnród Éireann land, which provides scope for earlier delivery, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and take up to two years, subject to planning approval and funding allocation.

The proposed Blackpool Station would be located near the historic station site, bounded by Dublin Hill Road and Redforge Road, with two platforms linked by a pedestrian footbridge incorporating stairs and accessible lifts. The station is intended to support regeneration in the Blackpool area and would initially be served by up to 10 trains daily, with scope for service increases once the wider programme is complete. Dunkettle, by contrast, is being positioned as a strategic park-and-ride station near the interchange of major roads including the M8 and N25, served by both the Cobh and Midleton lines. An initial 15-minute service is envisaged, with a 300-space park-and-ride facility planned and room for expansion if demand warrants it.

Galway: Main Works Begin at Oranmore and Ceannt Reaches a New Stage

Oranmore: From Enabling Works to Construction

The previous article explained the background to the Oranmore Station project: the Athenry to Galway line is currently single track with no opportunity for trains to pass each other in opposite directions, and the planned one-kilometre passing loop and second platform are designed to remove that constraint and double services to every 30 minutes in each direction. Enabling works have been completed, including the installation of a new pedestrian and cycle underpass in October 2025.

The main construction phase has now been awarded. The contract has gone to Triur Construction, with works expected to begin in May 2026 and to finish in late 2027. This phase will deliver the new 185-metre platform to the north of the existing one (accessed via the underpass), the 1-kilometre passing loop, a bridge deck replacement and associated station infrastructure including a lift, access ramp, stairs, shelters, help points, passenger information signs, lighting, CCTV and seating. From 18^th May 2026 to summer 2027, some station parking spaces will be affected during the works, though train services are expected to continue as normal throughout.

Ceannt Station: A Visible Milestone

Ceannt Station in Galway city was also covered in the previous article, which described the scale of its redevelopment: five platforms replacing two, a new southern entrance and façade, an upgraded train hall roof and accessibility improvements throughout. From the morning of Saturday 18^th April 2026, the southern side of the station became the main point of entry and exit for customers, with ticket validators entering operation there.

Adare and the Foynes Line: Freight, Events and a Temporary Station

The Ryder Cup Station

The Limerick to Foynes Freight Line reinstatement was mentioned briefly in the previous article, but it has since moved to the foreground with a related announcement. Work has begun on a temporary station at Adare to support the Ryder Cup, which takes place at Adare Manor in September 2027. The temporary facility will consist of a platform and external concourse, at a cost of approximately €3 million, and is expected to take six months to build. It is being delivered by Cara Plant Hire Limited and funded by the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority.

Special Ryder Cup rail services are planned to run as a shuttle between Limerick Junction and Adare on the reinstated Foynes line, likely outside regular timetable hours and using existing rolling stock. Passengers from Dublin and Cork would change at Limerick Junction, with the service intended to move thousands of spectators to and from the event each day. That arrangement gives a temporary passenger use to infrastructure being reinstated primarily for freight, making effective use of work already under way for a different purpose.

The Foynes Freight Line

The €151.5 million Limerick to Foynes Freight Line project involves the reinstatement of 42 kilometres of track, the closure and upgrading of user-worked level crossings, the installation of signalling and telecoms systems, the full refurbishment of Foynes Station building and train shed roof, reconnection to the network at Limerick and the reinstatement of 13 public road level crossings with CCTV-monitored crossings. Track-laying was completed in 2025 and systems work is continuing, with the line due for commissioning in October 2026. Driver route training will follow, with freight services expected to begin in early 2027. The project forms part of Iarnród Éireann’s Rail Freight 2040 Strategy and its partnership with Shannon Foynes Port Company.

The New Enterprise Fleet: Contract Formally Signed

The Agreement

Perhaps the most headline-generating announcement of recent weeks has been the formal signing of the contract for a new Enterprise fleet. At Belfast’s Grand Central Station on 7th May 2026, ministers from both jurisdictions witnessed the agreement with Stadler for eight new intercity trains for the Dublin to Belfast service, jointly operated by Iarnród Éireann and Translink. The overall investment amounts to €698 million (£548 million), covering both the fleet and associated infrastructure. Funding comes jointly from the Northern Ireland Executive and Department for Infrastructure, the Government of Ireland’s Department of Transport and PEACEPLUS, which is contributing €165 million through the Special EU Programmes Body.

Stadler had been selected as preferred bidder in September 2025, but the award process was delayed when rival bidder CAF launched a legal challenge during the standstill period. The injunction was lifted by the High Court in Dublin on 26th November 2025, with the court noting the time-critical importance of securing EU funding contributions, and the contract signing followed in May 2026.

Train Specification

The new trains are due for delivery in late 2028 and are based on Stadler’s FLIRT platform, adapted specifically for the Enterprise route. Each train will have around 400 seats, with a strong emphasis on accessibility through step-free interiors and unaided boarding at every external door. Other features include digital passenger information, power sockets, USB charging, improved luggage and bike storage, an Enterprise Plus section and a dining and bar area. The trains are to be tri-mode, capable of operating on electric, diesel and battery power, allowing services to continue throughout the transition towards full electrification of the line.

Operational Aims

The new fleet is intended to support an express journey time of under two hours between Dublin and Belfast, together with up to 16 services per direction each day, a marked increase on current provision. The existing De Dietrich coaching stock, which has served the route since the late 1990’s, will be replaced in full. The emphasis throughout the announcement is on stronger cross-border connectivity, reduced emissions and a substantially improved passenger experience on one of Ireland’s most strategically important rail corridors.

A Sense of Continuing Momentum

These developments, read alongside the projects covered in the earlier article, point to a rail network being improved on several fronts simultaneously. Some schemes restore old connections in modern form, as in Navan. Some build dense and frequent suburban-style networks, as in Cork. Others remove bottlenecks to enable planned growth, as at Oranmore. Some respond to specific events, as at Adare, while others upgrade national and cross-border travel, as with the new Enterprise fleet.

What binds them is a shared policy language around capacity, accessibility, sustainability and integration. Yet each project has a local context too, whether that is commuter pressure in County Meath, road congestion in Cork, planned housing growth near Oranmore or freight access to Foynes Port. Public consultation remains a recurring feature of the larger schemes, indicating that many of these plans are still being shaped before reaching statutory approval stages and that communities along each route are being given an opportunity to contribute to their design.