Does anyone remember Atreos?

I certainly do. I clearly remember being assigned by the editor of The StarPhoenix to go along and interview civil engineer Henry Feldkamp and then-city councillor Don Atchison about this huge idea they had come up with.

To wit: A huge, half-billion-dollar (if memory serves) glass dome covering a large part of downtown, making it more attractive to winter shoppers.

I think I was the first person to report on it. It is making me feel very old as I write this. That was 27 years ago. Oh dear.

Anyway, I did my best to remain objective, but I thought it was kind of a crazy idea. I remember being seriously teased about the story, and Feldkamp and Atchison took no end of ribbing about it.

In those days, I also wrote at least two, perhaps three or four, columns about why Saskatchewan needed proper rail service between, at the very least, Saskatoon and Regina.

My basic argument was three-fold. The track, or at least the track bed (I mean, I couldn’t very well walk the entire thing), was already in place; people needed faster transportation between the two cities, preferably in a vehicle in which they could also work; and that it was stupid that our province had zero regional passenger trains. (Not sure how convincing that last bit was. Or is.)

I was roundly told that this would never happen until the two major cities reached a population of 500,000 each. Or more. That still has not happened, even over 27 years.

Regina sits at about 250,000 and Saskatoon at 285,000 ish, although of course the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) are larger. Saskatoon’s is estimated at 342,000 and for the life of me, I can’t find a reliable recent CMA count for Regina.

What has changed, however, is that Saskatchewan (as with much of Canada) no longer has long-range bus service. This is ridiculous, may I add, but there it is.

Here is where I connect the dots to Mr. Feldkamp.

He was recently in the news again, proposing a rail system connecting Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert, and eventually other smaller cities in the province.

Called SaskReconnect, the system would indeed operate on existing rail lines, and carry passengers as well as freight.

Apparently, the idea has been in the works for some time, but Feldkamp was moved to come forward with the idea in light of the debate around the downtown arena. It would be good to include it in the overall design of a new core, he noted.

Significant infrastructure, of course, would be necessary. Stations, for example. Feldkamp has suggested a central terminal at the former STC bus station on Ontario Avenue (ironic, perhaps, and appropriate), which would be raised above street level to avoid interfering with existing traffic.

Trains, I would think, would also be needed.

If I understand this correctly, Feldkamp’s group assumes that train companies would come in with the rolling stock and pay rent for the track, which would perhaps be publicly-owned. I’m unclear on how this would work.

I have to say that in theory, I’m in enthusiastic support of this idea (even as I was not of Atreos, but have never said so publicly until now.)

Right now, if you want to get to Regina, you need a car or a plane ticket. That’s it. There is no public transportation, nor to anywhere else. We need it. Period.

In addition, should Saskatchewan ever wean itself off coal for electricity production, and should the trains be electrified (if they aren’t, forget the whole thing), this would be an enormous contribution to the elimination of greenhouse gases.

Getting around would be much faster if these were high-speed trains, as suggested by Feldkamp. MUCH. Assuming the rail trips were not milk runs, you’d be in Regina much more quickly than by car, and you could produce at least one article in that time (speaking strictly for myself) because you are not driving.

And then there’s the freight element. This does not just apply to business. How do you ship to Regina now? By courier? By air? In the old days, I could pop parcels off to friends from B.C. to Ontario via bus at Christmastime. It cost a fraction of all other options. Not saying that would be the case now, but I expect shipping would be cheaper by rail than by air.

In much of the First World, which in theory includes us, people are connected to places by train. In Europe, you can get anywhere — fast, and on time. If a train company is regularly not on time, in some regions they get slapped by the authorities and sometimes have their rights to rail removed.

But there are so many more people in Europe.

So my main concern is, would this work with our smaller population? I have been told it wouldn’t, but times change. Could we afford it — both as a community and the individual travel costs? I don’t know. With no bus service, would there be more interest? I don’t know that either, but you’d think so.

Still, regardless of destination, I would be on that first train.

• Joanne Paulson