VIA Rail

[littlewill1166]

they found the perfect excuse to cut back on passenger food amenities. This will be the new norm in via travel. peanuts for the muggles, a soggy sandwich for business

This is kind of an upgrade compared to the current service in economy class. You get a free bottle of water and a snack when you used to get nothing. It is a downgrade in business though...

 

[littlewill1166]

I hate to say this, but you have zero insight into why decisions are made at the moment. Suffice it to say that unlike the passengers, the on-train staff has no choice but to expose themselves to a crowd of people in a confined space - at a time where the government strongly advises against doing so. I’m sorry for you if you work for an employer who doesn’t put the safety of its employees above the convenience of its customers (not even in these exceptional times), but I am relieved to work for one which does...

I was on 73 and 76 today, and the crew were all sitting together in car 3 (deadhead) for most of the trip. Is this a temporary measure, and isn't this unsafe (derailment)?

Also, here's the water and snack they handed out:

 

[Urban Sky]

I was on 73 and 76 today, and the crew were all sitting together in car 3 (deadhead) for most of the trip. Is this a temporary measure, and isn't this unsafe (derailment)?

Given that every on-train staff member is usually responsible for more than one car (at least in Economy class), there can hardly be any requirement to never let a car unattended. Also, in these times, would you voluntarily expose yourself to a car full of potential health hazards?

Remember, the official health guidelines should reduce close contact with other people and travelling to a strict minimum. Why not be happy that there are at least some people on board your train which actually follow these guidelines (thus supporting the public effort to “flatten the curve”) with the necessary seriousness...?

 

[littlewill1166]

Given that every on-train staff member is usually responsible for more than one car (at least in Economy class), there can hardly be any requirement to never let a car unattended. Also, in these times, would you voluntarily expose yourself to a car full of potential health hazards?

Remember, the official health guidelines should reduce close contact with other people and travelling to a strict minimum. Why not be happy that there are at least some people on board your train which actually follow these guidelines (thus supporting the public effort to “flatten the curve”) with the necessary seriousness...?

I know, but it's a safety hazard not to have a member of staff available to help evacuate. Having all the crew sitting in a deadhead car isn't safe. If VIA can't run it's trains safely, it shouldn't be running them at all.

 

[Urban Sky]

I know, but it's a safety hazard not to have a member of staff available to help evacuate. Having all the crew sitting in a deadhead car isn't safe. If VIA can't run it's trains safely, it shouldn't be running them at all.

Again my question: if you had to work on board the train, would you sit in car 3 with the same colleagues you might have already worked for the last few days (if not weeks) or in car 4 with the passengers, of which anyone could have the virus? Please feel free to complain to TC if you are confident enough that your observations are in violation of any of their rules and regulations, but apart from that, you still don’t seem to have realized that we are in a global emergency, which requires every member of society to remain cautious and considerate. I don’t know what essential business forced you to take trains 73 and 76 yesterday despite all warnings, but every time you spend extended periods with strangers in a confined space, you are putting yourself and others at risk - and that includes the very staff you accuse of putting you into some kind of much more abstract risk.

Greetings from my home office in Montreal, where I commit to social distancing, in order to not expose my in-laws (which take care of our toddler during the day, so that my wife and myself can continue to work from home while daycare has shut down) to an even higher risk than they already are due to their age and medical history...

 

[littlewill1166]

Again my question: if you had to work on board the train, would you sit in car 3 with the same colleagues you might have already worked for the last few days (if not weeks) or in car 4 with the passengers, of which anyone could have the virus? Please feel free to complain to TC if you are confident enough that your observations are in violation of any of their rules and regulations, but apart from that, you still don’t seem to have realized that we are in a global emergency, which requires every member of society to remain cautious and considerate. I don’t know what essential business forced you to take trains 73 and 76 yesterday despite all warnings, but every time you spend extended periods with strangers in a confined space, you are putting yourself and others at risk - and that includes the very staff you accuse of putting you into some kind of much more abstract risk.

Greetings from my home office in Montreal, where I reside in voluntary self-isolation, in order to not expose my in-laws (which take care of our toddler during the day, so that my wife and myself can continue to work from home while daycare has shut down) to an even higher risk than they already are due to their age and medical history...

Of course I would sit in car 3, but my point is that the trains should really stop operating ASAP, both because of the virus and because of the way in which they're being operated right now. It's just not safe. In fact, I will be submitting a complaint to TC.

Edit: I made the trip to clear out my locker because this thing is probably going to last into the summer, and it's safer to do it now when we're beginning to climb the mountain of misery vs the summit.

 

[smallspy]

Of course I would sit in car 3, but my point is that the trains should really stop operating ASAP, both because of the virus and because of the way in which they're being operated right now. It's just not safe. In fact, I will be submitting a complaint to TC.

Edit: I made the trip to clear out my locker because this thing is probably going to last into the summer, and it's safer to do it now when we're beginning to climb the mountain of misery vs the summit.

And yet, if they stopped ASAP you wouldn't have been able to clean out your locker. And there are still people that need to use VIA (and other public transit services) in spite of the virus for any number of different reasons.

So which is it?

Dan

 

[DSC]

Of course I would sit in car 3, but my point is that the trains should really stop operating ASAP, both because of the virus and because of the way in which they're being operated right now. It's just not safe. In fact, I will be submitting a complaint to TC.

Edit: I made the trip to clear out my locker because this thing is probably going to last into the summer, and it's safer to do it now when we're beginning to climb the mountain of misery vs the summit.

So, now that you have cleared out your locker the trains can safely stop running? I assume you are now turning your attention to stock-piling toilet paper.

 

[littlewill1166]

And yet, if they stopped ASAP you wouldn't have been able to clean out your locker. And there are still people that need to use VIA (and other public transit services) in spite of the virus for any number of different reasons.

So which is it?

Dan

I could have taken greyhound or driven, I took VIA because I have a student pass. Had I known that that they were leaving cars unstaffed, I would have driven.

 

[littlewill1166]

So, now that you have cleared out your locker the trains can safely stop running? I assume you are now turning your attention to stock-piling toilet paper.

They don't need to stop running if the staff wore masks and gloves to protect themselves and staffed cars in a safe way. But if they continue to be operated in a way that compromises safety then yes.

Also, I have 3 years' worth of toilet paper that I purchased last summer, thanks for asking.

 

[crs1026]

^I may get a chorus of “OK, Old guy” for this comment....but.....

...back in the days before VIA adopted the Service Manager model, the crew for a 14-car Rapido was a head end trainperson and a conductor, who sat together near the front of the consst, and a rear end trainperson, who rode in the last car.

I don’t recall anyone complaining about safety or service quality.

- Paul

 

[PinkLucy]

They don't need to stop running if the staff wore masks and gloves to protect themselves and staffed cars in a safe way.

They don't need to wear masks. We need to keep the masks for the caregivers or those who are already sick (in which case they shouldn't be at work)

If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection.

When and how to use masks

WHO's guidance and advice on the use of masks to protect against and limit the spread of COVID-19.

www.who.int

 

[gabe]

They don't need to stop running if the staff wore masks and gloves to protect themselves and staffed cars in a safe way. But if they continue to be operated in a way that compromises safety then yes.

Also, I have 3 years' worth of toilet paper that I purchased last summer, thanks for asking.

Most masks wont stop covid19 unless they are the a face-fitting N-95 mask, which are impossoble to find now and should only be giving to our medical workers who are highest risk right now.

 

[littlewill1166]

They don't need to wear masks. We need to keep the masks for the caregivers or those who are already sick (in which case they shouldn't be at work)

When and how to use masks

WHO's guidance and advice on the use of masks to protect against and limit the spread of COVID-19.

www.who.int

Masks don't protect the person wearing them, rather they protect others. Given that VIA staff interact with dozens of passengers daily, many staff members could have the disease and be asymptomatic. Requiring VIA staff to wear masks would help to mitigate this possibility.

 

[MisterF]

I could have taken greyhound or driven, I took VIA because I have a student pass. Had I known that that they were leaving cars unstaffed, I would have driven.

So because of a safety concern you would have chosen a more dangerous way to get there?