Northern Light
Superstar
Nope.
That's not what the article says.
It says CP will free up one slot per day for Amtrak.
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General railway discussions
- Thread starter Urban Sky
- Start date
Nope.
That's not what the article says.
It says CP will free up one slot per day for Amtrak.
crs1026
Superstar
^Interesting. CP certainly wants to put its best foot forward with the folks down there who are impacted by the merger.
The line in question is single track, about 88 miles in length, is signalled for ABS but is not CTC equipped. Not sure if it has PTC - which will be an Amtrak requirement. And about 6 miles of it, in the approach to New Orleans, is joint territory with CN…. that may prove interesting also.
- Paul
The line in question is single track, about 88 miles in length, is signalled for ABS but is not CTC equipped. Not sure if it has PTC - which will be an Amtrak requirement. And about 6 miles of it, in the approach to New Orleans, is joint territory with CN…. that may prove interesting also.
- Paul
allengeorge
Senior Member
Probably just wants to put its best foot forward in the middle of a merger with a US company. It’s not like the STB is shy to saying “No”, and the optics would look pretty bad with a fairly train-friendly administration.
In Canada however - meh. They know they can do whatever they want: no one will call them on it.
Northern Light
Superstar
To be fair to the current administration of CP.....*** (that just changed) ...... they've shown a willingness to allow more service from Calgary to Banff; and I'm hearing about a very open mind on a substantial service boost on the Milton Corridor.
It really comes down to adequate capacity, and who pays for that.
Even in the U.S. context they're offering one measly slot, and that is still clearly contingent on some level of infrastructure funding.
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crs1026
Superstar
My sense is that CEO Creel is the real deal…. as focussed on the bottom line as his predecessor, but much more aware of the community around the railway and recognising the benefit in “working the room”
With a massive infrastructure bill just passed by Congress, and a line that could use some upscaling to move freight better….why not offer the olive branch and see what Amtrak can fund? Again, I’d say CP can see where its best interests lie.
- Paul
Darwinkgo
Active Member
And aren’t local routes majority state funded anyways? I’d guess in LA the risk of the state government coming in with an operational subsidy is minimal.
crs1026
Superstar
This corridor was identified in Amtrak’s 15-year vision document which was the basis of its “ask” of Biden under the Infrastructure Bill.
It appears (see pg 72) that the format Amtrak proposed to create new corridors has the feds put forward grants for capital, and some initial operating supprt, and then the states assume most of the longer term operating costs. States may have to kick in capital also for long term growth. The news article cited above certainly seems to suggest that the state (Louisiana) will provide funding.
Another section of the document notes that state supported trains currently have a 93% cost recovery (revenue + state support) and Amtrak gets the remaining 7% from Washington.
The Amtrak plan for NO-BR calls for 2 trains a day, which means CP’s offer of one per day does imply “if you want a second, it’s on your dime”.
- Paul
drum118
Superstar
Allandale25
Senior Member
Ontario Northland on LinkedIn: Rail Infrastructure - Span Replacement
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ManyQuestions
Active Member
City wants to expand Trillium Line depot lands in $6.4M deal with CP Rail
The city should pay nearly $6.4 million to acquire more land at the Trillium Line train depot in case it's useful for future rail operations, staff recommend.
ottawacitizen.com
Does this article use CP instead of CN as an error or is there a reason for CP still owning part of the Wakley yard long after their operations were suspended in Ottawa? The article says the land was leased to the city in 2001, likely for the original O-train. I thought that they left the city in the early 90s.
roger1818
Senior Member
City wants to expand Trillium Line depot lands in $6.4M deal with CP Rail
The city should pay nearly $6.4 million to acquire more land at the Trillium Line train depot in case it's useful for future rail operations, staff recommend.
Does this article use CP instead of CN as an error or is there a reason for CP still owning part of the Wakley yard long after their operations were suspended in Ottawa? The article says the land was leased to the city in 2001, likely for the original O-train. I thought that they left the city in the early 90s.
No, it is CP. When the NCC built the Walkley yards back in the 60's, they gave the north half to CP and the half south to CN (in exchange for the yards they expropriated). As the article says, Capital Railway (the rail division of OC Transpo) had a 20 year lease (which expires at the end of the month) on CP's half of the yard with the option to buy it.
Edit: This is the parcel of land (in blue) I beleive they are purchasing. As you can see, as the article indicates, the parcel is significantly larger than what they are currently using.
Map curtesy geoOttawa (2019 Aerial photograph, with Property Parcels layer on)
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roger1818
Senior Member
I forgot to answer this part of the question. According to The Beachburg Sub website, the last CP freight in Ottawa operated in 1997. According to this city document, "in August 1998, Council of the former Region of Ottawa-Carleton directed staff to proceed with development and implementation of a pilot project for light rail transit service" and presumably there were talks with CP prior to that (the tracks were still there when the pilot started in 2001). Also in that same document, when the city purchased part of the Ellwood Subdivision from Mile 0.00 to 4.99 (Ottawa River to Walkley Yard), part of the Prescott Subdivision from Mile 4.89 to Mile 8.17 (Walkley Yard to Leitrim Road), and the Prince of Wales Bridge (now Chief William Commanda Bridge), they elected to "lease the 8.5 acre maintenance yard beyond 31 May 2005," until they could acquire a more "appropriate maintenance and storage yard site along the priority line." Obviously they weren't able to find a better alternative, so they decided to purchase the yard from CP.
ManyQuestions
Active Member
Makes sense! I had thought that CP had left sold the north shore route and left Ottawa when they abandoned the Waltham and Maniwaki Subdivisions.
roger1818
Senior Member
You are thinking of the wrong direction. CP’s last train out of Walkley yard (on Nov. 11, 1997 according to Old Time Trains) travelled south on the Prescott Sub to Bedell, Kemptville (where it connected with the Winchester Sub).
crs1026
Superstar
A Clear and Present Danger for the Continued Efficiency of Rail Transportation in Canada
Hoping this article from the Globe isn’t paywalled. The common ownership of CN and CP, even at a de minimus level, is not a good thing.
- Paul
Hoping this article from the Globe isn’t paywalled. The common ownership of CN and CP, even at a de minimus level, is not a good thing.
- Paul