General railway discussions

[kamira51]

Today we have an exciting Federal news release......... LOL

The government has retained external consultants to advise on possible and plausible improvements to rail service in south western Ontario, with that report due by the end of next year.

Thank goodness for Ottawa leading with decisive action!

Minister of Transport announces external advisors to help deliver improvements to passenger rail service in Southwestern Ontario

The Government of Canada is committed to creating a faster, greener, more sustainable passenger rail service. The High Frequency Rail project, running from Toronto to Québec City, will deliver this commitment, by transforming passenger rail through the creation of a more frequent and sustainable...

www.canada.ca

From the above:

View attachment 438457

Really a year to do the study?

Public consultation is both a blessing and a curse in this country.

 

[DirectionNorth]

Today we have an exciting Federal news release......... LOL

The government has retained external consultants to advise on possible and plausible improvements to rail service in south western Ontario, with that report due by the end of next year.

Thank goodness for Ottawa leading with decisive action!

Minister of Transport announces external advisors to help deliver improvements to passenger rail service in Southwestern Ontario

The Government of Canada is committed to creating a faster, greener, more sustainable passenger rail service. The High Frequency Rail project, running from Toronto to Québec City, will deliver this commitment, by transforming passenger rail through the creation of a more frequent and sustainable...

www.canada.ca

From the above:

View attachment 438457

I would write another parody post, but I'm tired tonight and the next few weeks are quite busy. LOL indeed!

 

[Bordercollie]

In season 5 of the Hand Maids rail there is a scene where they board the train to go west to America. Apparently this was filmed at Ceres Global Ag’s terminal. Its interesting to see that the last car has a full width glass window. I wonder how they did that when the vestibule is not the full width of the train.
I doubt they made serious modifications to the structure of the car. Wonder how they did it.

 

[Allandale25]

ÖBB claims world first with wind turbine generating energy for traction

ÖBB has built what it says the world’s first wind turbine designed to generate traction current for train operation.

www.railjournal.com

 

[Bordercollie]

ÖBB claims world first with wind turbine generating energy for traction

ÖBB has built what it says the world’s first wind turbine designed to generate traction current for train operation.

www.railjournal.com

Any carbon offset is a good thing. Good job.

 

[crs1026]

Any carbon offset is a good thing. Good job.

The issue isn't so much carbon offset (the lines have always been electric) as reducing the need for capacity on the power grid to bring power to the tracks. That's certainly a consideration just about everywhere. Even where trains are electric today, as EV's generally are added, the power grid capacity will be challenged.

And it's very important in Canada because if we ever intend to electrify our railways, we will need to create power supplies to railways lines over a very broad territory, often through wilderness zones.

- Paul

 

[Allandale25]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/11/13/union-station-dc-rail-renovation/

"Union Station has fallen on hard times. Can it be saved?

Residents, commuters and workers say they are worried about the fate of the 115-year-old landmark, a once-vibrant gateway into D.C."

 

[Northern Light]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/11/13/union-station-dc-rail-renovation/

"Union Station has fallen on hard times. Can it be saved?

Residents, commuters and workers say they are worried about the fate of the 115-year-old landmark, a once-vibrant gateway into D.C."

The building there is still in decent shape, and set to receive a multi-billion dollar investment.

Its facing the same shorter term issues as our Union Station did briefly during and right after the pandemic (still to a lesser degree now) with passenger loads through the station well below pre-pandemic levels and they have faced greater issues w/homelessness and criminality in the station as well.

It speaks to the choices governments throughout North America in particular, and to a lesser degree some other parts of the world are making or avoiding.

Taxes must rise, on business, on the upper middle class and wealthy particularly, in order to properly fund mental healthcare, addiction treatment, subsidized housing and other social supports.

We've literally had 2 full generations of disinvestment, as measured roughly from 1980 and the onset of Ronald Reagan in the U.S.

Governments have alternated between those that actively cut, and those that staunch the worst bleeds, but don't actually reverse the long-term trends of disinvestment.

This is true in the U.S. where Bill Clinton made deeper cuts to social spending than Reagan did, and here the cuts of Mike Harris were never reversed during 13 years of Wynne-McGuinty; and Tony Blair didn't really un-do Thatcherism either.

***

Some of the immediate situation in DC will recover in the next months as foot and train traffic ramp up; but other issues, as in our City and province loom large if they continue to be neglected.

 

[kamira51]

Taxes must rise, on business, on the upper middle class and wealthy particularly, in order to properly fund mental healthcare, addiction treatment, subsidized housing and other social supports.

By raising taxes on (small)business and the middle class, your only making it more difficult than it already is.

The obvious solution is to tax the crap outa the rich, but that'll never happen.

 

[Northern Light]

By raising taxes on (small)business and the middle class, your only making it more difficult than it already is.

The obvious solution is to tax the crap outa the rich, but that'll never happen.

Business taxes are at record lows as viewed in the post WWII context.

Canada's peak federal corporate tax rate was 28% as recently as the 1990s..

Today its 15%

Small business used to pay the same rate as every other kind of business........so 28%; today that number is 9% federally.

In Ontario, peak Corporate Tax rates were 16%, and now 10.5%

While again, small business used to pay the general rate and now pays a mere 3.2%

So lets review those numbers together:

Historic Corporate Tax Rate: (combined Fed/Prov), 42% on all business types

Current Corporate Tax rate (combined Fed/Prov). 25.5% on large business, 12.7% on small business.

*****

The U.S. federal corporate tax rate was 38% in the early 90's; today its 21%

Lets be clear, businesses are a tax shelter for the rich.

*****

Likewise, the upper middle class (and rich) have benefited from rafts of tax-shelters.

Whether that's lowering the Capital Gains rate in Canada from 75% to 50% (that's an inclusion rate of income for tax purposes, not the tax rate itself)

To RESPs (good for rich parents to set aside money for their rich children's education, especially with rising tuition due to those same parents and their businesses paying less tax.)

As well as TFSAs, REITs and myriad others

I say this btw, as someone with TFSA and RRSP and who benefits from the lower capital gains rate too.

 

[Fritter]

But other organizations like public transit use a similar model and it doesn't seem to be an issue retaining staff.

In my opinion, the senior staff, who are used to and worked their way up in this type of model have no problem staying with an employer, however newer younger staff are harder to retain as staff under this model.

 

[just east of the creek]

Business taxes are at record lows as viewed in the post WWII context.

Canada's peak federal corporate tax rate was 28% as recently as the 1990s..

Today its 15%

Small business used to pay the same rate as every other kind of business........so 28%; today that number is 9% federally.

In Ontario, peak Corporate Tax rates were 16%, and now 10.5%

While again, small business used to pay the general rate and now pays a mere 3.2%

So lets review those numbers together:

Historic Corporate Tax Rate: (combined Fed/Prov), 42% on all business types

Current Corporate Tax rate (combined Fed/Prov). 25.5% on large business, 12.7% on small business.

*****

The U.S. federal corporate tax rate was 38% in the early 90's; today its 21%

Lets be clear, businesses are a tax shelter for the rich.

*****

Likewise, the upper middle class (and rich) have benefited from rafts of tax-shelters.

Whether that's lowering the Capital Gains rate in Canada from 75% to 50% (that's an inclusion rate of income for tax purposes, not the tax rate itself)

To RESPs (good for rich parents to set aside money for their rich children's education, especially with rising tuition due to those same parents and their businesses paying less tax.)

As well as TFSAs, REITs and myriad others

I say this btw, as someone with TFSA and RRSP and who benefits from the lower capital gains rate too.

Northern Light, are you sure you want to open up discussion on taxes in this thread? Especially corporate taxes? I am in the USA, on business right now, and the Canadian tax situation is a bit like the elephant and the mouse, and Canada being the mouse. Regardless of how we may feel about the present state of taxation and how we are taxed, corporately, the USA is the prime influence on corporate tax policy, with a border that makes it easy for firms to find shelter or consolidation of production operations in the USA and their Canadian affiliate to be of a service nature only. Those are jobs and capital never spent in Canada.

 

[drum118]

Wrong Thread for taxes

 

[Northern Light]

Northern Light, are you sure you want to open up discussion on taxes in this thread? Especially corporate taxes? I am in the USA, on business right now, and the Canadian tax situation is a bit like the elephant and the mouse, and Canada being the mouse. Regardless of how we may feel about the present state of taxation and how we are taxed, corporately, the USA is the prime influence on corporate tax policy, with a border that makes it easy for firms to find shelter or consolidation of production operations in the USA and their Canadian affiliate to be of a service nature only. Those are jobs and capital never spent in Canada.

You'll note that the point of that discussion initially was the need to raise taxes in the United States, and was tied specifically to the social decay discussed in a story about Washington D.C.'s Union Station.

****

That said, I agree we don't want to wander too far off from the primary subject of this thread and we can take that discussion elsewhere.

 

[Allandale25]

CPKC on Instagram: "#SteamMeetsGreen: CP 1001, now in testing to become the world’s first hydrogen-powered line haul freight locomotive, recently pulled the ‘Empress’, our 1930-vintage steam locomotive at CP’s Calgary mechanical shop. A century ago

2,687 likes, 58 comments - cpkcrail on November 16, 2022: "#SteamMeetsGreen: CP 1001, now in testing to become the world’s first hydrogen-powered line haul freight locomotive, recently pulled the ‘Empress’, our 1930-vintage steam locomotive at CP’s Calgary mechanical shop. A century ago, 2816...

www.instagram.com