Lack of meaningful Passenger Rail service outside the Quebec-Windsor Corridor

[Urban Sky]

Instead of all the routes back the same year, do one a year, basing it on the ones that would be the most successful first.

With what fleet, you clown?

 

[micheal_can]

With what fleet, you clown?

I am guessing you have not been following this. For the short routes, such as C-E, they exercise their right to order more Siemens trains. For the longer routes, such as the CP Canadian, when they replace the existing long distance fleet, they add those needed cars to the order. That is why I am not expecting any of this tomorrow. I know there is nothing spare to meet this new demand.

 

[Urban Sky]

I am guessing you have not been following this. For the short routes, such as C-E, they exercise their right to order more Siemens trains. For the longer routes, such as the CP Canadian, when they replace the existing long distance fleet, they add those needed cars to the order. That is why I am not expecting any of this tomorrow. I know there is nothing spare to meet this new demand.

You are the one who is not capable of following the discussion here: as things are standing at the moment, there is neither the funding, nor an obvious supplier, to replace the fleet required to maintain the existing non-Corridor services, let alone: to expand them.

 

[micheal_can]

You are the one who is not capable of following the discussion here: as things are standing at the moment, there is neither the funding, nor an obvious supplier, to replace the fleet required to maintain the existing non-Corridor services, let alone: to expand them.

I know that to be true. I also know that Via will be looking to replace their fleet if those routes are to continue to exist. I also know they can order more of the Siemens fleet.So, first step is to convince the government to earmark the money for doing that.

 

[Urban Sky]

I know that to be true. I also know that Via will be looking to replace their fleet if those routes are to continue to exist. I also know they can order more of the Siemens fleet.So, first step is to convince the government to earmark the money for doing that.

The first step is to convince the government that they need to secure VIA’s existing non-Corridor routes by replacing VIA‘s existing non-Corridor fleet before it falls apart. Whatever you keep smoking up when you are bored and high in the evening will never happen unless this (and the next) federal government decide to protect the Status Quo of VIA‘s network…

 

[micheal_can]

The first step is to convince the government that they need to secure VIA’s existing non-Corridor routes by replacing VIA‘s existing non-Corridor fleet before it falls apart. Whatever you keep smoking up when you are bored and high in the evening will never happen unless somebody convinces this (and the next) federal government to protect the Status Quo of VIA‘s network…

That is part of the goal. That is why I will mention the fleet renewal and point at that as a way to prepare Via for adding more routes. If tomorrow Via and the government announced an RFP to replace the fleet and it included 1000 units or more, that to me would signal that they are planning not to just keep what routes we have, but to expand them.

 

[Urban Sky]

Sure, there won‘t be any passenger rail service at all around Sudbury in 20 years unless this government gets its act together very soon, but feel free to obscure the urgency and distract from it by endlessly exhibiting the results of your decade-long daydreaming…

 

[DirectionNorth]

Just so you know ... if I get an aspirin/headache relief overdose, I'll definitely blame this thread.

We're going round in circles and it's making me dizzy. Can we please stop feeding the fantasy bear?

 

[Urban Sky]

Just so you know ... if I get an aspirin/headache relief overdose, I'll definitely blame this thread.

We're going round in circles and it's making me dizzy. Can we please stop feeding the fantasy bear?

Definitely wouldn’t want to be responsible for this and @crs1026 also seems to be ready to finally starve the fantasy bear to death. I‘ve already blocked him (just need to better control the impulse to click „Show ignored content“, LOL!), so if we just leave him alone here and just show him the way back here if he is sighted in the VIA Rail thread, we might be able to retain some of our sanity…

Have a good night, everyone!

 

[micheal_can]

Sure, there won‘t be any passenger rail service at all around Sudbury in 20 years unless this government gets its act together very soon, but feel free to obscure the urgency by distracting from this message by endlessly exhibiting the results of your decade-long daydreaming…

Has it been 10 years already?

 

[micheal_can]

I had said I was going to see my MP about getting more Via service. I had a personal emergency come up that I need to reschedule it for the new year.

 

[micheal_can]

As of 1pm EST, the Ocean is 19 hours late into Halifax due to engine issues. It is times like this where a daily would make some sense. ""Tomorrow's train" could deliver another engine Or,they could have spares for other new routes that could be swapped in in somewhere like Moncton. As an example, if an engine died on the Corridor it is not such a big deal for passengers to wait for another train. That train may be bringing a new engine, or it may be able to take all those passengers. That is what is good about a train that runs more than 2-3x a week.

 

[micheal_can]

Here is an interesting proposal...https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/saskatchewan-mayors-seek-to-shift-route-of-vias-canadian/

This was posted on the Via Rail thread and was thoroughly bashed as being not possible.

I would like to flesh out the challenges of changing the route.

1) "They can't tell Via what to do".

The problem with that attitude ignores that Canada is a country and the federal agencies should work well for all Canadians. The article only suggests rerouting the line from one CN owned line to another CN owned line. Not adding new service, or more frequency. The reroute would take the Canadian through larger communities. That may mean that more people will use the Canadian. In a way, that may force Via to look at adding more frequency due to a higher ridership.

2) What about all the stations along the way?

What about them? The government's cuts cut service from the cities of Calgary and Regina, 2of the largest cities in Western Canada.
The only station that would be a challenge might be at Saskatoon. It could be treated as they do in Edmonton by backing out of it and then continuing on the Wye.



This brings me to my inevitable thinking

There may be demand for Via/passenger rail service after all.

I do feel Via should have a minimum level of service throughout Canada. I would suggest the existing service, and the southern CP Canadian route all on daily service. If the provinces want more, then there should be a method in which the provinces could subsidize it. This is how Amtrak does it, and if we compare things with other countries, Amtrak is a good one to compare to. For example, several of their transcontinental routes are dailies.

 

[micheal_can]

This was posted over on Facebook. I shared it over on the Via forum.

So, if we go back a few weeks, I had mentioned Via could do this very thing with their surplus rolling stock. It does make me wonder if it simply will replace the RDCs or will they do something more so that they can be maintained in Toronto or Winnipeg. I expect they just replace the rolling stock and keep the rest as is, but I do hope for more.

 

[DSC]

Michael: Do you ever think you are talking to yourself?