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Ontario Northland/Northern Ontario Transportation

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NortheastLynx Update
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August meeting with the Minister of Finance and Nipissing MPP, Vic Fedeli (left), All Aboard Northern Ontario Founder, Éric Boutilier (centre), and On Track Strategies Consultant, Greg Gormick (right)
Dear Mayor George Lefebvre,

My colleague, Eric Boutilier of All Aboard Northern Ontario, has asked me to provide you and your colleagues with an update on our upcoming NortheastLynx proposal for the revival of the former Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) rail passenger service linking Temiskaming, Cochrane, North Bay and Toronto.

We have made tremendous progress over the summer and we are now aiming for a public launch of the proposal in late October, immediately following the municipal elections.

At the outset, let me say that we have received tremendous support and input from numerous members of the rail industry, retired and active, and the new provincial government. These have included Minister of Finance Vic Fedeli, members of Minister of Transportation John Yakabuski’s staff, ONTC staff, MP Charlie Angus, MPP John Vanthof and retired Amtrak president David Gunn, who now resides on Cape Breton.

Our NortheastLynx proposal draws on many of the service-proven concepts I employed in the development of my SouthwestLynx plan for Oxford County. It may be accessed at:

http://www.oxfordcounty.ca/Your-Government/Speak-up-Oxford/Campaign-Details/ArticleId/14251/SouthwestLynx-Integrated-High-Performance-Transportation-for-Southwestern-Ontario

SouthwestLynx is part of a four-component plan for the improvement of rail and public transportation throughout Southwestern Ontario, much of which is adaptable to the needs and the realities of transportation in Northern Ontario. The four-part series of reports, under the banner Connecting Southwestern Ontario, may be accessed at:

http://www.county.oxford.on.ca/Portals/15/Documents/SpeakUpOxford/2018/SouthwestLynx/Connecting%20SW%20Ontario_electronic%2020180816.pdf

Like this plan, NortheastLynx is not merely a proposal for rail passenger service restoration, but a plan for integrated, multi-modal transportation that optimizes the resources and services of the ONTC and local transit operations.

The NortheastLynx draft report will be completed at the beginning of next week and, after peer review by industry experts, it will proceed to graphic design. Among the major points we have developed are:

(1) A phased implementation plan to deliver an interim Cochrane-Temiskaming-North Bay-Toronto rail service by 2019 with coordinated improvements to ONTC and provincially-owned GO Transit feeder bus services;

(2) A second phase that will improve the interim Cochrane-Toronto service in 2020;

(3) A third phase that will add a second North Bay-Toronto rail frequency in 2021;

(4) Opportunities to take advantage of economies of scale, should certain aspects of the SouthwestLynx plan be adopted and implemented by the Government of Ontario;

(5) Strict adherence to the financial limits placed on ONTC rail service restoration by the new provincial government in the policy statements issued during this year’s election campaign;

(6) Benefits for the freight service provided on the entire line by both the ONTC and the Canadian National Railway;

(7) Longer-range improvements that can be undertaken on an incremental basis on the Cochrane-Temiskaming-North Bay-Toronto corridor, including a westward extension to Kapuskasing, and on the Toronto-Parry Sound-Sudbury rail corridor; and

(8) Scalability based on the actual ridership generation and financial performance of each phase of the NortheastLynx plan.

As endorsed by our advisers, we have taken an approach to NortheastLynx that can best be described as “adopt, adapt and optimize.” Everything in the plan rests on techniques and technologies that have been proven elsewhere and may be readily adapted for implementation here. It also aims to optimize the use of the existing resources of the ONTC and its partners in the delivery of this service.

Please feel free to forward this brief update to your fellow council members and the members of the Temiskaming Municipal Association, the Northeastern Ontario Municipal Association, and the District of Parry Sound Municipal Association to whom we are most grateful for the generous support you have all extended to us. If you or any of your colleagues require further information in advance of our delivery of the NortheastLynx plan, please feel free to contact Eric or me at any time.

Best wishes,

Greg Gormick
On Track Strategies
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The all-aboard-north guy was one of my teachers in College. It's weird seeing his picture as a train activist (not a bad thing, though.)
 
What’s worse - riding to Cochrane in a rock hard GO seat, or in an ancient imported thing that even the American market (systems like North Carolina’s or CTDOT for example) which is tight for available passenger rolling stock said “nah” to. Maybe they should go for glory - rescue Wisconsin’s Talgos from Beech Grove and their seeming doom to never turning a wheel in passenger service.
 
... run the train from Toronto to Moosonee, advertised it as a "Take a train to the Ocean !!" ... and watch the revenue soar :)
 
The Talgos are a really good option, but the whole point of structuring it this way is to actually get something done. It's hard enough to sell this to Ford without extra costs.

Demanding we do things like buy new rolling stock for day 1 is only going make it less likely to see actual service.
 
dowlingm said:
What’s worse - riding to Cochrane in a rock hard GO seat, or in an ancient imported thing that even the American market (systems like North Carolina’s or CTDOT for example) which is tight for available passenger rolling stock said “nah” to. Maybe they should go for glory - rescue Wisconsin’s Talgos from Beech Grove and their seeming doom to never turning a wheel in passenger service.
Click to expand...

I thought the Wisconsin Talgos would be headed out to West eventually, because the Cascades service is short on equipment. I don't think they would be the best choice for the Northlander though. Too long, and too expensive. I'm not sure how they would handle the winter either, or whether 2 sets would be enough.

If the Northlander revival does go ahead, the best bet for rolling stock is probably secondhand, single-level commuter equipment with interiors optimized for longer travel distances. I also don't know how they will handle HEP and locomotives. I think repurposed commuter engines (with HEP on board) would work well, but lets see. There are a bunch of other problems that need to be dealt with before any equipment is purchased.
 
M636RF said:
I thought the Wisconsin Talgos would be headed out to West eventually, because the Cascades service is short on equipment. I don't think they would be the best choice for the Northlander though. Too long, and too expensive. I'm not sure how they would handle the winter either, or whether 2 sets would be enough.

If the Northlander revival does go ahead, the best bet for rolling stock is probably secondhand, single-level commuter equipment with interiors optimized for longer travel distances. I also don't know how they will handle HEP and locomotives. I think repurposed commuter engines (with HEP on board) would work well, but lets see. There are a bunch of other problems that need to be dealt with before any equipment is purchased.
Click to expand...
Talgos suggestion was facetious - the servicing requirements mean somewhere with an existing service depot much more likely, but rumour has it that the Talgos may have an FRA problem to operating in WA/OR - not in passenger service before a particular regulation to do with doors hit grandfathering, so FRA would have to give a waiver.

I assume a “restored Northlander” would be GP40+APU+legacy coaches like before. I would much rather see VIA operating an F40PH+HEP1 consist cascaded from the fleet renewal.
 
dowlingm said:
My understanding was that at least some of their stock was life expired, and they operated a bilevel on Northlander as a test of how they might renew their fleet. Shortly after that, the OLP killed Northlander.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that was the gist I remember from digging out many of the stories at the time, but I suspect the quality needed for the Northlander is less demanding than the PBE, and some coaches arrived, IIRC, to add to those on the siding after the coaches for the PBE refurb had started.

New coaches would be nice, but the present Con regime are living by the edict of 'make do' for everyone else, so they could stone two birds with one kill on this. Employment for Fedeli's backyard, and fulfilling their drea....whoops...promise.

And then there's those RDCs sitting down at Mimico...surely a lease would be better than them sitting idle, even if it's a short-term lease until other coaches can be cascaded to the NL.
 
The only listing I could find seems to indicate that they have about 10-12 ex-GO Hawker-Siddeley cars (plus some heavy weights) but no indication if they are all serviceable. A few have gone under major refit for the Cochrane-Moosonee run and I understand the plan is to refit the complete fleet needed for that run, with the addition of a dome car for the summer runs. I don't know how many they need to dedicate to that run but it doesn't seem like there is a lot of leeway towards servicing a renewed Northlander, not even considering how many are structurally beyond redemption. I don't know if they scrapped or unloaded any after the Northlander was cancelled.
 
^All good questions.
lenaitch said:
The only listing I could find seems to indicate that they have about 10-12 ex-GO Hawker-Siddeley cars
Click to expand...
That sounds about right from what I recall. I suspect the references are now long-gone on-line, but they got two more (three?) from one of the St Lawrence tourist operations in reasonably good shape after completing the PBE refurbishment. IIRC, about eight of what was sitting on-site was beyond worth repairing.

I'm sure there's all sorts of odds and ends that could be thrown together for a Northlander. It's not 'if' so much as 'how'...as in 'how much are they willing to spend'? It might be best that they just lease something in until it proves itself. And if it does prove itself (doubtful) then invest in something that will last. It will save money in the longer term to have something reliable and predictable.

This is more a political test than engineering...
 
steveintoronto said:
I'm sure there's all sorts of odds and ends that could be thrown together for a Northlander. It's not 'if' so much as 'how'...as in 'how much are they willing to spend'? It might be best that they just lease something in until it proves itself. And if it does prove itself (doubtful) then invest in something that will last. It will save money in the longer term to have something reliable and predictable.
Click to expand...

Gormick’s “odds and ends” approach is badly advised, IMHO. The press accounts allude to equipment from a repository in the US. If it’s the source I am thinking of , ie Iowa Pacific, it’s very old stuff that may not be winterised and may have ongoing maintenance needs. If it’s some fleet of decommissioned commuter or long distance equipment from US fleets, well, it’s long in the tooth and quite worn out. It’s worrying to hear the proponents suggest that they can beg, borrow, or steal from Metrolinx for equipment.

The PCs’ election promise was a feel-good, and one can’t blame the northern politicians for trying to collect on it. But a service that needs more capital only a few years down the road when politics may or may not be aligned is fatal. If this thing is going to fly, the proponents need to cement things in place that have longevity so that there is not a demand for more money that may strike the voters as ‘bad money after good’. Piggyback on the VIA procurement and buy a dozen more cars (two four car trainsets, plus spares) that have life expectancy. If DoFo is behind the political 8-ball and can’t back away from this promise, let him pay the full shot for a sustainable service, not a bandaid quality short term bauble.

I’m waiting to hear the startup and long term budget for track maintenance. Buying rolling stock is window dressing for this initiative. Lots of track maintenance stopped the day after the Northlander died.

- Paul
 
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