VIA Rail

[crs1026]

No, I meant cars which allow views not just to the right or left (or top) of the train, but also its front and back. Granted, RMR seems to now have added some such cars into their fleet with their new Stadler-built Gold Leaf 3.0 cars, but unlike in a Skyline or Park dome, you‘d need to walk an entire car length to switch from front-facing to rear-facing views:

While I suspect that the new fleet will abandon the dome concept, I do think the short domes of the HEP I fleet are the optimal sightseeing experience of all. I would rate them much higher even than the longer domes used by others - eg the ex Milwaukee domes or those of SP or ATSF.

They are also an intimate space that encourages socialising....in fact, all of the spaces in the Canadian fleet are a perfect size for creating conversations and meeting people without cramming people together. For the money to be spent, I hope the designers will look at lounge spaces carefully.

The Stadler cars do offer excellent views, even when marshalled together so there is no direct looking-forward view. I agree that the dome is not the only enjoyable design, but a flat 4x6 window in a compartment is setting the standards fairly low. For the money, the new design ought to aspire to a superior experience, and not a mediocre one, otherwise why bother. Which is why I will cling to a hope that domes will be copied somehow.

The other amenity that the Statler cars offer (which I do not believe there is any hope of interesting VIA) is the open air deck. It may not be doable in January, but it's another can't-be-beat experience.

- Paul

 

[trainfanjacob8]

On the TRTO->WDON right now. I’m shocked at how rough the ride is. It’s like being on a plan with constant turbulence. Makes it obvious how far we have to go in order to be ready form HSR.

I wonder how much of it is the equipment, and how much of it is the track. Personally, I find the new Venture sets to be much smoother and quieter then LRC and HEP equipment. In regards to the track, it is frustrating to see how many slow orders have popped up on CN track in SWO over the last few years. Kitchener-London, Komoka-Glencoe, and Strathroy-Watford all have long sections of reduced speeds.

 

[crs1026]

I wonder how much of it is the equipment, and how much of it is the track. Personally, I find the new Venture sets to be much smoother and quieter then LRC and HEP equipment. In regards to the track, it is frustrating to see how many slow orders have popped up on CN track in SWO over the last few years. Kitchener-London, Komoka-Glencoe, and Strathroy-Watford all have long sections of reduced speeds.

So long as VIA operates on landlord freight railroads that handle frequent heavy freight equipment, this is what one can expect.

It would be hugely costly to maintain those lines to the quality where your drink won't spill (as it won't on TGV, or even Brightline),

- Pau

 

[Admiral Beez]

It would be hugely costly to maintain those lines to the quality where your drink won't spill (as it won't on TGV, or even Brightline),

I remember taking the train from Kaohsiung to Taipei and on my phone's GPS we were traveling at 300 kph, and I felt almost nothing. I also recall how wide the train was, five seats across. As a 53 y/o, I don't think I'll see this in Canada in my lifetime.

 

[micheal_can]

While people do still ride the whole way in economy, the transportation element in our long distance trains has diminished and is pretty much a dead business. The coach portions of the Canadian consists are markedly smaller than even a few years ago.

Adding the fourth night to the schedule didn't help..

The long distance trains are about liesure travel. New equipment will have to reflect this.

- Paul

A fleet replacement is a good time to fix that. With the push to correct the problems of on time due to freight, by the time the first replacements come, the schedule could be fixed. That does not mean that the view should be ignored, but the 2are not mutually exclusive.

 

[crs1026]

A fleet replacement is a good time to fix that. With the push to correct the problems of on time due to freight, by the time the first replacements come, the schedule could be fixed. That does not mean that the view should be ignored, but the 2are not mutually exclusive.

So, by the time we have procured the equipment, we will also have invested in sufficient track capacity to allow the passenger trains to overtake all the slower freights in the way?

You are missing a memo or two. The slower schedule is there for a reason, it matches the pace of the Canadian to the pace of the freight trains ahead, and gives the Canadian lots of time to hold sidings to let opposing trains pass. We'd be building a lot of new sidings and double track to restore the historical timings, otherwise the impacts on freight would be unacceptable.

- Paul

 

[micheal_can]

So, by the time we have procured the equipment, we will also have invested in sufficient track capacity to allow the passenger trains to overtake all the slower freights in the way?

You are missing a memo or two. The slower schedule is there for a reason, it matches the pace of the Canadian to the pace of the freight trains ahead, and gives the Canadian lots of time to hold sidings to let opposing trains pass. We'd be building a lot of new sidings and double track to restore the historical timings, otherwise the impacts on freight would be unacceptable.

- Paul

I would hope that by then the padded schedule can be adhered to religiously. As far as un padding the schedule, Maybe by then CN will see they need to invest in more capacity. Maybe they will see over siding trains cannot work well, and will lengthen sidings to lengthen overall train lengths. I do have hopes of Via's trans not stopping or slowing down below track speed except for stations, but I know that is not realistically possible without serious infrastructure investment.