VIA Rail

[cplchanb]

PS another release here

The Cadence Team submits its response to the Request for Proposals for the High Frequency Rail (HFR) Project

/CNW/ - The Cadence team is proud to announce the submission of its proposal in response to the Government of Canada's Request for Proposals for the High...

www.newswire.ca

- Paul

this quote at the end definitely raised my eyebrows a bit:

"Air Canada’s participation and commitments to the Cadence team do not require any supplementary disclosure, and therefore, Air Canada will not make any further comments."

why are they so bluntly secretive about it if theyre so "excited" to join their team.... wouldnt they want to promote their participation more? I could be reading the tea leaves but just more shadiness from AC.

 

[crs1026]

why are they so bluntly secretive about it if theyre so "excited" to join their team.... wouldnt they want to promote their participation more? I could be reading the tea leaves but just more shadiness from AC.

It's likely a cone of silence imposed by the bidding process. Until Ottawa has received and reviewed the three (well, six actually) competing proposals, it would be unhelpful for the parties to begin promoting their ideas. It will be interesting to see how and when they do so.

- Paul

 

[reaperexpress]

Just out of curiosity: how many railroads do you know which have to deal with platform heights which range by a full meter (e.g., from 48 inches high to basically track level)?

Off the top of my head? Amtrak, Exo, MBTA, CT Rail, Metro North, NJ Transit, SEPTA, MARC... Pretty much every passenger railway in eastern North America.

Amtrak Empire Corridor in Albany, NY

Amtrak Empire Corridor in Amsterdam, NY

Exo 13 Mont-Saint-Hilaire at Gare Centrale

Exo 13 Mont-Saint-Hilaire at St-Basile-le-Grand

Metro North Port Jervis Line at Port Jervis station

Metro North Port Jervis Line at Otisvillle station

CT Rail Hartford Line at New Haven Union Station

CT Rail Hartford Line at Hartford Union Station

It‘s the infrastructure which drives boarding processes and you of all people here should know this very well by now…

Does the platform height require them to have wildly variable ticket prices, based more on when you buy them than how busy that trip is?

Does the platform height require them to funnel all passengers through a single escalator even when three are available?

Does the platform height require them to tell passengers to remain seated until the train comes to a stop?

 

[Urban Sky]

Off the top of my head? Amtrak, MBTA, CT Rail, Metro North, NJ Transit, SEPTA, MARC...

First, we are talking about intercity rail, so scratch all but Amtrak from the list.

Second, to the best of my knowledge, all major NEC stations have high-level platforms, which is again a big qualifier for whatever differences there might exist in comparison with VIA.

Does the platform height require them to have wildly variable ticket prices, based more on when you buy them than how busy that trip is?

I‘m a bit puzzled as to what you are referring to. In my view, the new pricing system is much less arbitrary with Escape/ECO/ECO+ or BUS/BUS+ fares finally moving in sync rather than ECO+/BUS+ being excessively expensive even on the least popular departures.

Does the platform height require them to funnel all passengers through a single escalator even when three are available?

In the case of Toronto Union, complain to the station owner and the tennant of the station areas which holds the other two escalators. Not to mention that the platforms are too narrow to have passengers with suitcases approach the train from opposite ends.

Does the platform height require them to tell passengers to remain seated until the train comes to a stop?

If you need staff to assist the passengers while detraining over a one-meter drop, you need to allow for said staff to reach the door before people start blocking the way to get there. Not an issue at high-platform stations, but the need to keep procedures consistent is understandable…