VIA Rail

[kEiThZ]

Our entire rail network, and certainly the idea of traveling across the country by rail is an ananchronism. If you want to get from Halifax to Vancouver celebrating your own time, fly.

You could have Maglevs across the country and that would not change. Our country is the size of a continent. As such, going across, will always require air travel.

What strikes me as sad, is this reality (of needing air travel), driving us to underinvest in rail where there are clear benefits. Like Southern Ontario and Quebec and central Alberta. It's incredible that even with the housing pressures the GTA faces, for example, that continuous investment in regional and intercity rail is still seen as somewhat optional.

On a personal note, I've been especially disappointed with the Trudeau government. I really thought they'd make rail a priority. With their professed concern for climate change, I thought we'd finally get a government who understands the value of intercity rail in cutting aviation emissions in the Quebec City - Windsor corridor. But it seems to, at best, they seem to be content to avoid VIA Rail collapsing on their watch.

 

[BMO]

You could have Maglevs across the country and that would not change. Our country is the size of a continent. As such, going across, will always require air travel.

What strikes me as sad, is this reality (of needing air travel), driving us to underinvest in rail where there are clear benefits. Like Southern Ontario and Quebec and central Alberta. It's incredible that even with the housing pressures the GTA faces, for example, that continuous investment in regional and intercity rail is still seen as somewhat optional.

On a personal note, I've been especially disappointed with the Trudeau government. I really thought they'd make rail a priority. With their professed concern for climate change, I thought we'd finally get a government who understands the value of intercity rail in cutting aviation emissions in the Quebec City - Windsor corridor. But it seems to, at best, they seem to be content to avoid VIA Rail collapsing on their watch.

I mean the government did just invest $1B to update Via's fleet which is a good start.

 

[Kitsune]

Update on the Churchill situation: https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/first-...urchill-rail-line-deal-in-the-works-1.3914706

"The news release issued by the First Nations and iChurchill Thursday night does not mention Omnitrax by name."

Hmm including the Port .... I know there is some push from Alberta to reopen it for Grain shipments. Its been closed for several years now.

 

[mdrejhon]

That’s wonderful news. Great going Manitobans and the indigenous people.

This is great news. There is real passion to get the corridor going. I get the sense some are even offering to literally volunteer some services, to help soften the costs and keep Churchill alive. I think there are ways to make the port viable if local heart & smarts is put into it. Especially with it becoming more ice-free nowadays anyway.

Big question is how costly it will be to keep the track in good shape for decades to come, and the younger generation is wanting to move away from Churchill.

 

[MisterF]

Even if there's not a strong business case for it, I think there's value in maintaining an Arctic port and the rail line that accesses it. Lots of other countries are taking an interest in our Arctic waterways and we need to maintain a presence there. In an era when we think nothing of building a $300 million road to a hamlet with 900 people, maintaining access to our only Arctic port seems like a complete no brainer.

 

[idc24]

Maybe Churchill could become a cruise ship port and cash in on tourism. Arctic cruises are becoming really popular, especially in the summer when the ice is gone.

https://www.swoop-arctic.com/adventures/polar-bears/churchill

 

[Admiral Beez]

Hmm including the Port .... I know there is some push from Alberta to reopen it for Grain shipments. Its been closed for several years now.

AIUI, once the federal Wheat Board was shutdown, western farmers could sell their grain wherever they wanted, and this dramatically reduced the grain going through Churchill. One of the reasons Omnitrax was in no rush to fix the line was that the grain elevators and port were essssntially closed up. So, I wouldn’t count on grain saving the day in Churchill. Now, oil exports might be good, but northern Manitobans are against it. Tourism is likely the best hope.

It’s interesting to follow the tracks on Google Maps southward from Churchill. IDK how accurate Google is, but there are several branch lines that would be interesting tourism routes.

 

[Urban Sky]

It’s interesting to follow the tracks on Google Maps southward from Churchill. IDK how accurate Google is, but there are several branch lines that would be interesting tourism routes.

I can check on our railroad maps when I'm in office tomorrow, but I'm not aware of any branchlines from the Hudson Bay Railway mainline north of The Pas, other than The Pas-Cranberry Portage-Flin Flon/Lynn Lake/Osborne Lake, Sipiwesk-Thompson or the never completed (Gillam-)Amery-Port Nelson line...

Edit: Pit Siding-Kelsey seems to be another branch:

Source: Wikipedia

Note that Osborne Lake was reached through a branch leaving from Optic Lake (between Sherritt Jct. and Sherridon) towards the east, which was operated by VIA Rail until 1979:

Source: VIA Rail timetable (effective 1979-06-17, p.34)

 

[micheal_can]

Maybe Churchill could become a cruise ship port and cash in on tourism. Arctic cruises are becoming really popular, especially in the summer when the ice is gone.

https://www.swoop-arctic.com/adventures/polar-bears/churchill

You would need a drydock built for it for winter storage. The Hudson Bay does freeze up in winter.

 

[Kitsune]

AIUI, once the federal Wheat Board was shutdown, western farmers could sell their grain wherever they wanted, and this dramatically reduced the grain going through Churchill. One of the reasons Omnitrax was in no rush to fix the line was that the grain elevators and port were essssntially closed up. So, I wouldn’t count on grain saving the day in Churchill. Now, oil exports might be good, but northern Manitobans are against it. Tourism is likely the best hope.

The problem right now in Alberta and Saskatchewan is a lack of capacity heading west - causing grain to sit for many months. Oil is a also a concern, and I could see it reopening for oil and for booster grain crops.

 

[Urban Sky]

The Annual Report 2017 has been released yesterday.

Press Release: https://www.viarail.ca/en/about-via...-may-2018-via-rail-reports-strong-growth-2017

Full report: https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/media/pdfs/About_VIA/our-company/annual-reports/2017/2017_Annual Report_EN.pdf [fixed, thanks Allendale25]

 

[Allandale25]

^ That full report link is just a jpeg.

 

[dowlingm]

^ That full report link is just a jpeg.

https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/fi...annual-reports/2017/2017_Annual Report_EN.pdf

 

[innsertnamehere]

10% annual growth is very strong - and very good news. Hopefully this momentum can continue into HFR. The Corridor increased by 400,000 passengers.. good growth.

 

[nephersir7]

10% annual growth is very strong - and very good news. Hopefully this momentum can continue into HFR. The Corridor increased by 400,000 passengers.. good growth.

The Corridor breakdown is interesting. It looks like QUE-MTL-OTT added more passengers than MTL-OTT-TOR.

Passengers/week (2016 -> 2017):

Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto +7.6% (42,336 ->45,566)
Quebec-Montreal-Ottawa +31.7% (11,102 -> 14,617)
Corridor East Total +12.6% (53,438 -> 60,183)

Toronto-London-Sarnia-Windsor +5.9% (17,753 -> 18,804)
Toronto-Niagara +35.2% (580 -> 784)
Southwesten Ontario Total +6.8% ( 18333 -> 19588)​