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VIA Rail

lenaitch said:
Jeez, I completely forgot about Norontair, which I believe was also organized under the ONTC. I was up there when it operated. Duh. No excuses. Also, remote far north airports are operated by the MTO.
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I flew Norontair on business plenty of times. Norontair pioneered northern STOL service in the days before the Dash-8 and similar craft were on the market. I vividly remember the All-Bran cereal breakfasts that they served. That’s where the investment dollars went, and much as I prefer trains, the North was well served by putting the money into new air infrastructure while buying old trains.

I know no other remote region in Canada that had the benefit of a loose-purse-strings, money-bleeding development entity similar to ONTC. There is nothing ON could have done to keep mines and paper mills going. There are lots of things going well up north, and fundamentally I would like to see a passenger train returned, but it’s a huge price tag proposition. ONTC is an anachronism.

- Paul
 
They operated Twin Otters where I lived and I believe they had a couple of first generation Dash 8s for their longer haul connecting routes. I think all of their operations were farmed out. Northern Alberta and BC Railways might be rough equivalents but not near as extensive. When pulp and saw mills were more numerous and Adams and Sherman mines were operating traffic was much more solid. Its next big test will be the pending shut down of Kidd Creek which is a lot of their current traffic, although Glencor is exploring the feasibility of extending it.
 
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cplchanb said:
Any possible causes? Speed? Poorly maintained track??
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A knowledgeable source tells me that first reports didn’t cite a cause - implying that the crew didn’t detect or advise of any adverse condition ahead of the incident or immediately afterwards.

The most benign theory one might look at given weather and location would be ice in the flanges at a level crossing, possibly built up by road plows. But that’s just me speculating.

- Paul
 
DSC said:
This is the train from Churchill, if it only had 12 people aboard (5 crew plus 7 passengers) it was certainly not making any money!
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I wonder if the recently repaired track was at fault. The train was reportedly traveling at 100 kph, so it must have been a section that was assumed to be sound and straight.

If the Winnipeg-Churchill freight and/or passenger run is not making money, it’s time to cut it loose. I say Ottawa should gift the rail system, service, engines and the passenger cars to the Keewatin Railway Company or another indigenous group. I’d support Ottawa and Alberta guaranteeing bitumen rail shipments to the port of Churchill to bring some money its way.

They’ve got the port. With the Wheat Board gone no one is shipping grains via Churchill. But bitumen by rail would make this place wealthy.

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^The train derailed on a line that is quite close to Winnipeg, and is part of the central Manitoba rail infrastructure. It would be sustainable even if the Churchill line were abandoned. And it was maintained throughout the closure of the northern line. The fate of the northern line has no real bearing on it.
The passenger count of a particular train ought not to be debated based on any single day. One ought to look for the ridership over a longer period and over the entire route.
This particular train was running something like 17 hours late. That can’t have helped the passenger count.
- Paul
 
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I don't think it would really matter who ran the passenger service,, it would still need to be subsidized. I doubt the highways to Pickle Lake or Armstrong are 'cost effective' given annual maintenance, but that's what governments do - provide services to all the population. Shipping bitumen would require construction of facilities at the port and probably track upgrades - those trains are heavy.
 
Allandale25 said:
^ Good to hear there are no serious injuries. Hopefully the equipment can be repaired.
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DSC said:
A fair question but we do not have info on the load on the way out nor whether this was a particularly small load because of the season. Of course, Churchill is not easy to reach by other means too.
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this is where small consists of DMUs make sense. Its such a waste sending a loco with 3 or 4 cars where a pair of DMUs can do the trick. If only via joined in on the UPX order.
 
cplchanb said:
this is where small consists of DMUs make sense. Its such a waste sending a loco with 3 or 4 cars where a pair of DMUs can do the trick. If only via joined in on the UPX order.
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They run RDC's on the rest of the route and have a loco to Churchill. The current UPX trains are probably being replaced by EMUs once electrification is done so VIA might be able to buy them up.
 
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