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VIA Rail

robmausser said:
So many RDC's at the Mimco Yard. A shame. Are they unsalvageable?
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When did you take that picture? Are those not regularly in service? When I pass through Willowbrook at rush hour the VIA side is usually empty.
 
robmausser said:
I wonder where VIA is bringing the RDC's? I thought they were already at home in southwestern ontario

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The units went back to MMC in Montréal, where they are stored.

robmausser said:
So many RDC's at the Mimco Yard. A shame. Are they unsalvageable?

14587430970_1d02e6c0f7_k.jpg
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There are 11 RDCs stored at TMC. 5 of them - 6135, 6148, 6205, 6215 and one other who's number escapes me right now - are owned by VIA and were running as recently as 4 years ago. In theory, they can be made to run in fairly short order.

5 more of them - 6110, 6111, 6113, 6138 and 6214 are in limbo. They were owned either by a Nebraska outfit named Farmrail or the defunct IRSI in Moncton, and storage fees haven't been paid on them in years. They've been stored at the TMC for almost 30 years, and are almost basically scrap.

The last one is the one owned by the company I work for.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
Jonny5 said:
When did you take that picture? Are those not regularly in service? When I pass through Willowbrook at rush hour the VIA side is usually empty.
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Dan gave a more detailed answer, but the RDCs have been there for many years. Currently on the VIA side there are the RDCs mentioned above, a few renaissance cars, and old LRC locomotive, and earlier this summer the refurbished RDCs from the video above.

The VIA side is actually the most interesting part of Willowbrook, you just gotta look closely! I actually choose the south side of the GO Train just to look at the VIA side. Once I even saw UP Express units lashed up to a VIA F40 unit... not sure why though.
 
VIA's HFR will only have a marginal impact on air traffic. 3 hrs from Ottawa to Toronto is on par with flight and transit time. And just not worth the hassle of the transfer.

HFR will slightly damage Porter's business. But that might finally force them to focus more on the US.

I'm a tad worried about this proposed corridor outreach. Hopefully, this doesn't get devolved into every town having a stop (for political reasons) and diluting the effectiveness of medium speed inter-metro HFR.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Note that part of the reason for high fees at YYZ is due to the rent Feds charges. So instead of subsidizing rail travel, perhaps it would be more beneficial to just reduce the rent (with proviso that the savings goes directly to end users).

As to rail improvements to the US - it will in all likelihood remain noncompetitive to other modes - it would be more productive to focus on the windsor-qc corridor instead (and let GO deal with regional transit to NF)

AoD
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Many of these people are already driving or taking the Greyhound, clogging up roads. I think of it less of subsidizing Buffalo, than providing service to where travelers are going. Moreover, Buffalo is probably an underserved market for commerce and tourism to Toronto. Would love to see an analysis on something small (2 car RDC) running regularly.

Oh. And the feds will never reduce the rent. If the Conservatives didn't do it, what makes anyone think the Liberals will? It's easy money for governments. The public doesn't fly often enough to worry about gouging in aviation. And for some strange reason, business groups in Toronto aren't as protective of Pearson as say how Heathrow is viewed by businesses in London.
 
kEiThZ said:
I'm a tad worried about this proposed corridor outreach. Hopefully, this doesn't get devolved into every town having a stop (for political reasons) and diluting the effectiveness of medium speed inter-metro HFR.
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I can see VIA just reaching out to small towns to "have more voices on their side". With VIA tripling the number of trains in the corridor with HFR, I can see a small number of trains being milk runs to stop at these small towns, with the vast majority just blowing past them. I could see small towns having very basic stops, with larger stops having level boarding and more amenities.
 
alexanderglista said:
I can see VIA just reaching out to small towns to "have more voices on their side". With VIA tripling the number of trains in the corridor with HFR, I can see a small number of trains being milk runs to stop at these small towns, with the vast majority just blowing past them. I could see small towns having very basic stops, with larger stops having level boarding and more amenities.
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Agreed. However, you don't need milk runs to hit a large number of stops. If they manage to run trains every 30 minutes, they could hit extra 18 locations twice a day with each train making 1 stop between Toronto and Ottawa and having nearly identical run times (no passing or funky crew/equipment scheduling necessary). The location of that extra stop changes from run to run but unless there is higher demand for travel from tiny town to tiny town than tiny town to big city, it works well.
 
alexanderglista said:
I can see VIA just reaching out to small towns to "have more voices on their side". With VIA tripling the number of trains in the corridor with HFR, I can see a small number of trains being milk runs to stop at these small towns, with the vast majority just blowing past them. I could see small towns having very basic stops, with larger stops having level boarding and more amenities.
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If the proposed route via Perth is correct, then there's no train service there today. What's to stop all those local politicians from insisting on service levels far beyond what's necessary? It's a small worry. But a worry nonetheless since VIA has a history of succumbing to lobbying and interference.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
There is something perverse about using taxpayer resources to support a service that is ultimately about boosting the economic activity of another city.

AoD
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There is something even more perverse about a taxation and regulatory framework that screws over the average taxpayer so that can airlines can make a lot more in profits through their hubs. Air Canada actually charges Americans less to transit through Pearson than it often charges for Torontonians originating there. I see no reason why the government can put the average joe first while accomplishing, in general, tighter regional integration with Buffalo (effectively drawing that city into the GTA's orbit). If a side benefit is improved air fares through competition, then we'll all be better off economically.
 
kEiThZ said:
If the proposed route via Perth is correct, then there's no train service there today. What's to stop all those local politicians from insisting on service levels far beyond what's necessary? It's a small worry. But a worry nonetheless since VIA has a history of succumbing to lobbying and interference.
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I'm sure they will lobby but I don't think it's worth worrying about. Gananoque is about the same size as Perth and it has only one daily train to Toronto, two to Ottawa and none to Montreal. Similar story for other towns in that size range. I can't see anything between Peterborough and Barrhaven getting more than a couple trains a day.
 
MisterF said:
I'm sure they will lobby but I don't think it's worth worrying about. Gananoque is about the same size as Perth and it has only one daily train to Toronto, two to Ottawa and none to Montreal. Similar story for other towns in that size range. I can't see anything between Peterborough and Barrhaven getting more than a couple trains a day.
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Not to mention that being electric, any added stops impose far less of a time penalty than diesel hauled. Just a few connections a day for many of these towns will make a radical difference to them, and in some cases, the passing sidings can coincide with a station stop.
 
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport to make funding announcement at VIA Rail's London station
http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=1122379&tp=3

LONDON, ONTARIO — Kate Young, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport will be joined by Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, President and Chief Executive Officer of VIA Rail Canada, for an announcement concerning infrastructure improvements at VIA Rail’s London and Sarnia stations.
 
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