VIA Rail

[crs1026]

I will try to limit my digression too - but I shudder at the idea that we would be taking off our shoes and belts and lining up to go through scanning devices to get on to the train to Stratford.

Sadly, we've seen that just about any venue imaginable - restaurants, concerts, marathon races, you name it - can be used to commit these crimes. It's a bit like the old saying, you don't need to outrun a bear, you just need to outrun the people you are hiking with. Locking down our trains would be somewhat pointless considering all the other opportunities for criminal acts that exist.

I agree that we are poorly prepared, and some of the vulnerabilities need more action... but I don't see how this justifies a line-up-at-the-gate approach.

VIA should look at how to maximise its throughput at Union rather than relocating. Shorter platform dwell times for its trainsets needs to be part of this, and that in turn requires changes in its loading practices.

- Paul

 

[steveintoronto]

Locking down our trains would be somewhat pointless considering all the other opportunities for criminal acts that exist.

That's exactly my point. The OPP (hopefully some of the Feds have had pointed discussions with them after the 407 'lockdown') got it exactly backwards, and it's the classic case of 'locking the front door'. It inconveniences everyone but the crook who goes around to jimmy the back door.

My point was that commuter trains shouldn't have any kind of vetting, save for maybe metal detectors in a known event, as any public event should. Invasive security should be for cross-border travel or even some domestic flights, but for commuter rail, the emphasis should be on denying opportunity for terror, and locking in passengers is an invitation to them, not a deterrent. I'm told that the glass and other aspects at Union are vetted for being blast resistant. That is the direction the emphasis should be on, and evacuation procedures, which are sorely lacking in Union at this time.

Shorter platform dwell times for its trainsets needs to be part of this, and that in turn requires changes in its loading practices.

Absolutely, but the 'pinch point' at Bathurst is still the weak point. I can't help but wonder that since CP freight is no longer transiting that point, if the underpass could be better optimized? It seems to take a far more of a swathe than if it wasn't there in terms of the possible number of tracks.

Metrolinx had a whole multi-page study on the west-side access alone, I was just referring to it, but didn't download it. I wonder on the utility of that underpass as is, and if it can't somehow be repurposed to further optimize throughput.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

VIA's Ottawa station turns 50, gets two new afternoon trains (one Ottawa-Toronto, one Toronto-Ottawa), and construction kicks off on level platform boarding and other improvments, worth $20 million.


CELEBRATING 50 YEARS: VIA RAIL OTTAWA STATION MAJOR RENOVATION PROJECT AND NEW DEPARTURES
http://www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-...er-2016-celebrating-50-years-via-rail-ottawa-

Ottawa, September 29, 2016 – Today at the VIA Rail Ottawa train station, David McGuinty, Member of Parliament for Ottawa South, on behalf of the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport and Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, President and Chief Executive Officer of VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) marked the station’s 50th anniversary, announcing a major renovation project and new departures between Toronto and Ottawa.

Greater flexibility for travellers between Ottawa and Toronto
Starting November 1, VIA Rail will run a new schedule between Ottawa and Toronto. Travellers will have a choice of two new afternoon departures (one departure each way), bringing the service offering up to nine daily departures in each direction during the week.

Improved customer experience and better accessibility
A major renovation project, valued at $20 million, will bring these facilities in line with international accessibility standards and will support VIA Rail’s commitment to sustainable mobility. The work, scheduled to run from September 2016 to the fall of 2017, will include the construction of an elevated and heated passenger platform, installation of elevators to provide access to the tunnel and boarding platforms, and a new electrical room, as well as the installation of an upgraded electrical system.

An additional $1.7 million will also be invested in partial roof renovations and improvements to certain systems. This investment will come from the federal funding for infrastructure announced in Budget 2016.

“Railways in this country have a long history of providing service to Canadians and the Ottawa Station helps to continue this tradition for the National Capital Region’’, said Member of Parliament David McGuinty.

This work follows a series of renovations which began in 2007, an investment of $5.4 million, that included, among other projects, the installation of new escalators, additional work spaces, automatic door replacement, washroom upgrades, Business lounge renovations, ticket booth replacement, rotunda improvements, renovation of parking facilities, restoration of the steel structure inside the station, as well as improvements to the ventilation system and the boarding platform.

“The Ottawa train station is truly an architectural gem,” declared Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, President and Chief Executive Officer of VIA Rail. “Its remarkable design has garnered designation as heritage train station. In one year we will be in a position to offer our clients a completely new experience. Once the renovations are complete, our facilities will be more accessible and mobility within the station as well as boarding and disembarking from our trains will be easier for everyone. The Ottawa train station is at the heart of our future dedicated tracks project, which will draw more passengers with increased train frequencies, shorter travel times, and more convenient and reliable schedules. Until then, we will increase the departures from our nation’s capital in order to serve a growing market.”

50 years of history
The Ottawa train station was inaugurated on August 1, 1966. In 1967, the architecture firm behind the building design, John B. Parkin and Associates, received the Governor General’s Massey Medal for its outstanding work. The VIA Rail station was designated a heritage building in 1996 – 30 years after it was opened. In 2000, it was named one of the top 500 buildings produced in Canada during the last millennium and, in 2007, was presented the Ontario Association of Architects’ Landmark Award. Currently, the station serves more than 800,000 passengers every year, and the train represents a smarter choice for the many tourists, families and businesspeople travelling to and from Ottawa.

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail (viarail.ca) and its 2,600 employees are mandated to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country. VIA Rail operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking over 400 communities across Canada and about 180 more communities through intermodal partnerships, and safely transports nearly four million passengers annually. The Corporation was awarded seven Safety Awards by the Railway Association of Canada over the last eight years. For more information, visitAbout VIARail at www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail.

 

[SamStar]

Good news ! The additional departures do not appear on the reservation system yet.
By looking at the current schedule, I think a 1-1:30pm departure from Ottawa will fill the cureent 12:30-3:30 gap.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Here is a fancy VIA release of the Ottawa station work: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2016/09/29/20160929_C7690_PDF_EN_784952.pdf

Larger picture of the new elevated platform:

Note the cars that the VIA locomotive is pulling. I know this is "just a rendering" but if you look at the body shape of the cars, they are not LRC cars, they are VIA Renaissance cars. In an old release during the previous Conservative government that originally outlined these upgrades, it mentioned using Renaissance cars between Montreal and Ottawa once level boarding was implemented. Could this be an accurate rendering showing re-painted Renaissance cars for Corridor use, or just a rendering inaccuracy?

 

[cplchanb]

ok whoever designed this wheelchair ramp really needs to have their head checked or removed from this project....that ramp placement has got to be the most ridiculous design ever...
so people walking the stairs are going to have to walk diagonally now around the ramp... Why not just take a section of the stairs out completely and put in a switchback
ramp? All this is going to do is make people question the sanity of the architect and essentially create a funnel of people using the stairs during rush hour.
The whole design looks like some elementary school art class hackjob....

 

[crs1026]

It's not a bad design, just a few downsides. If you assume that most people are going to have luggage, then most will head for the narrow ramps rather than schlepping bags up those steps. So it forces lineups and queues where the intent is openness.

The challenge for the designer is that, viewed from the station, the platform will basically be a barrier/wall. One of the beauties of Ottawa's station is the large windows and the bright view of the platforms (can't call the platforms pretty, but at least one looks out onto a wide open space). The raised platforms will detract from that. A flat vertical platform edge would look like a wall and make the whole waiting area feel more claustrophobic. The view from inside will mostly be of other peoples' ankles.

As I have commented about Toronto Union, a high-platformed Ottawa station has great potential to allow people to just walk up onto the platform without any gate control. This design invites that... for those awaiting incoming passengers, and for people awaiting their train.

One never knows with renders - but I see absolutely no provision for signage or wayfinding. Why are we so far behind the European standard? Will we still have one guy looking at each passenger's ticket and saying "Car 3? Two cars back" ? With the inevitable long line that that entails?

- Paul

 

[SamStar]

One never knows with renders - but I see absolutely no provision for signage or wayfinding. Why are we so far behind the European standard? Will we still have one guy looking at each passenger's ticket and saying "Car 3? Two cars back" ? With the inevitable long line that that entails?

- Paul

I ask myself the same thing everytime I wait in line before boarding. Boarding should be made much easier.
Although, I can understand when trains are stopping in Montreal and continuing to Qc City or Ottawa, I can get pretty chaotic with hundred of people waiting to embark and disembark. For the rest of the trains, I don't see why we have to wait in line and not on the platform.

 

[DSC]

I ask myself the same thing everytime I wait in line before boarding. Boarding should be made much easier.
Although, I can understand when trains are stopping in Montreal and continuing to Qc City or Ottawa, I can get pretty chaotic with hundred of people waiting to embark and disembark. For the rest of the trains, I don't see why we have to wait in line and not on the platform.

The platforms at Union are very narrow so safety is an obvious concern. That said, the signage for car numbers could be much better.

 

[MisterF]

They really need to put a roof over the entire platform area at Ottawa Station. It would make the platforms so much more pleasant.

The platforms at Union are very narrow so safety is an obvious concern. That said, the signage for car numbers could be much better.

The biggest missed opportunity with the Union redesign is the fact that the platforms haven't been widened at all. I have no idea what the solution might be, but they should be much wider. They can be downright claustrophobic.

Is it just me or does Canada do a really bad job of train station platforms? Central Station in Montreal is just as bad - it feels like a dungeon down there.

 

[crs1026]

The solution in Toronto for VIA is to raise platform height, but also stub-end two platforms to create a space in the middle. That creates a reasonable area for pedestrians to linger. If the untracked space were as wide as the middle escalator openings, ie the width of the new glass atrium, it would be a reasonably pleasant space and would have a roof. The stubs would still be long enough for most push pull sized consists, and you would have the two outer tracks for longer consists and run through trains. If the raised platforms began at the edge of the glass atrium, there is room to ramp up to them from the center area so escalators etc don't have to be rebuilt.

- Paul

 

[MisterF]

VIA Rail wants to build a service along Highway 7

An adjunct to that project, according to the document, “includes the Shining Waterways Railway Plan, which aims to provide passenger service from Toronto to Havelock, and its extension all the way to Ottawa, using existing tracks or discontinued railway rights of way.”

 

[smallspy]

Note the cars that the VIA locomotive is pulling. I know this is "just a rendering" but if you look at the body shape of the cars, they are not LRC cars, they are VIA Renaissance cars. In an old release during the previous Conservative government that originally outlined these upgrades, it mentioned using Renaissance cars between Montreal and Ottawa once level boarding was implemented. Could this be an accurate rendering showing re-painted Renaissance cars for Corridor use, or just a rendering inaccuracy?

Those are most certainly not Renaissance cars. Look closely - they have vestibules at either end of the carbody, and A/C hatches that are slightly proud of the roofline of the car.

They don't look like anything made today, but aren't far off of the design of the Siemens cars that Brightline is getting.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[steveintoronto]

VIA Rail wants to build a service along Highway 7

An adjunct to that project, according to the document, “includes the Shining Waterways Railway Plan, which aims to provide passenger service from Toronto to Havelock, and its extension all the way to Ottawa, using existing tracks or discontinued railway rights of way.”

Excellent sleuthing, unless you always read that publication.

[...]
The VIA Dedicated Tracks project proposes to use a new, more efficient diesel-electric hybrid fleet to deliver passenger service in the Quebec City to Windsor corridor.

An adjunct to that project, according to the document, “includes the Shining Waterways Railway Plan, which aims to provide passenger service from Toronto to Havelock, and its extension all the way to Ottawa, using existing tracks or discontinued railway rights of way.”

The service would have many benefits including: local train service to Toronto and Ottawa, shorter trip times than using a car, regional economic development, etc.

Basic inspections are to take place on former railway beds and infrastructure that are under consideration for the project in the region over the coming weeks.

The former rail line from Havelock to Ottawa is currently part of the Trans-Canada Trail. It follows Highway 7 as it heads from Kaladar to Ottawa, but in Central Frontenac it pushes to the south of the highway at Elm Tree, passes below Big Clear Lake in Arden and over to Mountain Grove, eventually following the southern shore of the west basin of Sharbot Lake at Brewer Road, before passing through the hamlet at the medical center, past the beach and then the township office.[...]

“includes the Shining Waterways Railway Plan"...one surmises in reference only for the 'concept', not the organization.

"Basic inspections are to take place on former railway beds and infrastructure that are under consideration for the project in the region over the coming weeks." We've seen reference to that in a few local pubs, almost always quoting local councils (Perth, for instance) and it's the most concrete indication yet of serious consideration, albeit it is just surveying a possible route.

"The former rail line from Havelock to Ottawa is currently part of the Trans-Canada Trail." As discussed some months back, losing that trail will be a huge shame, I haven't cycled it yet, it looks like an incredible one, but if seeing it turned back to a usable passenger run, then that's the price of much greater access to the intersecting trails. I think that if the route is taken by VIA (and I hope it does) the cost of relocating the trail should be part of the deal, and will pay for itself if a local train runs each way each morning and evening, and has a provision to carry bikes, hikers and tourists. That could, in fact, be a selling feature.

We've heard/read little more on how the VIA pre-RFP has gone. A huge amount of available choice is contingent on how DoT apply/rewrite regs.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Via adding city stops
http://www.intelligencer.ca/2016/10...elleville+Intelligencer#.V_Qowz0VPUU.facebook

Of note/summary:

• Via Rail is adding two new trips to its Belleville schedule next month. The added train runs, effective Nov. 1, will increase the number of trips into Toronto to 14 and Ottawa stops to eight, up from the current seven, Yves Desjardins-Siciliano (re-announced, originally announced in Ottawa)
  
• The CEO suggested the idea of revamping the system by adding enough trips within a few years, so Kingston will have to be a terminal point
  
• Via Rail is also working on a pitch to the government, for a $5 billion (with the Montreal to Toronto segment costing about $4 billion) dedicated line servicing the Quebec-Toronto corridor.
  
• Short term upgrades to be initiated within months include a $1 billion retooling of the existing diesel fleet. He estimates the facelifts bumping ridership up to 7.2 million from the current 2.6 million passengers within six years.
  “We’re planning to renew our fleet, hopefully within the next two months,” he said.
  
• “Last month alone revenues increased by almost 10 per cent and ridership increased by almost eight per cent,” he said.
  
• Lobbying regulators to utilize underused right-of-ways is also among the proposals on how to improve service. “There are still enough railway right-of-ways that can be repurposed instead of letting them sit there,” he said.