VIA Rail

[steveintoronto]

Via adding city stops

Very interesting. It's not a well composed article, but very valuable in being a lot of direct quotes.
[... to be serviced by electric trains, will augment the existing services provided by trains running on the time fraught freight rail lines.]
That wasn't a quote, but the author's take, and it may or may not be reliable.

[“We’re hoping to bring it to the government by the end of this year,” he said.]
Direct quote, very valuable, but unfortunately, that time frame has been pushed back. I hope this isn't slipping.

What would really help understanding the latest stance, instead of dribs and drabs through local newspapers (and credit to them for reporting the news) is to see an official statement updating events.

I'm getting a little ticked at this regime for dragging their heels on a number of issues, and Garneau has gone awfully quiet of late. Perhaps my recollection is wrong, but aren't we already past due for an announcement by him (Garneau) on this?

Edit to Add: Googled in case I'd missed something in the way of announcement on the TO/OT/Mont scheme, and this is the wishy-washy result I get:

[...]
Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau appeared to lean toward Via Rail’s dedicated rail plan over a provincially-backed high-speed train corridor through Southwestern Ontario when he attended an event in London Wednesday.

Speaking to the London Chamber of Commerce, Garneau said improvements to passenger rail service could come with a Via Rail plan to create a dedicated passenger rail track corridor in southern Ontario. Under the plan, Via would take over lines now used for freight traffic.

In an interview, Garneau said Via’s plan would allow for more frequent service, no interference from freight traffic and higher speeds than conventional trains, though well below the 200- to 300-km/h clip of high-speed rail.

“That’s the essence of the Via proposal and that’s what we are looking at seriously and if that is a workable solution, that will address the issue,” said Garneau.

The Via plan faces competition from a proposal for a high-speed rail corridor through southern Ontario. The province has appointed former federal cabinet minister David Collenette to head a study on the high-speed trains.

Asked whether he considered the Via plan more feasible, Garneau framed the high-speed train corridor as a provincial initiative that Ottawa would look at “with great interest.”

In answer to an audience question, Garneau cautioned that even the Via plan would need more study: “You need to do your homework. You need to make sure you are not overestimating how many people are going to take the train.”

Earlier this week, London West MP Kate Young, Garneau’s parliamentary assistant, announced a $2.55-million investment in improving the London and Sarnia Via stations.

But plans to add three more trains in the Toronto-Sarnia-Windsor corridor have stalled while Via negotiates access to rail lines owned by CN Rail and other companies.

Chamber manager Gerry Macartney said he’s skeptical Via will be able to get more rail access from the major companies.

Macartney has long maintained the high-speed rail corridor would be the best option for London, but said Via could be brought into the partnership to run the operation. [...]

http://www.lfpress.com/2016/09/14/t...high-speed-train-through-southwestern-ontario

No shortage of supposition, no facts.

 

[SamStar]

The added departures now appear on VIA's website
Train 644 now leaves Toronto at 1:20 and arrives at 5:50.
Train 645 leaves Otawa at 2:30 and arrives at 7:05.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

New VIA tender for "digital tower displays" for stations in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec and London. Should improve traveller experience.

https://www.merx4.merx.com/public/solicitations/223425307/abstract

 

[cplchanb]

New VIA tender for "digital tower displays" for stations in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec and London. Should improve traveller experience.

https://www.merx4.merx.com/public/solicitations/223425307/abstract

not if they do the monstrosity that is at the subway stations.....full screen worth of useless ads and in the bottom corner a "oh btw the train is coming in X" display.

 

[crs1026]

New VIA tender for "digital tower displays" for stations in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec and London. Should improve traveller experience.

The gold standard

- Paul

 

[cplchanb]

The gold standard



- Paul

ahhhh.....the classic mechanical displays of the yesteryear era

 

[dowlingm]

The last of the Solaris are being ripped out at the moment, I think?

 

[SaugeenJunction]

http://www.lapresse.ca/le-soleil/ac...frequence-nirait-pas-au-coeur-de-montreal.php
http://www.lapresse.ca/debats/votre...-un-projet-davenir-et-des-assises-solides.php

Looks like VIA Rail is still trying to get access to the Mont Royal Tunnel for the Montreal-Quebec portion of its HFR project. In the first article Caisse didn't seem too interested, however in the second article published on the 12th, Caisse seems to claim that there is a possibility of compatibility of the two systems, but if that doesn't work, they will terminate VIA service outside downtown Montreal. I think that would be a real shame.

 

[steveintoronto]

Excellent 'heads-up' as always, Alex. This aspect fascinates me, not only of the heavy rail thoroughfare continuing through the tunnel, but of Siciliano-Desjardins' relationship with Caisse. I might be reading too much into it, but he must have been personally injured when Caisse not only nixed financing his concept, but then throwing a trip in front of him too with the tunnel.

I'm led to believe that the two systems are incompatible for a number of reasons, but the Caisse proposal is running into other headwinds besides converting the tunnel and denying its present use.

 

[SamStar]

In the first article Caisse didn't seem too interested, however in the second article published on the 12th, Caisse seems to claim that there is a possibility of compatibility of the two systems, but if that doesn't work, they will terminate VIA service outside downtown Montreal. I think that would be a real shame.

Unfortunately, the second article is really not claiming there is a possibility of compability of the two systems.
It is all in the way it is phrased. Caisse claims it will have no impact on the HFT Ottawa-Montreal and on the Montreal-Quebec route as well because Caisse claims it is just normal to finish the line at their Highway-40 intermodal station as a terminus.

It is sad but I believe the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal portion of the HFT will happen as well as the Windsor-London-Toronto portion. The Quebec-Montreal is less sure to my opinion.

 

[RandomBusGuy]

http://www.lfpress.com/2016/09/14/t...high-speed-train-through-southwestern-ontario

A couple interesting points in this article.

Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau appeared to lean toward Via Rail’s dedicated rail plan over a provincially-backed high-speed train corridor through Southwestern Ontario when he attended an event in London Wednesday.

Definitely prefer this over the dedicated HSR plan, at least to start. Frequency is as much of, if not more, of an issue than speed in making this route useful.
http://www.lfpress.com/2016/09/14/t...high-speed-train-through-southwestern-ontario

But plans to add three more trains in the Toronto-Sarnia-Windsor corridor have stalled while Via negotiates access to rail lines owned by CN Rail and other companies.

... but it's not much of a plan if VIA and CN can't agree on anything.

 

[steveintoronto]

Some good leads posted, haven't accessed Random's yet, but any one story in itself only offers hints, it's when you put them all together that the bigger picture emerges, and even before reading Random's link, "but it's not much of a plan if VIA and CN can't agree on anything" pretty much cripples that leg.

I'm going to have to dig for it, but I was under the impression that the HFR between Toronto and Montreal was touted to use the Mount Royal Tunnel.

On the Ontario west leg, Collenette's about due to reveal his insight. I just don't see how HSR is a possibility at this time. Hopefully he'll pine for the VIA proposal.

Edit to Add: The more I dig on VIA HFR using the Mount Royal Tunnel, the more nebulous it becomes.

Discussion as good as it gets here:
http://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7507691

http://w5.montreal.com/mtlweblog/?p=61144&cpage=1

 

[Urban Sky]

Looks like VIA Rail is still trying to get access to the Mont Royal Tunnel for the Montreal-Quebec portion of its HFR project.

Edit to Add: The more I dig on VIA HFR using the Mount Royal Tunnel, the more nebulous it becomes.

VIA Rail CEO's testimony at the BAPE hearings can be found at the BAPE website as either Video (French / English) or Transcript (pp. 38-51)

All testimonials or written comments submitted for the BAPE hearings can also be found there:
http://bape.gouv.qc.ca/sections/mandats/Reseau_electrique_métropolitain/index.htm
http://bape.gouv.qc.ca/sections/man...étropolitain/documents/liste_doc-DT-DQ-DM.htm

 

[steveintoronto]

VIA Rail CEO's testimony at the BAPE hearings can be found at the BAPE website as either Video (French / English) or Transcript (pp. 38-51)

Incredibly good link, many thanks for that. I've only watched about 15 mins of it, tired last night, will watch rest today. Haven't even got to Siciliano-Desjardins' testimony yet. My views are changing rapidly on the Caisse proposal, for a number of reasons put forth in that proceeding, and other material I've read recently. More on this later.

Edit to Add: Just got a chance to read Random's link, it's more positive than I thought, albeit still vague, but at least we can get an idea of the *leanings* of the Feds on this, and let's face it, the Province is tapped-out for cash, it's the Feds in a position to sponsor and partly fund this:

Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau appeared to lean toward Via Rail’s dedicated rail plan over a provincially-backed high-speed train corridor through Southwestern Ontario when he attended an event in London Wednesday.

Speaking to the London Chamber of Commerce, Garneau said improvements to passenger rail service could come with a Via Rail plan to create a dedicated passenger rail track corridor in southern Ontario. Under the plan, Via would take over lines now used for freight traffic.

In an interview, Garneau said Via’s plan would allow for more frequent service, no interference from freight traffic and higher speeds than conventional trains, though well below the 200- to 300-km/h clip of high-speed rail.

“That’s the essence of the Via proposal and that’s what we are looking at seriously and if that is a workable solution, that will address the issue,” said Garneau.[...]

http://www.lfpress.com/2016/09/14/t...high-speed-train-through-southwestern-ontario

The sooner we hear Collenette state the obvious, then the sooner we can move-on from that charade and concentrate on Metrolinx and VIA working together on HFR corridors.

The Missing Link would be a damn good place to start...but I digress.

 

[reaperexpress]

Continued from discussion on GO Transit: Construction Projects thread

The per-trip cost for VIA is based on the 10-pack bulk ticket price. I was surprised to discover that it's actually cheaper to commute from Kitchener on VIA than it is on GO if you make 10-30 trips per month.

Whoa! Can anyone else confirm or deny that?

From the VIA Rail website:

http://www.viarail.ca/en/fares-and-packages/rail-passes/commuter-passes

I stumbled across this webpage one time I was looking for something else. And today when I was looking for it again to link it here, I really had to dig to find it. Actually, I never did find it by navigating through the site. I eventually gave up and Google-searched VIA's website for the term "Commuter e-pass". Certainly not a highly-promoted product.

It's $261.90 for 20 trips, so $13.10 per trip. But in the small print it says "excludes applicable sales taxes". So with 13% tax, it would be $14.80 per trip.

Here's the more detailed breakdown

If you take a VIA train from Toronto to Kitchener you have to pay sales tax, but if you take a GO train you don't pay any sales tax and you can also claim the trips to get an income tax deduction. This chart accounts for sales tax, but not any income tax deductions.

Notable things:
- Between 20-37 trips per month, VIA is slightly cheaper than GO ($14.80 vs $15.28). The "10-30 trips" range I stated in my previous post was incorrect.
- Between 12-19 trips per month, the cheapest way to ride VIA is to buy a 20-pack and not use all of them.
- The fact that GO trips after #40 are free doesn't actually make that much difference to the per-trip cost compared to the $2.08 rate for trips #36-40.