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VIA Rail

While I agree that CP will lawyer up and ask for the moon, there is no point giving them more ammunition than they need.

There is also the QGRY between Montreal and Quebec. They may not be able to afford as many lawyers.

G & W ? They have $1.6B in annual revenue. And are themselves owned by someone bigger.

Anyways, that kind of information is protected in any event. I would be more concerned with things like VIA’s marketing plan, and pricing analysis. Wouldn’t Porter and Air Canada love to know all that.

- Paul
 
I would imagine any corporation involved in a business transaction with a government entity, as well as the government itself, would have confidentiality clauses in place, at least until any deal is signed.
 
I thought this was an interesting read.

 
I thought this was an interesting read.

Where is all the power going to come from with coal plants being close, building gas plants and wind power along adding power for more people to live, work, play, shop???
 
Where is all the power going to come from with coal plants being close, building gas plants and wind power along adding power for more people to live, work, play, shop???

The amount of electricity a fleet of trains uses is minuscule compared to the total electricity produced. I am not sure about other regions, but the Total Annual Ontario Electrical Energy Demand in 2019 (I'll ignore 2020 because of COVID) of 135.1 TW was 14% below the peak demand of 157 TW in 2005.
 
The amount of electricity a fleet of trains uses is minuscule compared to the total electricity produced. I am not sure about other regions, but the Total Annual Ontario Electrical Energy Demand in 2019 (I'll ignore 2020 because of COVID) of 135.1 TW was 14% below the peak demand of 157 TW in 2005.
In the US there are several large nuclear generating stations that might be closed soon (in large part because of the absence of a carbon tax). An individual unit at one of those stations could run over 100* freight locomotives at peak power output. Obviously there are transmission losses and so forth, but simply having the power is not the problem. Dispatchability and distribution are more significant issues, but that's only a huge deal for big freight trains going up steep grades. If you want to worry about the increased electrical load of decarbonization, worry about heating and hot water, not cars and trains.
 
Where is all the power going to come from with coal plants being close, building gas plants and wind power along adding power for more people to live, work, play, shop???

Where were all the drill rigs, pipelines, refineries, and gas stations when Ford started cranking out the Model T?

Also, drilling, pumping, and refining fossil fuels uses stupid amounts of electricity in and of itself, some of which becomes available to charge EVs as we shift away from burning the stuff.
 
Where were all the drill rigs, pipelines, refineries, and gas stations when Ford started cranking out the Model T?

Also, drilling, pumping, and refining fossil fuels uses stupid amounts of electricity in and of itself, some of which becomes available to charge EVs as we shift away from burning the stuff.
Not to mention there were barely any roads that were drivable or any way to pay for a road system. Or anywhere to park large numbers of cars. We invented whole new ways of taxing people and building cities. We fundamentally changed how society functions to enable mass car ownership.

This is why I laugh when people bring the challenges of electrification. Those challenges are trivial compared to what we did to popularize cars in the first place.
 
The amount of electricity a fleet of trains uses is minuscule compared to the total electricity produced. I am not sure about other regions, but the Total Annual Ontario Electrical Energy Demand in 2019 (I'll ignore 2020 because of COVID) of 135.1 TW was 14% below the peak demand of 157 TW in 2005.

To carry this a bit further, the granular data on where power comes from hour-by-hour can be found at http://reports.ieso.ca/public/GenOutputCapability/PUB_GenOutputCapability.xml.

A single VIA locomotive, with HEP, represents about 4 Mw at full power. A single freight locomotive is similar.

So yeah, on any given day, even at peak there is already enough electricity in reserve on the Ontario grid to power many hundred locomotives at full power, without anybody's lights blinking. With regenerative braking, that demand can be mitigated.

I do think that some sort of storage technology will factor into railways' electrification, so that power can be stored at low demand times and drawn down during peak periods, so that railway propulsion doesn't strain Ontario's electricity supply.

And this assumes that power will come from the grid. There is so much room for freestanding supply these days.

- Paul
 
Who here on behalf of this UT thread wants to submit questions HFR/JPO/next steps from Budget 2021 HFR references? :)

Note: there might be a question word limit!



Form to submit is only available for another 3 days (til April 30th)

Then again from May 14th-May 17th.

*****

Direct Link to the Question Submission form is below:


*****

Suggested Questions (from me)

1a) What specific capital projects will the money announced in the Federal budget go towards?

1b) What will that achieve in terms of greater reliability, frequency or shorter travel times?

2) Can the company provide any indication as to when further announcements will be made concerning the High Frequency Rail proposal.

3) In light of the government of Quebec's recent announcement concerning rail in the Gaspe region of Quebec; what are VIA's plans, if any, in respect of restoring service in this region?

4) Does VIA have any concerns about Corridor Capacity in Toronto, in respect of the Ontario Line/LSE project of Metrolinx/GO Transit. Has VIA discussed its operational needs with Metrolinx?
 
^ Call me earnest. I asked a second.

VIA's HFR proposal contemplates moving through Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto services off the present rail line, bypassing several major communities (Cobourg, Belleville, Kingston). What is VIA's plan to serve these communities once HFR is in place? How many trains per day will this service offer? Is the funding for this service assured within HFR, or will a separate funding be required? Is the need for a subsidy for this service anticipated?
 
^And a third. I will stop now.

While the HFR proposal reduces VIA's dependence on other railroads, some shared use of other railroads' corridors will continue, particularly in the approaches to Toronto and Montreal. What steps has VIA taken to ensure that its trains will receive appropriate priority and expediting as a tenant, to ensure reliability and best possible trip times? Does VIA have sufficient legal and contractual protection to assure satisfactory performance?
 

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