VIA Rail

[Bordercollie]

During the unveiling of the new Siemens coaches in Ottawa, I was disappointed to see that VIA was still using its manually-laid planks to bridge the gap between the train and the platform, rather than an automatic system (which would allow all doors to open at high-platform stations, not just the ones where an attendant has done so and dropped down a bridge plate).

But looking closely at the image of the new Siemens trains from the above linked article, there does actually seem to be a built-in gap filler under the planks they put down.

Enhance! Enhance!
View attachment 374902

This is great to see, though I still have a few questions, like:
- Why did they lay down a manual bridge plate if there is already an automatic gap filler? Is the gap still too large? Are the platform heights not consistent enough?
- Why does the manual ramp seem to end up higher than the gap filler? Is there a steep slope inside the coach? A step?

Do you think an automatically deployed system would work in all weather conditions? 100% guaranteed? Sometimes simpler is better.

 

[reaperexpress]

Do you think an automatically deployed system would work in all weather conditions? 100% guaranteed? Sometimes simpler is better.

So because the system might be broken 1% of the time, in which case a we need to manually set down a metal plate at each door where it is not working, we should not bother with the system and always manually set down a plate at every door at every station?

 

[crs1026]

^Considering they are in the early stage of testing, and the unveiling was a special event, I wouldn’t read too much into anything.

Wait and see if those plates become a routine.

- Paul

 

[Bordercollie]

I wouldn't worry too much for them: VIA wouldn't be able to ramp-up its services (as it did on multiple occasions in 2020 and 2021) at only one month's notice, if it would just boot them off its payroll without offsetting part of the financial impact on its furloughed employees. Admittedly, employee retention beyond temporary reductions of its active workforce is a lot easier for a public railroad than in the private sector, but even listed companies like Air Canada will try their best to not loose their temporarily furloughed staff for good...

How do you know if it does or doesn't work 99% of the time?

The tilting system on the LRC's where a good idea. But it didn't work out right? Just saying.

 

[Urban Sky]

^Considering they are in the early stage of testing, and the unveiling was a special event, I wouldn’t read too much into anything.

Wait and see if those plates become a routine.

- Paul

Indeed, I would assume that without that plate, you have to first establish an appropriate boarding procedure and then train your staff accordingly before they may allow passengers to step on that gap-filler - hardly a priority at this early stage in the testing process...

 

[reaperexpress]

How do you know if it does or doesn't work 99% of the time?

The tilting system on the LRC's where a good idea. But it didn't work out right? Just saying.

I assume you meant to reply to my post not Urban Sky's...

I don't know what the reliability is, but here in the Netherlands I have never seen a malfunction, and I almost never come across doors which are disabled (presumably due to some kind of malfunction). 99% actually seems like a low estimate, I doubt 1 in 100 is broken.

Given that the consequence of a malfunction is the same as not having the system in the first place, we might as well try it out so to save boarding time for the 99% (TBD) of the time when they are working. Automatic gap fillers are not some cutting-edge technology like active-tilting trains were when the LRC came out. Automatic gap fillers are common (Brightline even uses them kn the same model of coach!) and anywhere other than Canada, the notion of manually setting down a plank at every door would be laughable.

 

[littlewill1166]

This is a table of staff/student/alumni discount codes for the U15 group of universities plus some others. If you are travelling to/from where these schools are located 90% of the time, the service manager won't ask for ID. Enjoy!

P.S. It's mildly amusing that Western, Queen's, and McGill, the schools which stereotypically are party schools and have the most private school grads going to them have some of the biggest discounts. Although two have terrible public transportation to the airport, and I go to one of them so I'm not complaining.

 

[Urban Sky]

If you are travelling to/from where these schools are located 90% of the time, the service manager won't ask for ID. Enjoy!

Would you mind explaining to your audience what happens in the 10% of cases where the Service Managers actually bothers to ask you for a proof of eligibility for the corporate code you confirmed to have at the time of booking and you agreed to bring onto the train for on-board verification?

 

[littlewill1166]

Would you mind explaining to your audience what happens in the 10% of cases where the Service Managers actually bothers to ask you for a proof of eligibility for the corporate code you confirmed to have at the time of booking and you agreed to bring onto the train for on-board verification?

• The worst I've seen is that they get told to have it next time. According a service manager, a fare difference may be charged, but the code is only valid on non-escape fares which generally make money for VIA, so they don't care. Additionally I've never seen to happen.
• They tend to check CN/CP rail passes/VIA Employee and Retiree passes more diligently though (moreso with the Ottawa/Montreal based crews and less with the Toronto based ones).
• I think this further may have to do with the fact that the corporate discount isn't worth much ($15 on a $100 ticket). Compared to a 100% discount on CP/CN/VIA Employee pass.
• But on the outside looking in, someone who went to York might say something along the lines of "Why do Western, Queens, and McGill alumni who's parents have more money get a 15% lifetime discount for VIA, while I get a 0% discount, I'm going to use the Western discount because it's not fair".
• Further, on the surface, as a crown corporation that receives subsidies for its equipment and fixed overhead. The varying levels of discounts offered to different companies look like different levels of subsidies offered to different companies (Bell vs. Rogers).
• I don't know for sure if these companies pay a flat rate, or are required to have a certain level of spend through the corporate code, but it's something I think they should be more proactively open about as a public corporation.
• According to the terms and conditions "You should still input the code when booking these fares in order that each purchase be tracked and potentially lead to a higher discount." So it sounds like it's based on volume.
• Based on this, to me VIA is sending the message that it doesn't mind people using corporate codes, in fact, it may also drive people to upgrade from Escape to Business increasing revenues.
• These discounts are also semi hidden behind a wall, so that mostly people considering other transportation options would be more likely to use them, whereas someone dead set on buying something would not. This is similar to how some online stores send you a discount code if you add stuff to your cart but don't check out. In this case, some revenue is better than no revenue.

 

[Urban Sky]

This is what is printed on my booking receipt and boarding pass whenever I book with a corporate discount:

To the best of my knowledge, the only fares sold on board any VIA train are undiscounted fares (i.e. Economy Plus for Economy Class, Business Plus for Business Class and undiscounted Sleeper Plus fares), which would mean that your ticket price could easily triple if you originally booked a cheap Escape fare…

 

[littlewill1166]

Yes, I have this as well. The problem is that the alumni discount code is the same, and they're eligible. Also the student and staff ID are the same, and some students are staff (like me), so it's impossible to actually enforce, so they don't.

Also, when somone boards without a ticket, the service manager can choose to sell the full fare based on a table on their VIA issued iPhone. But a lot of them will call the reservation centre to book a ticket for the passenger, or ask the passenger to call to book if they're busy. There was this one time a passenger boarded at Brantford and paid $15 to travel to Toronto to the service manager, I checked online after seeing that and noticed that the fare online was higher. I'm not going to speculate on what happened.

 

[Urban Sky]

View attachment 375153
Yes, I have this as well. The problem is that the alumni discount code is the same, and they're eligible. Also the student and staff ID are the same, and some students are staff (like me), so it's impossible to actually enforce, so they don't.

Also, when somone boards without a ticket, the service manager can choose to sell the full fare based on a table on their VIA issued iPhone. But a lot of them will call the reservation centre to book a ticket for the passenger, or ask the passenger to call to book if they're busy. There was this one time a passenger boarded at Brantford and paid $15 to travel to Toronto to the service manager, I checked online after seeing that and noticed that the fare online was higher. I'm not going to speculate on what happened.

All I‘m saying is that anyone using a discount code without being able to provide evidence of any affiliation with the relevant corporate organization does so solely at his own risk and without any guarantee - despite your confident assurances - that they won‘t regret their decision…

 

[littlewill1166]

All I‘m saying is that anyone using a discount code without being able to provide evidence of any affiliation with the relevant corporate organization does so solely at his own risk and without any guarantee - despite your confident assurances - that they won‘t regret it…

Yeah, all I was saying was that VIA whether intentionally or not caused people to trade up from Economy to Business, or not take some entirely different mode, thereby increasing revenues, through use/misuse of the corporate code program. And that any service manager seriously enforcing conditions is short-sighted.

 

[littlewill1166]

All I‘m saying is that anyone using a discount code without being able to provide evidence of any affiliation with the relevant corporate organization does so solely at his own risk and without any guarantee - despite your confident assurances - that they won‘t regret their decision…

Also, thanks for pointing out the Hostelling International discount. If I didn't already have my Western discount, and I was someone who was scared to use a corporate discount without the proper ID, and I expected to take VIA around 20 more times in my life, the lifetime membership would be a great deal.

 

[roger1818]

This discussion made me check my alma mater’s (UVic, which wasn’t listed) alumni benefits page and they offer a 7.5% discount. They say you need to be able to show your Alumni Card. Unfortunately I don’t have one, and since most discounts are limited to Victoria or elsewhere on the island, it’s probably not worth getting.