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VIA Rail

littlewill1166 said:
Yes, but for London-Toronto, generally speaking, on a 5-car train, for economy class, as a default, the reservation system uses car 5 as the primary car, then car 4 as an overflow car, then car 3. For the rest of the origin/destination pairs for Windsor-Toronto, the reservation system uses car 4 as the primary car, then car 3, then car 5.
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That's kind of/mostly how it works.

The old (current) system is configured so that one or more cars are configured for specific pairs orgin-destinations, and the other car(s) is(are) configured for "shorts", which is to say ons and offs from shorter trips that don't fit into the above. On many routes, an entire car will be allocated for trips that begin and end at the ends of the trip, with a second car allocated for additional specific origin-destination pairs. And additional cars can configured for any of the above as necessary.

I don't know how the new system - which is supposed to be instituted any day now - will work in the same way, as unlike the old system it is being built from the ground-up specifically for passenger rail services (and needs).

Dan
 
Urban Sky said:
This is to the best of my knowledge the case for VIA‘s Pacific Central Station in Vancouver…
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According to VIA's Triennial plan, they only own track in Ontario and Quebec, so VIA doesn't own the track at Pacific Central Station (though they may own the land the station itself is on). They do own the 0.19 miles of track at Gare du Palais in Quebec (but not the track on the Bridge over the St. Charles River just north).
 
Admiral Beez said:
I see trains all the time in Peterborough traveling I assume to Havlock and the gravel pits beyond. I also know a lot of people who commute 135 km from Peterborough to Toronto who would use this as a daily option. Same as the 110 km GoTrain Barrie to Toronto run.


This one goes past the old passenger station.


Here's the track being refurbed for CP's access to the Quaker Oats factory in Peterborough.


The tracks are there, and were used for passenger rail into the 1980s, see below. The tracks need to be refurbished to allow higher train speeds, but these CP freight trains above are no slouches. To claim that there is no viable track suggests there is none in existence or that ROW issues or dealing with abandoned lines would present challenges.

Via+rail+train+in+1981.jpg

Courtesy of https://www.ptbocanada.com/journal/...roject-through-peterborough-is-moving-forward
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Peterborough to Toronto is approx 150 km, almost 50% longer than Barrie-Toronto. And Barrie-Toronto is already stretching the limits of what a reasonable daily commute is. As a passenger rail service (operated by VIA) rather than a commuter service I'd argue both are deserving of service.
 
roger1818 said:
According to VIA's Triennial plan, they only own track in Ontario and Quebec, so VIA doesn't own the track at Pacific Central Station (though they may own the land the station itself is on). They do own the 0.19 miles of track at Gare du Palais in Quebec (but not the track on the Bridge over the St. Charles River just north).
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Should have made this clearer: I was talking only about the station building.
 
Urban Sky said:
I understand that this is an important step, but with only 4 consortiums having participated in the RFQ (as I believe to have heard), the information value of today‘s announcement would still be rather limited…
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At this rate they'll announce the winner just before the election to get their votes sweetener. Then once the cons get in this project will be shelved.... typical Canadian political bullshit. Hope I'm proven wrong
 
cplchanb said:
At this rate they'll announce the winner just before the election to get their votes sweetener. Then once the cons get in this project will be shelved.... typical Canadian political bullshit. Hope I'm proven wrong
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Wynne was the master of this: suddenly propose HSR before one election - sit on your hands for four years - present shiny study ahead of the next election. One has to wonder if she would have even reached the RFP stage by now with her advancing her HSR plan in four-year intervals…
 
cplchanb said:
At this rate they'll announce the winner just before the election to get their votes sweetener. Then once the cons get in this project will be shelved.... typical Canadian political bullshit. Hope I'm proven wrong
Click to expand...

Bigger and just as essential projects have been shelved, certainly, but I'm actually optimistic that this project has gathered momentum. Unlike, say, helicopters or fighter aircraft, there is precious little controversy being voiced. The project seems to generate more "meh" than actual opposition.
The issue, as noted, is pace rather than cancellation. Consultations for example have a habit of taking a long time. And any substantive issue raised is an opportunity to require further study.

- Paul
 
Apparently, these are the three:

#1: CDPQ Infra, SNC-Lavalin, Systra Canada, Keolis Canada

#2: Intercity Development Partners, EllisDon Capital, Kilmer Transportation, First Rail Holdings, Jacobs, Hatch, CIMA+, First Group, RATP Dev Canada and Renfe Operadora

#3: Fengate, John Laing, Bechtel, WSP Canada et Deutsche Bahn.

Update: article in French: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvell...bec?partageApp=rcca_appmobile_appinfo_android
 
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