VIA Rail

[Bordercollie]

And through the middle of Lindsay (as well as Uxbridge).

Drawing lines on a fantasy map is easy.

Right but nobody has confirmed that CP will sell the Havelock Sub. What if they want more than what it costs to build a new ROW?

Driving through town is only a small section. You have to build overpasses anyway to maintain that speed.

 

[Urban Sky]

Right but nobody has confirmed that CP will sell the Havelock Sub. What if they want more than what it costs to build a new ROW?

Currently, CPKC has to pay for the ownership (property taxes), upkeep and excessive labour costs (due to the extremely low speed limits of mostly 10 mph) for a line which they use (IIRC) less than daily. Selling the line and having someone else pay for ownership and upkeep while saving labour costs (due to much faster freight speed limits) would be a significant financial benefit to CPKC, even if the selling price was a symbolic Dollar.

Driving through town is only a small section. You have to build overpasses anyway to maintain that speed.

I think there is absolutely no reason to believe that HxR would use any other rail corridor to pierce through the greenbelt than the Havelock Sub. I really fail to understand what the relevance of discussing solutions-in-search-of-a-problem like sharing the Uxbridge Sub until Lindsay is supposed to be for this “VIA Rail”thread…

Also, I would like to invite anyone feeling the need to reply to the constant deliriums of @micheal_can to do so via private message, to protect the mental health of those people who already try their best to protect their sanity by blocking him (which unfortunately doesn’t block replies to him). Thank you!

 

[micheal_can]

I think there is absolutely no reason to believe that HxR would use any other rail corridor to pierce through the greenbelt than the Havelock Sub. I really fail to understand what the relevance of discussing solutions-in-search-of-a-problem like sharing the Uxbridge Sub until Lindsay is supposed to be for this “VIA Rail”thread…

Weren't you and others talking about still trying to use the Lakeshore route?

I fully expect the Havelock sub will be used, but till it is announced, any discussion on it really is moot.

 

[smallspy]

Dan - Have they imposed similar speed restrictions in the US?

It seems that equipment has been in service since around 2017.

Quite a few of the CN lines radiating from Chicago, and a pair of lines from other railroads too.

But no restrictions on the FEC where Brightline runs, nor on the West Coast where Amtrak California has been rolling out their own Venture trainsets. And no restrictions on most of the other railway's lines out of Chicago that the Ventures and Chargers run.

I wonder if Siemens is tossing any money into the hat to rectify (no pun intended) their deficiency. If there was a comparable safety-related defect discovered in automobiles, US DOT would consider issuing a recall.

They are most certainly involved in the conversations regarding fixes, but considering that the problem isn't specifically of their doing I'm not sure why you think that they should be put out on this.

Dan

 

[roger1818]

An interesting article on how the loss of shunt issue with CN has evolved south of the border.

Seeking answers on ‘loss of shunt:’ Special Report - Trains

Tests to ensure trains activate track circuits — the process known as “shunt” — involve truck-mounted antennas on an Amtrak locomotive.

www.trains.com

 

[Bordercollie]

An interesting article on how the loss of shunt issue with CN has evolved south of the border.tv

Seeking answers on ‘loss of shunt:’ Special Report - Trains

Tests to ensure trains activate track circuits — the process known as “shunt” — involve truck-mounted antennas on an Amtrak locomotive.

www.trains.com

You know an easy solution would be some kind of LTE modem or two way radio signal that would confirm that the crossing is activated and light up in the cab. Probably a $500 solution.

 

[crs1026]

You know an easy solution would be some kind of LTE modem or two way radio signal that would confirm that the crossing is activated and light up in the cab. Probably a $500 solution.

It would be easy yes, but MacGyverish and not technically appropriate.

Such telemetry does exist within some flavours of PTC.... but the whole point of PTC is to have a consistent and integrated set of inputs and interfaces that can be managed within a defined envelope. The down side, of course being the need to design, certify, and then install a much more complex and costly infrastructure. There are enough interfaces already between locomotives, their operators, and the surrounding environment, that strapping on a new box to address only one narrow function is problemmatic. The shunt devices being rolled out are innocuous within all that.

The other issue being, do you want to trust your crossing protection to the corporation that runs the Leafs and the Blue Jays. Railroads do use commercial common carrier signals for their telecom in places - but in a very careful and measured way, with an eye to the overall safety envelope. Sure, the railroad could build its own LTE system (if it can afford the spectrum) - but here we are back to the cost and effort involved.

- Paul

 

[robmausser]

I think there is absolutely no reason to believe that HxR would use any other rail corridor to pierce through the greenbelt than the Havelock Sub.

People fail to understand just how cost prohibitive expropriations are in our country. Nor how expensive it is to build in the Canadian Shield and greenbelt. The fact that we even have a relatively straightish existing ROW for this is a hail mary. We will need to do some minor expropriations to straighten some sections but it will pale in comparison to plowing a totally new path, or ever attempting to buy the CN mainline for the existing VIA route.

The one consortium came back and said they can do the project at HSR well under what the government predicted it to cost and I believe it will be because of this plan to use the Havlock sub and abandoned ROWs.

 

[Bordercollie]

People fail to understand just how cost prohibitive expropriations are in our country. Nor how expensive it is to build in the Canadian Shield and greenbelt. The fact that we even have a relatively straightish existing ROW for this is a hail mary. We will need to do some minor expropriations to straighten some sections but it will pale in comparison to plowing a totally new path, or ever attempting to buy the CN mainline for the existing VIA route.

The one consortium came back and said they can do the project at HSR well under what the government predicted it to cost and I believe it will be because of this plan to use the Havlock sub and abandoned ROWs.

Sometimes when something is too good to be true, it is for a reason.

 

[dowlingm]

The other issue being, do you want to trust your crossing protection to the corporation that runs the Leafs and the Blue Jays. Railroads do use commercial common carrier signals for their telecom in places - but in a very careful and measured way, with an eye to the overall safety envelope. Sure, the railroad could build its own LTE system (if it can afford the spectrum) - but here we are back to the cost and effort involved.

GSM-R is on the way out and the future standard is still being worked out (it will be interesting to see what Metrolinx/GO’s ETCS looks like) https://www.railengineer.co.uk/migrating-from-gsm-r-to-frmcs/

There doesn’t seem to be anything fundamentally wrong with the current system of crossing detection, but more with CNs implementation choices.

 

[lenaitch]

Quite a few of the CN lines radiating from Chicago, and a pair of lines from other railroads too.

But no restrictions on the FEC where Brightline runs, nor on the West Coast where Amtrak California has been rolling out their own Venture trainsets. And no restrictions on most of the other railway's lines out of Chicago that the Ventures and Chargers run.


They are most certainly involved in the conversations regarding fixes, but considering that the problem isn't specifically of their doing I'm not sure why you think that they should be put out on this.

Dan

Nothing in particular - it was just a question.

 

[shortbranch]

Random question but today when going over the bridge near Langstaff GO station in Richmond Hill I saw a VIA Rail train pass by. I didn't think this was a regular line it would travel on. Does anyone know if this is in fact the case? Is there anyway I can find out when it will come through again?
I'm curious to understand if this tracker is accurate - https://trains.fyi/networks/via-rail/
#RailGeek

 

[crs1026]

Random question but today when going over the bridge near Langstaff GO station in Richmond Hill I saw a VIA Rail train pass by. I didn't think this was a regular line it would travel on. Does anyone know if this is in fact the case? Is there anyway I can find out when it will come through again?
I'm curious to understand if this tracker is accurate - https://trains.fyi/networks/via-rail/
#RailGeek

You likely saw VIA 1 Canadian on its way to Vancouver.

An even better tracking map is here. Click on a train to get data.

- Paul

 

[shortbranch]

You likely saw VIA 1 Canadian on its way to Vancouver.

An even better tracking map is here. Click on a train to get data.

- Paul

Thank you Paul! Very cool tracker.
Just curious how does one know if when they get on the train to Vancouver they are on a VIA 1 or VIA 2? I saw a Reddit post about this but is it based on schedule or train traffic to determine the route it takes on any given day?
Thanks again - Charles

 

[smallspy]

Just curious how does one know if when they get on the train to Vancouver they are on a VIA 1 or VIA 2? I saw a Reddit post about this but is it based on schedule or train traffic to determine the route it takes on any given day?
Thanks again - Charles

Even numbers are eastbound, odd are westbound. So the train you saw, which was heading northbound, is actually timetabled as westbound (Toronto to Vancouver) and so is considered #1.

Dan