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VIA Rail

OK, April Fool's Day is technically over now. This is not a joke. Here are the last of the documents from the moribund VIA application for judicial review before the Federal Court. CN's Motion to Strike took effect in February, 2025 and VIA took its case to the Quebec Superior Court. Still extant is Transport Canada's action on its Ministerial Order now that CN submitted its response to TC back in January, 2025. This just-published post include the most revealing documents yet. These internal documents reveal why CN imposed its Crossing Supplement on October 11, 2024 thereby ensuring VIA's Venture trains run late on CN trackage in the Corridor for the past five-plus months. Here's the link:
tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com

VIA and CN in Federal Court - The Facts, Part 4

As I continue to garner (with which to populate posts here!) more public documents from the now moribund Federal Court case, I've been shari...
tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com
 
Trackside_Treasure said:
OK, April Fool's Day is technically over now. This is not a joke. Here are the last of the documents from the moribund VIA application for judicial review before the Federal Court. CN's Motion to Strike took effect in February, 2025 and VIA took its case to the Quebec Superior Court. Still extant is Transport Canada's action on its Ministerial Order now that CN submitted its response to TC back in January, 2025. This just-published post include the most revealing documents yet. These internal documents reveal why CN imposed its Crossing Supplement on October 11, 2024 thereby ensuring VIA's Venture trains run late on CN trackage in the Corridor for the past five-plus months. Here's the link:
tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com

VIA and CN in Federal Court - The Facts, Part 4

As I continue to garner (with which to populate posts here!) more public documents from the now moribund Federal Court case, I've been shari...
tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com
Click to expand...
So....this whole thing is based on the fact that they lost the train for 15 seconds and because they didn't know that the trains were in service? Even though testing proved that the shunt detection was sufficient?
 
Via trains area still slowing down to 70 at the diamond between the Alexandria sub and CP near De Beaujeu despite this not being a CN interaction. Seems like a very strange consistent additional delay to add on if not at a crossing.
 
ManyQuestions said:
Via trains area still slowing down to 70 at the diamond between the Alexandria sub and CP near De Beaujeu despite this not being a CN interaction. Seems like a very strange consistent additional delay to add on if not at a crossing.
Click to expand...
My information could be outdated, but the Alexandria Sub seems to have a 50 mph (80 km/h) speed restriction for all passenger trains at MP 6.1 („Railway crossing at grade“)…
 
Urban Sky said:
My information could be outdated, but the Alexandria Sub seems to have a 50 mph (80 km/h) speed restriction for all passenger trains at MP 6.1 („Railway crossing at grade“)…
Click to expand...
This still shows in the most recent files that I've been given.

The way to get around this is a grade separation.

Dan
 
And speaking about 80 km/h speed restrictions, they even exist on the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Brussels High Speed Rail Line:
IMG_0564.jpeg

Source: International Railway Journal (March 2025 edition)
 
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I was asked for an opinion piece, not just dry facts, on the months-long morass that is CN-imposed Venture delays. Four questions, my four opinions...
Why did CN start this? CN freaked out then doubled down on its fuzzy logic in fear of a fatal accident occurring on its tracks.
Did VIA react appropriately? VIA realized CN wasn't going to communicate, negotiate nor budge. VIA had to resort to the courts.
The effects: VIA needs to do more to explain to its passengers and to fight the slide it's experiencing.
The future: Transport Canada will eventually order this situation resolved since it alone has a wide range of power sufficient to allow the Minister to address CN and VIA's safety concerns.
 
Trackside_Treasure said:
The future: Transport Canada will eventually order this situation resolved since it alone has a wide range of power sufficient to allow the Minister to address CN and VIA's safety concerns.
Click to expand...
Transport Canada needs to do its job, which is to act as or create a safety regulator which determines acceptable safety standards and stops host railways from setting arbitrary limits which almost exclusively affect their tennants‘ trains…
 
crs1026 said:
Hopefully a spinoff benefit is greater awareness in Ottawa that the negotiating power imbalance between CN and VIA needs adjustment.

- Paul
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Seriously, we shouldn’t tell passengers to be just angry at CN, but to call out the beancounting paperpushers at TC which sit as always on their hands…!
 
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Urban Sky said:
Seriously, we shouldn’t tell passengers to be angry at CN, but to call out the beancounting paperpushers at TC which sit as always on their hands…!
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You don't suppose TC are a lax regulator because certain players with influence lobby hard to keep it that way do you?

Just sayin.

Yes, the sit-on-handsers and do-nothings should be shown the door.......but we absolutely need to get the attention of those who made them that way.......

Whether its imposing Positive Train Control; or demanding better crossing equipment from CN or a host of other matters......... an activist TC will require, at the least, a chastened CN and CPKC, if not their active support.
 
Northern Light said:
You don't suppose TC are a lax regulator because certain players with influence lobby hard to keep it that way do you?

Just sayin.

Yes, the sit-on-handsers and do-nothings should be shown the door.......but we absolutely need to get the attention of those who made them that way.......

Whether its imposing Positive Train Control; or demanding better crossing equipment from CN or a host of other matters......... an activist TC will require, at the least, a chastened CN and CPKC, if not their active support.
Click to expand...
When I criticize TC, that explicity includes the responsible minister and implicitly the Prime Minister…
 
Urban Sky said:
My information could be outdated, but the Alexandria Sub seems to have a 50 mph (80 km/h) speed restriction for all passenger trains at MP 6.1 („Railway crossing at grade“)…
Click to expand...
Makes much more sense than a shunt worry. just didn’t recall it from when I was previously using the route weekly while estimating lost time to slowdowns yesterday. Would still make sense to be grade separated but I only recall stopping there once or twice.
 
I'm hoping this is the last post for awhile on this six-month saga, and that the VIA-CN Venture disagreement gets settled in Quebec Superior Court. VIA needs to get back to business and stop arriving late due to CN's actions! I was fortunate to be able to review the Quebec Court documents. In this just-published post, VIA has submitted its evidence again, refuted some newer cross-examination testimony, disputed CN's supposed remedies and asked for an injunction and safeguard order to end the CN-imposed speed reductions ASAP.
tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com

VIA and CN Now in Quebec Superior Court

Now that VIA's application for judicial review of CN's Crossing Supplement - requiring VIA Venture-equipped trains in the Corridor to slow...
tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com
 
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