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VIA Rail

robmausser said:
They should split these up and just run them each as the Sarnia trains.

Majority of the route is on non-CN track (Metrolinx to GEXR) and the GEXR portion is so slow you wouldn't even notice a speed restriction anyways if there were any.

The only portion thats CN is London to Sarnia, which is a small part of the route.

They run 3 car trains on that route already as it is.
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GEXR's lease ended many years ago. It's fully CN from Kitchener to Sarnia. However, you're correct that the speeds between Kitchener and London are so low that the speed restriction would make little to no difference. The CN segment from Bramalea to Georgetown is also not significantly affected, since it's mostly grade separated, and most of the level crossings that do exist are near stations where Via stops anyway. The only exceptions are Heritage Road and Winston Churchill, which might have crossing restrictions below the 70 mph speed trains would otherwise be travelling there.

As others have noted, running extra-short consists on the service could make the overall equipment utilization less efficient since it would require the Sarnia train to only shuttle between Toronto and Sarnia without interlining with other services. However, the point still stands that the crossing restrictions have an unusually low level of impact on Sarnia services so they are good candidates for Venture sets with fewer than 32 axles.
 
I think we discussed this before but wasn't crossing detection an issue on London-Sarnia when VIA were trying out RDCs?

Presumably whatever VIA had in mind at that time, running them through to Ottawa wasn't it.
 
Nov 22
More up on my site
They have built another building next to the new Siemens SCV-42 locomotive Trainsets building. They still don't have all the tracks in place for both new buildings.

There were 5 Siemens SCV-42 locomotive trainsets in the yard.
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drum118 said:
Nov 22
More up on my site
They have built another building next to the new Siemens SCV-42 locomotive Trainsets building. They still don't have all the tracks in place for both new buildings.

There were 5 Siemens SCV-42 locomotive trainsets in the yard.
54952641031_3ce66c129b_o.jpg

54952641046_51f1beb196_o.jpg

54951754367_f6f1376cb0_o.jpg

54952641081_9b64e17057_o.jpg

54952892509_96c1dc97f0_o.jpg
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That is TMC, right?
 
Bordercollie said:
Progres at a snails pace. Meanwhile in other countries building infrastructure is actually a priority.
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The progress of this project is indeed laughably slow, the fact that it's going to take 3 years to do this is....pathetic to say the least:

The scope of the work includes the demolition of a portion of the existing structure and the construction of state-of-the-art facilities, the construction of a new addition, removal, and replacement of tracks, and the addition of a stand-alone wheel lathe facility (to maintain wheels and ensure smooth operation on the tracks) and critical infrastructure improvements throughout the maintenance yard.
www.railwaypro.com

Toronto Maintenance Centre development project starts

VIA Rail's Toronto Maintenance Centre will be adapted to the new train fleet that will operate Québec City – Windsor corridor
www.railwaypro.com www.railwaypro.com
www.transportaction.ca

VIA Rail breaks ground on Toronto Maintenance Centre modernization

To support its new fleet of Siemens Venture trains for the Windsor to Quebec City corridor, VIA Rail is upgrading both the Toronto and Montreal Maintenance Centres. The formal ground breaking ceremony for the project in Toronto was held on July 10, 2023.
www.transportaction.ca www.transportaction.ca
 
My 2 cents (rounded up to a nickel) on the Siemens fleet.

We are seeing that the longer Siemens trains do not need to follow the slow orders. We have a legacy fleet that still needs to be retired. We have some shortened Siemens trains that we could lengthen if we bought more cars. So, after the courts make their decision, and if CN wins, just buy enough cars to lengthen the trains that are too short, and move on with this new fleet.
 
Bordercollie said:
Is anything being done to put more ventures into service?
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Slowly, slowly. The removal of Rens from the Corridor, the dropping down to one HEP set, temporarily returned to two sets, sidelining of HEP cars, continued retirement of LRC cars are all part of a slow increase in the number of Corridor rotation lines covered by Ventures, now up to 16.

There are two impediments to more Ventures entering service. One is the ongoing CN-imposed reductions that continue to hamper Venture On-Time Performance. Couple this with ongoing court case in Quebec waiting to be heard as VIA seeks injunctions against CN restrictions.

Then there are ongoing maintenance issues that result from TMC servicing buildings not ready, niggling teething troubles with Venture maintenance (though VIA seems hesitant to release Venture serviceability data) one set never entering service and another in the shop after a September incident.

On the bright side, the incremental gains in Ventures that have entered service have resulted from all sets delivered, all operating crews trained, TMC and MMC staff knowing the Ventures better, finding mechanical and schedule workarounds, and limited creativity creating 32-axle sets. All of these have happened very slowly.

I have to imagine a world in which VIA orders these sets and is allowed to run them on some fantasy parallel Corridor free of any interference from the euphemistic 'infrastructure owner'. How different would that world be, and what VIA trains would be operating in it?
 
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