VIA Rail

[cplchanb]

They looked at these before and they got out bid. You would need to spend money on getting them up to VIA standard, but by cannibalizing the LRC seats at least they wouldn't need to spend money on that. They made need a mechanical overhaul. When they were in service they smoked a lot.

But once the snow inhaling probably goes away they could spare an F40 and two Budd coaches and use the baggage car as a cab car. They should have the baggage cars that were used in the corridor before COVID. Could they not use those?

dude are we that ghetto that we would have to scrounge for dinosaur relic parts just to keep our ancient fleets going...they belong in museums!

on another note, the via historical society should grab these if they have the funds to:

Ozark Mountain Railcar

Ozark Mountain Railcar || CN/VIA Rail Cafe Car #761

ozarkmountainrailcar.com

Ozark Mountain Railcar

Ozark Mountain Railcar || New York Central

ozarkmountainrailcar.com

https://ozarkmountainrailcar.com/railEquipment.php?itemId=648&category=Passenger%20Equipment

 

[Mihairokov]

ohhh... you got my hopes up for a minute....sad and ashamed that our standards are so low that 11 minutes is considered on time...

It would be viewed as acceptable, or at least equivalent, to trains in Germany, Italy, Portugal...

anywhere else overseas especially in Japan this would be unacceptable

I encourage everyone here to see the departures board from Guangzhou South Station from this past week for Chinese New Year migration, or the headway times for trains running Shanghai-Beijing.

 

[cplchanb]

It would be viewed as acceptable, or at least equivalent, to trains in Germany, Italy, Portugal...


I encourage everyone here to see the departures board from Guangzhou South Station from this past week for Chinese New Year migration, or the headway times for trains running Shanghai-Beijing.

https://chuuchuu.com/2025wrapped

more info here.

as for china i would say that is the exception not the norm. statistics have shown a consistent high 90%s on time performance. Regardless even 80% on time performance considering just how many orders of magnitude larger their network and passenger load is to ours is already worlds better.
we cant even keep 1 line on time let alone 2 dozen simultaneously.

 

[Admiral Beez]

ohhh... you got my hopes up for a minute....sad and ashamed that our standards are so low that 11 minutes is considered on time... anywhere else overseas especially in Japan this would be unacceptable

True. But we need to compare ourselves to other networks where intercity passenger rail shares the tracks with commercial freight. How do we compare on that score?

 

[Trackside_Treasure]

as for china

It's so fatiguing to always have to compare the passenger service in Canada that we have become accustomed to.....comparing it to ANY other developed country. I'm not talking South Sudan here. Topography, demographics, distances, weather, freight traffic...nothing compares appropriately. Why do we always try to do this? Canada is absolutely unique, even from the US.

 

[micheal_can]

It's so fatiguing to always have to compare the passenger service in Canada that we have become accustomed to.....comparing it to ANY other developed country. I'm not talking South Sudan here. Topography, demographics, distances, weather, freight traffic...nothing compares appropriately. Why do we always try to do this? Canada is absolutely unique, even from the US.

Maybe we need to stop comparing it with other countries, and instead compare it with what we have had and what we now have. A humbling thing to do is to stand in the Grand Concourse of Union Station and look at all the destinations we could have gotten to when it opened. How many of them can we no longer get to? Canada's typography has not changed. What has changed is the mindset of the governments and railways.

 

[PinkLucy]

Maybe we need to stop comparing it with other countries, and instead compare it with what we have had and what we now have. A humbling thing to do is to stand in the Grand Concourse of Union Station and look at all the destinations we could have gotten to when it opened. How many of them can we no longer get to? Canada's typography has not changed. What has changed is the mindset of the governments and railways.

And the carcentric mindset of North America

 

[micheal_can]

And the carcentric mindset of North America

Among other things, yes. Understanding why we got here and where we came from is important if we wish to fix this.

 

[Admiral Beez]

And the carcentric mindset of North America

I suppose the last chance to renew rather than decimate passenger rail was during Mulroney’s government. It’s amazing to see the difference in VIA service when Mulroney became PM in 1984 until he departed in 1993. I can’t find a map for 1984, but here’s 1979.

Had he instead won in 1984, and given the state of the global and national economy, I wonder if PM John Turner would have been better for VIA. Keeping VIA service in the West might have helped reduce the regional alienation.

As for Atlantic Canada, I would have definitely have regularly used the Fredericton to Saint John and Halifax connection. A regular connection between Fredericton to Halifax airport (without a lengthy layover in Saint John or Moncton) would have been very nice.

 

[nfitz]

I suppose the last chance to renew rather than decimate passenger rail was during Mulroney’s government. It’s amazing to see the difference in VIA service when Mulroney became PM in 1984 until he departed in 1993. I can’t find a map for 1984, but here’s 1979.

View attachment 716012

Had he instead won in 1984, and given the state of the global and national economy, I wonder if PM John Turner would have been better for VIA. Keeping VIA service in the West might have helped reduce the regional alienation.

As for Atlantic Canada, I would have definitely have regularly used the Fredericton to Saint John and Halifax connection. A regular connection between Fredericton to Halifax airport (without a lengthy layover in Saint John or Moncton) would have been very nice.

That ignores the big cuts to VIA service in 1981 under Trudeau - many of which were restored by the Conservatives in 1984/85 (and those that weren't, such at Toronto to Welland). In addition to some of the route that were cut, there were big reductions in the number of trains per week, with a lot of daily service ending. It also ignores the cuts under Chretien including the Peterborough, Sherbrooke and Atlantic service that the Mulroney government restored after the Trudeau cuts.

Spring 1984 - before the 1984 election.

There's some oddness in the 1979 map, including services from Havelock to North Bay and Capreol, two routes between Ottawa and North Bay, Ottawa trains from Kingston that bypass Brockville, and no service to Kitchener.

February 1980 - before the 1980s Trudeau cuts:

There was also Trudeau's later 1970s cuts, including Barrie, Stouffville, Victoriaville (to Quebec City - and other services out of Quebec City), Mont-Laurier, Sudbury to Sault-St-Marie. The (daily) Edmonton services to North Battleford and Grand Centre. And the Trudeau early 1970s cuts to CN services to Newfoundland.

Would Turner have restored the Edmonton-Vancouver services killed by Trudeau?

 

[lenaitch]

Not to defend the VIA cuts but a lot of those routes were on host trackage that no longer exists. Freight pays the railways' bills and the route has to be economically viable.

 

[micheal_can]

Not to defend the VIA cuts but a lot of those routes were on host trackage that no longer exists. Freight pays the railways' bills and the route has to be economically viable.

That makes sense on tracks that are gone. What about the ones where tracks are still there?
Our only hope for expansion is when ALTO becomes a success.