Admiral Beez
Superstar
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?
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VIA Rail
- Thread starter ehlow
- Start date
Trackside_Treasure
Active Member
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
Senior Member
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
Senior Member
Among other things, yes. Understanding why we got here and where we came from is important if we wish to fix this.
Admiral Beez
Superstar
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.
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nfitz
Superstar
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
Senior Member
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
Senior Member
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.
Bordercollie
Senior Member
So does anyone know what the exact issue was with the RDC 's?
cplchanb
Senior Member
Theyre too old
Urban Sky
Senior Member
Indeed, despite railfans advocating for yet another rebuild, these dinosaurs have already endured almost twice their intended useful life (30-40 years) and are in desperate need of replacement, not refurbishment…
cplchanb
Senior Member
Another problem is that the industry is too afraid, cheap or broke to develop a new dmu to replacement. I dont understand why they dont see the merits of a dmu for routes that dont require a huge honking diesel loco pulling just 2 cars and wasting resources.
Bordercollie
Senior Member
DMU's are considered locomotives and so they have a more rigid maintenance schedule.
So when you have a fleet of a lot of vehicles, it's more work to maintain. The only benefit is that they can be joined together to form a longer or shorter train without the additional axles of a locomotive hauled train.
cplchanb
Senior Member
Also the performance improvements and redundancy. It won't have the issues the seimens are having now