VIA Rail

[crs1026]

Ah, I see we've reached the point in the project where every small town thinks they should get a station. About time to wrap this up.

No, this is a different theme, and I'm happy to see it getting some momentum.

Clearly Alto should not be stopping in every town along the route, even larger ones. This bandwagon is more about the need of local communities being bypassed by Alto - which need their own solution - realising they are not being included in government transport planning, and asking for their needs (which are not solvable by Alto) to see action..

To repeat myself, Alto is the Province's second highest priority. The highest is regional rail. Alto is a nice bauble, but it is $40-60B spent a decade away, when what would impact more is $3-5B spent immediately on regional rail between London and Kingston. More cars taken off the road, and more opportunity for modal shift, than addressing drivers going all the way from Toronto to Ottawa and Montreal.

- Paul

 

[Bordercollie]

I'd hardly call Kingston a small town. If they do build the alignment they are already studying through Sydenham, then failing to stop there would be unusual. On the same silliness as HS2 running near Oxford and Banbury, between Solihull and Acton without an intermediate stop.

Flying is for distances longer than 400kms. Plus to go from London to Kingston there is no direct flight. So you can drive, take the bus or the train.

This is where having high speed rail makes sense.

Think about London to Belleville or Brockville. Flying doesn't make sense.

 

[cplchanb]

Flying is for distances longer than 400kms. Plus to go from London to Kingston there is no direct flight. So you can drive, take the bus or the train.

This is where having high speed rail makes sense.

Think about London to Belleville or Brockville. Flying doesn't make sense.

I long for the day we can enact a law like they did in France to ban local air travel. Sad it wont happen in my lifetime

 

[Bordercollie]

I long for the day we can enact a law like they did in France to ban local air travel. Sad it wont happen in my lifetime

You can only do that if there is another effective means of transportation

 

[cplchanb]

You can only do that if there is another effective means of transportation

Exactly...
We just have the Corridor... and its slow

 

[lenaitch]

the example you brought up for the USRC is all about inspection and maintenance and nothing to do with structural integrity. since GO owns and exclusively uses this entire corridor why does it need to be subjected to heavy freight train standards? will their signalling upgrades allow them to relax the draconian measures?

Because it also operates equipment on shared track, both freight and VIA.

 

[cplchanb]

Because it also operates equipment on shared track, both freight and VIA.

Ok then those lines can use diesels or go buys the rest of the track.
But theres no reason why LSW, LSE and stouffville cant use more efficient trains. ML is just being cheap

 

[lenaitch]

Ok then those lines can use diesels or go buys the rest of the track.
But theres no reason why LSW, LSE and stouffville cant use more efficient trains. ML is just being cheap

I don't think not wanting to operate two fleets comes under the heading of 'cheap'. Ownership of the track aside, freight still operates on a lot of MX's corridor.

 

[KevinT]

Thanks everyone. I did discover the baggage FAQ earlier today, but wasn't sure how (or if) I could specify the snowboard through the online booking system, so I did end up just giving them a call to book through an agent. They were great on the phone with a hold period that was no longer than 30 seconds, and I'm all booked and happy.

So I'm about a month late posting this, but my trip from Kitchener to Dorval on Jan 25th (yes, that giant snowstorm day) did not exactly go well:

Train 84 was over 30 minutes late leaving Kitchener, though that didn't affect my connection in Toronto, and the service in business class was decent. It turns out my snowboard bag fit easily into two interconnected overhead bins, which nobody else was using. There was also the option to stand it behind some seats in another car, but keeping it close in my own car just felt better.

Train 66 from Union to Montreal (my ticketed distance, since that was cheaper than purchasing Kitchener to Dorval per the incredibly helpful booking agent) was much more problematic. It left Toronto late, then kept losing minutes along the way stuck behind a freight; an issue which probably wouldn't have existed had it left on time. By 18:00 we were an hour behind, but the worst was yet to come. At 18:25 I missed the PA announcement, but checked the tracker which reported "Switch Issues West of Belleville — The train is delayed at Belleville due to switch issues in the area. Rail traffic can proceed in the area, but at reduced speed and one train at a time. As such, significant delay is expected." This was followed by "UPDATE 18:41: trains 47 and 53 are now back on the move", which sounded at least somewhat hopeful. At 19:04 I texted my wife "Announcement: We're now 2 hours and 10 minutes late, but should be the next train to go through this zone. Once we pass through this zone we should be proceeding again at regular speed." Again, this was false hope, and it wasn't until 20:23 that I texted, "We're moving!"

Any idea at that point of my buddy picking me up at Dorval and us driving to Tremblant (he'd already killed off a few hours at a brew pub in Brossard) was ridiculous, so we booked the cheapest hotel in Dorval that Expedia could find us. At 20:50 I texted Michelle, "Stopped again, we've cleared Quinte West but are still not in Belleville", followed at 21:05 by, "Moving again. Reduced speed until the Belleville stop, then normal speed after that."

Here's where I do have to give kudos to VIA, because it was right around then they announced that a) our trip would be credited back to us, and b) we'd each get a pizza slice in Belleville. It was lukewarm pizza but quite welcome; so well done to our attendants for that one! At 00:37 we arrived in Dorval, 4 hours and 39 minutes late. It was at 01:01 that I finally texted Michelle, "In bed at the hotel in Dorval. Good night, I love you!", and true to their word VIA's compensation email arrived at 05:24 while I blissfully slept: A complete refund, available as either a voucher good for 12 months, or 8 VIA Preference Points per dollar that would never expire. I chose the points, as I don't travel with VIA often, and have no idea when I'll get around to using them.

For a CN track issue that was out of their hands, on the night of a massive snowstorm causing issues across southern Ontario, they done good. Thank you VIA!

 

[Bordercollie]

So I'm about a month late posting this, but my trip from Kitchener to Dorval on Jan 25th (yes, that giant snowstorm day) did not exactly go well:

Train 84 was over 30 minutes late leaving Kitchener, though that didn't affect my connection in Toronto, and the service in business class was decent. It turns out my snowboard bag fit easily into two interconnected overhead bins, which nobody else was using. There was also the option to stand it behind some seats in another car, but keeping it close in my own car just felt better.

Train 66 from Union to Montreal (my ticketed distance, since that was cheaper than purchasing Kitchener to Dorval per the incredibly helpful booking agent) was much more problematic. It left Toronto late, then kept losing minutes along the way stuck behind a freight; an issue which probably wouldn't have existed had it left on time. By 18:00 we were an hour behind, but the worst was yet to come. At 18:25 I missed the PA announcement, but checked the tracker which reported "Switch Issues West of Belleville — The train is delayed at Belleville due to switch issues in the area. Rail traffic can proceed in the area, but at reduced speed and one train at a time. As such, significant delay is expected." This was followed by "UPDATE 18:41: trains 47 and 53 are now back on the move", which sounded at least somewhat hopeful. At 19:04 I texted my wife "Announcement: We're now 2 hours and 10 minutes late, but should be the next train to go through this zone. Once we pass through this zone we should be proceeding again at regular speed." Again, this was false hope, and it wasn't until 20:23 that I texted, "We're moving!"

Any idea at that point of my buddy picking me up at Dorval and us driving to Tremblant (he'd already killed off a few hours at a brew pub in Brossard) was ridiculous, so we booked the cheapest hotel in Dorval that Expedia could find us. At 20:50 I texted Michelle, "Stopped again, we've cleared Quinte West but are still not in Belleville", followed at 21:05 by, "Moving again. Reduced speed until the Belleville stop, then normal speed after that."

Here's where I do have to give kudos to VIA, because it was right around then they announced that a) our trip would be credited back to us, and b) we'd each get a pizza slice in Belleville. It was lukewarm pizza but quite welcome; so well done to our attendants for that one! At 00:37 we arrived in Dorval, 4 hours and 39 minutes late. It was at 01:01 that I finally texted Michelle, "In bed at the hotel in Dorval. Good night, I love you!", and true to their word VIA's compensation email arrived at 05:24 while I blissfully slept: A complete refund, available as either a voucher good for 12 months, or 8 VIA Preference Points per dollar that would never expire. I chose the points, as I don't travel with VIA often, and have no idea when I'll get around to using them.

For a CN track issue that was out of their hands, on the night of a massive snowstorm causing issues across southern Ontario, they done good. Thank you VIA!

I mean if you flew you would have gotten stuck at the airport. Driving would not have been fun. If it wasn't for the switch issue you would have been an hour late? That's not bad actually.

 

[Admiral Beez]

The only place where I would argue irreparable harm was done was losing the Washago-Orillia-Barrie segment. However, Barrie sure has a nice harbourfront these days - perhaps losing the tracks was a good thing.

So does Fredericton, and I often enjoyed a walk over the retired railway bridges that now make up some of the bike cycling and walking paths I’ve seen.