Via Rail

[Anonymous]

Well, there's been a lot of threads talking about what can be done with Amtrak and passenger rail in the US, but for a change, here's one about Canada. This week Canadian Transport Minister David Collenette announced plans for the federal government to spend $692.5 million on improving Via with faster trains, better tracks and upgraded stations (most of this money will go to services in Ontario and Quebec). The money would be spent over 5 years, but wouldn't start coming until April, 2004. However, there is some contraversy surrounding this.

Here's the background information to this:
Our current Prime Minister is Jean Chretien, who has been our Prime Minister for the past 10 years. A while ago Chretien announced that he would retire from politics in February 2004. A few people have decided to step up as candidates for the new leader of the Liberal Party. It originally was John Manley (Foreign Affairs Minister), Sheila Copps (Heritage Minister), Paul Martin (ex-Finance Minister who Chretien hates and fired) and some other guy. Manley and the other guy both dropped out of the race because they knew they wouldn't win against Martin. The official vote is coming up soon and everyone knows Martin will win and be the next Prime Minister. He has 95% of the support from party members and only needs 60% to win, but Kopps refuses to give up. Martin has been doing some Prime Minister-like things including holding two caucus meetings and making official visits to see the damage of Hurricane Juan and the B.C. forest fires. There are a lot of jokes here about having two Prime Ministers and just who really is running the country. Now some people want to get rid of Chretien right away and vote him out now. Politics is nasty, isn't it?

So, what does all of this have to do with the money for Via? Well, Collenette is a firm Chretien supporter. Some are accusing him and Chretien of trying to spend lots of money before Paul Martin comes in and give Martin a debt. Paul Martin can actually say no to the decision if he wants to when he gains power. Also, the current president of Via used to work for Chretien holding an important and well-paying job. Another thing that should be mentioned is that Collenette turned down a proposal to spend $3 billion on a high-speed rail line between Quebec City and Windsor.

To me, the high speed project sounds like an excellent idea. The only thing I'm worried about is that because of all this political nonsense that it may be Via who suffers in the end. What are others' thoughts on this?

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, Martin will scrap the deal...and Chrétien knows it. If Jean would have wanted to give VIA the much needed funds, he would have done it a long time ago.

[jchnhtfd]

I have a very nasty suspicion that your last paragraph, Sask, is all too right. Chretien makes the offer, everyone says hooray it's about time -- especially the high speed route from Montreal to Toronto (ever try the 401 on a bad afternoon? Take my advice... don't); Martin kills it and Chretien looks great and Martin gets to carry the baby.

Politics as usual, I'm afraid...[:(]

[METRO]

Well look at it this way: I did a photo series on Toronto Union Station & Chicago Union two summers ago (in the middle of the garbage strike in TO) for a college course I was taking at the time. I talked with quite a few travelers as I was taking my pictures and 100% of them in both the United States and Canada prefered Via rail to Amtrak. It acutally gets funding, has better services, and there is something about staff on trains actually smiling that seems to attract passengers.
Bottom line is that the state of passenger travel in Canada is far far better than that in the United States, even with the Acela. lol don't even get me started on how much better GO Transit is compaired to Chicago Metra-Rail

[Anonymous]

Via is going to get a little help out east from CN. Hunter Harrison was in Halifax, Nova Scotia last week to announce approximately 25 million dollars of improvements to CN trackage and infrastructure in the Halifax to Montreal corridor. Most improvements go toward increasing the lengths of key sidings,and bridge and signals upgrades. This should improve Via transit times as well as CN intermodal from Halifax to Montreal.

The Hunter also dropped a $100K cheque to help repair damages to the Halifax Public Gardens caused by Hurricane Juan. Generous guy huh?

Jeff

[TH&B]

Metra Rail is better than GO, GO transit realy effectively only have the lakeshore line with all day and weekend service. GO transit may be clean, like clinicly clean and ALL trains are the same green and white with some cars in realy awfull coloured wrap cars. But in the end it's freaquency, flexibility and areas serviced that realy counts, Metra has all kinds of destinations and routes all day long and weekends.
Via Rail doesn't even begin to compare to Amtrak's NEC, and I don't find Via crews friendly, often they would not allow me to sit where I want to, for the price of the ticket on a half emty train why can't I sit looking out the south side and then change my mind later? Anyways I don't need to take the train, so I won't when they are always politely telling you what you can"t do. The old CNR crews were usualy way better at allowing you to change seats, basicly they didn't care, wich was good. Even the comuter trains in Montreal are better than in Toronto. Chicago is better than Toronto. For the size Toronto realy is, it is very behind.

[Modelcar]

....Am I correct the 440cuin is referring to a Chrysler engine...?

[Anonymous]

Anyone see the recent "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" episode? They were talking about this subject. Quote from the show "When questioned if the corporation could survive without the funding from the government, a VIA official responded, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can""

LOL..it was really funny, but in reality it is not. I sure hope they get the funding they deserve.


And 440cuin, You have any reasoning behind your accusations against Canada?

[Anonymous]

I think it was the best in Germany. You just walk onto a train like you do a bus. You can always be on the platforms, no one cares. Same with the high speed ICE trains.

In Canada and the States (commuter or long distance) everything is like at the airport. You are not allowed (or supposed to be) on the platforms. Signs are everywhere threatening a fine. Some stations have doors locked until a train arrives. Basically, in Germany it was a lot more railfan friendly. Changing seats? No one cares there...like I said, here it's almost like air travel.

Back to the orignal subject, I would love HSR in the Quebec - WIndsor corridor.

[heavyd]

I know a few things about GO trains, I used to work them for a very brief period. If anyone thinks the crews aren't friendly or whatever it is because they aren't really passenger train crews. GO transit doesn't actually have any of it's own engineers or conductors, they use CN and CP freight crews to run their passenger trains, (commuter trains). GO trains run mostly on CP and CN trackage. I worked for CP in toronto for a little while and the training we got for the GO trains was kinda basic. If you had enough senority you could book yourself and work a GO train for a six months at a time. But those guys would be sick sometimes, holidays or book off just like anyother job and then they would call people off the spare board. So here you are working as a freight conductor for CP or CN then get called for a GO train, wierd eh? You have to put away your over-alls, polish your boots, style your hair and dress accourding to the dress code to work on the railroad. That was different!

[TH&B]

Ya 440 as in BIG BLOCK, I lost my railway tag when they upgraded the web, my old tag was cnrail. I do not have anything more against Canada as any other country, but Via rail and GO transit are by far not my favorite trains. My most favorite railroad though would probably be CNR and GTW, I liked their passenger trains way better than those mentioned. I particularly liked the old electrics towing 6 axle comuter coaches in old CN colours in Montreal right into the mid 90's! But other than these type of comuter trains where they didn't even close the doors I agree with ICE train about the German passenger trains are a very good example. Although even in Germany it was better in the past. In Germany you can travel at 200km/h with the window wide open (if you're comfortable with that)! In West Germany was the only time/place I ever saw regular live steam trains in service in the 70's. But the trains I like I realy like and I will tra***he ones I don't like because they are to much to ignore. I was once stuck on a GO train in the summer heat and the air con failed on the whole train!!! It was gastly unbarable. If they design a train with sealed widows like that they have to gaurentee that the a/c cannot fail. Or there should be windows that can open in such an emergency. It is very hard to want to take the train again after such an experience.

[TH&B]

ps- I don't dislike Canada at all, I love the Canadian prairie style railroading. The grain trains , the elevators, the land and the people, I love going out there any oppertunity I can.
On the flip side I don't like Tim Hortons, yuk!

[Anonymous]

You don't like Timmy's!!!! Old #4 must be rolling in his grave!

[brilondon]

I have to agree about the swill they at Timmy's call coffee. The coffee sucks. Back to the topic at hand. The King of Canada is giong and he will try to make his mark on history and leave his legeacy to the Canadian people. His second trans-canada highway named after himself never took flight and now he is trying to make up for all the problems he will leave Paul Martin. I think that "Johnny Cruton" is a bigger horses behind then most people realize. Our country can ill aford to spend that kind of coin on our under used rail system.