VIA Rail

[lead82]

London does not have a decent downtown.

As compared to what other medium sized city? Decent to me means it has offices and shops and hotels and amenities walking distance from the train station. There are holes with massive parking lots but it has the possibility to grow denser and improve.

 

[smallspy]

Interesting MTO comment - thanks for noting it! Shunt-enhancers have not been approved, tested or implemented in Canada. That approval would have to come from Transport Canada, as it did through the FRA in the US. Does Northern Tracks have more proof than an anonymous MTO spokesperson that 'will have shunt enhancers' means they do or plan to have shunt enhancers??

CN has not to my knowledge commented on ONR Ventures, with or without shunt-enhancers, operating on their trackage north of Toronto. The only reason those subdivisions were even added was for detour purposes, not because the ONR would be operating there. Many have commented that lower speeds than much of the Corridor mean that crossing protection device activation may or may not be an issue.

On top of all that.....

There is nothing installed between the axles on the lead trucks of the loco and cab car - certainly nothing that is low enough that it would be able to affect the railhead like the aerials for the shunt enhancers.

Now, I'll concede that it's possible that they've come up with a new design for them, but they would still need to hang low enough to the railhead to affect it, and there just isn't anything installed on the equipment that will.

Dan

 

[Trackside_Treasure]

Now, I'll concede that it's possible that they've come up with a new design for them, but they would still need to hang low enough to the railhead to affect it, and there just isn't anything installed on the equipment that will.

Dan

Thanks for the confirmation. Wouldn't VIA have been all over ON Ventures that arrived with Onboard Shunt Enhancers (OSEs).When VIA OSE implementation goes forward (it's in the government's latest budget), it will involve testing, regulatory approval and a stepwise implementation process. Any list of standardized protocols for the implementation of OSEs will have to include several key recommendations. Antennae will have to be mounted on both the A and B trucks of the leading equipment, and be of a proper shape for specific truck types, both trucks' OSEs functioning together in parallel with the rail, and centred over the rail. Locomotive engineers will need a visible fault indicator if the antennae or system became faulty. There will have to be inspection monthly or at least semi-annually, with records kept.

Attached are some images of a likely installation, and some of Amtrak's requirements for exemption from FRA for required top-of-railhead OSE installation.