VIA Rail

[Admiral Beez]

Considering that Amtrak (and Amtrak California) have also done the same with their new trainsets, it seems that someone has crunched the numbers and figured that in the long run it is worthwhile.

From today’s NYT on Amtrak’s new sets. Click to enlarge.

 

[Trackside_Treasure]

So isn't it good that there are more available than required?

I'm not sure there are.

 

[nfitz]

From today’s NYT on Amtrak’s new sets. Click to enlarge.

View attachment 720315View attachment 720316

Interesting - here's the URL for those with poorer eyesight - https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/travel/amtrak-new-train-airo.html

 

[reaperexpress]

What's wrong with the Ventures? The first of a three-part series covering the past three years. This is the shortest post including some additional information and terms.

VIA Venture Mechanical Delay Reports - 2023

I'm finally able to provide some specifics on the serviceability of VIA's Siemens Venture trainsets. I've been not-so-patiently waiting - fo...

tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com

This is a phenomenal piece of journalism. Thank you so much for your efforts - I can't wait to see parts two and three!

 

[Trackside_Treasure]

This is a phenomenal piece of journalism. Thank you so much for your efforts - I can't wait to see parts two and three!

Thanks very much. I waited so long for the information to arrive - it was like Christmas morning. Almost. Without the fruitcake. But the 2024 and 2025 reports will astound you, as they did me. The information is really dry and clinical, and I'm afraid that's how it is presented. But after reading tens of reports of steps and doors freezing and not working, false hot journal alarms, problems with sending computer communications through a six-unit trainset, Ventures not starting and then later suddenly stopping, your head will spin and you will be shaking it back and forth.

Someone asked elsewhere about comparing the Venture mechanical delay reports to those in the same spreadsheet involving Legacy equipment: F40's, P42's, LRC, HEP Corridor and Long Distance, even a few Ren. I just didn't think it was a fair comparison. I would expect new equipment to have very high serviceability, and 30-70 year-old equipment to have low to moderate serviceability. At times I was left thinking that the reality was exactly the opposite. I want to see new equipment operating at 90% availability rates, especially from one of the few big players on the field, Siemens. Perhaps that reveals idealism, but the data certainly justifies the widespread cynicism about the Ventures!

 

[Milaisacat]

I've noticed at least two of the new Venture trainsets in the Mimico yard are shorter four-car consists (locomotive, two standard cars, and a cab car). Apologies if this has been discussed, but what is the purpose of these shorter trains?

 

[Trackside_Treasure]

I've noticed at least two of the new Venture trainsets in the Mimico yard are shorter four-car consists (locomotive, two standard cars, and a cab car). Apologies if this has been discussed, but what is the purpose of these shorter trains?

There were two two-unit 'leftovers' of two sets that each had two of their cars taken to make two other sets eight units long. Operating as an eight-unit set as well, albeit with two cab cars and two locomotives, these two sets are now separate, and Set 7 has been sitting at the MMC since Dec 22. (Right now, there is a four-unit ONR set there, with the leftovers of Set 7, the second ONR set having left California on March 5.) The whole sorted, sordid story here:

A Train Grows - Venturing into VIA's Success

After the annus horribilis that VIA Rail Canada has been experiencing with its CN's crossing speed reductions on its new Siemens Venture t...

tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com

 

[Milaisacat]

There were two two-unit 'leftovers' of two sets that each had two of their cars taken to make two other sets eight units long. Operating as an eight-unit set as well, albeit with two cab cars and two locomotives, these two sets are now separate, and Set 7 has been sitting at the MMC since Dec 22. (Right now, there is a four-unit ONR set there, with the leftovers of Set 7, the second ONR set having left California on March 5.) The whole sorted, sordid story here:

A Train Grows - Venturing into VIA's Success

After the annus horribilis that VIA Rail Canada has been experiencing with its CN's crossing speed reductions on its new Siemens Venture t...

tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com

Thanks very much, and that's a great link. This photo, chef's kiss...

 

[taylortbb]

I would expect new equipment to have very high serviceability, and 30-70 year-old equipment to have low to moderate serviceability. At times I was left thinking that the reality was exactly the opposite. I want to see new equipment operating at 90% availability rates, especially from one of the few big players on the field, Siemens. Perhaps that reveals idealism, but the data certainly justifies the widespread cynicism about the Ventures!

It's normal for products to follow a bathtub curve, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve . You see higher initial failures as the kinks are worked out, then a period of low failures in stable operation, then high failures again as things get old and break down.

To accurately compare the Ventures you really need to compare against previous equipment at the same point in its lifecycle. Obviously if it remains at this level of reliability that's not good, but I suspect we're still in the early part of the curve.

As long as Via only buys new corridor equipment every 50 years then each model will represent a huge change, and effectively be a from-scratch design, so significant early failures will be inevitable. If we bought new equipment every 10 years, with each run representing an incremental improvement, there'd probably be fewer early failures. But we'd need 5x as much corridor service for that to make sense.