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VIA Rail

One of the main factors behind how quiet and smoothly a train rides is to do with the weight of the car, and the weight of the train as a whole. Heavier vehicle, smoother ride.

A empty Bombardier BiLevel (as seen on GO Transit) weighs about 61,000 kg. A empty mid-train Venture Economy coach weighs about 51,000 kg. So Bombardier's already at an advantage.

And if they're full, oh boy: a crush-loaded BiLevel can take about 410 passengers, while the Venture's only going to fit 72. Even if we assume each Venture passenger is carrying 15 kg of luggage, that's 31,775 kg of passenger-weight on the BiLevel up against 6,660 kg on the Venture, a difference of nearly 40%. (And producing a much smoother ride.)
So I guess riding in the locomotive is a better ride then. Although the cab car is super quiet minus the horn.

Also the bilevel has better sound dampening, I find that the horn vibrates through the cab on venture sets.
 
So I guess riding in the locomotive is a better ride then. Although the cab car is super quiet minus the horn.

Also the bilevel has better sound dampening, I find that the horn vibrates through the cab on venture sets.
Well essentially we bought an american made (train) car. Id bet had we gotten something from the European or asian market it would've been much better
 
Well essentially we bought an american made (train) car. Id bet had we gotten something from the European or asian market it would've been much better
I think it speaks volumes to the original bi-level design. In service for 50 years.t

The ventures are based on a European design. It's a good design I just think that sitting in the cab car may not be the most comfortable.

I like the ride of the LRC'S better personally.
 
I noticed that LRC consists with two locomotives don't have buffer cars. So I guess the locomotive acts as the buffer car so that's sufficient
 
I noticed that LRC consists with two locomotives don't have buffer cars. So I guess the locomotive acts as the buffer car so that's sufficient
No, they do have buffer cars at each end whether one locomotive, or one on each end. All the buffer cars so far observed in use were retired in the most recent lot, by the end of January, 2026. Yes, I also noticed loco-to-the-east operation has really taken hold in the last day or two. We're baaaaack.
 
No, they do have buffer cars at each end whether one locomotive, or one on each end. All the buffer cars so far observed in use were retired in the most recent lot, by the end of January, 2026. Yes, I also noticed loco-to-the-east operation has really taken hold in the last day or two. We're baaaaack.
That would make it a three car trainset if two are buffers.
 
Like the HEP buffer cars, the LRC buffer car consists are going to look identical to regular LRC consists, except for perhaps car count. There are very few buffer consists complete as of today. The main visual difference is going to be whether there are heads in windows or just an empty car. Is it an 8-car LRC consist pre-buffer, or a buffered 6-car consist with two buffer cars on either end? Re: backup moves, the full notice to VIA running trades employees is at the 'live' end of this post:
I should be able to check out the buffer car LRC consists later this week in more detail! There are still, however, many four-car consists east of Toronto, just as there have been before this measure was announced. I don't think this is a two car revenue consist with two buffer cars. I think it's as yet just an unbuffered consist.

The really interesting ones are the polyglot LRC/HEP2 consists that are running on Nos 64/65 around March 16: 3LRC-2 HEP2 Business Class-3 LRC. Around the same time, Nos 66-67 started running with a slimmed-down 6 car LRC consist, down from 8, perhaps in preparation for addition of buffer cars on either end.
Two buffer cars?!

I thought the "buffer" only applied to open-facing ends, so an L5 consist would require one buffer car on the end without a locomotive, and an L5L would not require any buffer cars. Or does the buffer apply to all LRC coaches, even when there's a locomotive?
 
Someone was saying that even with locomotives on end there is still a requirement for buffers.
All consists seem to have been adjusted to account for buffer addition. Five car consists eliminated, either 4- or 6-car consists, now totalling 6 or 8 with head-end and tail-end buffer cars, most with locomotives on both ends. The exceptions are Nos 65/75/70/64 now totalling 9. So, in other words, 4-7 revenue cars on all consists.
 
Word choice. Two buffer cars, one at each end. See VIA bulletin here: https://tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com/2026/04/three-days-in-march-2026-and-lrc-buffer.html
Oops somehow I missed that post of yours. Thanks for the link.

That bulletin is very concerning - it does clearly require buffer cars on the "front AND rear" of the LRC sets. Apparently the LRCs are so fragile that they can't even be placed alone behind a locomotive! There also doesn't seem to be any loophole that would allow in-service HEP coaches to be used as buffers (e.g. P42-HEP-LRC-LRC-HEP).

Hopefully with the warmer weather they're able to get more of the Venture sets in service so the restrictions on LRCs are less consequential. Nice to see in your post that the J-trains are back to running Venture sets. Hopefully that's a sign they've resolved the reliability issues they were having with the Siemens J-trains.
 

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