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HEP-I coaches don‘t have a galley (except for 8145-47, which are running exclusively on the JONQ/SENN service), which is why they can‘t run as car 3 (i.e., the first ECO coach) or in pairs, which means you have to mix them with LRC or HEP-II cars…

VIA hasn’t even operated the western part of that third summer-only frequency (i.e., west of Edmonton) since 2019…

To volunteer just five reasons: 1) because there is no direct track connection between the two stations without at least one change of direction 2) because the timetables for both services don‘t allow for sensible connections between the SUDB-WHTR service and the Canadian 3) because barely...

If people leave because they don‘t enjoy the amenities and job opportunities which virtually all other Canadians can (rightly) take for granted, why should we blame them and not those policy makers which allocate the resources which are used to decide where living conditions and economic...

Sure, we don‘t have the money to deliver basic amenities like clean running water, sanitary schools, paved roads or cell phone connectivity to all communities in this country, but lets splash something like 10% of our GDP (some C$3 trillion) just to ensure that our passenger trains don‘t have to...

Ah, the famous ‚wiggle waggon‘ (a HEP-I car at the end of a mixed Corridor consist) user „tysmo“ (I’m pretty sure he’s also here on UT, but couldn’t remember his user name) keeps mentioning on the „Rail Fan Canada“ Discord server:

No, I meant cars which allow views not just to the right or left (or top) of the train, but also its front and back. Granted, RMR seems to now have added some such cars into their fleet with their new Stadler-built Gold Leaf 3.0 cars, but unlike in a Skyline or Park dome, you‘d need to walk an...

My entire point was that whereas lounge spaces with large windows are essential amenities for multi-day rides like VIA‘s only three routes which operate overnight, other land cruise operators like Rocky Mountaineer or Indian Pacific / The Ghan in Australia charge more than VIA does for the...

Just for the records, I‘m talking about sleeping pods and whereas they might be fine for someone travelling 8-12 hours overnight to get from A to B, they are far too claustrophobic for someone spending 2-4 days on a train where the trip is the destination: I would rather frame it in a way that...

The new trainsets are currently (i.e., as of April 8) used for #668 on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays: https://www.viarail.ca/en/plan/new-fleet

Keep in mind that we are talking about accommodation types for train services where only 40% rather than 80% of the time spent on board falls into night time. If you can’t expect passengers to stay in their booked space for much more than sleeping, you‘ll need much more lounge spaces…

I would assume that they will be retired and kept for spare parts (i.e., canibalized to extend spare part availability for the ETC Renaissance fleet on the Ocean)…

The last Corridor Renaissance set seems to disappear next month, making the QMOs all-Siemens: https://groups.io/g/Canadian-Passenger-Rail/message/98334

From what I recall, the way how Canadian property tax rules value tracks much higher than the land on which they are built, creates a very strong (and artificial) financial incentive to tear out the tracks of any routes, sidings or yards which see small traffic volumes. Again, I would rather...

I doubt that they can legally pull off a joint procurement, especially given that they are subject to different trade agreements (e.g., CETA covers VIA, but not Amtrak). However, RFPs can be written in a way which facilitates a joint procurement…

I can‘t find it in the RFQ I posted, but IIRC, such a configuration was explicitly allowed, provided that the bidding consortium would provide guarantees not just for the locomotives and cars seperately, but for the entire trainsets. For instance, nobody would have stopped Talgo and Bombardier...

Indeed, the RFQ only asked for „trainsets“ (with mentions of locomotives only when describing its legacy fleet): https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/media/pdfs/About_VIA/new-fleet/VIA%20Rail_Corridor_Fleet_Renewal_Project_Request_for_Qualifications.pdf

Okay, I get your point: the North American map only shows lines with passenger services rather than the „North American railway network“, as incorrectly claimed. That said, a map showing the European railway network and one only showing the European passenger rail network would be virtually...

It was because they were the winning participant in a competitive tendering process with an RFQ and an RFP…

Indeed, a handful of lines shown there are freight-only (or simply disused), but I still believe that far more than 90% of the passenger lines shown have regularly-scheduled service (and quite a few minor passenger lines are omitted). With some exceptions like Corsica, Sardegna, Portugal and...