Search results

VIA rail has published its strategic plan "VIAction 2030" : https://corpo.viarail.ca/en/company/strategic-plan https://corpo.viarail.ca/sites/default/files/pages/Strategic%20Plan/VIAction%202030%20Strategic%20Plan.pdf They've also released a new video:

What's good about today's announcement, and what could be improved in future: https://www.transportaction.ca/topics/intercity-rail-and-bus/victory-early-morning-train-from-kingston-to-toronto-reinstated/

A customs facility at Windsor isn't my favourite idea. There's been talk of moving the Windsor station over to the tunnel for decades, so it just risks a sunk cost. Whereas, the rebuild of the Detroit station could easily include the necessary facilities. Then we could run 71/76 and 73/78 over...

We've seen this pantomime before, with changes in 2012 that brought in a $20 surcharge for bags between 40lb and 50lb. https://globalnews.ca/news/293455/via-rail-cuts-allowable-baggage/ That asinine surcharge vanished in 2014, except for Escape fares where the 40lb limit lingered until 2017...

We're beset by unfinished proposals in SWO. The CTC upgrade and siding added to the Kitchener line as part of Harper's "Economic Action Plan" were never used as intended, and services cut back instead by Harper's cuts. VIA did look at HFR is SWO before 2014, but dropped it from the scope...

There's an agreed volume of 10 per direction through Smith Falls crossing over CPKC tracks. In the Montreal direction, adding more trains is also constrained by track capacity. However, if VIA could assemble westbound J-trains the second sets of LEs could be rostered from Kingston, together with...

Observed heading north.... ;)

Interesting items in this release: 1. EllisDon Capital is out and that consortium is looking for a new partner. 2. The RFP is for 200 km/h and "faster" options, so HSR-200 or HSR~300, no sign of HFR. Because the cost and construction time hockey-stick to grade separate every crossing occurs...

Business cases are important but they tend to focus on current and easily foreseeable demand and cost:benefit of the project in isolation. That's relatively effective for urban transit projects, but it has problems, especially at the regional or national level. Demographic and regional equity...

The diversions are of train paths over Metrolinx infrastructure, around Metrolinx projects, so presumably Metrolinx has to ask CN from the paths and is picking up the tab for the extra train-miles? Unless the payment for VIA paths on what is now Metrolinx infrastructure is still covered as a...

Considering how much extensively the York Sub is being used for diversions while Metrolinx does work on Lakeshore East, it's fairly surprising that they didn't either offer CN the cash to reinstate a siding to make it flow adequately during diversions (although maybe that says more about...

VIA Rail will be spending that money on Dorval station and fixing the bottleneck between Turcot and the Victoria Bridge. VIA-HFR will be spending a bit more itself this fall as field studies get underway, and the RFP bid teams will each get a stipend - that's fairly common with big...

That corporate plan also proposed the acquisition of the line between Kitchener and London, which hasn't happened. However, in the presentation given in SW Ontario, we see even more ambition to meet regional demand... Not getting the CN crossings to work with the RDCs put paid to these plans.

This: https://www.systra.com/canada/project/technical-assistance-to-via-rail-on-dorval-intermodal-station-project-22025/ Transport Action has asked VIA Rail (this isn't a VIA-HFR project) for a briefing on project progress. However, the original mandate of the JPO was: So what part of that...

With Parliament back in session, the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities is resuming its study of “Projects of High Frequency Rail Between Quebec City and Toronto, Between Calgary and Banff, and Between Calgary and Edmonton” Tomorrow, I will be joining a...

It isn't VIA being opaque about the Winchester Sub cutoff. It was Transport Canada that unveiled that back-of-a-napkin line on the map, and has never really explained it.

Mainly operating costs, implementing part of the Kingston Hub concept including having enough trains crewed from there to operate a head end crew base. Also, increasing the service level to the intermediate cities and reducing the total number of paths required from both CN and Metrolinx to...

For a reasonable cost of upgrading Fallowfield, Amtrak's Milwaukee airport station investment is probably a good comparison in terms of works and a fair pricing - $23.2 million in Canadian funds...

To shave time off the Ottawa-Toronto schedule, the 20 minutes in takes to get from Fallowfield to Ottawa would seem to be an area for improvement that would also eventually benefit HFR. There are also anomalies in the existing corridor schedule like not being able to board a train to Montreal...

I expect they're going to try to make at least one Ottawa-Toronto or Montreal-Toronto train pair a Venture diagram after the October 24th schedule update. There should be five sets in service by then, at least, and if it can be done while still cycling back to MMC it would spread a little...