Lack of meaningful Passenger Rail service outside the Quebec-Windsor Corridor

[Urban Sky]

Much of these old crates still running and eventually having to be taken out of service is not only due to Ottawa not wanting to pay for them but also VIA not wanting to run them. The new trains are for The Corridor with the old ones for the rest of the country and this works just fine for VIA despite what they may publicly claim/

The retiring of these vehicles will give VIA the excuse it wants to stop all non-productive rail lines anywhere outside The Corridor. Nearly every route outside Windsor-Quebec is a noose around VIA's financial neck and, as far as VIA is concerned, the sooner they can ditch those routes entirely, the better.

It’s really striking how little (if anything) you comprehend of what you write about here. If any of the conspiracies you fantasize here was true, VIA would certainly not ring the bell audaciously publicly to highlight that the survival of its non-Corridor routes depends on a very timely approval of a full renewal of its non-Corridor fleet…

 

[Bojaxs]

Much of these old crates still running and eventually having to be taken out of service is not only due to Ottawa not wanting to pay for them but also VIA not wanting to run them. The new trains are for The Corridor with the old ones for the rest of the country and this works just fine for VIA despite what they may publicly claim/

The retiring of these vehicles will give VIA the excuse it wants to stop all non-productive rail lines anywhere outside The Corridor. Nearly every route outside Windsor-Quebec is a noose around VIA's financial neck and, as far as VIA is concerned, the sooner they can ditch those routes entirely, the better.

The noose around VIA's financial neck is probably their labour costs.
I spoke with a yard crew guy at CN who told me VIA rail conductors make close to 200k a year. That's more than CN & CP conductors make.

 

[smallspy]

The noose around VIA's financial neck is probably their labour costs.
I spoke with a yard crew guy at CN who told me VIA rail conductors make close to 200k a year. That's more than CN & CP conductors make.

There are no conductors on VIA Rail.

Dan

 

[DSC]

There are no conductors on VIA Rail.

Dan

I assume @Bojaxs is referring to the 'attendants' who serve the food. They are the VIA equivalents of Flight Attendants.

 

[Urban Sky]

I spoke with a yard crew guy at CN who told me VIA rail conductors make close to 200k a year. That's more than CN & CP conductors make.

I assume @Bojaxs is referring to the 'attendants' who serve the food. They are the VIA equivalents of Flight Attendants.

I really hate that Paige-dude for making that stupid video which makes everyone so obsessed about VIA’s labour costs. Assuming we are talking about Senior Service Attendants (which CN and CP of course don’t have, since they no longer run passenger trains), these make $34.02 per hour, according to Tom Box on Groups.io:

Skyline food service (was Re: Churchill meals and fares)

groups.io

As for Locomtive Engineers (which CN and CP actually employ), RailCAN quotes a range of $80-105k:

Locomotive Engineer | RAC

www.railcan.ca

 

[Bojaxs]

There are no conductors on VIA Rail.

Dan

Sorry, engineers.

I really hate that Paige-dude for making that stupid video which makes everyone so obsessed about VIA’s labour costs.

Nah, I suspected VIA's high labour costs year's ago when so many CN, yard crew guys told me that a lot of engineers were trying to get into VIA.

 

[micheal_can]

Sorry, engineers.



Nah, I suspected VIA's high labour costs year's ago when so many CN, yard crew guys told me that a lot of engineers were trying to get into VIA.

A friend who worked for CN would have gone to Via for the working conditions. Unlike freight, you pick up your already made train and head to the various stations. No switching out cars, or dealing with dangerous goods, or even dealing with corporate overlords who keep wanting to cut everything to make a bigger profit this quarter.

 

[Urban Sky]

Sorry, engineers.



Nah, I suspected VIA's high labour costs year's ago when so many CN, yard crew guys told me that a lot of engineers were trying to get into VIA.

VIA quotes a base salary of $105k:

Spoiler

However, this collective agreement indicates a base salary of $1,622.89 per week in 2003, which would translate to an annual salary of $128k in 2023 prices:

Spoiler

Anyways, pay is not everything: given that VIA schedules its trains much more predictably than CN and CPKC, the shifts to which its LEs are allocated also become more predictable. Also, given that no corridor trains are scheduled between midnight and 6 a.m., you are all but guaranteed to not have shifts lasting through the entire night, as long as you are assigned to Corridor routes…

 

[smallspy]

Sorry, engineers.

Then they lied to you. VIA hoggers make more-or-less the same as CN ones, but have the added benefit of knowing where they will be sleeping at night.

A lot of those lies come from jealousy, by the way.

Dan

 

[kEiThZ]

Sorry, engineers.



Nah, I suspected VIA's high labour costs year's ago when so many CN, yard crew guys told me that a lot of engineers were trying to get into VIA.

"I heard from a guy."

 

[Bojaxs]

"I heard from a guy."

Who happens to be a CN rail, yard engineer.

 

[crs1026]

Who happens to be a CN rail, yard engineer.

Which makes them an expert on compensation regimes in another organization?

No disrespect meant to CN engineers, who are expert at some things but maybe not well informed about others......Sounds like nothing more than sandhouse shop talk, which generally involves a poor original source, and a fair bit of embellishment as the "story" is passed along. And maybe some "grass is greener" speculation.

- Paul

 

[Urban Sky]

However, this collective agreement indicates a base salary of $1,622.89 per week in 2003, which would translate to an annual salary of $128k in 2023 prices:

Spoiler

View attachment 544446

I’ve received a link of the current collective agreement, which shows an hourly rate of $71.53, which implies a base salary of $148,000:

Spoiler

 

[micheal_can]

Who happens to be a CN rail, yard engineer.

The ones I speak to tend to want it more to get off the spare board than about pay.

I’ve received a link of the current collective agreement, which shows an hourly rate of $71.53, which implies a base salary of $148,000:

Spoiler

View attachment 544770

Unless they are putting in lots of overtime. But,even then,it is overtime, so who cares.

 

[kEiThZ]

Who happens to be a CN rail, yard engineer.

Which means he has zero insight into VIA compensation and like yourself, is propagating rumour and hearsay.