VIA Rail

[roger1818]

I think the Corridor service is safe from cuts. As far as HxR,how would he convince his Central Canada voters to spend even more of their money on things that don't support them?

What do you mean by Central Canada (we had a whole debate about it a while back and some claimed that Central Canada extends all the way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence)? If Skippy were to also invest in Danielle Smith's rail project, that would go a long way to appease his base. Optimally he would also invest in the Canadian portion of WDOT's Amtrak Cascades project to give something to BC, but that investment is unlikely for several reasons.

 

[Urban Sky]

Friendly reminder that the question of what „Central Canada“ includes (QC and ON) and what not (any provinces or territories to the East, West or North of QC and ON) has been exhaustively discussed and determined:

I would welcome if we could stop encouraging certain trolls here by refraining from engaging into needless discussions about things which have been long settled…

 

[smallspy]

Interesting. So will they couple them behind either the locomotive or cab car? Presumably at the terminus they would need to shunt them onto the other end of the train (or turn the train) to not block the view from the cab.

Siemens sets can not be operated in revenue service with other equipment. HEP and brake connections are the same, MU and COMM are not.

Once all of the Siemens sets have arrived, all of the P42s will be retired, but only a small number of F40s. Some will be required for long-distance service, but other will be used in the Corridor with HEP2 and HEP1 equipment.

I would assume that 65-75=>70-64 would be the last to be converted, but I can’t imagine that any other equipment will remain in revenue service on the Corridor once the 32nd trainset has been delivered. I‘d rather imagine them doubling the consist…

There are a small handful of trains that will not be converted. 65-75 & 70-64 are but two of them, but there are a couple of others as well.

Dan

 

[micheal_can]

What do you mean by Central Canada (we had a whole debate about it a while back and some claimed that Central Canada extends all the way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence)? If Skippy were to also invest in Danielle Smith's rail project, that would go a long way to appease his base. Optimally he would also invest in the Canadian portion of WDOT's Amtrak Cascades project to give something to BC, but that investment is unlikely for several reasons.

I meant the Provinces of Alberta Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
I do remember that discussion. Sorry for the mistake.

So, how do you convince someone in Alberta that "their money" should be spent on something for Ontario and Quebec?

 

[Urban Sky]

There are a small handful of trains that will not be converted. 65-75 & 70-64 are but two of them, but there are a couple of others as well.

Dan

Interesting (and to me as one of their former fleet planners unexpected), but what would be the plan then for past 2035, when all legacy fleet will be forcibly retired as per TC?

 

[roger1818]

Siemens sets can not be operated in revenue service with other equipment. HEP and brake connections are the same, MU and COMM are not.

Once all of the Siemens sets have arrived, all of the P42s will be retired, but only a small number of F40s. Some will be required for long-distance service, but other will be used in the Corridor with HEP2 and HEP1 equipment.

Thanks for the clarification. I misinterpreted your previous post. While it is a shame that some HEP equipment will continue to be in operation (VIA said in their Summary of the 2017-2021 Corporate Plan, "A program to replace the bogies (part of the undercarriage) and provide new interiors would still yield an-outdated car type with limited market appeal."), it does increase VIA's capacity in the corridor.

 

[roger1818]

So, how do you convince someone in Alberta that "their money" should be spent on something for Ontario and Quebec?

As I said, by also investing in Danielle Smith's rail project in Alberta.

 

[micheal_can]

As I said, by also investing in Danielle Smith's rail project in Alberta.

That might be the only way. TBH, it is not the worst way to get HxR on the Corridor.

 

[smallspy]

Interesting (and to me as one of their former fleet planners unexpected), but what would be the plan then for past 2035, when all legacy fleet will be forcibly retired as per TC?

I suspect that two things will happen:
1) TC will be forced to grant a waiver - hopefully just short-term - to allow for the continued operation of the legacy cars until....
2) The Corridor portion of the Legacy fleet will be replaced with cars ordered as part of the upcoming order of a new long distance fleet.

Thanks for the clarification. I misinterpreted your previous post. While it is a shame that some HEP equipment will continue to be in operation (VIA said in their Summary of the 2017-2021 Corporate Plan, "A program to replace the bogies (part of the undercarriage) and provide new interiors would still yield an-outdated car type with limited market appeal."), it does increase VIA's capacity in the corridor.

And that is just it.

The Siemens fleet just about only replaces the entirety of the Corridor fleet. It doesn't allow for any expansion per se (although there is the argument that the bi-directional trainsets can be used more efficiently, newer equipment that is more reliable, etc.)

There will be a need for additional equipment to help allow for growth in ridership. 4 or 5 or 6 trains of older equipment will do the trick just fine. At least for the time being.

Dan

 

[ssiguy2]

As I said, by also investing in Danielle Smith's rail project in Alberta.

This is exactly my point. If he just funded The Corridor then the howls from Alberta would be deafening especially because he just gave them 30 Alberta seats. Conversely, if Alberta alone were to get funding then he would face the ire of all these new urban seats in Ontario he just won. Smith is very much intent on building a province wide rail system and has actually got the plans made up to begin the process with a big media announcement. Funnily, it maybe Smith who brings HSR to The Corridor.

 

[micheal_can]

This is exactly my point. If he just funded The Corridor then the howls from Alberta would be deafening especially because he just gave them 30 Alberta seats. Conversely, if Alberta alone were to get funding then he would face the ire of all these new urban seats in Ontario he just won. Smith is very much intent on building a province wide rail system and has actually got the plans made up to begin the process with a big media announcement. Funnily, it maybe Smith who brings HSR to The Corridor.

Would the conservatives be the savior of intercity rail after all?

 

[roger1818]

I suspect that two things will happen:
1) TC will be forced to grant a waiver - hopefully just short-term - to allow for the continued operation of the legacy cars until....
2) The Corridor portion of the Legacy fleet will be replaced with cars ordered as part of the upcoming order of a new long distance fleet.

1) I can't imagine TC granting anything more than a very short term waver to accommodate a delay in an existing order.
2) They could also be replaced with cars ordered because of HxR (either to be used on HxR routes or as extra cars to be used on the existing corridor).

And that is just it.

The Siemens fleet just about only replaces the entirety of the Corridor fleet. It doesn't allow for any expansion per se (although there is the argument that the bi-directional trainsets can be used more efficiently, newer equipment that is more reliable, etc.)

There will be a need for additional equipment to help allow for growth in ridership. 4 or 5 or 6 trains of older equipment will do the trick just fine. At least for the time being.

That is true. I suspect that the capacity increase was to come with HFR, but that has been taking much longer than VIA was likely expecting. The continued use of HEP cars in the corridor may be compensation for the delay. The decision to only order 5 car trains may also have been because of uncertainty of what would be needed

Siemens sets can not be operated in revenue service with other equipment. HEP and brake connections are the same, MU and COMM are not.

May be a dumb question, but can Siemens sets be J-Trained with a full HEP trainset in revenue service? If not, could it be done if one set is being hauled in a deadhead by a train in revenue service?

 

[ARG1]

I meant the Provinces of Alberta Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
I do remember that discussion. Sorry for the mistake.

So, how do you convince someone in Alberta that "their money" should be spent on something for Ontario and Quebec?

You mean the people that will vote CPC no matter what? I wouldn't concern over them if I was PP.

 

[micheal_can]

You mean the people that will vote CPC no matter what? I wouldn't concern over them if I was PP.

If you look at the last election, some started voting the PPC. PP won't want a vote split if he gets in.

 

[dowlingm]

I suspect that two things will happen:
1) TC will be forced to grant a waiver - hopefully just short-term - to allow for the continued operation of the legacy cars until....
2) The Corridor portion of the Legacy fleet will be replaced with cars ordered as part of the upcoming order of a new long distance fleet.


And that is just it.

The Siemens fleet just about only replaces the entirety of the Corridor fleet. It doesn't allow for any expansion per se (although there is the argument that the bi-directional trainsets can be used more efficiently, newer equipment that is more reliable, etc.)

There will be a need for additional equipment to help allow for growth in ridership. 4 or 5 or 6 trains of older equipment will do the trick just fine. At least for the time being.

Dan

By the time 2035 rolls around VIA may have 3 more Siemens sets whose three cars can handle Sarnia and the like, and freeing up 3x5 car sets for increased frequency to reduce the need for 6+ car sets…