VIA Rail

[micheal_can]

The tracks split at St. Andre Junction, which is kinda nowhere and about 25 Euclidean km from R du L. Having the train turn left to service the highly seasonal and tourism-weighted Gaspe would miss both Campbellton and Bathurst, the two largest New Brunswick communities on the current Ocean route

You mean how when they rerouted the Canadian they dropped all the major communities to run in the middle of nowhere in NWO? A solution would be an added route that would still run the existing route, but that does not solve the existing problems.

If the problem is a lack of sidings, then lets fund them. That would solve the problem.

As I have said elsewhere, CN being privatized has served no one very well except for those shareholders.

 

[lenaitch]

You mean how when they rerouted the Canadian they dropped all the major communities to run in the middle of nowhere in NWO? A solution would be an added route that would still run the existing route, but that does not solve the existing problems.

If the problem is a lack of sidings, then lets fund them. That would solve the problem.

As I have said elsewhere, CN being privatized has served no one very well except for those shareholders.

So two services when the current one is on life support.

The re-routing of Canadian was largely to satisfy CP which wanted out of the passenger host business (notwithstanding the major coin they get from RMR) and provide a link to the Skeena.

 

[micheal_can]

So two services when the current one is on life support.

The re-routing of Canadian was largely to satisfy CP which wanted out of the passenger host business (notwithstanding the major coin they get from RMR) and provide a link to the Skeena.

So, what is needed to fix the existing routing?

 

[lenaitch]

So, what is needed to fix the existing routing?

No clue.

 

[micheal_can]

Looks like you are reading from

https://www.tsb.gc.ca/sites/default/files/recommandations-recommendations/rail/eng/rec-r0101.pdf

The intent of the speed restriction is as you suggest - crew has more time to potentially spot the misaligned switch, more reaction time to initiate a brake application, and hopefully reduction of momentum.

Not really a guarantee that the train will stop safely, but lowers the potential for harm as even in worst case the force of impact or derailment is probably somewhat less than if there were no speed restriction.

- Paul

No clue.

The above is what all started this.

 

[crs1026]

So, what is needed to fix the existing routing?

Nothing. The question was about the risk inherent in hand operated switches in unsignalled territory for passenger trains.

The answer is, we can live with the risk, or we can spend a lot of money to reduce it, or we can remove the risk by eliminating the service.

Guess which priority ordering of those three options Ottawa would choose.

Nothing about having privatized CN impacts that decision.

PS rerouting the Ocean falls into the category of spending a lot of money and risking poorer service performance (by putting the Ocean in conflict with freight). The conflict with freight is about passing the burden of the Ocean on to shippers, it's not about shareholder profit.

- Paul

 

[reaperexpress]

Or shifted to the CN mainline through New Brunswick northwest of Moncton, which is fully CTC. It’d be a faster trip but a less scenic one.

Probably faster, but also much more vulnerable to delays due to freight conflicts. The current route has the huge advantage that it has minimal freight traffic, the problem is just that it has primitive equipment and is poorly maintained. If the government wanted to invest in passenger rail in Atlantic Canada they could acquire the underutilized freight railways and upgrade them up so trains could operate at normal speeds again.

This is of course a purely hypothetical concept, and would have a very poor cost-benefit ratio so it would be hard to justify over other competing projects. It would only really make sense as part of political pandering, similar to how the Northlander is being revived primarily for political reasons.