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VIA Rail

NY99 said:
wait what? since when?

I feel like this is one of those things rail advocates keep telling themselves so often that they’re sure it’s true... but there’s zero evidence to suggest it

Like I’m sure improving inter-city rail probably isn’t the highest thing on most people’s priority list, but polls have consistently shown high support for it.

Anecdotally, I’ve heard nothing but enthusiastic support for better rail from people who usually don’t give two shits about transportation issues.

the rest of your comment is great and I didn’t mean to dunk on u, I just see this take a lot, and I feel like it’s a big misread of public opinion.
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I understand your point of view but I'd simply like to point out that modernized passenger rail is hardly ever discussed by the majority of Canadians that I meet, since the subject of Via Rail's HFR doesn't appear to be known by very many people whenever I try to get a different perspective on the potential of HFR.
 
robmausser said:
Thanks for having my back! I was like, hey...I take the VIA to Montreal almost every time I visit....what did I do wrong?
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I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to you Rob for my comments since I just started using this forum today and I'm unfortunately not quite familiar with this system's form and function! Please forgive me!

The way the response appeared in a separate box and in the same font with the last line, 'The train is just for poor people for many of the people that I interact with on the daily,' just left me with an implied impression that these were also your thoughts, not just those of your social circle, since you didn't add words such as: 'contrary to my own views, or as opposed to my own views!

Let me explain further. Since people in their own social circle usually have a similar general opinion on a given topic, it's not unusual for someone to make the same mistake that I just did!

I just found these comments from your social group then to be a somewhat out of the ordinary because train travel is rather expensive especially if tickets are purchased at the last minute and thus, not usually in the realm of poor people in comparison to bus travel, that's all!

Again, I did not wish to begin my posts in such a manner!

I firmly believe in free expression without the use of insults as it is simply not part of the impression that I wish to leave people with during my interactions and exchanges of opinion.

I look forward to you and your group's informative and positive comments on the future of passenger rail in this country!

That's why I wanted to be part of this group in the first place, in light of the fact that I've been directing my efforts towards the advocacy of passenger rail for several years now through the numerous articles and lengthy comments that I've written on various passenger rail websites.

I'd like to see Via Rail's HFR project become reality just like the rest of the passenger rail proponents in this forum.

All the very best to you!
 
Urban Sky said:
Add the words “non-HSR intercity” into “passenger rail” and the statement becomes painfully accurate. Just let the fact that there are 7.2 Canadians for every trip made by VIA in a given year (5,007,753 passengers in 2019 spread across a population of 35.8 million in Canada) sink for a moment and you will realize how obscurely small that niche which VIA serves still is...

PS: For the US, that figure is even worse: 10.3 Americans for every trip made by Amtrak (32,017,686 passengers in FY 2019 spread across a population of 329.2 million)...
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That's what I meant by using the words 'passenger rail' since we've never actually had a truly high-speed type of passenger rail service in this country, with the possible exception of the Turbo train, which proved to be fairly unreliable in its beginnings but eventually reached quite impressive reliability levels over time.

The LRC train which came later, although capable of 125 mph, was unfortunately limited to 100 mph due to having to operate on shared tracks owned by freight companies.

Most of the passenger trains operating in this country have been limited to a top speed of either160 kph (100 mph), 153 kph (95 mph), or 145 kph (90 mph), depending on the locomotive used, thereby classifying them as 'conventional.' (Based on Via Rail's Website Statistics)

Just like so many passenger rail proponents, I sure look forward to the roll-out of the first completed, highly-anticipated Siemens Charger train set in 2022!

I can only imagine having these new train sets operating on the proposed HFR route in the hopefully not too distant future!
 
Maverick7 said:
I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to you Rob for my comments since I just started using this forum today and I'm unfortunately not quite familiar with this system's form and function! Please forgive me!

The way the response appeared in a separate box and in the same font with the last line, 'The train is just for poor people for many of the people that I interact with on the daily,' just left me with an implied impression that these were also your thoughts, not just those of your social circle, since you didn't add words such as: 'contrary to my own views, or as opposed to my own views!

Let me explain further. Since people in their own social circle usually have a similar general opinion on a given topic, it's not unusual for someone to make the same mistake that I just did!

I just found these comments from your social group then to be a somewhat out of the ordinary because train travel is rather expensive especially if tickets are purchased at the last minute and thus, not usually in the realm of poor people in comparison to bus travel, that's all!

Again, I did not wish to begin my posts in such a manner!

I firmly believe in free expression without the use of insults as it is simply not part of the impression that I wish to leave people with during my interactions and exchanges of opinion.

I look forward to you and your group's informative and positive comments on the future of passenger rail in this country!

That's why I wanted to be part of this group in the first place, in light of the fact that I've been directing my efforts towards the advocacy of passenger rail for several years now through the numerous articles and lengthy comments that I've written on various passenger rail websites.

I'd like to see Via Rail's HFR project become reality just like the rest of the passenger rail proponents in this forum.

All the very best to you!
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No problem, I didnt mean to insinuate that everyone in my social circle shares these beliefs, but its something I bump into more than I'd like to admit. Mostly my work friends, acquaintances and extended family. My close friends are not so closed minded...usually haha.
 
Maverick7 said:
I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to you Rob for my comments since I just started using this forum today and I'm unfortunately not quite familiar with this system's form and function! Please forgive me!

The way the response appeared in a separate box and in the same font with the last line, 'The train is just for poor people for many of the people that I interact with on the daily,' just left me with an implied impression that these were also your thoughts, not just those of your social circle, since you didn't add words such as: 'contrary to my own views, or as opposed to my own views!

Let me explain further. Since people in their own social circle usually have a similar general opinion on a given topic, it's not unusual for someone to make the same mistake that I just did!

I just found these comments from your social group then to be a somewhat out of the ordinary because train travel is rather expensive especially if tickets are purchased at the last minute and thus, not usually in the realm of poor people in comparison to bus travel, that's all!

Again, I did not wish to begin my posts in such a manner!

I firmly believe in free expression without the use of insults as it is simply not part of the impression that I wish to leave people with during my interactions and exchanges of opinion.

I look forward to you and your group's informative and positive comments on the future of passenger rail in this country!

That's why I wanted to be part of this group in the first place, in light of the fact that I've been directing my efforts towards the advocacy of passenger rail for several years now through the numerous articles and lengthy comments that I've written on various passenger rail websites.

I'd like to see Via Rail's HFR project become reality just like the rest of the passenger rail proponents in this forum.

All the very best to you!
Click to expand...

I've been following VIA Rail thread since 2016, and can vouch that almost every single person on this thread is supportive of passenger rail expansion and investments here in Canada. I think that is the underlying assumption - otherwise why would we be spending valuable time on here. The central theme on this thread has always been - how do we get there, not IF we need more high quality passenger rail.

Once again, like others have suggested, I recommend you to take some time to preview the 600+ pages worth of content on VIA Rail over the years. And also, let's take it down a notch...

1613146240505.png
 
robmausser said:
Hey man, I appreciate all the text, but you misunderstood my post. My social circle says this to ME, that the train (at least in North America) is for poor people. I dont share these beliefs. I take the train everywhere I go, including Canada, Europe and the USA.
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Who are these people? I would think that the majority of people feel the opposite. In the GTA for example, trains are predominantly riden by middle and upper class people.
 
wopchop said:
Who are these people? I would think that the majority of people feel the opposite. In the GTA for example, trains are predominantly riden by middle and upper class people.
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@robmausser never claimed that his circle of friends and social contacts was representative of the general population of the GTHA or elsewhere. The same is true for myself, as my social circles are heavily skewed towards people who are similar to my own demographic, by being much more likely to having been born in Europe, being in their early thirties, holding a university degree and working in the corporate world than the general population in Montreal, Quebec, Canada or North America...
 
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wopchop said:
Who are these people? I would think that the majority of people feel the opposite. In the GTA for example, trains are predominantly riden by middle and upper class people.
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While it might be true that in the GTA, trains are predominantly ridden by middle and upper class people (I don't live in the GTA, so I wouldn't know if it is true or not), that doesn't mean most middle and upper class people in the GTA ride trains.
 
roger1818 said:
While it might be true that in the GTA, trains are predominantly ridden by middle and upper class people (I don't live in the GTA, so I wouldn't know if it is true or not), that doesn't mean most middle and upper class people in the GTA ride trains.
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Before the pandemic, I think it was reported that a large percentage of riders have more than one car, but choose to take the train. Also consider that downtown workers are mostly financial district workers who likely earn a higher income than some people in roles like manufacturing.

So not all public transit users are less wealthy.
 
Bordercollie said:
Before the pandemic, I think it was reported that a large percentage of riders have more than one car, but choose to take the train. Also consider that downtown workers are mostly financial district workers who likely earn a higher income than some people in roles like manufacturing.

So not all public transit users are less wealthy.
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I never said all public transit users are less wealthy. I said not all wealthy people use public transit. Just because wealthy people use transit doesn't mean that all wealthy people use transit.
 
crs1026 said:
The lower front is likely some form of fiberglass or plastic. High potential to be damaged and require replacement.

The underlying frame and collision post structure is what matters, and it's steel.

- Paul
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I wonder if it has a horn leaver at the back for reverse moves?
 
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