Via with an Ideal budget

Ok since the government is set to fall tonight and Jim Gouk has announced his retirement, I thought I would share my thoughts on what VIA might do with a greatly expanded budget.

Number 1: Renoveate the LRC cars and rebuild the F40's... also have IRSI convert some of the old LRC locos into Cabbages for push pull operations in Southern Ontario, I understand trains teminating at Windsor would benifit most from that

Number 2: Use at least 6 or 7 of the remaining rennaisance sleeper shells for Single traveller accomodations, that is have say 15 roomettes on them.

Number 3: Buy some new DMU's from Colorado Railcar with glass ceilings to replace the overnight Chaleur with a Daytime train between Gaspe and Quebec City.

Number 4: Run the Canadian 6 days a week, year round with freshly renovated HEP 1 equipment. Politically I know this is an extreme long shot, however if VIA were to sell the Skeena off to RMRT, and concentrate on the Canadian it could happen (maybe). If the Skeena route was sold off, the Glass roofed coaches should have their Interiors redone and they should be used on the Ren equipped Ocean instead of the park cars.. Much easier on the eyes IMO.

Number 5: (this one is a serious dream) Lay CWR and new sidings on the Quebec-Gatineau Railway and run Montreal-Quebec trains on the North Shore... (does VIA still own the station in Trois-Rivieres?)

your thoughts?

Olean: Good ideas in your post-especially #1. How many LRC cars are still in use and how many LRC engines still remain-Cab/Baggages would be a good idea- provided there are enough of them still around. Since the F40s are only about twenty or so years old-rebuild them for many more years of service - just as NJT and METRA have done. Via in my mind has come a long way since the dark days of the period around 1990 - any opinions? MACTRAXX

VIA has been planning on making some of those improvements, such as refurbishing the LRCs and F40 locomotives, when the money is available.

According to a VIA manager whom I meet occasionally on my eastern trips, the 30 or so Renaissance shells could be completed to include roomettes, as you suggest, or sections and even full-length lounge cars. Again, it is a matter of funding.

As far as running the Canadian six days a week, Paul Cote (speaking to the Commons Transport Committee earlier this month) conceded this isn't going to happen because of capacity issues with the railways. He said further that the CPR refuses to take a VIA train on the Calgary-Banff-Vancouver run because of crowded tracks. Of course, none of this can occur without government investment. During this session with Mr. Cote, Jim Gouk MP got in his last digs at VIA. I've read the entire transcript and he was relatively gentle with Mr. Cote and Ms Keon Sirsley.

MACTRAXX wrote:...........How many LRC cars are still in use and how many LRC engines still remain...........MACTRAXX

Just about all the LRC cars remain in use and are the backbone of VIA's corridor fleet in daily high-speed service. They are now hauled mostly by GE P42 locomotives.

It was only the LRC locomotives that were removed from service and several have been purchased by Industrial Rail Services in Moncton, New Brunswick for potential rebuilding. Here is a link to their web site and .PDF brochure (see page 7 for the LRC rebuilding)

http://www.industrial-rail.com/index.html

http://www.industrial-rail.com/pdf/Gene ... ochure.pdf

I would like to have a Edmonton-Calgary service daily and maybe a reincarnedated Candian along the CP route and have the Super Continetal run on alternatie days when the Candian doesn't run.

marquisofmississauga wrote:VIA has been planning on making some of those improvements, such as refurbishing the LRCs and F40 locomotives, when the money is available.

This is the whole point of my thread... what should VIA do if it had an ideal budget.

AmtrakFan wrote:I would like to have a Edmonton-Calgary service daily and maybe a reincarnedated Candian along the CP route and have the Super Continetal run on alternatie days when the Candian doesn't run.

Well, given that Edmonton and Calgary are each creeping to the one-million population mark, and that the whole Calgary-Edmonton corridor is apparently growing rapidly, daily train service would probably be a good thing.

With an ideal budget, I would also like to see the following:
1) Restoration of Moncton - Edmundston - Quebec City service.
2) Restoration of regular Halifax - Truro - Sydney service.
3) Restoration of Halifax - Moncton - Saint John service.
4) Establish a north/westbound service from Moncton to Campbellton in A.M. and south/eastbound in evening.

Elsewhere in Canada:
Of major importance is restoration of service from Winnipeg - Regina - Calgary daylight service along with Calgary - Edmonton service.

Harold Nicholson

The ideal budget for VIA for me would include probably include extending the Toronto-Niagara Falls all the way to Niagara Falls, NY to or from the Amtrak Empire Service trains for more service other than the Maple Leaf.

1. Operation of rail service over the CP from Toronto to Vancouver. Even if it is alternating between this route and the current Canadian route on the CN.

2. Edmonton to Calgary

3. Service to Southern Nova Scotia (Halifax towards Yartmouth)

4. Service to Northern Nova Scotia (Halifax to Sydney)

5. St. John to Halifax


Items three through five would probably be best handled by an RDC, as it's probably not going to produce a lot of patronage. I am also not sure how much industry/population is left from Truro to Sydney. I read a while back that there was an exodus of industry and people from this region - which is too bad. Still tourist I think. The route to Sydney could at least be revived as a tourist route, as VIA once had in place.

jp1822 wrote: 3. Service to Southern Nova Scotia (Halifax towards Yartmouth)

4. Service to Northern Nova Scotia (Halifax to Sydney)

5. St. John to Halifax

Items three through five would probably be best handled by an RDC, as it's probably not going to produce a lot of patronage. I am also not sure how much industry/population is left from Truro to Sydney. I read a while back that there was an exodus of industry and people from this region - which is too bad. Still tourist I think. The route to Sydney could at least be revived as a tourist route, as VIA once had in place.

Halifax to Yarmouth: The Dominion Atlantic was abandoned and the tracks removed between Kentville and Yarmouth in 1990 just after the last run of VIA’s RDC “Evangeline Dayliner”. The line between Windsor Jct and Kentville is now operated by a shortline. Possibility of a commuter service into Halifax someday but that is years...........away.

Halifax to Sydney: The xCN line between Truro and Sydney is now operated by Rail America’s Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway. This was a busy route for VIA right up until the cuts in January 1990 and always operated with 2 or 3 unit RDC trains. VIA also operated the “Bras d’Or” on this route until 2004 when the CB&CNS applied to abandon the track between Port Hawkesbury and Sydney.

The Steel Plant and Coal Mines were shut down in Sydney so there was little traffic remaining on this portion of the line. But the abandonment application has been withdrawn as some new freight traffic has developed and a new Coal Mine will open in a couple of years. There is also talk of an excursion train operating out of Sydney to the Bras d’Or Lakes to serve the growing Cruise Ship business.

The CB&CNS west of Port Hawkesbury to Truro is still a busy freight line. There is also the possibility of a new 40 mile railway being constructed from near Antigonish to Goldboro to serve a new LNG gas plant and chemical industries to be developed over the next several years.

So yes there is potential for a Halifax to Sydney service again.

The Halifax-Moncton-Saint John route would serve a population of nearly a million and a natural for a corridor type of operation. But the railway would require upgrading to increase speeds to be time competitive with a 4-lane highway (current speed: 110 kph) between the same points. A Toll Road in Nova Scotia also opened a couple of years ago that shortened the distance compared to the railway.

Glad to hear the rail line from Halifax to Syndey has some hope! Sad to hear about the Yartmouth line.

Perhaps VIA will re-start its peak period excursion/tourist train from Halifax to Sydney - the Bras d’Or train. VIA had hoped to run this train two times per week, just prior to the abandonment. I always wanted to take this train, but it operated in peak period on a weekday (Tuesday?). This could never fit my scedule.