Quote:
Originally Posted by GoTrans
Your idea of starting a new Crown corporation would not do a thing.
What is required is investment in the rail system like we invest in roads.
Via needs to have its trains given legal priority over freight trains and the host railways need to compensate Via for delays.
Passenger rail service need to be re-introduced to repair the damage caused by years of cancellations, particularly in Western Canada.
Passenger trains should be routed to serve the larger population centres so that cost recovery is improved.
Transcontinental train service should be changed to regional service so trains can have more convenient schedules, depart from their origin on time, have less distance to travel and have a greater likelihood of arriving at their final destination on time. This also would have the benefit of increasing ridership and make multiple frequencies more possible.
Via needs it's own right of way in parts of the country where numbers warrant. This would allow for faster and more frequent service. While the HFR proposal is an option there are other ways to have similar results and still use the more populated Lakeshore route in Ontario.
The host railways need infrastructure improvements including increased capacity, increased speeds and electrification which will require massive government and corporate funding over a long period of time.
Infrastructure that was abandoned and or downgraded needs to be replaced either at the expense of the government for allowing the railways to take the action in the first place or by the government forcing the railroads to rebuild certain sections of track. There are still sections of track on the CN line between Edmonton and the BC border where double track on one of Canada's busiest mainlines that was removed by CN and is still not been returned to service.
Stations need be located in the centre of cities where possible not out in the bush like in Sudbury or in the middle of a rail yard on the outskirts like in Saskatoon.
The list goes on and on including such things as building grade separations, construction to reduce curves, implementing positive train control on main lines and more new equipment to name a few. This all takes $$$$$ and commitment.
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I agree with a more regionalized approach. I would be in favour of eliminating The Canadian, and replacing it with a series of regional trains:
- Toronto to Sudbury
- Sudbury to Winnipeg (stop in Thunder Bay)
- Winnipeg to Saskatoon
- Winnipeg to Regina (stop in Brandon)
- Calgary to Regina (stops in Medicine Hat, Swift Current, Moose Jaw)
- Calgary to Vancouver (stops in Banff, Lake Louise, Kamloops, Chilliwack, Abbotsford)
- Edmonton to Saskatoon
- Edmonton to Vancouver (stops in Jasper, Kamloops)
- Calgary to Edmonton (stop in Red Deer)
- Saskatoon to Regina
If demand warranted, additional service could be added between Kamloops and Vancouver.
This would provide flexibility for different train frequencies for different routes based on demand, and more importantly reduce delays. Currently on The Canadian, delays between Toronto and Winnipeg can cascade and cause delays for passengers departing from Edmonton to go to Jasper or Vancouver, but by making the various city pairs have trains running independently of each other, they aren't dependent on events elsewhere in the network.
This would also allow for more convenient departure and arrival times; as it stands now some stations have trains coming in the middle of the night.