Category Archives for "Intercity Rail and Bus"

Support for Detroit-Windsor Passenger Rail Link

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News

Transport Action Canada and Transport Action Ontario have jointly issued a letter of support to the Federal government for a proposed Amtrak – VIA Rail passenger rail connection between Detroit and Windsor. The proposal involves station and signal upgrades in Detroit, use of the CPKC tunnel under the Detroit River, upgraded track on the Essex Terminal Railway (ETR), a new connection between ETR and VIA tracks and upgrades at Windsor Station, including a joint CBSA/CBP border clearing facility.

We are hopeful that the upcoming federal budget will include funding for the Windsor portion of the project, estimated to cost about $40 million.

Our letter can be viewed below.

Photo: Amtrak Midwest Siemens Venture cars pictured at Joliet by “Sea Cow” via Wikimedia commons

Connected Intercity Bus Network still Needed

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Northern Ontario , Southwestern Ontario

At the public portion of the Transport Action Ontario Annual General Meeting, May 25, 2024, John Stepovy, Director of Partnerships, Busbud.com, summarized the status of the intercity bus network in Canada. 

Busbud is a Canadian company that provides bus and rail trip searching, planning, scheduling, booking and payment services for clients in 80 countries.  Key partners in Canada include VIA Rail, Union Pearson Express, Flixbus, Rider Express, Ontario Northland, Ebus, Maritime Bus and many more.

There continue to be issues in establishing a coordinated bus network in Canada:

• Different carriers have different concession definitions and different baggage policies.
• Different carriers often use different terminals in the same part of a city, meaning connections are challenging, especially with baggage.  For example, most bus carriers use the Union Station Bus Terminal in Toronto, while others use a drop point on York St. or on Queen’s Quay Blvd.
• Lack of federal interest in developing a cross-Canada connected network. The federal government could fill a real gap by funding a central platform that houses all carriers’ schedules, maps, route information and fares.  While parliamentarians are supportive of this, Transport Canada has largely deflected this need to the Provinces.
• Lack of federal interest in supporting private carriers to fill out the rural bus network.  For example, private carriers are not eligible for the Rural Transit Solutions Fund.

Transport Action will continue to work with Busbud and with bus carriers to advocate for improvements to the cross-Canada bus network.

Advocacy Summary April, 2023 – May, 2024

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges , Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario , Southwestern Ontario , Urban Transit

Transport Action Ontario’s annual general meeting (AGM) was held in Toronto on May 25, 2024 in a hybrid format. The meeting followed a pro-forma agenda, including Treasurer’s report and election of officers and directors for the upcoming year.

The major part of the meeting was devoted to the President’s Report, which summarized the extensive advocacy work undertaken by the organization all across the Province over the past 12 months. In total, work was conducted on about 30 items, with some successes and good progress on others.

For members and subscribers who were unable to attend the AGM, the President’s Report is attached as a FYI.

Delegation on Passenger Rail to Oxford County Council

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Southwestern Ontario

Transport Action Ontario secretary, Ken Westcar, delegated to Oxford County’s council meeting on April 24, 2024 in support of elements of their 2023 Transportation Master Plan that included VIA Rail service improvements through Woodstock and Ingersoll.

Ken’s peer-reviewed PowerPoint presentation on behalf of Transport Action Ontario (TAO) was submitted in advance of the delegation and it was clear from the interest and responses that county councillors and the warden had studied it thoroughly in advance of the meeting.

VIA Train 76 stop reinstatement.

The presentation emphasised the need for a letter from Oxford County Council to Mario Péloquin, VIA Rail CEO, requesting a Woodstock stop for London to Toronto VIA Train 76 to partially fill a nearly nine-hour afternoon service gap from both Woodstock and Ingersoll. There was consensus that this gap severely disincentivizes VIA usage by Oxford County residents and visitors and acted as a brake on economic and community progress and wellness due to the increasingly congested and unreliable Highways 401/403 being the default mobility option.

Given that Train 76 could be one element of the proposed Toronto-Chicago Amtrak/VIA international service, it was agreed that Woodstock must be a stop to provide passenger rail access to and from the U.S. Mid West and beyond given that it is part of the industrial heartland of the U.S.A. and Canada where investment and talent are often shared.

Additional services and provincial cost-sharing.

Beyond the Train 76 stopping issue, discussion also extended to an aspirational “Train 74” service starting in either Windsor, Sarnia or Stratford, with early afternoon stops in Woodstock and Ingersoll, that would make VIA a very competitive option for travellers to/from Oxford County. Because of delegation time constraints, westbound services were not discussed.

The delegation dialog included the possibility of provincial financial support for these additional VIA services in southwestern Ontario (SWO) like state-supported Amtrak services in the USA. TAO’s position on this is that municipalities should engage with the province based on the very advantageous cost/benefit ratio available from incremental intensification of VIA services to the region. Given the provincial withdrawal of trial GO train services between London/Kitchener/Toronto, the concept has validity as the initial $160million originally committed by the province for this service and the ongoing provincial investment in maintenance and operations would likely meet or exceed the cost of the aspirational VIA Train 74 service.

Improved Woodstock VIA station aesthetics.

Further discussion took place on Woodstock VIA station aesthetics and its potential as a more attractive portal for Oxford County to reinforce its messaging on attractiveness to inward investment, quality of life and sustainability. Concern was expressed about the faded boxcar murals on the north side of the railway tracks and the freight traffic blocking effects when VIA trains are stopped on the primary east and westbound CN tracks. Solutions to these problems are possible and require further multi-party discussion.

Recommended actions.

While requesting a Woodstock stop for Train 76 is primarily an Oxford County task, TAO strongly recommended joint action by all VIA Rail-served communities (mayors, wardens and other stakeholders) to discuss with both the federal and provincial governments on affordable and readily achievable VIA schedule improvements. The primary drivers are regional population and industrial growth, rapidly changing demographics and over-reliance on capacity-constrained Highways 401/403.

A key element of this joint approach would be a southwestern Ontario (SWO) rail summit meeting staged in conjunction with the release of the ongoing federal and provincial studies to ensure that subsequent policies and investments are truly reflective of actual needs. TAO requested Oxford County’s support in arranging this after dialog with their peers in other affected municipalities. TAO would be a facilitator.

Conclusion.

Given the discussion intensity and positivity during the delegation, it is clear that the need for improved SWO passenger rail services is well recognised and of growing urgency to properly support the region’s economic and social prosperity and the constant drive for sustainability.

Photograph: Woodstock VIA Rail station in summer 2023, with scaffolding in place for brickwork cleaning.

Canada Transportation Agency Case (VIA Rail vs CN) – Transport Action Canada Position Statement

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News

VIA Rail has taken a case (Number: 23-28548) before the Canada Transportation Agency against Canadian National under clause 152.1 of the Canada Transportation Act.

No details of the application made by VIA Rail nor CN’s response are public at this time, but based on statements in previous VIA Rail annual reports and corporate plans about track access and on-time (under)performance on host railways, this case is probably an seeking adjudication of the renewal of the entire Train Service Agreement governing VIA Rail’s access to the CN network and its ability to operate the vast majority of its passenger network.

The outcome of this case will no doubt be an important test of the strength of the Canada Transportation Act’s provisions for passenger operators, and may set precedents that apply to other operators and projects including the Calgary-Banff proposal, GO Milton, Alberta commuter rail, the West Coast Express, existing Indigenous rail services, and proposals like the reinstatement of the Mask-wa Oo-ta-ban (Algoma Bear Train).

Last year, VIA Rail’s President and CEO Mario Péloquin called upon the federal government to provide passenger trains with right of way over freight and to advance passenger rights legislation for rail passengers, backed by responsibilities for both VIA Rail and its host railways, which is a position that Transport Action Canada supports. On a recent trip from Toronto to Vancouver, Mario Péloquin also experienced the dysfunctionality of the current arrangements first hand, when the westbound Canadian was delayed for many hours at Uno, Manitoba as freight trains were prioritized to clear congestion after an earlier freight train breakdown.

On April 22, 2024, Transport Action Canada submitted a position statement to the Canadian Transportation Agency emphasizing the importance of frequent train service and of reliable on-time performance to passengers; of passenger rail service to Canada’s prosperity; and that passengers are also people who make, mine, farm, design, market, ship, deliver and buy all the commodities and goods that travel by rail. The position statement can be viewed here.