Join the discussion on the following article:
Pending VIA Gaspé service cut draws criticism
What’s with using a salt solution as weed control around rails? Salt corrodes steel, Duh!
The present government of Canada thinks it can count on a core group of motivated, resentful, single issue voters while primarily serving the interests of large corporations, especially oil and gas. However this strategy is failing and they may be motivated soon to at least pretend to support rural or regional or environmental issues. Then maybe rail service in Gaspé and Vancouver Island will be reinstated.
Until then, trains which supported tourism through beautiful landscapes and the needs of many local people will continue to be neglected. I and my family thoroughly enjoyed the Gaspé service many times, and I recommend it to everyone if it gets reinstated.
Generally up here if Quebec complains, they get their way. My money says the service stays.
VIA is under tremendous pressure to reduce costs. If you have traveled VIA recently the evidence of reduced funding is found throughout the system. Equipment maintenance is slipping and equipment is dirtier than it has been in the past. My VIA 1 (business) experience over the past couple of months has encountered small problems (trays missing silverware, no wine glasses, etc.) while, not the end of the world, are problems that were never encountered in the previous 20 years. Station staffing has been greatly reduced. Redcap service at Toronto Union Station is to be eliminated next month. I am convinced that VIA has no intention of restoring the Gaspe service and that faulting the current operator of the line is merely a convenient excuse. With the exception of the Canadian, AMTRAK offers better quality by almost any measure. Never thought that I would be able to say that.
I wonder why conservatives don’t believe in the root word of their title, conserve? Both conservatives in Canada and the United States want VIA and AMTRAK to be taken apart and be privatized. Don’t they remember that the private train operators got out of the passenger train business?