The End of VIA Rail Canada (yet again?)

[chutton01]

I recall other attempts to end VIA Rail in the past, however this one seems a bit different:

The Railway Age opinion article title seems harmless enough:
Canada to Create Separate Railway for Corridor HFR

Then it goes rather downhill from there:
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Transport Canada confirmed Oct. 31 that state corporation VIA Rail Canada has been shunted aside from its own project to construct and operate an electrified “High Frequency Rail” service along the Corridor linking Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto—the only profitable route VIA currently covers.

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An additional parting snippet. The full article is linked above:

This would kill VIA Rail’s commercial viability and eventually the provision of any publicly owned passenger rail beyond the Quebec and Ontario Corridor

Sensationalist, but what do others think?

[54light15]

The government of Canada has made studies of high speed and high frequency rail service in the corridor for more than 50 years. Maybe it’s time for another study? And one after that?

[Flintlock76]

The government of Canada has made studies of high speed and high frequency rail service in the corridor for more than 50 years. Maybe it’s time for another study? And one after that?

Sounds like the state of New Jersey with environmental impact study after environmental impact study after environmental impact study, and all for putting commuter rail on lines that have been there since the 19th Century.

Of course, nobody’s making money on all those studies. It’s all for the public and the planet’s good. [(-D]

[BaltACD]

54light15

The government of Canada has made studies of high speed and high frequency rail service in the corridor for more than 50 years. Maybe it’s time for another study? And one after that?

Sounds like the state of New Jersey with environmental impact study after environmental impact study after environmental impact study, and all for putting commuter rail on lines that have been there since the 19th Century.

Of course, nobody’s making money on all those studies. It’s all for the public and the planet’s good.

Trees are the losers generating all the paper those studies get printed on.

[PNWRMNM]

This would kill VIA Rail’s commercial viability and eventually the provision of any publicly owned passenger rail beyond the Quebec and Ontario Corridor

Sensationalist, but what do others think?

Like ATK, VIA has no commercial viability. It survives on government subsidy. That basic premise of the piece is wrong.

Spliting the one line of business out that supposidly ‘makes money’ is really rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic after it hit the iceburg.

This new project will not ‘make money’ either due to the massive investment in the new route, which includes substantial mileage built from scratch.

The political will to eliminate VIA is about the same either way.

Smoke and mirrors that in 15-20 years will be the holy grail. Government lying to itself.

Mac

[Ulrich]

VIA/Passenger needs its own right of way between Montreal and Toronto. With that it can operate reliable high speed rail in that market much as European countries do. Maybe we should look at how things are done in Italy and Spain… no need to reinvent the wheel over here. But so long as passenger trains are treated as nothing more than a nuisance by the host railroad which prioritizes its own trains, things will just get worse. Also to attract business, they need to re-evaluate their price points. Currently its cheaper to ride share or rent a car… kids and young people who should be flocking to rail en masse are instead renting cars and ride sharing because train prices are out of reach.

Toronto to/from Montreal is much less of a geographical challenge than, say, Rome to Naples or Rome to Florence…frequent and high speed rail should be viable and profitable, at least in that market, and possibly in other markets out West.