I hope CP is willing to repurchase and operate the line. This would reassure residents along the line of safe operation.
However, if a short line operator should purchase the line, they might consider a local passenger service as a public relations move, using an RDC rebuilt at Moncton, just to demonstrate goodwill and to continue only if patronage justifies its continuance.
As just Jane Q Public, I am not sure there would be enough PR to overcome the bad taste of the situation to have a passenger train. And would CP even want to wait for litigation to get to a point where they could even start negotiations?
I think another short line operator doing just freight might be the best solution - and possibly the quietest one.
The main purpose of the passenger train would be to demonstrate the safety of the railroad and to prove its willingness to serve the public. But I should not claim to be a public relations expert Mookie may be right.
Passenger trains are expensive to operate, perhaps too expensive to be used as a toy for PR purposes. And without having market or rider research, it has a good chance of missing the point of the PR.
Doing something like this could also backfire. I imagine a lot of folks there would be uneasy riding a train through the downtown that got destroyed in a train accident. How much PR would you get from the train, if no one would ride it?
Is there any reason, other than public relations to operate a passenger train in the Megantic area. There are many questions to be answered. What points would the train servet? How often would it run? Is there enough demand for passenger service in an area that had little pasenger service in the past?
At one time the train had reasonably good passenger service, with a daily Montreal - Halifax Limited each way and a Brownsville - Megantic Local. This was in the post-WWII CP period. In the ealier days there were additional trains. I seem to be outvoted on this question, so I will not pursue the matter further. But obviously the first step of a short-line operator would be a quesionaire to see if the service would fill a need and be welcomed. Even mailing out such a questionaire might be a good PR gesture. But the idea that a new frieght operator should go quietly about itsbusiness and not call attenttion to itself is also a bit far fetched, since it is very difficult to keep a freight train a secret.
Hi All
The debate about the operation of this section of railway is going to raise more questions here in Canada I expect.
Here’s why…
Omnitrax is looking at the possibility of shipping oil north to Churchill, Mb for transshipment to Europe. This line travels through some remarkable ecological areas as well as over great distances. The line has a long and documented history of derailments etc. I can just imagine oil travelling over this railway and its not a good picture as things currently stand.
The Auditor General of Canada has already (yesterday) put Transport Canada on notice regarding its defective (read diminished) oversight of TSB recommendations.
Omnitrax has acknowledged that shipping oil is going to require considerable preparatory work on its part, which is going to delay any movement of oil until next year.
I think the Lac Megantic wreck has raised the stakes considerably for railways and regulators in this country. The CN wreck at Gainsford Ab is the most recent case in point.
All this has the potential to end badly and no amount of PR of any kind will be likely to mitigate the potential results.
The view from here.
Charlie
Chilliwack, BC
I’d opine that it’s very easy to keep a freight train a secret - all too many people don’t even know trains still run, much less carry anything of value. Until, of course, something bad happens, or they’re stuck at a crossing.
Offering passenger service might make sense if there is a market, or could be. Otherwise it’s just something else to mess with freight traffic.
Likewise, a survey of any sort, especially post-Lac Megantic, is probably going to do little more than allow folks to vent on the railroad, and in a totally negative manner at that.
If this operator has done his homework, the market studies, rider studies, etc., he should know what he is doing and why. If he doesn’t, he loses, if he does, he wins. We can support it all we want or poke holes int he idea all we want…it is his railroad and his decision.
Whoever operates the line would probably be primarily running it to transport oil, as before the catastrophe. They really would not need marketing or advertising, just approval from the canadian government.
A good company never stops marketing and advertising. A new company or whatever comes on line or delivers on line so they should be inventing new ways to get and keep the business with the right service at the right price. We can talk passenger service on this line, for instance, all we want. But if we don’t know the population, the industries, the towns, the urban centers, the needs of the population and the ability of the railroad to serve those needs, we can’t say what they should or shouldn’t, can and can’t do. I often admonish rail advocates who are fans, that running trains for the sake of fans or for the sake of running trains is not providing service but is just running trains.
I thought negotiations were ongoing to sell this line to Irving Transportation Services, a.k.a. J.D. Irving Ltd. Did the deal fall through?
It is an ongoing process. Irving is just one of a number of players involved in this matter. At one point I heard that the receiver would issue a preliminary decision in December. This would set a floor, or reserve price, and then some sort of auction would follow from there. Liability cost estimates (including who will be eligible for compensation and who ((governments, government created arms length bodies, and lawyers)) will be filing these claims) will factor into this price. This could go on for some time.
Bruce