Itβs such a shame, we have so much potential for rail in this country. Like every major city in this country is pretty much all in a big line.
this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2024
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The country, especially the central and western parts, was populated by the railways. When looking at old railway maps, it's just fascinating to see how every little town and village was connected by a rail line.
It's understandable that through the years the network will shrink and consolidate, but passenger trains have not been consolidated, they've been butchered. Freight is king. Even old abandoned railways can't be converted to bike paths because freight companies, while not using the line, will also not relinquish it. The government gives freight companies like CN and CP(KC) everything they want, and even lowers safety standards and regulations so those companies can make even more profit. Yet, VIA Rail and their passengers have been reduced and cut to pathetic levels.
I doubt that any minister have to take a train on a regular basis or they would be painfully aware of how bad it is. Just the airline model is making me fume a little bit every time that I board a VIA train. VIA (and Amtrak) prefers to make passengers form a long line in the station and insists on scanning every ticket before even being allowed on the platform, then checks tickets AGAIN once the train is moving. I wish they would do like in Europe; allow passengers to board like a metro, and just validate tickets once in the train.
It's all sad and disappointing that we can't have 'normal' intercity services. Even coaches are bad. The message from our leaders, whether it's provincial (in my case), or federal, is "get a car, loser". But get an EV! You know, for the environment,
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/taylor-bachrach-train-1.7061205
Oh, at least one minister is aware.
They are pretty rare. However, he doesn't seem that much aware.
As you know, since we lost Greyhound [bus service], people have very few passenger transportation options in northern B.C. and right across rural Canada.
Not everyone can afford the cost of flying across the country, and so we need to have a better balance between the need to ship goods, which is a very real need and connected to the health of our economy, and the need to transport passengers and provide people with safe, convenient, affordable and low carbon transportation options.
AFAIK flying across the country is cheaper than taking a train, priority over freight or not. A flight from Vancouver to Toronto take less than 5 hours, there are daily departures, and is around $150 depending on the transporter. A train from Vancouver to Toronto is $685, takes days, and only has two departures a week. And if you plan a month in advance, it's "only" $514.
From my point of view, nobody really wants to cross the country on a train, except those doing it for the trip itself. To me, what is lacking is, as he stated, intercity services. Going from one city to another, without a car, is a horrible experience in Canada right now. I'm not even talking about rural places, like he dares. Just cities. Even if we give priority to VIA's trains, they are still going to require planning your trip weeks in advance to get anything other than exorbitant prices. They will still only have a few departures a day, or a week.
It's a very good first step to prioritize passenger trains, but it's going to take much more than that!
I'm considering taking the train for a move to BC as it's the only way I can take anything I own with me (ie: all my seasonal clothing, work boots, etc but no furniture).
Not everyone has a vehicle to move with.
Yeah, I can understand as I have been car free for over 20 years. At least this route does have a baggage car allowing you to do this. It would be impossible in the Corridor as they don't take baggage anymore.
With VIA you can bring a bike and lots of checked baggage with you between Toronto and Vancouver, because they have a baggage car and serve smaller communities that need it. But this is not possible between Windsor and Quebec City.
I can't even bring a bike with me from Montreal to Drummondville, even if their new trains have bike racks. And they can't say when it's gonna be possible.
I also sometimes have no choice but to use VIA Rail, and that's why I'm so critical of them.
Good luck. Bring snacks and water with you, just in case.
And we don't even need "highspeed" just good night trains that can run on time and a lot of people would take it. Vancouver in 2 days with food and entertainment included? Hell yeah thats better than cattle class on AC.
And thus, nothing will change.
As someone that has been living without a car for more than 20 years, I'm tempted to buy one. I'm so tired of shitty intercity services in this country. The minister is outraged now but was he also outraged when this happened last year? Or the year before?
I was in Europe for the two previous weeks and was 'stressed' when I didn't have a ticket booked for the next day, but it didn't matter at all. There are plenty of trains and if you miss one, just take the next one. Yet, while being there, I had to plan a trip from Montreal to Drummondville the weekend I got back, for my nephew's birthday. I checked for tickets with VIA Rail FIVE days before and they were already $60 for the economy class. Guess I had to plan this three weeks in advance, because the five trains a day between Montreal and Quebec City are already "full".
As for the passengers being stranded, the article mentions it already happened, VIA was supposed to have a plan in case of breakdown, and we can see how it went.
So I took a coach from Montreal to Drummondville. They have a whopping three departures a day.
The investigation will not change the fact that we have to plan an intercity trip WEEKS in advance otherwise it's going to cost an arm and a leg. It will not make VIA more on time. It will not make them take bikes on the corridor. It will not move them away from their damn airline model.
I don't like to drive, I don't like cars in general, but I'm thinking about it. Great job from our leaders. I'm sure others that could also live without a car ended up getting one because we suck so badly at this.
Nationalize it!
Uh, VIA Rail is already kind of nationalized?! If you're talking about the rail network, one can only dream! But those are billion dollar companies so I doubt any minister would dare to do that.
Aside from nationalizing the network though, we could also force freight companies to let passenger trains go before cargo and merchandise.
I've got a family member who talks about his 3 day stay in Winnipeg when the train broke down on a cross country trip.
This would have been like 30/40 years ago, but he still refuses to ride the via rail to this day.
I'm surprised they still run out of water and food on these passenger trips, I know there will always be mechanical issues, but they really should be prepared.
What's even worse is that the train wasn't in bumfuck nowhere, so there is no excuse for not providing a transportation out of the train to the destination.
Or at the very least, have someone bring food and water.