Admittedly, it’s tough. In the height of tourist season, it’s impossible to travel to New York by train all summer long. The reason: with the heat, the rails expand and the trains have to run at extremely low speeds.
Yes, yes, even slower than what this already incredibly slow train has accustomed us to. Currently, on the Canadian portion of the route, the maximum speed is set at… 16 km/h. It’s completely ridiculous. Even a bicycle goes faster than that. No wonder Amtrak has decided to interrupt the service until the current work is completed.
PHOTO HUGO-SEBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
In June, VIA Rail adjusted the schedule of the Ocean, which runs between Montreal and Halifax.
Dreaming of the Maritimes? No luck. The state of the rails (again) has just forced VIA Rail to readjust its schedule to “better reflect actual travel times.” The carrier is adding 45 minutes to the Montreal-Halifax trip and 90 minutes in the other direction.
Result: it now takes almost 24 hours to reach Halifax from Montreal. That’s several hours more… than it did 40 years ago!
There is no need to remind people here (because it hurts too much) that Europeans, Japanese, Chinese – and soon even Americans – travel on trains that go at 300 km/h and more.
PHOTO SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI, ARCHIVES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The world’s first high-speed train was put into operation in Japan… in 1964!
Tim Hayman, president of Transport Atlantic, a passenger rail advocacy group in the Maritimes, says the situation across the country has become a “national disgrace.” I agree. And it’s time to put our finger on the problem: the CN rails that passenger trains are forced to use are of poor quality.
Yes, there is a project for a modern train between Quebec and Toronto. A train that would be either high-frequency or high-speed (we hope for the second option). A train that would have its own dedicated track and would no longer have to beg for passage every time it wants to run.
But we cannot continue to tolerate the intolerable while waiting for this train. First, because we could wait a long time — the project is scheduled for the mid-2030s and we all know that it could take longer. Second, because it will only occupy one corridor and we must also take care of the others.
Should we remind you that we are in the midst of a climate crisis and that we are looking for ecological ways to get around? That we need to reduce the use of cars and planes?
PHOTO SUSAN HAIGH, ARCHIVES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Acela, which runs between Boston and Washington, is currently the only high-speed train operating in the United States.
CN says it very frankly: it keeps its rails, on which VIA Rail trains run, in a condition that allows its freight trains to run. Period.
“The service allows us to run our trains and have service for our customers. These are tracks that belong to us. There is a level that CN ensures so that its operations can continue. Anything that goes beyond that and that passenger services want, we enter into agreements with them,” said Jonathan Abecassis, CN’s director of media relations.
VIA Rail remains diplomatic. But we can sense that the decision to extend the schedule of the Montreal-Halifax route is causing some teeth to grind.
VIA says it paid CN $18.3 million to make repairs to a portion of the line between Miramichi and Bathurst, New Brunswick.
“Unfortunately, since then, the current state of this same subdivision has led to operational changes. In response to recurring speed restrictions imposed by CN, as well as a deterioration in operational speeds on this infrastructure due to track conditions, particularly on the Newcastle Subdivision, VIA Rail had no choice but to adjust the Ocean schedule as of June 19. […] “, VIA said in a written statement.
CN responds that it does not even use this section and that it maintains it only for VIA Rail.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Lumi train, from VIA Rail’s new fleet
For VIA Rail, the situation is all the more frustrating because the company has launched a program to replace its trains. In principle, the new trains are faster. In reality, their speed is limited by the condition of the rails.
The idea is not to decide who is right and who is wrong between VIA Rail and CN. It is to note that the current situation is untenable and to look for solutions.
It is unrealistic to think of building a network parallel to CN’s. But Tim Hayman of Transport Atlantic points out that some segments could at least be acquired by VIA Rail or the government. Is it normal, for example, that the famous Miramichi-Bathurst section, which is the subject of conflict and is only used for passenger transport, should be owned by CN?
The federal government cannot let the situation fester like this. If the tracks were better, CN would not have to run its own trains at snail speeds. This would clear the tracks and allow more trains to run on the same infrastructure.
This would not be the first time that the government has interfered in the management of private infrastructure in a national interest. The federal government forces telecommunications giants like Bell or Rogers to share their networks with smaller providers to promote competition, for example.
The railway was once a source of pride for Canada. Today, on some stretches, trains travel barely faster than horse-drawn carriages. How long will we tolerate this?
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