If you find that VIA Rail trains have been arriving late for a year, don’t worry: you’re not blind.
In 2022, VIA Rail experienced the worst year since 2000 for on-time performance: 43% of trains arrived more than 10 or 15 minutes late. This alarming punctuality rate of just 57% is in free fall from the rate of around 70% between 2018 and 2021 and more than 80% from 2009 to 2013.
It is even more discouraging when compared to other countries.
Whether for speed, punctuality or frequency, Canada has the worst passenger train service of the G7 countries.
The problem has been the same for decades: in Canada, there are no tracks dedicated specifically to passenger trains. VIA Rail uses the rails belonging to the railway companies that transport goods, CN and CP, which prioritize their own activities.
One factor that explains part of the sharp decline in train punctuality in 2022: VIA Rail was running less often from January to June because of the pandemic, so it was paying less rent to CN, which had less money to maintain the tracks for passenger train speeds (faster than freight trains). VIA trains therefore had to travel more slowly on the rails.
Good news: from January to March 2023, the punctuality rate would have risen to around 70%, the average for the years 2018-2021, VIA Rail tells us.
It is nevertheless inferior to Amtrak, in the United States, which is not exactly the paradise of the train. We don’t even dare to talk about Europe or Japan. And the fact remains that about one in three trains is late. There is nothing to be proud of.
The Trudeau government’s solution: build a high-frequency train (TGF) with dedicated tracks between Quebec and Toronto for 2030. In Europe and Japan, we would call it a second-class train, after the high-speed train (TGV) . In Canada, that would be an incredible improvement.
As long as spending tens of billions of dollars, we think that Ottawa should favor a TGV, much more expensive, but faster than the plane and the car. A TGV would certainly change the transportation habits of Canadians in the Quebec-Toronto axis. A TGF? Nothing is less sure.
The Trudeau government has chosen the TGF, but is at least considering seeing if it is possible to go faster on certain parts of the route. We will know more in a year.
Regardless of the final choice, the new train with dedicated tracks will not transport passengers at best before 2030, estimates Ottawa.
Canadians must not wait another six and a half years for the trains to arrive on time like in the other G7 countries.
To solve this problem of punctuality, there is unfortunately no magic solution.
First of all, there are elements that VIA Rail cannot control, such as the effects of climate change. In summer, trains sometimes have to run slower because of the heat on the tracks.
At least VIA Rail is starting to deploy its new – more reliable – trains on the current tracks. The entire fleet will be replaced by 2025.
The most important: VIA Rail must sit down with CN and CP to improve the reliability of its offer. There is certainly a way to do better. The proof: the punctuality rate of VIA Rail trains was over 80% in the early 2010s. This is an immediate challenge for the new President and CEO of VIA Rail, Mario Péloquin, appointed last week by the government. federal.
Should we offer greater financial compensation for delays, as with the Air Travelers Charter? Currently, VIA Rail offers a 50% credit if the train is 55 minutes late and 100% if the delay is 3 hours 50 minutes.
It is a simple and popular solution, but not necessarily a panacea in the current context. Passenger trains are already heavily subsidized in Canada. In the Quebec-Toronto corridor in 2022, the federal government paid 43% of operating expenses and users 57%. If VIA Rail is forced to pay monetary penalties for delays, either VIA Rail will increase its prices or Ottawa will increase its subsidies. Nobody wins with this scenario.
Anyway, what we want in priority are reliable trains that arrive on time.