Canadian Railroads > No Late Train Credits for the Canadian

There is a posting on another forum from a passenger who expected to receive late train credits when the Canadian was almost 10 hours late.  He contacted VIA and received the following response:
 
"Since service between Toronto and Winnipeg has
resumed following a CN freight train derailment in Gogama, new
operating conditions such as speed restrictions surrounding the
derailment site have been put in place which are causing delays
beyond VIA's control. For this reason, late train credits which
are normally offered when the train is delayed by four hours or
more have been suspended and are therefore not being offered for
your recent trip."
 
On VIA’s Website page about late train credits, any reference to the Canadian has been removed.  I don’t know if this is a temporary or permanent change in policy. I will find out if my train is late on my next trip in June.  It has been reported that freight trains are operating at normal speeds through Gogama. There is a temporary speed restriction for trains carrying dangerous cargo, but that applies all through northern Ontario, not just the wreck site.
 

Maye add a 5th night to the schedule. That might solve the problem! Treatment by CN of this train is criminal. At their request the schedule was lengthened dramatically and they still have problems making it....my recent 1.5 hour early arrival into Vancouver being the exception....with lighter than normal holiday freight traffic the most likely cause.

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maye add a 5th night to the schedule. That might
> solve the problem! Treatment by CN of this train
> is criminal. At their request the schedule was
> lengthened dramatically and they still have
> problems making it....my recent 1.5 hour early
> arrival into Vancouver being the exception....with
> lighter than normal holiday freight traffic the
> most likely cause.

on a recent winter trip I had, we took the siding ALL the time for CN, except west of Jasper. It was NOT like this with the old schedule - or at least not as bad. We also early into Vancouver - about an hour. We left Toronto on-time, despite the eastbound that turned came in at 3 pm. 

What gets me is that west of Edmonton, the schedule is basically untouched from its old three night, four day schedule, or this is where time can be made up to get things back to normal - and through the Frasier Canyon. What went wrong east of Winnipeg is just ridiculous......they finally restore the Sioux Lookout station to handle what was morning and afternoon schedule stops for Canadian passengers, and then this is now shifted to the abandoned station of Hornepayne - one step forward, two steps back!

It seems that once VIA drops a simple perk like this - late train credits - they are not revived. So I would not be looking for them. 

Amtrak dropped it - Warrington's famous "satisfaction guarantee!" 

I guess we we should be lucky the train still runs!!!!

jp1822 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> What gets me is that west of Edmonton, the
> schedule is basically untouched from its old three
> night, four day schedule, or this is where time
> can be made up to get things back to normal - and
> through the Frasier Canyon.....

West of Jasper the Canadian has less opposing traffic to meet. First there is the track arrangement in the Red Pass Jct/Valemount area giving a couple of route options if the other line is occupied.

There is also directional running through the Thompson and Fraser River Canyons. Everything (CN, CP, VIA & Rocky) goes west on CN and everything east on CP....so no meets with trains in the opposite direction.

> It seems that once VIA drops a simple perk like
> this - late train credits - they are not revived.
> So I would not be looking for them. 
>
> Amtrak dropped it - Warrington's famous
> "satisfaction guarantee!" 

VIA’s Late Train Credit program is pretty generous and still applies to all trains except the Canadian. Unlike Amtrak where you can ask for a voucher, on VIA a credit is automatic based on this table below. Just keep your ticket/boarding pass to apply to your next trip.

http://www.viarail.ca/en/resources/condition-travel-credit

Note the bottom line of the table: "Notice: Please note that VIA reserves the right to cancel its late train travel credit policy when faced by major events not under VIA's control."

There are still slow orders through the Gogama accident site so the Canadian is almost guaranteed to be late. The credits will probably be reinstated when things get back to normal (where only 3/4 of the Canadians are late....not every one!)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/02/15 02:58 by ghCBNS.

When I rode the Canadian east in 1998, we took the siding for virtually every CN freight we met east of Winnipeg -- at least for the ones I observed. We were already late and got considerably later because of CN's punitive handling of the train. Doesn't sound to me like anything has changed in that regard - they just have more slop in the schedule they can abuse.

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When I rode the Canadian east in 1998, we took the
> siding for virtually every CN freight we met east
> of Winnipeg -- at least for the ones I observed.
> We were already late and got considerably later
> because of CN's punitive handling of the train.
> Doesn't sound to me like anything has changed in
> that regard - they just have more slop in the
> schedule they can abuse.

I took the Canadian at least twice a year between 2001 and 2010 (before schedule change), and I had the opposite experience east of Winnipeg ironically. There were some trains that we had to take the siding for, but it was more of a minority than majority as like now....

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maye add a 5th night to the schedule. That might
> solve the problem! Treatment by CN of this train
> is criminal. At their request the schedule was
> lengthened dramatically and they still have
> problems making it....my recent 1.5 hour early
> arrival into Vancouver being the exception....with
> lighter than normal holiday freight traffic the
> most likely cause.

Criminal? Really?  If your riding this train, you aren't in a hurry to begin with. The fact of the matter is, the infrastructure isn't designed for 12,000ft trains. So they do not fit in sidings. The ones that do fit, it takes them much longer to slow down and then clear into the sidings and out of the way of the VIA. It makes more sense, and is much faster to keep the freight going at track speed on the main, then have them take the siding and have the VIA sit on the main and wait anyhow. In a perfect world, it would be double and triple track everywhere. But this world is far from perfect. You pay good money to ride the "canadian" (the only thing criminal in my mind is the price), so enjoy the extra time on it, at no additional cost! 

cpcnguy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> andersonb109 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Maye add a 5th night to the schedule. That
> might
> > solve the problem! Treatment by CN of this
> train
> > is criminal. At their request the schedule was
> > lengthened dramatically and they still have
> > problems making it....my recent 1.5 hour early
> > arrival into Vancouver being the
> exception....with
> > lighter than normal holiday freight traffic the
> > most likely cause.
>
> Criminal? Really?  If your riding this train, you
> aren't in a hurry to begin with. The fact of the
> matter is, the infrastructure isn't designed for
> 12,000ft trains. So they do not fit in sidings.
> The ones that do fit, it takes them much longer to
> slow down and then clear into the sidings and out
> of the way of the VIA. It makes more sense, and is
> much faster to keep the freight going at track
> speed on the main, then have them take the siding
> and have the VIA sit on the main and wait anyhow.
> In a perfect world, it would be double and triple
> track everywhere. But this world is far from
> perfect. You pay good money to ride the "canadian"
> (the only thing criminal in my mind is the price),
> so enjoy the extra time on it, at no additional
> cost! 

Delays have only only gotten worse with the schedule re-arrangement, as opposed to better with the four night three day schedule. This also created less scenic scenery across the Canadian Shield, let alone traveling the prairies by day now, instead of by night....