Canadian Railroads > CP single-tracking part of its Montreal to Toronto mainline

Trains Newswire reports that CP plans to single-track and add CTC signalling
to the eastern part of its Montreal to Toronto mainline.
The Winchester Subdivision is currently 105 miles of double track
between Smiths Falls, Ontario, and Dorion, Quebec, just west of Montreal.
Most of the double track is protected by ABS signals.

The Belleville Subdivision,
which is the western part of CP's Montreal to Toronto mainline,
is already single track with CTC.

Trains Newswire quoted CP spokesman Andy Cummings,
“During 2020 and 2021, CP will remove approximately 60 miles
from the north main track of its Smiths Falls, Ontario, to Dorion, Quebec, route
and will install a centralized traffic control (CTC) system on the resulting single-track segment.”

Surplus rail is to be redeployed elsewhere, including CP's newly re-acquired "Short Line" to New Brunswick.

https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2020/07/28-canadian-pacific-to-single-track-add-ctc-to-main-line-to-montreal

 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/20 10:00 by Marcus.

Hate to see double track done away with.   May it is the result of wanting to run 15,000 to 18,000 ft trains.

Does VIA Rail use any of that on their Ottawa routes ?

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does VIA Rail use any of that on their Ottawa
> routes ?

No.

The work has been going on for some time now.

Although it’s always sad to see infrastructure removed or retired, the fact is, CP operates about 6-7 trains per day on this corridor on average. Certainly it’s going to grow future state, and hopefully faster with the CMQ acquisition and focus on east coast ports. But what volume justifies double track, especially when adjacent to a single track route like the Belleville? When the OVR route through North Bay tied into Smiths Falls, it was almost palatable. But with the OVR gone, you can understand CP’s desire to single track.

To be honest, the only reason this wasn’t done a decade ago, was because of the high cost to convert to CTC. New signals and crossing upgrades (going from double track to single track) is pricey. Eventually the costs of renewal of two tracks outweighed the cost of upgrading to CTC and fixing all the crossings.

Posted from iPhone

VIA's Montreal <> Ottawa trains on the Alexandria Subdivision cross the Winchester Sub at de Beaujeu, QC on a diamond.

https://goo.gl/maps/7C8xYYsPFm4JN4fV6

Back in '92/'93.....de Beaujeu would have be the start of the proposed joint CN-CP Ottawa Valley Partnership. CP trains would have entered CN here and followed a mostly CN route to Ottawa, North Bay and onto Sudbury. (see PDF page 11 here)

http://www.exporail.org/can_rail/Canadian_Rail_no541_2011.pdf

And at Smiths Falls.....VIA trains are on CP for a short distance and in fact a westbound train from Ottawa to Toronto is actually eastbound on CP passing the former CP Station (now a community theatre).... then swings south on the now VIA owned Brockville Sub.

https://goo.gl/maps/33aLEMXdzsMTvNFy9