Canadian Railroads > "Deteriorating CN track adds time to VIA’s Ocean: Analysis"

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/deteriorating-cn-track-adds-time-to-vias-ocean-analysis/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1StTvlJ-xCH4qVk2u9bTh74EvU0Zaq4f7KOx45u36iJN4KnIag8XFpD7s_aem_AS_qz3Ah0RY9HkjZF5dKCJSDVmjevm0QRgqtpALp5UuFiQmLtOo_DMfaGGrovSTFQeoxCfEgG9hv7XTwwY4kZtFi

What would be the pro/con for rerouting the Ocean by way of Edmunston ?

Notwithstanding my friend in Fredericton who would like to see the Ocean on the NTR (actually, he'd like to see it running through Maine again, but that ship has sailed), the ICR is where the passengers are, and that is why New Brunswick decided to subsidize the track as much as they did a few years ago.  CN has said they want to abandon the track between Nippissiguit Jct. and Derby Jct., eliminating about 30 miles and two massive bridges.

GTD

“VIA Rail remains strongly committed to offering its passenger rail services on the Ocean route between Montréal and Halifax. Since the vast majority of tracks between Montréal and Halifax are owned by CN, VIA Rail is subject to CN’s constraints and challenges when operating the Ocean route, pending CN’s capacity to resolve any issues.”Asked about specifics, VIA says, “As we are not responsible for the level of upkeep of the track, we have no authority to answer questions on the condition of the tracks, the evolution of operational speeds over the past years, the nature and results of the work and maintenance done on the infrastructure or any other information pertaining to the railway infrastructure they own.”

This train has just layered on more and more time over the past 15 years due to track deterioration. Arrival into Halifax (heading eastbound) used to be at 4 pm, before dinner. Departure out of Halifax was between 1 and 2 pm, clearly post-lunch. Surely VIA is not looking to add meal services, but the 11:00 am departure is going to force it I think.....One could even risk a same-day transfer between the northbound/southbound Adirondack and east-west Ocean (saving a whole day if not more) at St. Lambert (or all the way to Montreal). So much connectivity broken over the years - again due to poor trackage and lengthy schedules. The massacre of Maritime [RDC] train travel of the 1990s, the Bras'd'Or roller coaster, and reduction of the Ocean from 6x per week to 3x per week, which ended up costing VIA even more money (greater losses) rather than saving money. Ugh! And the regional train proposal of Campbelton-Moncton scrapped.

VIA can't lobby the Crown or the provinces for a grant to get these tracks restored a bit to relieve the slow orders? How much more does Maritime passenger trains deteriorate? No more domes or good lounge cars on the Ocean due to the lack of a wye at Halifax. Some good news for the Ocean would be REALLY nice!!! How much more downgrading can this service take? Course, there already is a cross between the Heritage and Renaissance equipment just to keep the train capacity going! The 2005 schedule was really nice, as was the Renaissance equipment and Park Car for the "Maritime Experience."   

Where passenger trains run in Canada, either you take CP which is little done, a traffic-choked PSR CN line, or take your chances on a semi-abandoned CN line, which is what the Adirondack, Quebec remote, and Ocean are now doing. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/24 06:08 by joemvcnj.