Transport 2000 Canada - Hotline #572 This is Hotline issue #572, recorded on Friday, October 20, Harry Gow reporting. In this issue, much rail news and a little air news. 1. VIA Rail is testing three European Coaches VIA Rail is still testing three European coaches as part of its ongoing search for equipment to augment its fleet. Designed by Alstom, the three cars (one coach, one sleeper and one service car) arrived on Canadian soil in June for a period of at least six months. The testing consists of three phases, two of which are now complete. Phase I of the evaluation, a stationary and very low speed test that included computer simulations designed to determine the cars' stability and signalling ability, was performed at the MMC. The new equipment passed the test with flying colours and road testing (Phase II) began in mid-August. Phase II consisted of a medium-speed road test on the VIA owned Alexandria subdivision between Montreal and Ottawa. The test objective was to assess the cars' stability, ride quality and braking performances with respect to Canadian and international railroad regulations, as well as their ability to activate the train control and road crossing warning signals as per accepted norms. "So far the results are favourable," states John Marginson, VP, Equipment & Maintenance. "The ride quality and noise levels are as good, and in many cases better, than those of the LRC," he says. EM is currently preparing a detailed report on the first two phases of testing which must be submitted to CN, CP and Transport Canada for review before Phase III can begin. Phase III will consist of a high-speed road test on CN's Kingston subdivision and is scheduled to begin before the end of September. Meanwhile, "Discussions with the manufacturer and regulators at Transport Canada are progressing well," says John. The equipment is also being shown to representatives of special needs groups for input on accessibility issues. The cars were designed for speeds of 125 mph and are equipped with full retention toilets. 2. West Coast Express Contract VIA has been confirmed as the successful bidder for the West Coast Express commuter train maintenance contract, operating between Mission and Vancouver, BC. VIA has been the maintaniner of the equipment since the service began in 1995, but the contract was retendered because it was to expire at the end of October. The contract is for a five-year period with two two-year extension options and will generate gross revenues into the millions of dollars. 3. Rail Accidents in England Two days after the railway accident involving a high-speed London -Leeds - Edinburgh GNER train, a second passenger train derailed on a broken rail in central England. Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries. The locomotive and the first cars of a Virgin train running at medium speed left the rails near Stafford at 1743 local time. In the morning, the Railtrack Board of Directors announced that it refused the resignation of Gerald Corbett, their Director-General, following the earlier accident, referred to above, at Hatfield (30 km north of London) where four persons died and 35 persons were injured. T2000 Canada comment: In Britain, privatization and safety continue to be incompatible! 4. Consumer Protection On Thursday, October 19th, a consulation on changes to consumer protection in Ontario to be held in Ottawa, terminated very early. A consultation on traveller protection, to be held between 6 and 7 pm, fell flat for Transport 2000 Canada, whose representative showed up at 5:30 to find an empty hall. The convenience of officials wanting to return to Toronto was more important to them than meeting consumer representatives. 5. New Interest in Saint John Passenger Service An Amtrak plan to revive service to Maine is heating up new interest in Saint John passenger service. A meeting organized by Transport 2000 Atlantic took place on October 13th at city hall in Saint John. Among those who were expected to attend are John Pearce, preisdent of Transport 2000 Atlantic, Saint John MP, Elsie Wayne, Mayor Shirley McAlary, and provincial Minister of Transportation, Margaret-Ann Blaney. The last train left the city back on December 15, 1994. At the time, VIA closed a practically brand-new train station near the Harbour Station building. Since then, a number of companies and individuals have kicked around the idea of restoring some level of rail service through Saint John. One name that has come up is Amtrak. The American company has been working on restoring a line between Boston, Mass. and Portland, Me, with hopes of extending the service at least up to Bangor, and possibly into Canada. 6. Collenette plans new airport rules The government wants to pass a law next year to clean up and standardize the rules for private operation of Pearson International and other airports, Transport Minister David Collenette says. Collenette said he agrees with much of the criticism Auditor-General Denis Desautels levelled at the government over the transfer of airports to private authorities. In his report tabled Tuesday, Desautels said the federal government didn't even check how much Pearson International and other airports were worth before leasing them out to local authorities. Desautels also concluded the airport transfers were so mismanaged it's now difficult to measure whether they've been good for taxpayers. And he criticized inconsistencies in lease arrangements. 7. High-speed rail favoured for Windsor Canada's Transport Minister David Collenette believes there should be a high-speed rail corridor from Quebec to Windsor, but is less certain the government can afford to be part of it. Collenette and his provincial counterpart, David Turnbull, were in Windsor on Thursday, Oct 12th, to take part in a trade corridors conference, along with transportation officials from the U.S. government and trade representatives from Canada and U.S. One of the hot topics on the agenda was high-speed rail and the role it is playing in changing the face of trade corridors. Alexander Metcalf, president of Transportation Economics and Management Systems, says high-speed rail is providing "an economic stimulus unequalled in recent years." A study on rail transport in the U.S. and Canada will be presented to the delegates which indicates a need for better service through the Detroit-Windsor corridor. 8. T2000 Calendar Transport 2000 Quebec and T2000 Canada will host two representatives of Transport 2000 Cote d'Ivoire.d Messrs. Bomba and Pamphile, quests of CIDA, on Friday Oct 27th in Ottawa. The new group is here to continue the relationships established earlier this year when Luc Cote and Maryse Labriet of T2000 Quebec visited them. Members may join us at for dinner at Yesterdays Restaurant at the corner of Sparks and O'Connor Streets in Ottawa at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27th. The T2000 board will discuss international linkage at the following board meeting. 9. Light Rail Tour On Sunday, October 29th, a light rail tour will be guided by Tim Lane and David Jeanes all morning. Those interested should contact the office for directions. Finally, at 10 a.m. Thursday, October 26th, the long-awaited first sod will be turned on the Ottawa Diesel Light Rail Project at Carleton University. Please contact the office if you wish to attend for T 2000. We hope that Tim Lane and David Jeanes are invitees, as they have worked hard on this project for us. (Note that Bob Chiarilli, very pro-LRT is leading by 18 % in votes according to polls before the Ottawa mayoral election). Thanks to Post Time, particularly Bill Holland for some of the above items. Thank you for calling the Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line. For additional information, please contact our website at: www.transport2000.ca