Transport 2000 Canada - Hotline - 11 November 2000

This is issue #575, recorded on Remembrance Day, 11th November 2000, Harry Gow reporting.

In this issue, rail, air and transit news. Thanks to Post Time for most of these items.

1 - Federal platforms on transport

John Bakker, Western V.P. of Transport 2000 Canada, has analyzed Federal election platforms as Canada approaches the 27th November voting day. What strikes the reader of John's informative email is the lack of debate on VIA Rail, transit, and other transport issues, with a few exceptions.

The Alliance promises to privatize VIA Rail Canada. The other party platforms are silent on this subject, but we know the Liberals flirted with the idea, then rejected it as T2000 and the media diffused information about the disastrous Britain "model". Even the NDP platform is silent on this and on investment in VIA. The Liberals mention transit investment, but in general the parties give health and other issues much higher priority. If you would like to see the "Bakker email", contact John at jbakker@jetstream.net.

2 - American rail news

U.S. Railways, which gave up on much of their carload traffic, including perishables, decades ago, are getting back into this business. The leader was Amtrak, with its growing head-end traffic including a new service to move State of Washington apples to the east in special new long reefer cars. BNSF then copied the idea with its Ice Cold Express, moving fruits and vegetables from California to the east. Union Pacific plans fast shuttle trains from one loading dock to another.

The aim to improve revenue growth, already strong. "The economy could benefit in reduced logistics costs....." said a V.P. of Mercer Management Consulting Inc. Railways say they are in a position to improve service because they have spent billions of dollars to remove bottlenecks. Long-haul truckers are struggling with a shortage of drivers and higher fuel prices. Sunkist is one shipper that is coming back to rail: From 200 cars in 1999 to 600 - 700 cars projected in 2001. BNSF is spending $100 U.S.million for 700 new reefers, twice regular length. Cars are now arriving 90% on time. Let's hope Canadian railways, starting with VIA (which has an express service to the Quebec mid-north) get the message and get into this business. (source: Wall Street Journal, D. Machalaba)

3 - Trains operate despite pickets

About 30 farmers picketted a CN Rail crew bunkhouse in Biggar, Saskatchewan yesterday, in hopes of disrupting trains running through west-central Saskatchewan. The pickets were trying to draw attention to the farm income crisis. Farmers hoped CN crews would refuse to cross the picket lines but no train crews changed yesterday and no trains were halted. CN police and RCMP monitored the pickets. Organizers said they are disappointed about the low turnout, blaming cold weather.

4 - Rail Safety Called into Question

A Norwegian commission investigating the cause of a January train crash that killed 19 people issued a scathing report yesterday criticizing the national rail authority for inadequate safety measures.

"There are fundamental weaknesses and deficiencies in the rail safety equipment," the report said. Nineteen people lost their lives on 4th January when two passenger trains collided head-on on the same track in the southern Norwegian town of Aasta.

5 - Funicular disaster in Austria

The CBC reported this morning that an Austrian funicular train in a 3 km. tunnel caught fire, with 170 victims presumed dead. 10 passengers were able to escape from the Kitschstein Horn train which was carrying skiers and snowboarders to the mountain top in the Alps in southern Austria.

6 - South American rail news

RailAmerica has announced that subsidiary, the Chilean Empresa de Transporte Ferroviario S.A. (Ferronor) has signed an agreement with the General Belgrano Railway in Argentina to let Forronor trains operate 386 miles into Argentia, for the first time. This gives Argentine shippers direct access to the Chilean port of Antofagasta. This form of agreed access seems satisfactory to both railways. Canadian railways fear chaos if wider "open access" is enforced here.

7 - Shift in Toronto airport buses

The success of a new TTC bus route to Toronto's Pearson airport is forcing Pacific Western Transportation to reduce its service. TTC fare is $2, PWT is $7.50 to $8.00. The new TTC service was meant for airport employees, but will be extended to 7 days a week and will run to midnight starting in January. The bus runs from Kipling station every 45 minutes on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. until January. PWT is none too happy, but the airport upholds TTC's right to run there.

8 - Tentative Deal Reached between CN, union in U.S.

Canadian National Railway Co. has reached a tentative agreement with the United Transportation Union representing 400 workers in the United States. The deal covers workers in the Michigan Zone in CN's midwest division, formerly the Grand Trunk Western Railway. In Canada, CN is in negotiations with five unions representing 14,267 Canadian employees and it has already concluded a deal with its sixth Canadian union, the 3,436-member Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees.

9 - Your president has egg on his face!

The Ottawa Citizen called him on November 10th to ask if OC Transpo was short of buses to handle winter cruch loads. Stating that OC Transpo fleet capacity is "strained", I said the situation in Montreal was "much better". Ah bien non! A story in La Presse on 8th November, says service could be reduced as 30 buses are laid-up, some due to go-slow labour tactics and some due to a lack of planning by the STCUM. On the south shore, the STRSM is raising fares; from $260 to $2.70 for a single cash fare, from $56.25 to $57.75 for a monthly pass.

10 - Truckers to Continue Illegal Walkout

Half of the striking truckers at the Port of Montreal say they will continue their illegal walkout despite suffering a severe setback yesterday when most of their applications for unionization were turned down by a federal labour tribunal.

The Canada Labour Relations Board rejected 33 of the applications filed by the Confederation of National Trade Unions, leaving fewer than 10 under deliberation. About 900 independent truckers in Montreal walked out on Oct. 22, saying their attempt to unionize was not recognized by 39 local transport companies.

11 - Air Canada negative press

The 6th November issue of MacLeans Magazine contained an article extremely critical of Air Canada, projecting an image of incompletance that seemed to be based mostly on this past summer's "rush hour" conditions and the journalist's personal experience. The article seemed deliberately negative, projecting an image of arrogance re Air Canada's CEO, Robert Milton. An interesting table of direct air time flights between major Canadian cities accompanied the article. Another article covered the problem of deep-vein blood clots resulting from passenger immobility on long flights due to short seat pitch (26 - 30 inches)

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