Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

17 August 2001

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 615, recorded on 17 August 2001, our 25th anniversary year, Bert Titcomb reporting.

In this issue...

1 - Transport 2000 Quebec move

Transport 2000 Quebec has relocated their office in Montreal to 300 rue du Saint-Sacrement, office G34. Telephone number (514) 932-8008 will remain the same.

2 - Airport technology

At Baltimore - Washington International Airport, about 30 aviation industry designers and contractors gathered recently to exchange ideas on how to manage expansion plans at their home airports. Discussions of terminal design, rail connections and the best flooring for automated walkways took up much of the time. Then a vendor from a company called the Eye-Ticket Corporation rose to explain a new product that caught everyone's attention: an optical security device that identifies passengers by scanning their eyeballs. From optical scanning ID to boarding passes printed at home, airports and airlines are working on ways to minimize the bottlenecks for passengers before they board the airplane.

3 - WestJet growth

WestJet passenger miles were up 62.1% in July. The company flew 236.9 million revenue passenger miles in July, up 62.1 per cent from 146.2 million a year earlier. July's load factor rose to 82.6 per cent from 81.2 per cent a year earlier. In the year to date, traffic rose 56.5 per cent to 1.18 billion revenue passenger miles from 755.2 million a year earlier.

4 - Wind-powered light rail

Calgary is set to cut pollution as it gets ready to launch wind-powered light-rail transit. Two ground breaking initiatives are set to hit Calgary next month and will help transform the city into one of the most environmentally friendly municipalities in the Canada. That's when Calgary's light-rail transit system will become the first public transportation system in North America to be wind-powered. At that time, the city will also launch a massive retrofitting program to dim 49,000 streetlights. Both programs are aimed at cutting pollution and energy costs.

5 - Montreal cuts commuter rail, dreams of subways

At a time when Montreal's mayor is floating the idea of a subway to the West Island, some suburban residents are upset that their existing commuter-train service is being cut back. Commuters on the Montreal-Dorion-Rigaud line found a notice on their seats last week saying that the last train leaving Windsor Station, at 10:45 p.m. is being cut. Effective Aug 27th, the last train to the West Island will be leaving at 9:15 p.m. This cut is a major pain for anyone who wants to take in a ballet at Place des Arts or a hockey game at the Molson Centre. Raynald Belanger, AMT vice-president (commuter trains) said that its hands are tied by CP Rail and its freight schedule. "Freight is the bread and butter of CP; commuter trains come second," said Belanger. T2000 Quebec has denounced the cut in service.

6 - Call for commuter train support

Residents of Mascouche, Terrebonne and the eastern part of Laval are being urged to hop aboard a train to Montreal on September 9th to show their support for a permanent commuter-train service. Two free return-trip runs are being organized for that day as part of a campaign to get a permanent commuter service finally up and running. MTA president and general manager, Florence Junca-Adenot said her agency could indeed be influenced by a high ridership on Sept. 9th. She said that last December, 600 people turned out for a similar open-doors event to push for a commuter-train service from Delson. "We are already planning to go ahead with that service, but the turnout pushed us to move further," she said. The Delson service is due to start next month.

7 - British rail bungling

According to an article in the August issue of IRJ, recriminations are flying over the parlous state of the rail network in Britain. The major players are at each other's throats in a bid to apportion blame for the disasters which have overtaken the nation's privatised railway, rather than suggesting solutions. Anger was unleashed over who is to blame for the chaos which has brought Britain's railway network to its knees during the past year when top figures in the industry came together at a stormy national rail conference in London at the end of June.

The future of UK Rail was the subject of the conference, organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs, and there were no holds barred as many of the speakers made it clear in forthright terms who they held responsible for the current crisis. Some went on to deliver stark warnings that the worst is not yet over. Britain's privatised railway has plunged into an abyss from which it will be difficult to climb out quickly. The network owner, Railtrack, is teetering on the brink of financial disaster, while the Strategic Rail Authority is unable to deliver a detailed strategy based on real spending proposals.

Meanwhile, the train operators are trying desperately to restore their credibility after a year of chaos brought about by flooding, poor overall performance, and the fatal Hatfield train crash, caused by a broken rail. The Hatfield incident resulted in a national rail replacement program which rendered most timetables useless for several months.

Thank you for calling the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline. For additional information, please contact our web site at:

www.transport2000.ca.