Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

21 December 2001

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 633, recorded on 21 December 2001, our 25th anniversary year, Bert Titcomb reporting.

On behalf of the staff in the National Office, I extend Seasons Greetings to all T2000 members.

In this issue...

1 - Mirabel Maglev proposals

According to an article in the Montreal Gazette, a German firm wants to build a high-speed Maglev rail link to Mirabel airport. Transrapid International, designers of the world's first commercial levitation train, are reviving an abandoned plan for a rail link between downtown Montreal and Mirabel airport. The magnetic-levitation train, known as Maglev, has no wheels. It uses powerful magnets to float just centimetres above the track. It would take off at Windsor Station, make stops at Dorval airport and Laval, and wind up at Mirabel. Total travel time: 20 minutes at a blistering speed of 400 km/hr.

2 - Halifax looks to Ottawa to support commuter rail

According to an article in a the Coast, a Halifax weekly newspaper, Halifax commuter rail proponents have all eyes on Ottawa these days. Marcus Garnet, a member of the commuter rail committee, says this type of commuter rail system is ideal for Halifax. As citizens well know, there are only so many ways to get downtown. By using existing railway tracks to move people, Garnet says, we could open up another route without tearing up the city to do it. "We tend to think we're like other N.A. cities," says Garnet, "but we're not." Our compact peninsula and unusually high proportion of transit users downtown make us more comparable to European cities, and a natural candidate for a commuter rail system, says Garnet.

3 - Air Canada delays carrier launch

Air Canada said it has postponed the launch of its planned discount carrier pending talks with the federal government and until the "benefits to the Canadian travelling public can be more fully communicated" to consumers. "We recognize the fact it's still necessary to work with governments and communities and that will continue to be part of our ongoing daily discussions with government until the timing is right," said Air Canada spokesman John Reber. He declined to discuss the details of discussions with Ottawa, adding that the subject of Air Canada's market share is just one of many topics at hand.

4 - Niagara Falls rail service closes

According to a recent press release from CN and CPR, rail and government officials celebrated the end of freight trains transiting the City of Niagara Falls. Canada's two national railways and civic and Ontario government officials held a "spike-pulling ceremony to mark the end of freight trains travelling through the city's busy downtown and tourist area. Rail crews began lifting track in a 10.7 kilometre railway corridor that cuts through the city. The track removal - a key municipal objective for more than half a century - will help to spur redevelopment of prime real estate in the tourism and downtown areas, eliminate traffic congestion and improve road safety, and generate new rail efficiencies at an important international gateway for Canada-U.S. trade.

The ceremony was made possible by a trackage rights agreement between CN and CPR, and the acquisition of CN's and CPR's jointly owned rail corridor through the city's inner core by the City of Niagara Falls and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, an Ontario government agency. CPR trains that used the downtown line now take CN's track to and from the U.S.A. via a new connection near Welland, Ontario. The connection moves CPR trains onto a 16 kilometre section of CN's Toronto - Buffalo main line to reach CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern and other railroads in Buffalo via Fort Erie, Ontario, and CN's International Bridge.

The Niagara Falls trackage rights agreement is the latest in a series of CN and CPR "co-production" initiatives first launched last year. Under a three-year agreement, CPR gained access to CN's direct and efficient Toronto-Chicago main line via CN's St. Clair Tunnel. The railroads also signed a "directional running" agreement covering train movements in the rugged Fraser Canyon west of Kamloops, B.C. CN and CPR trains now move west over CN's gently-graded line in the canyon, while all eastbound CN and CPR freight movements in this corridor travel on CPR track.

5 - Bombardier lands $269M rail contract

(Ottawa Citizen, 20 Dec 01) Stockholm's Public Transit Authority recently placed a $269 million order with Bombardier Inc. for 70 three-car subway units. Bombardier said that the latest sale brings the total number of units for the Stockholm PTA to 270 units, "the biggest series of train orders of any type ever placed in Sweden." The order is the latest in a string of successful bids since Bombardier acquired Germany's Adtranz rail-equipment manufacturer in May, giving the Montreal firm access to a key industry segment it did not have previously. The Vagn 2000-type units consist of three articulated car sections, with drivers' cabs at either end. Bombardier stated that each unit can carry up to 414 passengers - or a maximum of over 1,200 for a full-length train of three units.

6 - T2000 National office holidays

Please note that the office will be closed from 24th Dec. until 3rd Jan 2002.

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www.transport2000.ca.