Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

2 March 2002

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 643, recorded on 2 March 2002, David Leibold reporting.

In this issue...

AIR

1 - New London UK airport proposed

The British government is considering a new airport to serve London to meet expected air travel demands. A new facility at Cliffe is included with proposals to add runways at the existing Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.

The new airport at Cliffe would cause controversy on environmental grounds, since it is near the Thames River. But adding runways to other airports, especially Heathrow, causes other problems such as noise effects and expenses for such expansions.

A preliminary report on the airport expansions is expected to be released in May. Other regions of the UK will also be examined for airport expansion, such as whether to develop international hubs in Scotland or whether to move Birmingham's airport east.

2 - New Swiss airline takes off

A new national airline in Switzerland is set to fill the void left by the recent demise of Swissair. The existing regional carrier, Crossair AG, is being transformed into an international airline called swiss. It is expected to fly most of Swissair's former routes, and is still working on arrangements to serve international points.

3 - Air industry forecast

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released an interim edition of its Passenger Forecast in the wake of severe air industry disruptions since September.

The Passenger Forecast until 2005 expects a recovery in passenger growth in 2003, after the industry stabilises this year. The forecast expects that scheduled air services by 2005 will carry 637 million international passengers and 1.2 billion domestic passengers.

The IATA also reported a 4% drop in passenger traffic for year 2001, with a 12% drop for December alone.

4 - Air Canada competition hearings delayed until fall

The Competition Tribunal has again delayed its investigation into charges that Air Canada has engaged in anti-competitive practices. The case was delayed in October, and was to proceed in April. Now, it is unlikely that any progress will be made before the fall.

5 - NAV Canada annual report

NAV Canada released its 2001 annual report on 26 February.

The country's air control and navigation service will build more radar sites in the coming year, particularly in Northern Canada.

Highlights of the report and its associated announcement include:

NAV Canada 2001 Annual Report: http://www.navcanada.ca/contenten/news/annualreport.asp

NAV Canada radar coverage: http://www.navcanada.ca/contenten/news/nr-related/radar.pdf

6 - Canada 3000 re-launch crashes

Attempts to bring the failed Canada 3000 airline back into service failed late last month due to investor reluctance to support a competing carrier while Air Canada expands its Tango discount service. Meanwhile, Conquest Vacations will expand its domestic flight service in May.

7 - Canada 3000 Cargo now called Cargojet

Canada 3000 Cargo, the freight operation that survived the failure of the Canada 3000 passenger service, became Cargojet Canada Ltd. on 21st February.

Information: http://www.cargojet.com.

8 - Australian Ansett airline fails

Australia's Ansett airlines are expected to make their final flights on 4th March. Attempts to rescue the carrier have failed, which leaves only Qantas and Virgin airlines as major domestic carriers.

Years ago, Ansett and Qantas formed the duopoly in Australia's air industry. The presence of Virgin Blue, and Qantas-owned regional carrier Impulse, contributed to destructive competition. Now, with Ansett out of the way, air fares are expected to soar.

9 - Boston airport security scare

In Boston, a failed metal detector caused the evacuation of a concourse at Logan International Airport on 25th February. Flights were delayed up to two hours as hundreds of passengers had to be screened again.

The terrorists flights that crashed into the World Trade Centre towers on 11th September originated from Logan.

10 - 2002 edition of Air travel health publication

The 2002 edition of International Travel and Health is now available from the World Health Organization (WHO).

This publication lists health risks and precautions for air travellers, particularly for communicable diseases. But the new book also notes that accidents remain the most common cause of death and injury.

Richard Dawood editor of another publication, Travellers' Health, credited the WHO publication for taking a broad approach to travel health. He also has a list of top travel health risks:

1. accidents and injury
2. malaria
3. diarrhea
4. HIV and venereal diseases such as hepatitis B
5. in-flight conditions such as deep-vein thrombosis

11 - Boeing to build a better 747

Boeing has revealed plans to build new versions of its classic 747 airliners. The new 747s will feature a slightly longer flight range, and reductions in noise levels. There are more demands on aircraft makers and airports to reduce noise levels.

ROAD

12 - 407 tollway increases revenues and losses

407 International announced its year 2001 financial results on 20th February. There were $244 million in revenues last year, compared to $190 million the year before, but the net loss also increased to $97 million from $87 million. 407 International attributed the increased net losses to differences in how it handled financing charges.

40 km of extensions to the Toronto-area 407 toll superhighway opened last year.

RAIL

13 - Ontario Northland update

The future of the Ontario Northland Railway continues to be shrouded in some mystery.

The province is preventing the Internal Solutions Group of ONR workers from revealing details of their proposal, citing the competitive nature of the bids for ONR services.

There is an 8th March deadline for ONR service proposals. This may lead to privatisation of ONR, a situation which is being opposed by many, particularly by North Bay's Mayor.

These developments could lead to the loss of the Northlander passenger train, which is currently running on an inconvenient timetable and experiencing poor on-time performance.

14 - Donut station

One of the latest commercials for the Tim Hortons donut chain featured a story in which a railway crew would stop the train for a donut break.

The location was Ontario's Orangeville-Brampton Railway (OBRY), owned by Cando, featuring actual railway employees. There is actually a track-side Tim Hortons outlet in Orangeville. The next steps for fast food outlets may be to build sidings for take-out service.

15 - Rail service halted in part of Nova Scotia

A strike against the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia (CBCNS) began on 6th February, when 34 workers belonging to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers walked off the job.

The Rail America shortline is maintaining some service through management staff, staff from other Canadian RailAmerica lines, and retirees from CN and CP.

But service east of Port Hawkesbury has been cancelled, cutting off service to industries in North Sydney. One company, Copol, is seeking an injunction from the Nova Scotia government to maintain service, claiming that the suspension of service amounts to a line abandonment that requires a formal application to the province.

Transport 2000 Atlantic is concerned that the section east of Port Hawkesbury is in danger of permanent abandonment, even without a strike situation.

16 - Acadian Lines moves to Halifax VIA station

SMT/Acadian bus lines will move its Halifax terminal to the VIA Rail station this spring, abandoning the existing Almon Street terminal. There are high hopes for intermodal traffic, based on the successful bus connections from Moncton to P.E.I. and Saint John.

Meanwhile, there are growing concerns about Nova Scotia's unregulated shuttle bus industry. Shuttle vans of up to eight seats are exempt even from passenger safety rules, and have been blamed for unfairly competing against the major bus carrier, SMT/Acadian. A federal Senate hearing tour looking into the state of intercity bus services heard these concerns in late February.

17 - Quebec City commuter rail on hold

TRAQ reports that after a third meeting on 22nd February, proposals for commuter rail pilot project in the Quebec City region will not proceed at this time.

18 - Cando rents CP Manitoba line

Cando Contracting Ltd., through its Central Manitoba Railway, has an agreement with CPR to lease the Winnipeg Beach Subdivision. There remain conditions to be cleared, but the deal for the route between Winnipeg and Gimli should be closed by this summer.

Cando: www.candoltd.com

CPR: www.cpr.ca

19 - E&N update

Transport 2000 Canada Vice President West John Bakker and Transport 2000 Canada President Harry Gow wrote to Federal Transport Minister David Collenette regarding the situation on the threatened Vancouver Island E&N Railway line.

While CP and E&N have offered to keep infrastructure in place until 15th July 15, they demand that the additional monthly subsidy be paid (about $150&000 per month) and that municipalities not rezone the rail right-of-way for transportation only.

Meanwhile, the province has legal advice in that since the province gave the land for the railway to the federal government for railway purposes only, that the right-of-way would have to return to the province.

It is feared that CP and E&N want to quickly shut down the railway and rip up the tracks. This could start early in March for the Parksville to Port Alberni branch (E&N) and continue after 15th March for the rest of the line if there is no interim financing to postpone it until July. The province says they have no money and will not do anything.

The most important aspect from Transport 2000's viewpoint is to keep the infrastructure in place and prevent the railways from ripping up the track. This likely means getting E&N (Rail America) and CP out of the picture, and putting in place a more local "not-for-profit" authority to run that railway. However to develop alternate plans or models will take time. In the mean time the infrastructure should stay in place.

TRANSIT

20 - CUTA welcomes Ontario transit investments

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation announced a $100 million transit investment package last month as the first step of the Ontario Transit Renewal Program.

The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) welcomed this development, but noted that the funding levels will not be enough to meet the estimated $4.1 billion in transit funding needs for the next five years, most of which is needed to meet growth demands.

Meanwhile, another provincial programme will provide the Ottawa area alone with over $100 million in road improvements.

21 - Edmonton LRT expansion could be delayed

There are concerns that LRT expansion in Edmonton may not proceed as quickly as intended. Edmonton's Mayor wants to wait to make sure federal and provincial funding is in place first.

A forum on the future of the south LRT will be held on Thursday, 7th March at Edmonton City Hall. A special City Council meeting will take place 18th March on the subject.

Edmonton Better Transit (including details of meetings): http://www.bettertransit.ab.ca/

22 - CALENDAR

Thursday 7 March 2002 - LRT forum at Edmonton City Hall. Details: http://www.bettertransit.ab.ca/

Friday 8 March 2002 - Memorial for John M. Thompson in Toronto. Information: aa233@torfree.net

Monday 11 March 2002 - Transport 2000 Canada Steering Committee in Ottawa. Details: t2000@transport2000.ca.

Saturday 16 March 2002 - Transport 2000 Ontario Annual General Meeting in Hamilton. Information: aa233@torfree.net

Thursday 21 March 2002 - Ottawa Transit Riders Association meeting, evening, downtown Ottawa. Information: otra-info@flora.org

3-5 May 2002 - Transport 2000 Canada Annual General Meeting and Board Meeting in Vancouver. Details: t2000@transport2000.ca.

Thank you for calling the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline. Thanks also to Post Time, TrainsCan and TRAQ for additional items and news tips. For additional information, please contact our web site at:

www.transport2000.ca.