Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

6 April 2002

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 648, recorded on 6 April 2002, David Leibold reporting.

In this issue...

1 - Canada Southern abandonment to proceed

The Hamilton Spectator has reported (5th April 2002) that CN will proceed to rip up the tracks of much of the Canada Southern Railway (CASO) line between St Thomas and Attercliffe (Dunnville-area). Only fragmented portions will remain: a Windsor to St Thomas section, plus a section linking Attercliffe with Welland and Fort Erie, and a short section in Hagersville.

CN crews are now working on removing the tracks, a job which should be complete by summer. CN claims there were no solid sale offers on the route, on which the rail companies have not run a train for six years. Some municipalities along the route were interested in purchasing the line, but an $8.3 million sale price and the lack of enthusiasm from the Haldimand/Norfolk region prevented that plan from moving ahead.

The CASO was built in the late 1800s, and was once part of the New York Central and Michigan Central rail empires. The line played a key role in passenger and freight travel between Detroit and New York, despite the border crossings.

CN and CP became joint owners of the line in 1985 and had promised to operate CASO until 2005. The federal government dissolved that agreement in the late 1990s, and deals between CN and CP to reroute freight off the CASO were made.

CN claims the CASO is redundant with the existing Windsor-London main line. But CN freight activity has grown to the point where VIA passenger trains are regularly delayed due to freight congestion, and makes additional passenger frequencies problematic. There are also fewer alternate routes in the rail networks in case of congestion or derailment.

The loss of railway infrastructure, and the excessive gain of new road corridors, marks a failure in senior government transport policies: rails can be abandoned in the private interests, while roads are unsustainably supported on the pretext of the public interest.

2 - Professor seeks higher speed limits on superhighways

University of Toronto civil engineering professor Baher Abdulhai wants to see Ontario superhighways move at super speed. He wants Highway 401 for example to move at 130 km/h, up from its existing 100 km/h limit claiming improvements in vehicle and road quality warrant this. The Canadian Automobile Association supports this plan, claiming that extremely few drivers follow the existing speed limit anyway. Police officials are objecting to this for safety reasons.

3 - Halifax practices parking over passenger transport

A major $12 million parking garage opened this week in downtown Halifax. Environmentalists pointed out that these funds could have established commuter rail from suburban Sackville to downtown Halifax, or purchased 28 badly needed buses for Metro Transit. On Friday the Ecology Action Centre was joined by Transport 2000 Atlantic in a protest at the site. On the bright side, the new MetroPark garage will have designated carpool spaces and bicycle racks.

4 - Air Canada doubles fuel surcharge

Air Canada announced Thursday that its fuel surcharge will be doubled to $15 for each one-way flight later this month. Air Canada introduced the fuel surcharge a year ago due to skyrocketing jet fuel prices. Then with lower fuel prices this past fall and winter it was cut in half. Various taxes and fees now equal 60 to 100% of the advertised base fares of many airlines.

5 - Air Canada regional carrier gets a name

Air BC, Air Nova, Air Ontario and Canadian Regional air carriers have been combined under a new name: Air Canada Jazz (www.flyjazz.com). The new name was announced 27th March.

6 - VIA ridership growth continues

VIA Rail's ridership continues to show large gains over last year. System-wide, revenue is up 16% and passengers up 23%. On the eastern long-haul Ocean-Chaleur traffic is up 14% with most of the increase in sleeper service, while in the corridor ridership is up a whopping 28%.

7 - BCR Marine to be sold

BCR Group, the British Columbia provincial crown corporation which owns BC Rail, intends to sell its BCR Marine operations. The sale would include Canadian Stevedoring, Casco Terminals and Vancouver Wharves.

8 - Driving under the cellular influence

UK-based Transport Research Laboratory recently found that drivers who use a cellphone are about 30% more impaired than drivers whose blood alcohol level is slightly over the legal limit. Their study, funded by an insurance company, examined driver performance and reaction times under the influence of both alcohol and mobile phones.

A bill to outlaw cellphone use while driving is before Britain's Parliament, with second reading due within days.

Meanwhile, in Canada, the Traffic Injury Research Foundation announced survey results in which half of the respondents wanted a cellphone driving ban.

9 - Transport Canada publishes urban transit studies

Transport Canada has released three studies on Canada's urban transit, following up on a federal commitment to improve transit facilities.

The first study, National Vision for Transit in Canada to 2020, was produced by IBI Group. This looks at long-term trends, international case studies and existing municipal vision statements, and proposes targets for urban transit ridership and calls for more efficient transit services.

The second study, Urban Transit in Canada - Taking Stock was produced by consultants McCormick Rankin. This describes current conditions of transit, traditional funding trends and looks at future needs. It calls for supportive transport demand management, better access to capital funding for infrastructure, sufficient operating funding and more transit vehicles of better durability.

The third study, Economic Study to Establish a Cost-Benefit Framework for the Evaluation of Various Types of Transit Investments, was produced by HLB Decision Economics. This provides an analytical framework to assess transit investments, and includes notions of how transit investment pays back in terms of more efficient urban travel, reduced emissions, reduced collisions and improved community linkages.

Transport Canada continues with its Transportation Blueprint process, which the transit studies may affect.

The Prime Minister's Caucus Task Force on Urban Issues will also receive these latest transit studies. That committee is looking at ways of supporting quality of life in the nation's cities. An interim report is expected to be published this month, with a final report by December.

The Canadian Urban Transit Association welcomed the release of these studies, and their conclusions for better transit funding from both the federal and provincial governments.

For further information, see: Transport Canada transit studies page.

10 - Railway association promotes intermodal transport

Intermodal systems are essential to a sustainable transportation strategy according to the Railway Association of Canada. The U.S. and Europe are ahead of Canada in rail policy, according to a recent Toronto Railway Club speech by RAC chief Bill Rowat.

11 - Runaway truck tire smashes bus shelter

Two people at a Toronto bus stop were severely injured by a runaway truck tire on 3rd April. A second flying truck tire struck a minivan, without causing additional injuries.

Police are continuing to investigate this latest case of truck wheel separation. They have so far found that many studs on the truck wheel were rusted out. A police source also warned there is still about one truck wheel separation each month in the Toronto region alone.

12 - Truck emissions to be eliminated

The federal government announced draft regulations to eliminate most smog-causing pollutants from trucks, including sport-utility vehicles and heavy trucks. Effective with the 2007 model year, nitrogen oxide emissions would be slashed by 95%, while particulates are reduced by 90%. Regulations already call for a 97% reduction in sulphur in truck diesel fuel.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance cautiously welcomed the plans, especially since the U.S. will also be subject to similar regulations. But the truck lobby complains that emissions standards do not apply to the rail freight industry where their diesel fuel was described as "home furnace oil".

13 - Keeping tired truckers on the road

An international research program is looking at new technologies to expand the level fatigue management among truckers. Trucking associations and federal governments in both the U.S. and Canada are sponsoring this $1 million program. Futuristic safety systems being tested include:

14 - Toronto Transit strike threat

Toronto's transit service could be shut down on 8th April as the Amalgamated Transit Union enters a legal strike position. GO Transit and taxis warn that their services will not handle thousands of displaced TTC riders.

The last TTC strike interrupted service for two days in 1999. Talks are continuing between the TTC and ATU, with a provincial mediator.

15 - The cost of road crashes

The Traffic Injury Research Foundation reports that road crashes cost the Canadian economy $25 billion per year.

16 - Calendar

Thanks to Raymond Dartsch, Dan Hammond and John Pearce for several items this week.

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

www.transport2000.ca.