Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

15 June 2002

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 658, recorded on 15 June 2002, Harry Gow reporting.

In this issue...

In this issue, rail, air, marine and transit items:

1 - Transport 2000 appreciates its supporters

First, Transport 2000 Canada wants to thank generous donors who have responded to our latest appeal. One generous Atlantic member sent a cheque for $2000, and a total of $1800 in other cheques came in last week alone! We ask all these donors to accept our grateful thanks!

2 - Transport 2000 Québec 25th anniversary AGM

Félicitations: Following the 25th anniversary AGM of Transport 2000 Québec the association has a new President, Jean Léveillé, who succeeds Luc Coté (Luc is still T2 Canada's Eastern Vice-President). Mr. Léveillé works for the Université de Montréal. He promoted the creation of the wildly successful Blainville suburban train as President of Accès-Nord. At the same 25th anniversary AGM, founder Harry Gow was honoured with a plaque and the status of Honorary member. A week before, a 25th Anniversary dinner at the Reine Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal attracted 300 people to hear Québec Minister of Transport Serge Ménard speak in praise of public transit and of Transport 2000 Québec. Sadly, there was an empty place at the head table, as Guy Chartrand, former President of both T2 Québec and T2 Canada, is very ill and is confined to his home on Île Perrot. Nous souhaitons bonne chance et prompte rétablissement à Guy. Nos pensées sont avec lui et Diana.

3 - Video shows van driver ignored crossing warnings

Last week's car accident at a grade crossing North of Toronto was reported by some media as a "fatal railway accident". In fact the driver of a van with 5 men on board appears to have ignored the flashing lights and ringing bells at the Rivermede Road grade crossing to be hit by a GO train which had a video camera in the nose. This showed the "van entered the crossing and ... stopped in the middle", police said. Concrete proof of media distortion! - Ed. (source: G & M)

4 - New labour deal for CN's US engineers

Canadian National Railway and its locomotive engineers in the USA have reached a ground-breaking deal that eliminates all the old work rules in exchange for job security and guaranteed time off for employees. The company would like to explore a similar model with its engineers in Canada in the next round of negotiations. (Source: Virginia Gault, G & M)

5 - CTA rules shortline can't use CN line

Canadian National Railway does not have to give access to its track to a short-line operator even though CNR failed to provide adequate service to a specialty prairie shipper, the Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled. The decision follows a complaint by Naber Seed & Grain Co Ltd. which also suggested that Hudson Bay Railway Co. of Edmonton be allowed to use CN track to make up for the shortfall in service. The agency instead ordered CN to take steps to assure service for Melfort-based Naber.

6 - Feds told that saving E&N can help clear the air

Environment Minister David Anderson could save taxpayers billions of dollars and give his Kyoto clean-air campaign a stronger push by joining in the campaign to revitalize the Esquimault & Nanaimo Railway, said Brendan Read, vice-chair of the SaveRail Coalition (www.saverail.org) in a recent statement. The campaign to save the line continues in an atmosphere of brinkmanship.

7 - Québec planning Métro upgrades

The Québec government will announce an allocation of $311 million for renewal of Métro fixed equipment. 26 stations will get new communications and ventilation systems. The 'feds' will contribute $200M of this and the STM will put in $60M. The system's computers dating from 1988 will be replaced as will the 1960's lighted track panel. (The panel should go to the railway museum in Delson - Ed.).

8 - Rail expansion study for Ottawa

According to LE DROIT a study on expansion of the light rail line in Ottawa will gain a $100 000 grant from Transport Canada. This will be added to $100 000 obtained from the FCM Green Fund. The City of Ottawa will spend $400 000 for the Totten Sims Hubicki Assoc./Earth Tech Canada study. The City will hold an open-door session of LRT expansion on Thursday 20th June from 4 to 9 pm at Lansdowne Park.

9 - Busways and GO Transit

Meanwhile GO Transit is being sold a bill of goods by consultants to the effect that bus rapid transit will be "cheaper than light rail". Some of the same people once made the same hollow promise to Ottawa which has opted for light rail after two decades of cost over-runs on Ottawa's once-vaunted Transitway system. When will "they" ever learn? Meanwhile the Province of Ontario is studying the wider use of transit in superhighway corridors. Transport 2000 has commented that this is not a panacea, given problems of pedestrian access and station siting.

10 - Westjet gains, possibly at Air Canada's expense

On a more positive note, Westjet has 51.5 more revenue passenger miles in May this year than in May 2001. Load factor however slipped from 75.1 per cent from 76.1 per cent. Air Canada is also making gains, but it may be losing money, Peter Fitzpatrick says in the Financial Post. The airline carried 4.1% more passengers than in May 2001, and reported a 76% load factor, short of the 82.4% needed to break even.

11 - St Lawrence plans cause environmental concerns

An American proposal to enlarge the St. Lawrence Seaway to Panamax dimensions is meeting opposition because of environmental effects. Species invasion is already a major problem in the Great Lakes, and Stephanie Weiss of Save the River, called spending on this proposal "wasteful". Environmental issues include dredging of animal habitat, oil spills, and widened channels 'sucking down water like drains'. The extra take of water could lower the lakes' water level, says the Georgian Bay Association. The US Corps of Engineers is however fond of these destructive boondoggles for the benefit of the inland waterway industry.

Thank you for calling the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline.

Encore, félicitations à Transport 2000 Québec!

For additional information, please contact our web site at:

www.transport2000.ca.