Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

5 August 2002

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 665, recorded on 5 August 2002, David Leibold reporting.

In this issue...

1 - Jean Gosselin, 81; Quebec rail author

Jean Gosselin, a Quebec author of three books during his railroading career with CN, died on 2nd August. He was 81. His last publication on the OS-Charny was edited by Louis-François Garceau for the TRAQ Group.

For details see TRAQ Hebdo 3 Aug 2002.

2 - Significant federal railway investments rumoured

Railways in Canada could receive as much as $3 billion in federal funding for new or upgraded facilities, if the federal government proceeds with a rail renewal plan that was the subject of recent media reports. This could mean a number of railway road grade separations or improvements to allow heavier and faster trains on tracks.

3 - Transit strikes affect 2001 national ridership figures

Canadian Urban Transit Association figures released on 29th July indicate a tiny 0.9% drop in transit ridership during 2001 compared to 2000. This represents total ridership of 1.47 billion.

Transit strikes in Calgary and Vancouver were blamed for the lack of national ridership growth. Non-striking transit systems enjoyed a 2.6% combined ridership increase.

4 - Trucks not paying fully for highway damage

Costs of truck damage on Canada's highways are the target of the latest report commissioned by the Railway Association of Canada.

Taxpayers spend $12 billion on roads each year in Canada, a cost which RAC President Bill Rowat declared "unsustainable".

RAC is concerned that there is no cost allocation evaluation which includes effects of different types of vehicles. Also missing is a proper and current cost and cost recovery balance sheet for Canada's highway system. The last study of costs by vehicle type was conducted in 1989.

This latest announcement demonstrates that Canada's railway industry will continue to counter trucking industry claims that road users pay more road-related costs than they get back in road facilities and benefits. Transport Canada has reported a $5.5 billion shortfall in road revenues versus road costs in 1993. U.S. Department of Transportation figures indicate that heavy tractor-trailers over 100 000 pounds pay only 40 per cent of their road costs.

Meanwhile, a heavy truck incurs tens of thousands times more damage to the pavement than does a car.

5 - World Youth Day strains Toronto transit

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims placed stress on Toronto's transit network during the World Youth Day celebrations in Toronto in late July. The event, featuring a visit by Pope John Paul II, is seen as a test of Toronto's capability to host major events such as the Olympics. Visitors flocked to the streetcars and buses in large numbers, causing much greater crowding than usual for regular TTC users.

TTC issued special transit passes valid for the date of the Papal Mass, 28th July. One Papal pass was sold on the ebay Internet auction service for about $173 Canadian. Papal passes were sold to the public for $4 each through regular transit vendors.

6 - Toronto Union Station redevelopment secrecy

Toronto City Council has chosen the Union Pearson Group consortium to undertake a major redevelopment of Toronto Union Station. Last week's announcement was controversial in that most of the motions surrounding this decision were conducted in secret, not in the public Council sessions. However, there remain negotiations with Union Pearson to be finalised by the fall and returned to Council for final approval.

Chicago-based LP Heritage + Union Station Consortium is an alternate choice should the City and Union Pearson fail to finalise an agreement on Union Station development.

7 - Ottawa suburban VIA station open this fall

VIA Rail's new Ottawa suburban station at Fallowfield will open 27th October. The design for the $1.2 million station was made public last week. A major park and ride and transit station is also at the Fallowfield site.

Nepean-Carleton MP David Pratt had been working towards this project for many years, during the time he was Nepean Councillor and then Regional Councillor.

The new station will be a stop for VIA trains between Ottawa and Toronto. No direct service between Fallowfield and Montreal is planned for now.

8 - Alstom wins New York subway contract over Bombardier

Alstom won a contract to build up to 1700 subway cars for New York in a deal which could be worth up to USD$2.4 billion. Bombardier also wanted to win this contract.

See Alstom press page.

Bombardier at least was successful in winning another contract to supply and maintain 180 suburban Electrostar cars for UK rail operator Connex South Eastern. That deal is worth CAD$561 million.

9 - Student transit passes

University of Calgary students will be paying $50 per semester as of this fall in a deal which will entitle students to use Calgary Transit services. That fee increases to $56 next year. Students at Calgary's SAIT were already paying a $35 per semester transit fee, but that arrangement is being renegotiated.

The cost for students is considerably cheaper than the standard monthly passes, but the transit fee must be paid by all students, even those not using transit.

Student passes are in effect in some Canadian cities. University of Victoria students have a mandatory $47/semester pass. Some places also make available a discounted 4-month pass for advance purchase.

Meanwhile, post-secondary students are still trying to negotiate a transit deal with Edmonton Transit. The latest offer from transit officials is a $120 mandatory fee per student per four-month semester.

10 - Light truck hits transit bus

A Metro Transit bus was damaged early last month in a collision with a sport utility vehicle. The light truck was driven by Halifax Regional Municipality chief administrative officer George McLellan, who was issued a police citation for failing to obey a traffic signal. There were no serious injuries.

11 - Montreal business transit tax proposed

Montreal City officials have proposed that businesses pay a transit tax to support STM operations. The transit tax is modelled after a similar mechanism used in France for the past decade. Parking taxes are also being proposed for transit funding.

This follows a Québec government review of urban transit in the province to determine which governments and parties should share transit financing.

Business leaders are complaining about more taxes for transit, although there are few expressed concerns about more government expenses for roadways.

12 - Overnight train returns to Ottawa

Overnight VIA Rail service will be restored between Ottawa and Toronto on 27th October, making it possible for Ottawa passengers to connect with the transcontinental in Toronto without an overnight stay. Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montreal overnight trains were eliminated in the massive 1990 cutbacks to VIA. Toronto-Montreal overnight service was recently restored as the Enterprise route.

13 - PEI residents critical of transit delays

Charlottetown residents have a longer wait for the bus as a final report on the proposed city transit service continues to be delayed. Criticism of the delays comes from P.E.I. Public Transportation Coalition, a group seeking the return of local passenger service in the provincial capital.

An initial report on transit was released by Entra in April, recommending that the system be based on vans, taxis and 22-seat buses. The service day would start at 7am and end at 11pm. A revised report was expected at the end of July, but citizens are concerned that the new report may indicate reduced service from the initial recommendations.

14 - Marine Atlantic scrambles over safety shortfall

Marine Atlantic recently spent $2 million in safety retraining for crew members following the results of a Transport Canada safety audit last fall. The audit findings were only discovered after CBC News requested details under federal access to information provisions. Almost 40 safety recommendations included situations such as blocked escape routes and poor staff training.

Marine Atlantic is a federal crown corporation that operates ferry services between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

15 - Canola fuel for Saskatoon Transit

Two Saskatoon Transit buses are expected to try canola biodiesel fuel next month. It is hoped that canola oil will be effective in reducing petroleum emissions, while having the advantage of cheaper costs in using raw materials grown in the Prairies, compared to soybean biodiesels that are imported from America.

16 - Windsor border crossing may demand new superhighway

Congestion at Ontario/Michigan border crossings could lead to new superhighway facilities ripping through the city of Windsor. Since Highway 401 on the Ontario side ends outside the city of Windsor, traffic to and from the border must make lengthy and time-consuming journeys on city streets.

Proposals from the tunnel and bridge border crossing operators would see new dedicated and express road spaces, with an expanded customs plaza, to connect the Ambassador Bridge with Highway 401.

A Bi-National Planning Study is currently under way, conducted jointly by U.S. and Canadian governments, as the first stage of an environmental and planning process.

Meanwhile, the Canada/U.S. border is expected to slow down this month. U.S. troops which were deployed to assist border crossing inspections will now move to other duties, leaving only American customs agents to work the points of entry.

There is also no word on whether the International passenger rail route will move its crossing to Windsor/Detroit. For now, the joint VIA/Amtrak service continues to cross at Sarnia/Port Huron.

17 - New transit proposal for Vancouver airport

The latest transit proposal to serve the Vancouver International Airport is a $2 billion plan from some business interests for a line along Cambie and Richmond's Number 3 Road. It is hoped that recent federal interest in transit projects plus the region's bid for the 2010 Olympics will support the corridor. A previous plan along Arbutus met with resistance from residents who did not want the route in their backyards.

18 - Same name, different country

A CBC TV report on the weekend featured a pair of travellers from the UK who were on vacation in Sydney. The problem was that their flight booking was supposed to be for Sydney, Australia but the flight they got was for Sydney, Nova Scotia. The moral of the story is to never underestimate ambiguities when travelling globally.

19 - Nav Canada 3rd quarter results

Third-quarter results from national air controller Nav Canada were released 22nd July for the period ending 31st May 2002. Total air traffic remained 14% lower than expected, mainly due to loss of air capacity following last September's American terrorist attacks. This resulted in Nav Canada net quarterly results being $3 million lower than expected, or $12 million more expenses than revenues.

20 - Calendar

Next Transport 2000 Ontario Board meeting is in September; there is no meeting in August.

Transport 2000 Canada Steering Committee: Wednesday 21 August 2002 in Ottawa.

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www.transport2000.ca.