Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

21 September 2002

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 672, recorded on 21 September 2002, George Wooldridge reporting.

In this issue...

1 - Manitoba VIA routes threatened

The VIA Rail/Hudson Bay mixed trains to Lynn Lake from The Pas Manitoba are under threat as Omnitraks Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) moves to abandon the Cranberry Portage-Lynn Lake segment of the line. The VIA Rail/HBR mixed trains 290 and 291 still serve as a vital link to isolated communities along the line.

2 - Churchill line complaints

The second development is Omnitraks HBR developing a business plan to improve passenger rail service to Churchill. Gary Rennick of HBR charges that VIA Rail ignores complaints of poor service to Churchill and feels the HBR could operate service to Churchill at a higher standard than VIA. However Omnitraks' HBR operates part of the train north of The Pas and their have been complaints service has deteriorated since this change.

3 - Halifax airport expansion

The Halifax International Airport Authority recently unveiled a $110 million renovation program that, over the next four years, will more than double the number of people and aircraft it can handle. However this plan comes just as Yarmouth Nova Scotia loses its air service.

4 - Vancouver-Seattle passenger rail contingency plan

A group called the Discovery Institute based in Seattle is looking to ensure that passenger rail is retained between Seattle and Vancouver if Amtrak is shut down. The plan would involve the state of Washington, the province of British Columbia, and the federal government in Ottawa funding the service. The Discovery Institute envisions development of a high speed corridor between Seattle and Vancouver as part of a Public-Private - Partnership.

5 - BC Rail passenger services about to end

The clock is ticking on BC Rail service between North Vancouver- Lillooet and Prince George. In about five weeks passenger rail will end on the BC Rail system. Only a rail shuttle for isolated communities will continue between D'arcy and Lillooet.

BC Rail will discontinue the Cariboo Prospector service a $5 million per year loss and $30 million cited cost to replace the 50 year old RDCs that are utilised on the service.

6 - Prince George Mayor calls for end to passenger abandonments

Prince George Mayor Colin Kinsley requested a moratorium on passenger rail service abandonments and any changes to the BC Rail rail infrastructure network in Northern BC. However the province has so far been unresponsive to this call.

7 - CASO line battle continues

The struggle to retain the Canadian Southern Railway (CASO) continues. Transport 2000 member Raymond Dartsch in a letter to the Dundas Star News called upon the province of Ontario to invest funds from provincial government's Smart Growth infrastructure funding into retaining the line. Dartsch also called upon the City of Hamilton to assist in efforts to revitalize the vital rail link in order to avoid CN moving all its freight traffic through Hamilton causing further urban congestion.

The European Union has cleared the way for a new owner to take control of Britain troubled rail infrastructure system within weeks, after regulators approved of the failed network operator Railtrack's stake in the Channel Tunnel link. The government said it would apply to the High Court later this month to have insolvent rail network operator Railtrack handed over to state financed Network Rail, nearly a year after Railtrack was forced into administration.

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www.transport2000.ca.