Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

12 June 2009

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 1024, for 12 June 2009.

In this issue...

1 - Calendar

2 - Budget cuts threaten environmentally friendly modes of transportation: David Jeanes, Transport 2000

"The organization representing Canada's municipalities is trying to get out in front of the issue of potential budget cuts, insisting that a ballooning federal deficit must not be made up on the backs of cities and towns ... The concerns come as lobbying groups and organizations get accustomed to a deficit the government announced last week would hit $50-billion this year - $16-billion more than previously predicted," Brian Laghi wrote in the Globe and Mail on June 5.

"Jean Perrault, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, told The Globe and Mail in an interview Wednesday that the shortfall was leading to increasing concerns that Ottawa would cut spending on municipalities ...

"David Jeanes, president of Transport 2000, a public transportation advocacy group, also expressed concern about future restrictions that might make it difficult to expand the use of environmentally friendly modes of transportation. "Somebody's going to have to pay for it," he said" the Globe reported. He noted that Via Rail has received more cash of late, and that more will be needed to deal with issues such as climate change. (Jeanes is also concerned about a 5% budget cut to VIA Rail).

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/cities-voice-concern-over-budget-cuts/article1167772/

3 - Élections au conseil d'administration de l'association Transport 2000 Québec

Au terme d'une élection à l'occasion de l'assemblée générale annuelle des membres de l'association Transport 2000 Québec, les administrateurs ont convenu de nommer monsieur Jean Léveillé président du Conseil pour l'année 2009-2010. On rappelle que monsieur Léveillé a été président pendant la période 2002-2008 et il est resté très actif après son départ en mai 2008.

Monsieur Gagnon restera toutefois au Conseil d'administration en se concentrant sur le dossier du rétablissement de la voie réservée Pie-IX à Montréal.

4 - Transport 2000 Ontario Calls on Minister Baird to Adopt a Share Infrastructure Benefits Rule

One June 9 Transport 2000 Ontario President, Natalie Litwin called on Transportation and Infrastructure Minister John Baird to show flexibility in meeting the City of Toronto's request for federal support for its purchase of a new generation of streetcars under the infrastructure stimulus fund.

"Toronto badly needs new streetcars and Bombardier will build them in Thunder Bay," she said. "If another Ontario municipality gets the jobs for building Toronto's vehicles, what's the big deal?" The federal and provincial governments already support building the new tracks that these streetcars will run on. Ms. Litwin called for amending the rules so that cities could pair up projects that would spread jobs around.

"Getting this infrastructure as soon as possible is the end that we all want. It's time to think outside the box," Ms. Litwin emphasized.

5 - Ottawa transit tunnel route: David Jeanes, Transport 2000

"Municipal officials say they've started discussions with downtown property owners interested in temporarily providing excavation sites for the city's planned light-rail tunnel stations. ... Shafts are needed to bring down finishing materials such as drywall, electrical equipment and lights for the stations, as well as to provide ventilation and emergency access, says Dennis Gratton, a senior project engineer at the city. Observers say the most likely candidates are vacant development sites or surface parking lots," Peter Kovessy wrote in the Ottawa Business Journal on June 8.

"David Jeanes, president of ... Transport 2000, says the proposed location of the east downtown station at O'Connor and Queen streets is too distant to make use of a large 32,000-square-foot parking lot owned by Public Works behind the Lorne Building on Elgin Street, between Albert and Slater streets".

"He is also ruling out a smaller, 13,000-square-foot surface parking lot at the north-west corner of Metcalfe and Slater streets for the same reason. 'I really don't know what the city is going to get in terms of proposals here, but I don't see any real lucrative winners jumping off the map, '" the Business Journal reported.

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/310188359921440.php

6 - Aviation safety: Airlines cut spoon sizes to save on fuel

"In the United States, Northwest Airlines has excluded spoons from its cutlery pack if the in-flight meal does not require one. It is not alone, according to Paul Steele, Director of the environment at IATA. Another carrier, JAL of Japan, took everything it loaded from a 747 and put it on the floor of a school gym to see what it really needed. As a result it shaved a fraction of a centimetre off all its cutlery to cut weight," David Millward of the Telegraph (U.K.) wrote on June 9.

"'When you are talking about a jumbo jet with 400 people on board, being served two to three meals, this can save a few kilos,' he said. 'You work out how much fuel that consumes over a year, and you can be talking about a considerable amount of money'". Other carriers have come up with all sorts of ingenious initiatives to shift the flab off their aircraft. In-flight magazines are going and carriers are even putting their duty-free catalogues onto the seat-back televisions".

"In Kuala Lumpur 226 leading airlines pledged that they would achieve 'carbon-neutral growth' by 2020, meaning that their emissions would be capped - even if the number of planes in the sky increased".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/5484412/Airlines-reduce-size-of-spoons-to-save-fuel-during-recession-says-IATA.html

7 - Hull Chelsea Wakefield Steam Train inaugural run

The Steam Train's official inaugural run will be on June 25 or possibly June 22 to accommodate a senior politician, with a special ride for officials who have contributed to the solution of the slide and infrastructure problems on the Hull Chelsea Wakefield Railway. Ridership on the train is at below normal for this time of year but bookings for the summer are very heavy.

8 - Train à Vapeur marquera l'inauguration

Un voyage spécial du Train à Vapeur marquera l'inauguration officielle de la reprise du Train à Vapeur sur les voies du c f HCW le 25 juin prochain,ou le 22 afin d'accommoder un politicien important, afin de remercier des personnes qui ont contribué à solutionner des problèms (glissement, infrastructure) de la ligne.

Dans le train le nombre de passagers a été un peu modeste,bien que suffisant pour ce temps de l'année, mais les réservations pour l'été sont très nombreuses.

9 - US High speed rail bonds

"The Obama Administration is looking at the creation of a bond program to help fund high speed passenger lines, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has reported. Vice-President Joseph Biden revealed the plan this week, saying it's clear more funding will be needed to make the administration's plan a reality. Biden described the $8 billion allocated for high speed rail in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as a "down payment" on a national fast-train network. "We do know $8 billion is not going to put in place an entire high speed rail system in America, but it's 8 billion times more than we had prior to the recovery act," TRAINS reported on June 5.

Biden said the need for better passenger service is part of the need for "rebalancing" the nation's transportation network.

http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=5152

10 - Big truck debate heats up in the US: No debate in Canada

"Debate is heating up over an issue likely to strike terror in the heart of any driver who has spied an 18-wheeler looming in the rearview mirror as he scrambles into the slow lane: whether even bigger big-rigs should be allowed on the nation's highways," Larry Copeland reported in USA Today on June 5.

"Federal law limits the weight and length of 18-wheeler trailers on the USA's 47,000-mile interstate highway system. Supporters say bigger commercial trucks allow drivers to deliver more freight in fewer trips, thus cutting pollution and reducing congestion on crowded highways. Opponents say the larger trucks would cause more wear-and-tear on the USA's dilapidated roads and bridges and create a greater safety hazard to other drivers".

"Federal law (currently) limits the weight of 18-wheelers to 80,000 pounds and the maximum length to 53 feet".

"'It's a big battle,' says Jackie Gillan, vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and a member of StopBiggerTrucks.org, a campaign urging Congress to reject any weight and size increases for commercial trucks. "These trucking companies don't come close to paying their fair share for the damage they do. The American public is going to pay with their lives and their wallets if this goes through'."

In Canada, where pilot projects testing double (53 foot) trailers are underway in New Brunswick, Ontario and British Columbia, the public is silent.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-06-04-big-trucks-debate_N.htm?csp=34

http://www.stopbiggertrucks.org/

11 - Nova Scotia's Kings Transit use surges

"Kings Transit saw a huge surge in bus commuters on Clean Air Day, showing that people are getting the message about public transportation," Gordon Delaney wrote in the Halifax Chronicle Herald on June 9.

"'Daily ridership last Wednesday almost doubled in Kings County and tripled in Hants County, Ron Mullins, general manager of Kings Transit, said Monday" ... from 1,400 riders to 2,516 that day, with some people standing in the aisles ...,' Mr. Mullins said in an interview". In Hants County the numbers went from 50 to 150," the Chronicle Herald reported.

Kings Transit gave free rides to all on Clean Air Day in Weymouth, Digby County, Brooklyn, and Hants County.

12 - FRA High-Speed Rail Workshops A Great Success Philadephia

"The seventh and final workshop on the rail component of the massive American Recovery and Revitalization Act of the Federal Railroad Administration played to a standing room only crowd Tuesday at the Downtown Marriott Hote (in Philadephia), attended by hundreds of transportation administrators, railroad managers, and advocates from throughout the Northeast. ... 'The success of high-speed rail in America is in your hands,' said FRA Administrator Joseph Szabo in the opening speech. 'It will flourish through the strength of your regional plans and partnerships. Collaboration is vital'" National Corridors reported on June 2.

"In the rail strategic plan issued at the White House in April by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, safety is listed as the number-one goal, followed by economic competitiveness, energy efficiency and environmental quality.

"The FRA will release the rules for applying for ARRA-funded programs on or about June 18, and perhaps slightly before. Proposals will be expected by August/September, the FRA has said," National Corridors reported.

http://www.nationalcorridors.org/df2/df06082009.shtml

13 - Via Rail Canada ready to make a fast start on high speed rail

"The head of Canada's national passenger rail service says that the Crown corporation is ready to make a fast start on high speed rail service and is prepared to be a key player in any new project introduced by the federal government," Mike De Souza of Canwest News Service wrote on June 8.

"Via Rail Canada president and CEO Paul Cote said that ridership and operations have improved consistently over the past two decades, creating a base for a more advanced system. In the meantime, he said, new capital investments of almost $1 billion announced in 2007 are opening the door to faster service". "The current investment of $900 million that the government has allowed us to do will help to continue to build that foundation, because that is the key, when the high speed systems comes into play, if the government goes ahead," said Cote, who appeared last week at parliamentary hearings about high speed rail.

"Cote told the House of Commons Transport committee that the corporation has increased its ridership by 33 per cent and its revenues by 110 per cent since 1990 because of improvements to service and infrastructure," Canwest reported.

http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=cfe9178d-1e75-41ec-95cf-e73959173fc9

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