Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

23 July 2009

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 1030, for 23 July 2009.

In this issue...

Note: There was no hot line last week because of summer holidays (and travel by a volunteer). Our apologies.

1 - Calendar

2 - Via Rail strike: Impact on travellers in remote areas

A strike by Via Rail locomotive engineers began at noon ET on July 24.

"While many travellers may be able to find alternatives in the well-serviced corridor, options are more limited in remote areas serviced by the passenger railway system, said David Jeanes, president of Transport 2000," CP's Ross Marowits reported on July 22.

The Canadian Press reported the 340 engineers are represented by Teamsters Canada. It said the railway last faced a strike in 1995.

http://www.cftktv.com/news/14/964658

FLASH (26 July 2009): The Via strike suddenly ended early Sunday, with Via and the Teamsters union proceeding to binding arbitration. Most routes should return to full service by Monday. (from VIA Rail strike update)

3 - Federal inspection for planes is far weaker than for cold cuts

"While food safety oversight clearly left a lot to be desired last summer -- as detailed by the independent report on the listeriosis outbreak released this week -- it is unsettling to realize that when the two regulatory systems are compared, oversight of the aviation industry is much weaker," Daniel Slunder, national chair of the Canadian Federal Pilots Association wrote in the Ottawa Citizen on July 23.

"[T]he fundamental difference between the food and aviation industries when it comes to safety oversight. Government inspectors verify compliance by on-site inspection and data review for the food industry while aviation inspections are limited to a company's management system, and regulators rely on unverified data supplied by the companies themselves. This approach is contrary to international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to which Canada is a signatory," the Citizen op-ed read.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/Federal+inspection+planes+weaker+than+cold+cuts/1818555/story.html

4 - British government announces electrification programme

British transport secretary Lord Andrew Adonis has announced plans for the country's first major electrification project for more than two decades," the International Railway Journal reported on July 23.

Planning will start immediately on the electrification of the Great Western Main Line (GWML) from London to Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea, together with the lines from Reading to Newbury and Didcot to Oxford. The £1 billion project will be implemented in phases, with the final section due for completion in 2017, when London - Swansea journey times will be reduced by 19 minutes.

The project will include resignalling with the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), the first application of this technology on a British mainline.

5 - TGV Québec-Windsor : La Ville d'Ottawa manquera-t-elle le train?

« Six villes faisant partie d'un éventuel tracé ont participé à l'étude. Les Villes d'Ottawa et de Gatineau ne souhaitent pas participer à une vaste étude sur la viabilité d'un projet de train à grande vitesse (TGV), qui circulerait dans le corridor Québec-Windsor. Pourtant, six autres villes situées sur cet éventuel tracé sont déjà en train de placer leurs pions » SRC Ottawa a rapporté le 16 juillet.

« Radio-Canada a appris que le maire d'Ottawa n'a pas jugé bon de discuter de cette étude sur le TGV avec la haute direction de la Ville ou les autres élus.

« Selon David Jeanes, président de Transport 2000, l'inaction de la Ville d'Ottawa pourrait coûter cher, car le tracé le plus direct entre Québec et Windsor longe le fleuve St-Laurent et ne passe pas par la capitale fédérale. « Si ces deux villes ne participent pas, on aura la possibilité que le trajet passe ailleurs », souligne-t-il.» SRC Ottawa a rapporté.

6 - Huron Rail line closure means up to 50,000 more big trucks a year to Highway 17

"An estimated 12,000 trucks per year would be put back on the highways just from Domtar's operations as a result of the line closure. Espanola councillors expressed concern over what toll that would take on the local highways. Factoring traffic from the other major users of the rail line, there could be as many as 50,000 additional big rigs on the road each year. It was noted at the Sault Ste. Marie meeting that the situation could put a microscope over the state of Highway 17 between that city and Greater Sudbury," Railway Track & Structures reported on July 23.

7 - Province not interested in Huron Rail

"While provincial representatives have said that the Ontario government doesn't fund major railway corporations such as Canadian Pacific or Canadian National, CP could opt to sell the line to a consortium of municipalities if the province didn't want to purchase it," the Sault Star reported.

CAPT contends that while the provincial government has dumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Ontario's roads, an investment of $100 million in rail service would be better served to provide a good, environmentally clean and quick transportation service," Elaine Della-Mattia wrote in July 19 edition of the Sault Star.

"Widespread alarm and criticism have had an effect on the Ontario attitude toward support for the Huron Central. While speaking at the inauguration of a co-generation plant in Sault Ste Marie, Premier Dalton McGuinty told assembled businesspeople, labour and media representatives that the Government of Ontario will now consider assistance to area stakeholders in revitalising the line". Source: SOOTODAY.com.

http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1664402

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