Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

16 October 2009

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 1042, for 16 October 2009.

In this issue...

1 - Calendar

2 - Transport 2000 Canada: AGM: October 24: 1:00 pm: Ottawa

Transport 2000 Canada will hold its Annual General Meeting in Ottawa at 1:00 pm, at the Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Ave (at Lisgar) Rm. 221. (Transport 2000's office is Rm. 303). A short business meeting will be followed by an expert panel discussion on Ottawa's rail transit technology selection, proposed downtown transit tunnel and interprovincial transit. There will also be a briefing on our involvement with air passenger safety issues.

3 - Hotline volunteers needed: Add your voice

Almost every week for 1042 issues the Hotline's been recorded and made available at 1-800-771-5035. Quite a few Transport 2000 supporters dial our 1-800 number for their news. More volunteers are needed to fill our roster of Hotline recorders, writers and researchers. The Hotline can be recorded remotely. All stories and research can be filed by email. To volunteer for the Hotline email t2000@transport2000.ca or phone (613) 594-3290.

4 - Red Deer high-speed rail seminar: The time is now

On Oct. 14 the Calgary Sun reported: "Tiny Kenya is set to replace its British-colonial-era rail curiosity with a modern, fast rail system to carry goods and people. The new line, to cost about $5 billion over five years, is seen as an opportunity to improve economic ties within that country and with the rest of east Africa, according to British media reports."

"As for when we should take the leap, Paul Langan has no doubt now is the right time. Langan, who heads a non-profit, independent high-speed rail advocacy group, is to speak to about 100 people Red Deer tonight about the proposed Calgary-Red Deer-Edmonton fast train," the Sun's Ricky Leong wrote.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/columnists/ricky_leong/2009/10/14/11393926-sun.html

5 - La position du Maire Trembly visant à hausser les tarifs du transport en commun: Transport 2000 Québec

Montréal, le 9 octobre 2009 - L'association Transport 2000 Québec a décidé de ne pas prendre position dans la campagne électorale en cours, à Montréal et dans les autres municipalités, mais tient à réagir pour dénoncer la volonté du parti Union Montréal, dont le maire de Montréal est chef, d'augmenter une nouvelle fois les tarifs du transport en commun en 2010, en plus de laisser planer l'incertitude quant à la situation budgétaire à la Société de transport de Montréal (STM). En revanche, les partis Projet Montréal et Vision Montréal se sont engagés respectivement à réduire et à geler le niveau des tarifs en 2010. Le fardeau pour les usagers s'est considérablement alourdi au fil des ans et l'Association salue cette ouverture des deux partis d'opposition.

Comme l'a déclaré le président de l'Association monsieur Jean Léveillé, « il faut être conséquent lorsqu'on affirme sur toutes les tribunes qu'on favorise le développement et l'utilisation accrus des transports collectifs et qu'on pénalise les usagers avec des hausses de tarifs à répétition. Non seulement ces hausses tarifaires sont loin d'être la vache à lait espérée pour financer le transport en commun, elles ne contribuent qu'à renforcer l'exclusion sociale des individus les moins fortunés ».

6 - Feds give $50 million to improve traffic flow at city ports: Waterfront Station

On Oct. 13 funding was announced for rail overpasses in Vancouver along the Burrard inlet railway lines. The Vancouver Sun story identifies one major overpass at Powell Street where the CN/BNSF line connects to the CPR line in the waterfront area. Matthew Buchanan, Transport 2000 BC vice president reports: "The CN/BNSF line hosts passenger trains from Amtrak and VIA, but currently there are no passenger trains that connect to Waterfront station on the CPR line. With an overpass and a reconfigured track connection between the two lines, it is possible that another 'West Coast Express' service serving the communities south of the Fraser River could connect at Waterfront station.

"Perhaps this is still far-fetched, but it could be a long term possibility. The overpass would allow the trains from the CPR and CN/BNSF companies to connect better and improve efficiency of operations," Transport 2000's Matthew Buchanan reports.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Feds+give+million+improve+traffic+flow+city+ports/2098184/story.html

7 - Musée ferroviaire à Charny: Transport sur rail au Québec

Le 22 octobre 2009, Louis-François Garceau va passer en direct à l'émission "C'est ça la vie" de Radio-Canada (14 h 00 - 15 h 00), pour parler exclusivement du Groupe TRAQ et de son Musée ferroviaire à Charny. Pour plus information svp contactez Le Groupe TRAQ, C.P. No. 45005, Charny (Québec) G6X 3R4 (418) 832-1502

http://www.groupe-traq.com

8 - Highway 407 easterly expansion puts GTA on the wrong track

On Oct. 16 environmental and transportation groups urged Ontario's Environment Minister to reject the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed Highway 407 expansion east to Highway 115/35. Negative impacts on the environment, local agriculture and identified problems with the modeling used to justify the highway expansion are enough for the Minister of the Environment to say "no" to the project.

"The Ministry of Transportation justified this extension with a flawed process of transportation modeling," says Peter Miasek of Transport 2000 Ontario. "They failed to adequately consider various other alternatives, such as a shorter freeway extension combined with regional road upgrades east of Oshawa. There appears to be poor justification for the eastern parts of the freeway, which run almost entirely in the Greenbelt. However, the Ministry jumped immediately to a full blown 70 km project."

9 - Making tracks to oblivion: Ottawa LRT

On Oct. 13 Ken Gray wrote in the Ottawa Citizen: "So Mayor Larry O'Brien is off to talk to the province about more money for Ottawa's $2-billion to $2.5-billion light-rail and tunnel project ... the premier is apprehensive about the tunnel. So too is his senior minion for eastern Ontario, Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Watson, who O'Brien just insulted by twisting the minister's reference to 9/11 and tunnel security. Is a favour coming from Queen's Park?."

Gray predicts LRT in Ottawa will be nothing but talk until after next year's municipal elections. The Citizen columnist notes: "Interestingly, Houston is building two new light-rail lines totally funded by the Obama stimulus package. Those lines are expected to produce 60,000 jobs. Houston was ready. Ottawa wasn't."

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Making+tracks+oblivion/2098804/story.html

10 - Trams shipped for Vancouver's False Creek light-rail line

"The city of Brussels on Monday shipped two state-of-the-art light-rail trams to Vancouver, on loan to use during the 2010 Winter Games on a refurbished 1.8-kilometre line along False Creek. The vehicles, which were built by Canadian transportation giant Bombardier at its Bruges plant in Belgium, will operate 18 hours a day, seven days a week during the Olympic and Paralympic period between Granville Island and the Vancouver Athletes' Village," the Vancouver Sun reported on Oct. 13.

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Brussels+ships+trams+False+Creek+line/2095559/story.html

11 - Metrolinx diesels roar through blogger's loophole

"My position is ... the numbers used by Metrolinx to substantiate their claims about comparative pollution of auto and train travel are seriously flawed to the point that claims made by Metrolinx and the government are simply not true," Steve Munro wrote on Oct. 9. "An additional problem came to light earlier today. On its website, Metrolinx characterizes the decision (one way): However, the order actually reads ..."

On Oct. 14 the Globe and Mail reported: "Cleanup won't affect all GO Trains, ministry says -- Switch to cleaner diesel trains on Georgetown South expansion won't affect Milton, Barrie or Bolton lines."

http://stevemunro.ca

12 - US road deaths down for the first half of 2009: No data available for Canada

"The risk of dying in a traffic accident has dropped nearly 18 percent since 2005, including a drop of 7 percent in the first half of this year, according to preliminary statistics released Friday by the Transportation Department," the New York Times reported on Oct. 9.

"The recession and high gas prices have helped a bit by reducing the number of miles traveled, and perhaps cutting average speed, at least for part of the period. But that is a small part of the improvement. Measured by deaths per miles traveled, a yardstick that filters out the effect of less driving, the death rate is down by 16.1 percent from 2005 to the first half of 2009," Matthew L. Wald wrote.

The social cost of collisions in Canada is estimated at $62.7 billion each year. The most recent Canadian statistics cover 2006.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/tp-tp14800-menu-159.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/us/10traffic.html

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www.transport2000.ca.