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| Transport Action Hotline - 5 April 2010 | |||||||||||
In this issue...This is the Transport Action Hotline, issue number 1066, for 5 April 2010.
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1 - Calendar
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2 - Transport Action panel presentations on the Detroit River International CrossingExcellent presentations from the March 27 Transport Action event on DRIC are now available on the web. The presentations include:
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3 - 200 millions de dollars dans le financement du lien ferroviaire entre l'ouest de l'île de MontréalLe 31 mars 2010 l'association Transport 2000 Québec accueille avec beaucoup d'enthousiasme la nouvelle du ministre des Finances Raymond Bachand, contenue dans le budget, qui prévoit investir 200 millions de dollars dans le financement du lien ferroviaire entre l'ouest de l'île de Montréal, le secteur de l'aéroport international et le centre-ville de la Métropole. Comme le rapportait monsieur Jean Léveillé, président du Conseil, «il y a déjà un consensus métropolitain autour de ce projet et l'appui du gouvernement du Québec vient renforcer ce consensus auprès d'Ottawa pour compléter le financement. La balle est donc maintenant dans le camp du gouvernement fédéral! ».Par contre, Transport 2000 craint que la surtaxe sur l'essence qui pourrait être appliquée dans la Région métropolitaine n'apporte rien de plus au transport en commun ni aux usagers, sinon que d'éponger des déficits budgétaires accumulés qui devraient être assumés par les villes. Il n'y a pas vraiment de balises pour l'affectation de ces sommes qui demeureront somme toute modestes et les autres régions du Québec n'auront pas plus de marge de manœuvre car elles seront privées d'un tel levier.
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4 - Nova Scotia transit a focus of alternative budget"A new Crown transit corporation that would develop affordable transportation to link Nova Scotia's rural communities with Halifax is one of the major items in an alternative provincial budget released earlier this week," the Chronicle-Herald reported on March 26."The transit corporation, which calls for an initial $20-million investment and $6 million annually in following years, is just one of three new Crown corporations proposed by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in its alternative budget. "It would link communities up in a much better way," Kyle Buott, a member of the working group that crafted the alternative budget, said Tuesday," Clare Mellor reported for the Chronicle-Herald. http://www.policyalternatives.ca
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5 - Ontario budget invests in the Huron Central rail line"The future for Huron Central Railway (from Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury) and its users is looking brighter now that the provincial government has earmarked its share of the money in the budget. ... I expect that CP Rail will be delighted because they're the owners of the track, which will undergo major improvements and they don't have to pay any of the capital costs," (Soo CAO Joe Fratesi) said. Ninety percent of the $33 million of upgrade costs will be picked up equally between the provincial and federal government. Huron Central will contribute the remaining 10%," the Sault Star reported on April 3."Essar Steel Algoma is Sault Ste. Marie's largest user of the rail line. Without the rail system to transport its product, (an Essar spokesperson) said it would be putting an additional 350 to 400 trucks on the road per week, something that has negative environmental and social costs," Elaine Della-Mattia reported for the Star. http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2513339
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6 - Aviation Safety: More oversight of big airlines promised"We haven't done as much surveillance activities as we wanted to do, but that will change in the next three years," Marc Grégoire, assistant deputy minister of safety and security, told MPs at the launch of parliamentary hearings into aviation safety in Canada. Grégoire and deputy minister Yaprak Baltacioglu kicked off the hearings by acknowledging problems with the way the government has been implementing its new oversight regime, called safety management systems. But they both defended the approach, already fully phased in at such large carriers as Air Canada and WestJet," Canwest News Service reported on March 31."This regulatory system is a shift away from traditional oversight where government inspectors had a much more hands-on role in auditing the safety operations," Sarah Schmidt reported for Canwest News.
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7 - 103-kilometre rail right-of-way from Vancouver to Chilliwack: Use it"(E)ngineer and community-rail guru Peter Holt used the Gretzky analogy (skate to where the puck is going) in his recent presentation to the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce when he spoke about why he and many others strongly feel that the Fraser Valley's best long-term transportation solutions are riding on the rails," the Province reported on March 28."On the practical side, Holt sees the "Fraser Valley Heritage Railway" and its refurbished vintage rolling stock as an excellent medium for creating awareness of the potential to fully restore the 103-kilometre right-of-way (from downtown Vancouver to Chilliwack), which is still owned by the B.C. government, to accommodate a new, state-of-the-art community rail system. Not only is the interurban right-of-way a wholly-owned public asset, Holt points out, but the legal authority to use it for public transit has also been established," Brian Lewis reported for the Province. http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Rail+advocate+quotes+Gretzky+push+plan/2736247/story.html
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8 - Lanark County leaders step up effort to keep rail line"Eastern Ontario municipal leaders have been moving full steam ahead with a campaign to save a threatened Canadian Pacific rail line, but Mississippi Mills mayor Al Lunney is worried about losing momentum. At a meeting of Lanark County council last Wednesday, Lunney said it's critical that followup takes place, particularly at the federal level, to a meeting of potentially affected parties held in Petawawa earlier this month," the Ottawa Sun reported on March 27.While it might appear that rail service isn't as important as it once was, it still provides vital transportation to some businesses, said Renfrew warden Don Rathwell. Arnprior mayor Terry Gibeau said the CP corridor creates jobs and has passenger tourism potential. He hopes to stop CP's bid to shut down the line," Tom Van Dusen reported for the Ottawa Sun. http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/03/27/13381191.html
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9 - Maine seeks $25 million to repair N.B. to Montreal railway"The (Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway) moved 29 cars of paper (on March 28). That's a real money train, isn't it?" the Bangor Daily News quoted a a railway worker."The "money train" reference illustrates why state officials are seeking a $25 million bond issue in November to buy and repair rail lines in Aroostook, Penobscot and Androscoggin counties. With the railroad losing $4.5 million a year in the recession and housing industry slump, the railroad wants to abandon 241 miles of track, but state leaders say the lines are essential to Maine industries. Just one run for MMA, the "money train," a 72-rail car train from Van Buren to Millinocket, hauled 63 loads. That's the equivalent of 189 18-wheeler truckloads, said John Perkins, MMA's manager of train operations in the railroad's northern area," Nick Sambides Jr. reported for the Daily News on March 27. http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/139905.html
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10 - VIA's Ocean Limited ridership climbing slowly"VIA Rail's venerable Ocean service, which runs through Moncton from Montreal to Halifax, is still a popular choice for travellers and no changes are scheduled for the route anytime soon, VIA president Marc Laliberté said yesterday," the Times and Transcript reported on March 30."We can't be sure that everything is safe forever but we intend to keep that service the way it is, six days a week from Halifax through Moncton to Montreal. The ridership on that is close to 50,000 a year. We want the trains to be full but we would still like more ridership. We can accommodate more people," Alan Cochrane reported for the Times and Transcript. http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1001061
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11 - VIA Rail: un trajet un peu plus court entre Montréal et Québec« Les temps de parcours des trains de VIA Rail entre Québec et Montréal seront légèrement plus courts à compter du 6 avril. Un porte-parole de la société d'État a expliqué, hier, que cette amélioration du service est attribuable à l'utilisation de locomotives plus performantes et à la réduction des temps d'arrêt pour laisser passer les convois de marchandises du Canadien National » le Soleil a rapportéle le 26 mars.« Entre Montréal et Sainte-Foy, les temps de parcours des trains de VIA varieront entre 2h32 et 3h à compter du 6 avril, s'il n'y a pas de retard. Un train grande vitesse (TGV) prendrait 1h10 pour relier les gares de Québec et de Montréal » Pierre Pelchat a rapporté pour le Soleil.
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12 - Montreal points to Toronto when it defends transit hikes"The STM inevitably points to Toronto when it defends hikes but Normand Parisien, of transit advocacy group Transport 2000, said that's not a good comparison. Toronto is a bigger city, and the TTC offers more extensive service and has higher costs because its buses must drive further. Parisien points to a different number when he talks about fares - the percentage of a transit agency's operating expenses covered by fares," the Montreal Gazette reported."The North American average is 33 per cent, with government subsides covering the rest of transit budgets, Parisien said, citing the American Public Transportation Association. By that measure, Montreal "fares are much too high," he said. At the STM, fares bring in 44 per cent of revenue. In Toronto, fare boxes account for about 70 per cent of TTC revenue," Andy Riga reported for the Gazette.
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13 - Heathrow Airport third runway plans are 'untenable', says judge"A coalition of objectors, including six local authorities, Greenpeace and the Campaign to Protect Rural England local councils (and Transport Action's affiliate the Campaign for Better Transport), argued that the expansion decision was at odds with the UK's climate change targets," the Telegraph reported on March 26."Hayes and Harlington Labour MP John McDonnell, who has led the campaign against the expansion of Heathrow for the last 30 years, said: "In essence this judgment means that the game is up for a third runway at Heathrow and I am calling upon the Government to accept the inevitable and lift this threat to my community."He went on: "What we need now is a sensible approach to developing a sustainable transport policy based upon high-speed rail," the Telegraph reported.
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14 - Jean Léveillé: « Un corridor de transport convivial, efficace et fiable pour le transport en commun métropolitain »Le 31 mars l'association Transport 2000 Québec accueille avec beaucoup de déception les conclusions du rapport de l'Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) quant au projet d'aménagement d'un accès en site propre au centre-ville de Montréal pour les usagers du transport en commun de la Rive-Sud. Comme le rapportait monsieur Jean Léveillé, président du Conseil, «nous sommes évidemment très déçus que l'Office n'ait pas retenu nos propositions pour l'aménagement d'un corridor de transport convivial, efficace et fiable pour le transport en commun métropolitain».Transport 2000 craint que l'Office ne se soit trop laissé guider par la colère ou un vox populi ponctuel de groupes d'intérêt qui ne représentent qu'une fraction de l'opinion publique, laissant ainsi en plan les usagers de la Région métropolitaine. Le seul recours qui s'offre désormais aux usagers de la Région est maintenant un appel au maire de Montréal, qui est également président de la Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), pour faire passer l'intérêt supérieur de la Région en priorité.
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15 - Bonaventure expressway transit corridor shelvedOn April 1 the Gazette reported: "Montreal said yesterday it will go back to the drawing board on two key aspects of a controversial proposal to redevelop the area where the Bonaventure Expressway now sits downtown. Under the $260-million proposal by the city-funded Société du Havre de Montréal, the Bonaventure would be replaced by two ground-level boulevards. Commercial, office and residential buildings of up to 25 storeys would go on the land between them."Transport 2000, a transit users' group in favour of the corridor, said it was disappointed. It said the OCPM (Montreal's Public Consultation Office) "let itself be guided by ad hoc interest groups that represent only a fraction of public opinion, to the detriment of transit users in the metropolitan region," Andy Riga reported for the Gazette on April 1.
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