VIA Rail

[Nouvellecosse]

If they're going to operate consists with single locomotives with no workable contingency plan if it breaks down, perhaps the consists should actually be mixed instead. Have one of the cars be a DMU that's capable of pulling the consist at diminished speed in case of emergency so the train can limp to the nearest place where people can be retrieved. I did worry about having the new trains having a single loco if they're going to operate on the future northern mainline (Havelock sub) which is much more remote than the current route. But it seems like they're leaning toward electrification which makes it likely a new rolling stock model will be used.

I heard it's technically possible to convert the Siemens models to use overhead wires but there will likely be enough uses for them elsewhere for that not to be necessary. Hopefully any HFR/HSR route will use EMUs with a backup generator or significant battery reserve in case of power failure. Something like that will probably be needed anyway since the last I heard the electrification is only expected to cover about 90% of the route so the trains would need a way to bridge any gaps. The unelectrified sections would probably be entering or leaving metro areas where they'll share track with freight providers who don't want any overhead wires. Locomotives are great for intercity in many parts of the world, but single loco consists on a route that contains remote or otherwise difficult to access sections seems like an exception.

[1overcosc]

^ That's a good point. If they're insisting on a greenfield route between Peterborough and Ottawa through the Shield (which it seems the bidders are), then the probability of there being long segments of track that are far away from the nearest road are quite high.

There's several high voltage power lines in Ontario that follow a similar route between Peterborough and Ottawa to cut down on transmission losses and serve the hydroelectric dams on the Madawaska River. Some sections of these lines pass over pretty remote forest country. HydroOne actually maintains access "roads" along these lines but they're often only accessible by jeep, and are also made available to ATV users and hikers in a lot of cases. A plan to build a new route through the Shield is realistically going to require access roads as well.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Urban_Sky

Sure, but how to convince the bean counters at the federal government?

To evacuate a single train, you’d need 3-5 buses. To cover the entire corridor within a 2-hours drive, you need to contract bus companies in the Victoriaville, Brockville/Cornwall, Belleville/Cobourg and London area. As a rough estimate, a single bus driver costs a bus company some $100k per year and the ownership and maintenance of a single bus $200k.

That said, such emergency bus service would have been useless during the December 2022 winter meltdown (as most roads were closed) or the October 2023 incident where a Siemens train was stuck for very similar reasons as last weekend at an inaccessible location just outside Gare Centrale.

Maintaining significant resources for more-or-less annual events will always be difficult to justify for a company which deploys less than 30 Corridor trains at any given time, which is why I argue that evacuating trains at not easily accesible areas should be a government responsibility…

You know as well as I do that contingency fees don't require paying 100% of the annual cost just to maintain reserve. There will be a cost and it should be passed to customers.

If VIA isn't even allowed to set contingency by Transport Canada, this is indeed a problem with micromanagement that needs to be corrected.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

^ That's a good point. If they're insisting on a greenfield route between Peterborough and Ottawa through the Shield (which it seems the bidders are), then the probability of there being long segments of track that are far away from the nearest road are quite high.

There's several high voltage power lines in Ontario that follow a similar route between Peterborough and Ottawa to cut down on transmission losses and serve the hydroelectric dams on the Madawaska River. Some sections of these lines pass over pretty remote forest country. HydroOne actually maintains access "roads" along these lines but they're often only accessible by jeep, and are also made available to ATV users and hikers in a lot of cases. A plan to build a new route through the Shield is realistically going to require access roads as well.

Highly unlikely that a private consortium building HFR would self-limit this much in IRROPS design. They'll pay contingency to ensure a minimum emergency response. Private businesses tend to actually care about how their brand is perceived. VIA doesn't seem to have this luxury, as per Urban Sky.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Highly unlikely that a private consortium building HFR would self-limit this much in IRROPS design. They'll pay contingency to ensure a minimum emergency response. Private businesses tend to actually care about how their brand is perceived. VIA doesn't seem to have this luxury, as per Urban Sky.

I wonder if this is why Brightline uses two locomotives.