VIA Rail network developments

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

VIA’s current timing between Fallowfield and Ottawa Station varies between 24 minutes (mid-afternoon) and 17 minutes.(last train, after 10pm). The travel time gets better as the evening wears on – presumably because road traffic is lighter, so there is less worry at road crossings. Many of the crossings are grade separated, but there are some that would need separating.

Not sure where you are getting your data, but according to VIA's Ottawa - Kingston - Toronto and Toronto - Kingston - Ottawa schedules, the minimum travel time is 16 min, the maximum is 20 min and the average (both mean and mode) is 17 minutes. I ignored train 41 (to Toronto) though, as it doesn't document the arrival time at Fallowfield (only the departure time).

Assuming an optimistic 120 km/h average speed on the 16 km between the stations, the travel time could be reduced to 8 minutes, which saves an average of 9 minutes.

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

Rebuilding the existing corridor will not be cheap.

Nor would building all of the following required for your proposal:

• A new airport terminal on what is now the Hylands Golf Club,
• A greenfield track for HSR,
• A transit extension to the new terminal, and
• A road/highway to the new terminal.

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

Currently it is only single-track, and a lot of the infrastructure is old. For example, the bridge over Prince of Wales and the one over the Rideau River will need to be replaced completely. This means shutting down existing train service while things are rebuilt. If a new bridge were built to the Airport, then current service could continue until the new station opened.

Not necessarily. A new alignment could be used. For example, if an alignment north of the Beachburg Sub was used, it could straighten out the double S curve into something more gradual (increasing speeds). The It would require some expropriation, but not nearly as much as a greenfield airport station.

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

Also, if a new corridor is being chosen from Toronto up. It is possible that it might not be easy to connect to the existing track. And, how much of that existing track is already owned by VIA?

VIA owns the following Subdivisions in and around Ottawa (from VIA's Triennial plan):

• Alexandria (From 0.40, To 76.43)
• Beachburg (From 0.00, To 6.00)
• Smiths Falls (From 0.00, To 34.40)

They can also easily obtain the Havelock Sub. They can connect the Havelock Sub. to the Smiths Falls Sub by building dedicated track north of CPKC's Belleville Sub. (either on their ROW or on a new ROW). This will avoid the current conflict crossing CPKC's Belleville Sub in Smiths Falls.

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

There is nothing to say that there can't be two stations. One for local trains (Tremblay) and one for high-speed trains (airport).

That is theoretically possible, but arguably needless and would add confusion. Cities that have separate stations like this have one of them downtown; something we don't have anymore.

If they really wanted to save time and money, they could make Fallowfield Ottawa's one and only HSR station. It would be about as convenient as a YOW station.

[rocketphish]

Delays, Trudeau resignation threaten Toronto-Quebec City high-frequency rail project

The Canadian Press
January 13, 2025

Canadians hoping plans for high-frequency rail between Toronto and Quebec City would move forward this year will instead see further delays — and the prospect of a federal election makes the timeline more uncertain than ever.

Late last year, the federal government requested an extension on bids to build the rail corridor in a move that could push back selection of a private partner by several months beyond the initial deadline near the end of 2024.

The holdup marks a minor setback to a project slated to span more than a decade. But while some observers worry the postponed proposal bodes ill for the pricey enterprise, others fret the whole undertaking could be thrown into limbo with a potential change in government around the corner following the prime minister’s planned resignation.

<more>

https://obj.ca/delays-trudeau-resign...requency-rail/

[rocketphish]

Ahh, we can always dream...

Fifty years ago, Switzerland was poised to become as car-dependent as anywhere in North America. Now it has the best transit system in the world.
What’s the secret to this alpine nation’s transport success?

Taras Grescoe
Special to The Globe and Mail
Published January 25, 2025

I’ve spent a lot of time in Switzerland over the last two decades, a fact that would have astonished my 30-year-old self. As a young man, I was more inclined to travel in the soulful, sunny parts of the world. Switzerland struck me as being picturesque, but boring: the sensible shoe of nations. Sure, hiking in the Alps was amazing – but, hell, Canada has the Rockies. As for cheese and chocolate, I could get those in France or Belgium, where the hotel rooms were cheaper and I didn’t have to invest in a Schweizerdeutsch phrase book.

Funny how your perspective can change. Over the years, as research trips took me to a dozen Swiss cantons, I’ve come to appreciate that, though Switzerland is a landlocked country lacking in natural resources, it is rich in something vanishingly rare in the rest of the world: common sense.

This is most apparent in the way the Swiss travel. I’m at once deeply envious, but also convinced that North America should look no farther than this alpine nation for a model of sensible, sustainable – and, dare I say, enjoyable – transit. It’s simply the best transportation system in the world.

This really began to sink in two years ago, when I spent a month-and-a-half in the canton of Vaud, in the French-speaking west of the country. After flying into Geneva, I rode an escalator to a railway platform located directly beneath the airport terminal. After waiting less than five minutes, I boarded a double-decker intercity train, which featured a play area for kids, complete with a slide, on the upper level. Within seven minutes, we had arrived at Geneva’s main station.

Twenty-seven minutes after that, I disembarked at Morges, a town on the north shore of Lac Léman, where I walked a few dozen paces to an adjoining platform, where a smaller, three-carriage electric train, run by the private rail company MBC, was already waiting. Exactly as the second-hand of the platform clock hit the top of the dial, the train pulled out of the station.

We wended our way through a landscape of grapevines and Simmental cows in their summer pastures, to the end of the line, a village with the charming name of Apples. There, on the far side of a gabled stationmaster’s house, a two-carriage train was waiting for us. It only pulled away when the last of the passengers had transferred from one train to the other.

We passed through four villages, spaced three to five kilometres apart, before I arrived at my stop. A short walk from the end of the open platform, a small green-and-white bus collected the disembarking passengers, which included a half-dozen students returning from high school. I was whisked, along with my backpack and suitcase, uphill to my final destination, the village of Montricher (population: 900).

The entire journey went like clockwork, with each mode of transport – from heavy-hauling intercity train to that 49-passenger rural bus – meshing with the next with gear-like precision.

<lots more>

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...tation-system/

[lrt's friend]

This is inconceivable in Canada. Transfers between transit modes is typically random. Timed transfers are rarely dependable, if we even tried to time them

[rocketphish]

Derailment and extreme snowfall disrupt train service between Montreal and Toronto
Commuter and Via Rail trains affected

CBC News
Posted: Feb 18, 2025 3:00 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

A freight train has derailed in Montreal, slowing rail traffic along the Montreal-Toronto route.

Trains along the entire Montreal-Toronto rail corridor were also affected by extreme snowfall, the Canadian National (CN) railway company, said in a statement. Trains are either stopped completely or slowed.

The derailment, which occurred in CN's Taschereau yard, involved 12 railcars. CN said the derailment resulted in no fires, leaks or injuries and was contained to the yard.

In a post on X, Via Rail said its trains were stopped in Dorval, Que., a municipality on the island of Montreal, west of downtown. The Crown corporation said the situation was causing considerable delays and cancellations, but by mid-afternoon, service had been partially re-established and some trains were able to move.

Exo, the commuter train service for the greater Montreal area, cancelled many of its afternoon trains running on the Vaudreuil-Hudson line, but it said the cancellations were tied to switching problems caused by heavy snowfall, not the derailment.

Two snow storms dropped nearly 75 centimetres of snow on the Montreal area within a four-day span. The sheer volume of snow slowed cars, closed roads and continued to cause widespread chaos on Tuesday.

Written by Matthew Lapierre

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...onto-1.7462013

[AuxTown]

My family visiting from Saskatchewan were on the 1013 train to Montreal this morning...correction, they are still on that train! What a nightmare

At least all are safe and they have been getting lots of food from VIA and will have their tickets refunded.

[Ottawacurious]

Canada is getting high-speed rail
Main Content
February 19, 2025
Montréal, Quebec
The Toronto-Quebec City corridor is a megaregion. It’s home to 18 million people, 40 per cent of our GDP, over 700,000 students, and more than 30 colleges and universities. This dynamic hub needs a transportation system that gets people from city to city, in the fastest time possible.

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that Canada is developing a high-speed rail network in the Toronto-Quebec City corridor. This transformative rail network will span approximately 1,000 km and reach speeds of up to 300 km/hour, with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City. Once operational, current travel times will be slashed in half – getting you from Montréal to Toronto in three hours. The official name of this high-speed rail service will be Alto.

https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-re...ng%20emissions.

[rocketphish]

Trudeau promised proportional representation electoral reform just as eagerly and vociferously the last time the Liberals were in trouble...

Trudeau announces $3.9B high-speed rail between Quebec City and Toronto
Prime minister makes announcement at press conference in Montreal

Mathieu Prost, Stéphane Bordeleau, Peter Zimonjic · CBC News
Posted: Feb 19, 2025 8:39 AM EST | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday revealed his government's $3.9 billion, six-year plan to connect Quebec City and Toronto with a high-speed rail line.

"Today I'm announcing the launch of Alto, the largest infrastructure project in Canadian history," Trudeau said in Montréal. "A reliable, efficient, high-speed rail network will be a game-changer for Canadians."

Trudeau said the new rail network will run all-electric trains along 1,000 kilometres of track, reaching speeds of up to 300 km/hour, with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City.

A government statement said the project will stimulate the economy, "boosting GDP by up to $35 billion annually, creating over 51,000 good-paying jobs during construction."

"Alto will be a truly pan-Canadian endeavour, using expertise and resources from coast to coast to coast," Trudeau said.

Construction on the new line will not begin until the design phase is done, which could take four to five years. Funds are to be allocated at the end of that time period, so it's possible a future government could modify or cancel the project.

Trudeau said the consortium Cadence — made up of CDPQ Infra, SNC-Lavalin, Systra Canada and Keolis Canada — was selected to build the line. The group was only informed in the last 24 hours that their bid was the best of the three submitted, according to sources that spoke to Radio-Canada.

As Radio-Canada first reported in October, the Liberal government had opted for a high-speed train rather than a slower high-frequency train project to transport passengers between Quebec City and Toronto.

Trudeau said that once build the new high-speed rail network will take passengers from Montreal to Toronto in three hours. By car, it takes about five and a half hours.

The the train will travel 300 kilometres per hour — double the speed of Via Rail's current trains, the prime minister said.

A government statement said "Canada's investment in the co-development phase of the project represents $3.9 billion over six years, starting in 2024-25," in addition to the $371.8 million announced in the budget.

Transport Canada initially estimated that the cost of a high-speed rail link between the two cities could be as high as $80 billion.

It's expected to take four to five years to design the future high-speed line. Funds are to be allocated at the end of that time period, so it's possible a future government could modify or cancel the project.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tru...onto-1.7462538

[DTcrawler]

The difference is that electoral reform was objectively an election promise that materialized out of thin air during the campaign period.

The crown corp behind this project has been around for years and can't be chalked up as a hail mary election-time scheme (though undoubtedly it will, thanks to the announcement timing).

Listening to Carney speak about the project, he seemed optimistic yet reserved about the announcement. You'd think that if the LPC were doing this solely as an election tactic, Carney would be much more eager to blindly hype it up if there was no real intent to follow through with it.

We've been through many iterations of various administrations' attempts to build HSR in Canada, spanning decades. This is the closest we've ever been.

My hope is that the CPC sees the value in having a project of this magnitude ramp up under their time in office, and decide against scrapping it.

[lrt's friend]

The government has already spent many millions. If a design contract can be signed before the election, there is a bit of hope. It is about time Canada did this. With polls in so much flux, and the NDP possibly down, our election may not occur until October, as originally scheduled

[urbanforest]

A story from the Montreal Gazette that includes a bit of new info. My emphasis below.

From the Montreal Gazette
Quebec City-Toronto high-speed rail expected to cost between $60B and $90B

By Jack Wilson

High-speed rail will run from Quebec City to Toronto no earlier than 2041, according to estimates shared Thursday by the Crown corporation tasked with its construction.

“This is not a calendar we’re committing to,” Alto CEO Martin Imbleau said, but an early estimate provided one day after the project’s announcement.

The rail line is projected to cost between $60 billion and $90 billion, another early-stage estimate subject to change, Imbleau said. But with projections of 24 million round trips per year and a $24.5-billion boost to the annual GDP, Imbleau said the project was well worth the price tag.

Announced Wednesday in Montreal, Canada’s first high-speed rail project is set to span from Quebec City to Toronto, with stops in Trois-Rivières, Laval, Montreal, Ottawa and Peterborough. It will be “the largest infrastructure project in Canadian history,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters during the announcement. Thursday marked the first day of the project’s planning phase — shovels aren’t expected in the ground for at least five years.

And whether ground is broken at all will soon be beyond Trudeau’s control. In less than three weeks, he’ll be replaced as prime minister. An election call is expected soon after.

Assuming high-speed rail ambitions stay on track, the line would connect an area of about 24 million people, 60 per cent of Canada’s population.

“The intent is to increase the productivity and the connection between those communities,” Imbleau said. The project will cut travel time between cities on the route by about half, he said, making those in the area “live way closer to one another.”

From Montreal, a trip to Toronto is projected to take three hours and seven minutes, a trip to Ottawa would take 58 minutes and a trip to Quebec City would take one hour and 29 minutes.

The project is a public-private partnership between Alto, a Crown corporation, and Cadence, a consortium of six companies that includes AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin), Air Canada and SNCF Voyageurs, a rail company owned by the French government.

Alto, called VIA HFR until Wednesday, is headquartered in Montreal, with satellite offices in Quebec City, Ottawa and Toronto. Its staff of about 140 “started the project development today at 9 a.m. sharp,” Imbleau said Thursday.

Construction will take place in phases, Imbleau said, with trains projected to run on a portion of the route in 2037. The sample timeline provided shows trains running along the full route in 2041.

Alto has yet to select which cities will be served first, Imbleau said, but will aim to provide a “meaningful service,” from the get-go.

“We don’t want to start in the middle of nowhere and end the first phase in the middle of nowhere.”

Planning is based on costs between $60 billion and $90 billion, Imbleau said, but those numbers are subject to change.

“We don’t have a true project scope that would allow us to have a real budget,” he said.

Ottawa had initially pitched a “high frequency” rail project, which would have seen conventional trains run along the planned length of dedicated track. Having asked bidders to pitch both conventional and high-speed options, Wednesday’s announcement selected high-speed over “high frequency” rail.

High-speed rail will cost 20 to 30 per cent more than a conventional line would have, Imbleau said, but will offer a “significantly different” impact.

Fast and frequent travel on the line will grow the annual GDP by $24.5 billion per year, he said, a figure that could potentially reach $35 billion. The projection shows most of that boost coming from increased productivity resulting from shorter travel times.

By 2050, 24 million annual round trips are expected on the line, Imbleau said, compared with the four million annual round trips taken now.

This story was originally published February 20, 2025, 4:19 PM.

It's crazy that, even if everything goes right and successive future governments follow through on this, we won't be riding from QC City to Toronto for 16 years. I'll be an old man

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by urbanforest

A story from the Montreal Gazette that includes a bit of new info. My emphasis below.


It's crazy that, even if everything goes right and successive future governments follow through on this, we won't be riding from QC City to Toronto for 16 years. I'll be an old man

Yes but importantly they mention it will happen in phases. Perhaps a Montreal to Toronto Train will be built first or a Montreal to Ottawa segment even earlier. That could build momentum for further expansion. (or conversely demonstrate most people will drive or take a $50 bus over $100 one hour train between Ottawa and Montreal)

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Yes but importantly they mention it will happen in phases. Perhaps a Montreal to Toronto Train will be built first or a Montreal to Ottawa segment even earlier.

A potential phased opening bodes well for Ottawa. Especially when the CEO says the initial phase needs to provide "meaningful service". If that implies simply starting with the two biggest cities on the alignment, Toronto and Montreal, it means Ottawa is included. If they decide to go by the shortest distance between major cities, that's Ottawa and Montreal. In theory they could start with Quebec City and Montreal but I don't think that achieves the type of grand opening they're going for.

That could build momentum for further expansion. (or conversely demonstrate most people will drive or take a $50 bus over $100 one hour train between Ottawa and Montreal)

I think you're underestimating the demand potential that will exist between Ottawa and Montreal two decades from now. Certainly far more than buses and personal vehicles are able to satisfy on their own. Besides, HSR is not being built solely to serve the OTT-MTL pair, but it's a convenient bonus to upgrade an already popular route with faster, more reliable trains.

[DarthVader_1961]

I can imagine that Ottawa train station would be the easiest to retrofit with new tracks etc.. it is after all, pretty small…. Montreal and Toronto will be nasty to upgrade

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by DarthVader_1961

I can imagine that Ottawa train station would be the easiest to retrofit with new tracks etc.. it is after all, pretty small…. Montreal and Toronto will be nasty to upgrade

Thinking way ahead to the inevitable value engineering process, maybe Toronto and Montreal end up with more suburban stations with connections to their local rapid or commuter transit networks (subway, metro, GO, REM, etc.). That would provide opportunities to smooth out the alignment and save money. Especially in Montreal, where they've proposed stations for both Laval and the former, maybe those get consolidated into one station in suburban Montreal, closer to Laval.

Of course it's entirely possible they don't go this route. After all, the crown corp instructed bidders to include HSR versions of their initial HFR bids, obviously increasing the project cost but demonstrating a willingness to build something that actually provides utility to Canadians and yields ROI.

Personally I really hope this project is built as advertised with as few asterisks as possible. Diminishing the city-to-city gains in travel time by adding transfer components to reach city centres would be a huge disappointment.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by DarthVader_1961

I can imagine that Ottawa train station would be the easiest to retrofit with new tracks etc.. it is after all, pretty small…. Montreal and Toronto will be nasty to upgrade

In Ottawa they might use a new station. The Via Station is not really a transit hub. Japan has lots of new stations for high speed so even in Montreal and Toronto that's possible. Uptown in Toronto. Montreal perhaps also further north.

[rocketphish]

'Operational pressure' sparks Via Rail cancellations in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal
Some trains being kept in reserve to limit the risk of prolonged delays

Guy Quenneville · CBC News
Posted: Feb 09, 2026 4:13 PM EST | Last Updated: 24 minutes ago

Via Rail says recent train cancellations along its Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor were in response to "heightened operational pressure."

A number of trains between Toronto and Ottawa, Ottawa and Montreal, and Montreal and Ottawa were cancelled "end-to-end" Monday due to what Via Rail's live tracker called "operational constraints."

Pressed for details, the federal Crown corporation declined to be interviewed but said via email that the cancellations are a short-term measure meant to "protect service reliability" during what's expected to be a challenging time.

Severe weather expected this week, plus an anticipated bump in passenger traffic around the upcoming Family Day weekend in Ontario, "necessitates temporarily reducing service to keep additional trains in reserve to limit the risk of prolonged delays," Via Rail said.

Read Via Rail's full statement here.

Terry Johnson, president of the citizen advocacy group Transport Action Canada, said Via Rail appears to be keeping some trains in reserve to prevent last-minute trip cancellations.

"By keeping a deeper bench, as we might say in sports terminology, they are hoping to get to the end of the game," Johnson said.

Via has made a number of last-minute cancellations in the last two weeks, he added.

This week's cancellations come at a key time for Via Rail.

On Wednesday afternoon, Via executives will face questions from members of Parliament's standing committee on transport, infrastructure and communities.

The topic of conversation is expected to be "Improving VIA Rail's Safety and Customer Service."

The meeting will come two months after Via Rail passengers were stranded overnight on a train stopped at Brockville, Ont., between Ottawa and Toronto.

"We have directed that they get much better at [dealing with] issues that may arise on a line," Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said at the time.

In its emailed statement Monday about this week's cancellations, Via Rail said it recognizes the impact they have on passengers and communities.

"All affected passengers have been rebooked or refunded at no cost," Via said.

"We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate our passengers’ understanding."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...rail-9.7081446

[Richard Eade]

VIA Rail should not be allowed to get away with such vague reasons as “operational constraints”. I hope that they are strongly reprimanded during the Wednesday afternoon grilling by the Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities committee.

What EXACTLY is the issue that is preventing VIA Rail from running trains? Not enough time allotted on the tracks? Are the new trains incapable of running in winter? Is winter track maintenance insufficient? Are there too few engineers, or other staff, to run the trains? Is VIA Rail out of money?

The reason that we get such meaningless ‘information’ presented to us is because no-one in power throws it back and demands more. I sincerely hope that the members of Wednesday’s meeting will start a new trend, and ask for more.