MONTREAL — Penny-pinching Via Rail may soon be getting another cash infusion to improve its service, thanks to the conjunction of three unrelated factors, the Canadian Press reports.
It happens that the current transport minister, David Collenette, is a train buff; Ottawa just announced it will ratify the Kyoto agreement on reducing toxic emissions; and the terrorist events a year ago have boosted train travel.
Collenette has not said how much he can provide Via, but he has asked the Montreal-based rail passenger system to report this fall on what it would take to increase speeds and ridership in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor.
Collenette, who frequently takes the train between Ottawa and Montreal and to his home in Toronto, has asked Via for feedback, but it’s clear what he would like: rapid trains linking the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto triangle.
It would be similar to the trouble-plagued Acela Express built by Bombardier Inc. of Montreal and recently put into service by Amtrak on the congested Washington-New York-Boston corridor.
Acela is fast, but not a high-speed train like the famed French TGV which requires its own track. The government has no intention to fund such a high-speed train because of the huge cost.
“What I said to Via was, are there things that we can do to have a faster train but not necessarily a TGV,” Collenette said in an interview.
“I hate to use the term Acela Express, given all the bad publicity they had, but it would be that type of operation.”
Despite its problems, Acela is popular and has boosted Amtrak ridership.
Collenette said that by improving track quality and signalling, Via could shave 30 to 45 minutes off the Montreal-Toronto run. Currently its fastest trip is just under four hours, considerably faster than by car.
Collenette notes that rail ridership has jumped since the four air hijackings a year ago. With the bankruptcy of Canada 3000 after that, Via has emerged as the main competitor to Air Canada in the triangle.
Via, a Crown corporation, currently receives an operating subsidy of $170 million a year, to cover uneconomic routes. The Central Canada corridor, where it carries 70 per cent of its four million riders a year, is profitable.
“With the population growth and the congestion, Via has very good potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, getting cars off the highways,” Collenette said.
“Plus people want an alternative to Air Canada.”
Prodded by Collenette, the federal government granted Via $402 million two years ago, which it used to buy 21 high-speed locomotives and 139 new coaches. Since drastic route cuts in 1990, Via has gradually built up ridership and reduced travel times.
Ironically, the leading consumer rail lobby in the country contests Collenette’s plan, saying the funds should not be spent just in Central Canada.
“The corridor has nine-tenths of the trains right now and there are another eight provinces,” said spokesman Harry Gow of Transport 2000.
“Do you think western Canadians and Maritimers are really going to be pleased to see their service reduced and service in the corridor increased?”
Transport 2000 wants more trains between Ontario and Vancouver, using the more scenic Canadian Pacific route as well as the Canadian National tracks now taken. Gow said another strong candidate for improved service would be Seattle-Vancouver and on to the ski resort at Whistler, B.C.
The Vancouver-Whistler track belongs to B.C. Rail and is slated to be abandoned in October, he said, even as Vancouver pushes for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“It’s well known they won’t get the Olympics if they have weak transit links to Whistler.”
Marc Gaudry, professor of transportation economics at the University of Montreal and one-time member of a royal commission on transportation, says Via has demonstrated it can attract many new passengers simply by adding frequency and better departure times, at relatively low cost.
Gaudry cautioned that the government has to consider the private bus industry as it doles out public money to Via.
“There might be good reasons to subsidize one form of transport, but it creates a market distortion and that’s another problem.”