Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

27 March 2009

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 1013, for 27 March 2009.

In this issue...

1 - Transport 2000 Calendar

2 - Toronto High Speed Rail Symposium

High Speed Rail Canada is holding a symposium in Toronto on Saturday April 25 from 12:00 pm to 4:30 pm at the University of Toronto, Bahen Centre for Information Technology, 40 St. George Street, Room 1130.

High Speed Rail Canada, a citizen's national advocacy group dedicated to high speed trains for Canada, announced the line-up of guest speakers for its second in a series of Canada-wide public symposiums.

The keynote speaker is Greg Gormick, Railway Age Contributing Editor. "Greg Gormick is probably the most knowledgeable person on passenger rail in Canada" says Paul Langan, Founder of High Speed Rail Canada. "Ashley Langford from Alstom Transportation and Mario Peloquin from Siemens Canada (will present) a wealth of information on high speed rail." Pre-registration is mandatory. The cost is only $10.00. Seating is limited to 160.

http://highspeedrail.ca

3 - Transport 2000 New Brunswick passenger rail campaign

Harold Nicholson of Transport 2000 Atlantic reports: "I have accepted an invitation to speak at a public forum in Woodstock, N.B. sometime later in April on the proposal for re-institution of rail passenger service in New Brunswick. The invitation has been extended by the Sustainable Energy Forum of Woodstock. In addition, Iain Dunlop is spearheading initiatives to speak in Edmundston and Grand Falls".

La Coalition pour le train léger de l'Outaouais: Un moratoire sur la construction du Rapibus SVP

"Les partisans du train léger dénoncent "le secret entourant les études de la STO" selon Charles Thériault dans Le Droit du le 25 mars. "La Coalition pour le train léger demande un moratoire sur la construction du Rapibus et dénonce le secret qui, dit-elle, entoure les études de la Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) sur les coûts comparés du train et de l'autobus. Le président de la coalition, Roger Fleury, et son collègue, Joseph Potvin, ont dénoncé de nouveau le projet de transport rapide Rapibus (mardi) matin".

"Selon ce groupe, la STO propose une technologie des années 1960 sans réaliser que nous sommes maintenant en 2009. "Pourquoi dépenser 232 millions$ pour construire le Rapibus le long d'une voie ferrée alors qu'un train léger pourrait tout simplement circuler sur cette voie ferrée. ... Il faut, au contraire, de connecter au réseau de trains légers d'Ottawa", a déclaré M.Fleury qui demande donc un moratoire sur la construction du Rapibus afin que cette décision soit reconsidérée".

Transport 2000 a participé au processus mènant au projet Rapibus, mais David Jeanes et Harry Gow croient que tout a été dévoilé. L'erreur était celle de sur-estimer le coût du train léger et de sous-estimer celui de Rapibus, selon eux.

4 - A second daily train from Seattle to Vancouver could start operating this summer

"A second daily train from Seattle to Vancouver, BC could start operating this summer if scheduled talks between Washington state and Canadian officials go as planned. Vickie Sheehan, a spokesman for the Washington Department of Transportation was optimistic about the potential for Amtrak's Cascades line. She said of the meeting which will happen within the next few weeks in Canada 'it's the first real step forward in getting the second train situation ironed out," the National Association of Railroad Passengers reported on March 20.

"The second Cascades to Canada was planned to start running last year, and the necessary track improvements were approved and completed. The increase in service was set back by a disagreement over payment for immigration and customs inspections at the border. The Canada Border Services Agency says they will need a daily payment of $1,500 (about $1,170 U.S.). Amtrak, which is operating the service under contract for the states of Washington and Oregon, doesn't want to pay that, and points to the fact that there is no fee required for the current train".

Transport 2000 has learned through an Access to Information request that CBSA took two years to reply to Amtrak requests to discuss implementation of the new second train.

5 - Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains: Sault to Sudbury

Jill Driver of the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains (CAPT) in Sault Ste. Marie advises that "the mayors from the Sault to Sudbury have met and are working on seeing the (ex-CPR Huron Central) line re-established". In Michigan, efforts may soon start to connect the Soo with the Amtrak rail system via Indian Trails (intermodal bus line) to St. Ignace MI.

Jill Driver also brought the bad news of a road accident that has laid up the leader of the pro-rail group, Professor Linda Savory-Gordon. Savory-Gordon is expected to make a full recovery.

Finally, Canadian National Railways' Terry O'Brien has written to "stakeholders" in the Algoma area to announce changed departure days through the summer for the ACR passenger trains. CN deserves praise for consulting the community and responding to its wishes. Now, if the railway would just sign the contract for refurbishment of ACR passenger cars ...

6 - U-Pass vote in New Brunswick

The UNB Student Union passed a motion to hold an internet referendum on bus passes this week for its 6,000-8,000 undergraduates. The smaller St. Thomas University in Fredericton has had a U-Pass for several years. Students pay a $75 fee (compulsory) in their student association fees with an added $25 subsidy paid by the University. It provides a year-long pass for the entire Fredericton system.

The larger UNB deal includes passes for $40 per month or $100 for a whole year. The sticking point for students there is that some who own cars and are used to driving to classes want to opt out of pass charges, leaving the pass "optional". The municipal transit system wants the U-Pass to be universal/compulsory to make the deal financially sound for the operator.

Three years ago, 52% of the student body voted to reject the idea, but times may have changed. The Fredericton Daily Gleaner editorialized strongly in favour of the pass on March 12.

7 - Virginia becomes the 14th state to fund Amtrak service

Railway Age reported on March 23: "In a first for "The Old Dominion State," Virginia will provide $25.2 million in state funding to run two round-trip Amtrak trains serving Washington, D.C., over a three-year period. One train would link the nation's capital with Lynchburg, Va., adding a second frequency" on Oct. 1st "over Norfolk Southern right-of-way used by Amtrak's Crescent. A second round trip would add more Amtrak service between Richmond and Washington, over right-of-way owned by CSX Transportation on Dec. 15".

"Virginia will pay Amtrak $17.2 million to operate the two round-trip trains, while $8 million will be used to rehabilitate cars and locomotives for the new service. Each train will consist of up to eight passenger coaches, a business-class coach, and a café car. State officials anticipate ridership of 42,000 for the added Richmond frequency, and 51,000 per year on the Lynchburg service. Virginia is the 14th state to assist Amtrak intercity passenger in some fashion. Amtrak expects the new services to generate significance "induced demand".

8 - Ecology Action Centre in Halifax criticizes Nova Scotia budget

"Consideration for the Future Lacking in Province's Economic Stimulus In Building for Growth, ... the province announced plans to invest $1.9 billion in economic stimulus. Unfortunately this announcement does not recognize sustainability which, according to the 2007 Economic Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act (EGSPA), is a priority for Nova Scotia," EAC said on March 17.

"In the stimulus package, $50 million was allocated to energy conservation. This appears to be the only "green" spending. Measured in terms of a percentage of the overall three year spending, $50 million is just 2.6 per cent of the total. "Our energy infrastructure needs transformation. A lack of financial and policy support for the renewable energy sector is unacceptable," said Cheryl Ratchford, Energy Coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre (EAC)".

"Building for Growth allocates $1 billion to the building of roads, bridges, and highways. In 2007, the Government of Nova Scotia seemed to recognize that economic prosperity is linked to environmental sustainability. However, the connection between these two goals has been replaced by a desire to build bigger, better roads. ... In September of 2008, Premier MacDonald signed a commitment to shift 10 per cent of the region's freight to rail. Though this commitment is not legally binding ... an investment in Nova Scotia's highway system seems at odds with this".

9 - GO free parking a "heck of a deal" Transport 2000 says

CityNews reported on March 13: "A 25-cent per ride fare hike kicks off over the weekend after it was approved by GO Transit's board of directors ... (as) the extra cash will go towards operating costs and more bus and train service as well as impacting reliability and maintaining facilities and equipment".

"An adult 10-ride pass will jump by $2.50 and adult monthly passes will go up by $10". "Transport 2000 says GO spends close to a third of a billion dollars on parking. 'For those of us that don't use the parking we feel that we are being overcharged," said Daniel Hammond, the group's former president. "For those who use the GO parking, they're getting a heck of a deal.'"

"Currently GO (claims) many improvements to service over the past year with more to come in 2009-10 including:

Some of the improvements from the past year include:

10 - Sikorsky S92-A helicopters: defective studs replaced worldwide

"Following the Transportation Safety Board of Canada's (TSB) March 20th discovery of a broken main gearbox filter bowl assembly mounting stud on the Cougar Helicopters Sikorsky S92-A, more than half of the Sikorsky S92-A helicopters worldwide have had the defective studs replaced. The remaining studs are expected to be replaced in a timely fashion," Marketwire reported on March 24.

11 - Seventeen-hour shifts for Ottawa bus drivers

"Ottawa transit drivers can spend a maximum of 17 hours straight on the road and must take one day off every two weeks under rules temporarily imposed while an arbitrator works on the larger labour dispute involving OC Transpo's largest union," Jake Rupert reported in The Ottawa Citizen on March 25.

"The agreement gives the union a temporary reprieve from rules on hours of work and rest that the city has been seeking to impose on drivers. At the request of the city, the federal government, which has jurisdiction over OC Transpo, is in the process of changing the rules to enforce a maximum 14-hour workday with eight hours of rest between shifts".

Thank you for calling the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline. For additional information, please contact our web site at:

www.transport2000.ca.