Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

24 April 2009

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 1017, for 24 April 2009.

In this issue...

1 - Calendar

2 - High Speed Rail Canada supports President Obama's plan

On April 17th, 2009 President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary LaHood released a document promoting the implementation high-speed passenger trains in the USA. High Speed Rail Canada supports this initiative.

Paul Langan, Founder of High Speed Rail Canada says,: "The positive vision announced by President Obama for a modern high speed passenger rail system in the USA is a major step forward. This vision includes support for higher speed trains into Canada via Vancouver and Montreal. HSRC would like to congratulate the President for realizing the importance of improved passenger rail between the two countries."

On Saturday in Toronto High Speed Rail Canada will hold its second symposium featuring speakers like Dean Del Mastro, MP and transportation editor Greg Gormick.

http://highspeedrail.ca/

3 - A plan to bring millions of tourists dollars to B.C. derailed by bureaucracy

"The provincial government is a big fan of the second train. It even put $3 million of our tax dollars into a rail siding or passing track," Global BC News Hour reported on Apr. 17. B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon told Global's Ted Field: "We're trying to promote tourism in this province. Let's not have CBSA be actually acting as barrier to expanding toursism opportunities."

Transport 2000's David Jeanes said: "CBSA is absorbing the costs of doing border inspection for increased air travel but they are refusing to accept that rail travel is growing as well." Global reported the border agency plans a review of rail service to be completed at the end of 2010."

The segment on the Amtrak train begins with with about 8:30 remaining in the 24 minute show at:

http://tinyurl.com/cv89d4

4 - Truck-trains are scary stuff

"Ontario Transport Minister Jim Bradley is allowing double tractor-trailers, in effect "truck-trains," on our highways at his and our peril (Double Tractor-Trailers Headed For Ontario Roads - April 17 ). Who is going to vote again for a man willing to expose us to the self-evident danger of these unmanoeuvrable behemoths?," Paul Pepperal wrote in a letter to the Editor of the Globe and Mail.

"This, as if single tractor-trailers aren't already big and bullying enough, intimidating drivers with their massive sumo-like bulk, impossible to pass in weather and looming large in our rearview mirrors. There comes a time when no cost saving is worth it and the minister should have the good sense to know it. This pilot project should be scrapped," the letter to the Globe read.

Transport 2000 opposes double-trailer transports on safety, cost to the public and environmental grounds.

5 - Le projet d'un réseau de train à grande vitesse nord-américain: Transport 2000

'Le projet d'un réseau de train à grande vitesse (TGV) nord-américain, voulu par le président Barack Obama, pourrait avoir des répercussions jusqu'à Montréal" SRC Montréal a rapporté le 18 avril.

Du côté de Transport 2000 Québec, une association de promotion et défense des transports en commun par les usagers, un projet de TGV reliant Montréal à Boston serait viable. « Notre souhait, c'est que le gouvernement fédéral soit vraiment coincé entre cette volonté importante à Washington et aussi que les deux premiers ministres de l'Ontario et du Québec nous aident à maintenir cette pression sur Ottawa pour relancer ce projet », déclare le directeur général, Normand Parisien.

6 - Concern grows over self-policing by airlines

"Ottawa's push to let air carriers police the safety of their own operations marks a "dismantling" of regulatory oversight in this country and is a disaster in the making, a Parliament Hill forum has heard. In sometimes moving testimony, pilots, union officials and relatives of air crash victims yesterday gave a damning condemnation of Transport Canada's ongoing move to shift responsibility for safety onto the airlines and air taxi operators," the Toronto Star reported on April 22.

"While federal officials have claimed it will add a layer of scrutiny, it comes as Transport Canada is cutting back its own audits and inspections of aviation companies, the forum was told. "This is a plan about making it look good ... in fact, the actual activities and actions of oversight will not occur," said Greg Holbrook, national chair of the Canadian Federal Pilots Association, whose ranks include pilot inspectors with Transport Canada. The federal government has been introducing "safety management system," to sectors of the aviation industry, a process that lets individual firms rather than federal inspectors oversee their operations," the Star's Bruce Campion-Smith wrote.

Transport 2000's Air Passenger Safety Group oppose the aeronautics act amendments (not yet re-introduced to the 40th Parliament) which mandate safety management systems.

7 - CN board selects new CEO: Claude Mongeau

David G. A. McLean, chairman of the board of directors of CN announced today the board's selection of Claude Mongeau to succeed E. Hunter Harrison as president and chief executive officer of the company at the end of 2009. Mongeau, 47, currently CN's executive vice-president and chief financial officer, has held successively senior positions since joining the company in 1994," CNW Telbec reported on April 21.

8 - TTC staff recommend Bombardier for $1.22 billion light rail order

A staff report was made public today (Apr. 24) that recommends Bombardier Transportation Canada Inc. be awarded a contract worth a total of $1.22 billion (excluding taxes), for 204 new low-floor light rail vehicles (LRV), with a delivery date beginning in 2011.

9 - Ontario urged to invest in short-line rail systems

If Ontario doesn't invest in short-line rail between the Sault and Sudbury, a decision to close the line will be made by year end, said the president of Huron Central Railway. Mario Brault said the need for infrastructure dollars has been requested since 2006 and the condition of the line is deteriorating a little more each year," the Sault Star reported on April 16.

Sault MP Tony Martin hopes that a strong coordinated voice will ... lobby the provincial government that the infrastructure investment must be made. "This is a project that is shovel ready and will contribute to the profitability of rolling stock operators in our area," Martin said. "If we lose Huron Central, then we lose the potential for passenger service to be there and it will have a detrimental impact on our Northern Ontario industries."

The Sault Ste. Marie Sudbury improvements are expected to cost about $33 million. A complete overhaul of the short line system throughout Ontario will cost about $90 million. Transport 2000 is working with the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains to bring back passenger rail service between the Soo and Sudbury.

http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1526287

http://www.captrains.ca

10 -Another Ontario shortline at risk

"Ottawa Valley Railway employees are caught in the middle of a dispute between two multi-national corporations, said the general chairman for Teamsters Rail Conference Line East which represents more than 50 Ottawa Valley Railway workers in the North Bay area. ... Rene Leclerc said the dispute between Canadian Pacific Railway and RailAmerica is about who will pay for rail maintenance and much-needed upgrades to the tracks from Smiths Falls to North Bay," the North Bay Nuggett reported on Apr. 18.

Transport 2000 is involved in efforts to re-establish passenger rail service between Pembroke and Ottawa on the OVR line.

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1529256

11 - The last day of trolleybus service in Edmonton

The city is looking at reducing leisure centre hours, charging fees to park at LRT lots and closing a swimming pool to help deal with a $35.1-million drop in revenue expected this year," the Edmonton Journal reported on April 17.

The Journal reported money saving ideas include: "Taking trolley buses out of service this month rather than waiting as scheduled until April 2010."

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Some+cuts+fees+proposed+Edmonton+budget/1496024/story.html

12 - Reconstructing the Turcot: Don't increase capacity: Transport 2000

"But whatever you do, critics say, don't just rebuild the crumbling Turcot complex as an old-fashioned highway, whether up on high pillars as it is now, or low down on embankments, as Transport Quebec proposes to do in a controversial $1.5-billion, seven-year reconstruction plan.," the Montreal Gazette reported on April 17.

"The Turcot complex - encompassing a series of highways, interchanges and access ramps on a huge swath west of downtown Montreal - is Quebec's busiest roadway, used by 280,000 vehicles daily."

The Gazette's Andy Riga wrote: "Despite all the talk about reducing Quebec's dependence on cars, there's nothing in Quebec's Turcot plan to encourage public-transit use, Normand Parisien, executive director of Transport 2000, noted. In fact, 20,000 more cars are expected to use the new structure daily. "We shouldn't be increasing the capacity of the highway network," Parisien said. "We should keep that where it is and any increase in capacity should be in transit."

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Reconstructing+Turcot/1508121/story.html

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

www.transport2000.ca.