While this relates to AMTRAK, if CN (Canada, VIA and TC can reach a similar agreement here re shunt enhancement at higher speed CN owned grade crossings, then VIA may be able to improve timeliness and schedule adherence.
Details on what end of October VIA change mean for small towns like Napanee between Kingston and Belleville.
There will be no GO rail service west of the Don this weekend, buses will replace trains. This Cando Rail and Terminals work train was sitting next to Monarch Park at supper in preparation. You can see it is on the new, fourth track on this stretch to provide improved GO/VIA capacity.
EDIT: Apparently VIA trains to/from Ottawa/Montreal will go all the way West to Vaughan on the busy CN freight line.
For those of you who still do X-rated Twitter. Also posted on Facebook by Alto.
“Right now, Alto is refining the design, studying the corridor, engaging with communities and completing the technical and environmental work that will inform the project's next steps.”
From the Go-Alto support site, print your own signs and social media suggestions!
This undated Apple image of Hillcrest Yard (Bathurst near Davenport) shows layout of a major crossing being prepared. Anyone know where and when it was installed? At the bottom is the spur from the CPKC mainline used to offload streetcars on flatcars, from Thunderbay or other Alstom facilities, with ramp to TTC gauge to the right.
There are often posts about movies being filmed in Ottawa and area, frequently Christmas Hallmark genre. Last night CTV broadcast “Family History Mysteries: Buried Past” shot locally (filling in for Buffalo) in fall a couple of years ago. If you missed it, it may be available through CTV streaming services.
Besides “Little Victories” coffee shop opposite the War Memorial and a typical Ottawa solar power parking meter, how many locations do you recognize?
In case you missed it yesterday, and some demand statistics.
There were problems on this section earlier today too and tonight:
“According to a memo from Rick Leary, the general manager of the Transit Services, Line 1 service will be shut down east of Tremblay stations after 8 p.m. to allow for repairs on the OCS overhead catenary system.”
From Gare Centrale area to Laval, an HSR tunnel could be 15km. So that could be $30 billion of the $90 billion rough estimate, for the whole project including trainsets. (Article may be paywalled)
No wonder the HS2 in London will end in suburbs for now, due to the huge cost of getting closer to the other north-end train stations.
Portage Flyer Steam Locomotives Centennial Celebration!
🚂🚂 Look who's turning 100! The Portage Flyer steam locomotives are hitting the century mark and we're celebrating at the Rotary Village Station at Muskoka Heritage Place on August 8. Join us as we commemorate this historic milestone! 🥳🥳
📅 Saturday, August 8, 2026
🕚 11am - 3pm
📍 100 Forbes Hill Drive
What do you think about the state of the railway in Canada?
As you can see there is a lot of High Speed Rail in Europe (orange and red lines) Toronto never exceeds 150 km/h (blue to green lines), however around Paris the speed get's up to 320 km/h! Same for many parts of western Europe.
Seats that don’t align with windows, backwards facing seats (although this is normal on all HSR trainsets), narrow seats (wider aisles?), poor reclining etc. Will long distance and HSR fleets be better? On the other hand, accessibility, toilets, ride quality and noise levels seem better than legacy coaches.
Lesson 12: Amtrak should consider passenger comfort throughout the design and procurement processes. This lesson, which also applies at the Initialing, Planning and Execution stages, is a corollary of Lesson 11. It should be Amtrak’s objective to deliver an experience for all riders that focuses on comfort to the maximum possible extent. Passengers who enjoy a comfortable ride have an incentive to promote the Amtrak experience through word of mouth, while those who had an uncomfortable ride will have an incentive to disparage it. As with Lesson 11, this form of positive or negative “advertising” will affect Amtrak’s reputation and the amount of revenue Amtrak earns from riders on the affected lines.
Example: The comfort level on the Venture cars in service on corridors outside the Northeast and on the NextGen Acela trainsets in that region have the following features that can deliver an uncomfortable ride: no footrests; seats that do not recline (moving the “pan” forward does not create a reclining seat, but one that some rider-advocates have called “a slouching seat”)*; firm seats with little or no cushioning; narrow seats, with half of them facing backward at all times; and seats that do not necessarily align with windows, which degrades a customer’s view. These negative features are not likely to induce motorists to forsake the comfort of the seats in their automobiles to ride Amtrak instead. While the Airo cars (your team wonders why a railroad would use such a name for passenger railcars) are not in service yet, there is no reason to expect that they will be more comfortable than the Venture or NextGen Acela equipment. Preliminary reports indicate that they will be like the cars on those trains. Even worse, your team is concerned that future long-distance cars will also have similar features, which will deliver a less-than-comfortable ride for a longer time. The next question is whether management will listen to these recommendations, and even more important, implement them.
Found a nice comparison of diesel - vs High Speed Rail (TGV)
These are some photos and specs of what the new VIA long distance/regional passenger locomotives are likely to be similar. Base factory is in Spain, most will be assembled in Canada. Top speed could be 180 km/h versus 200 km/h for Siemens Venture Chargers, although TC regs only allow for 160 today, and most long distance/regional trackage and signalling are nowhere capable of that.
https://www.stadlerrail.com/en/solutions/rolling-stock/locomotive-eurolight
For the last 4 days, there have been trains running on the east extension; I assume this is pre-trial running? Does anyone here know how much pre-trial running is required before EWC hands the keys over to the City for them to start the 21-day trial running?
He was interviewed this morning on CBC Ottawa Morning show. Key comments were that they want to keep Montreal to Toronto as under 3 hours and swinging past Kingston would still allow this. The Kingston HSR Station would be 4 tracks, so of the eventual 25 to 35 trains a day, some would stop, others would pass by at speed. (Would Peterborough be similar 4 tracks?). If interconnectivity with VIA and local regional bus services is important, exactly where would the Station be located?
Even though Smiths Falls is a key local, VIA, and rail hub, he discounted a stop there. Discussion of designing a 320 km/h “straight” line, and compensating landowners, not only for the land, and also future lost (farm) revenues. Wildlife passages are important. Details of alignment of the Laval-Ottawa segment this fall.
Ran across a post about this on Facebook where people are big mad at the Federal Liberals for signing this NDA..... The only person I see in this photo is a failed federal Conservative MP candidate who moonlights as the City's Mayor.
Anyway, thoughts about the city signing this NDA? And how long until they are signing data center NDAs?