[Urban Sky]

Any idea when the next departure will be? Where is #2?
And inconvienced customers won't receive compensation

The departure was cancelled in the meanwhile, but interestingly, compensation was offered, despite infrastructure closures being clearly outside of VIA’s control:

The departure has been cancelled in the meanwhile:

A travel advisory e-mailed by VIA on March 31 at 02:12 EDT:

"Due to severe weather conditions, VIA Train 1 departing March 30th, 2025 was forced to return to Union Station after fallen trees and widespread power outages caused a complete shutdown of infrastructure west of Toronto.

"Despite ongoing efforts through the night to clear the tracks, additional storm damage has made the route impassable. As a result, VIA Rail has made the difficult decision to cancel Train 1 between Toronto and Winnipeg.

"Your ticket will be cancelled and refunded automatically. In addition to the refund, passengers will be offered a credit
valued at 100% of the price paid for the cancelled train and valid for 12 months."

Re: VIA #1 Ex Toronto March 30th 2025

groups.io

 

[lenaitch]

The Canadian has returned to Union as there were trees down along the rails on both the Bala and Mactier Subdivisions.

Strange - that sounded like an echo of two posts above you. Same thing over in the Ontario Northland thread. Do you actually read the threads or just like to post stuff?

 

[micheal_can]

Strange - that sounded like an echo of two posts above you. Same thing over in the Ontario Northland thread. Do you actually read the threads or just like to post stuff?

It did not address the comment about using the Mactier Sub. Both were not passable.The other post was about whether they could use it as a bypass. All the reasons given are negated when the line was not even usable either.

So, yes,I do read every post. Sometimes if it seems like things are still not clear, I then post a comment that hopefully clears it up.

 

[Trackside_Treasure]

OK, April Fool's Day is technically over now. This is not a joke. Here are the last of the documents from the moribund VIA application for judicial review before the Federal Court. CN's Motion to Strike took effect in February, 2025 and VIA took its case to the Quebec Superior Court. Still extant is Transport Canada's action on its Ministerial Order now that CN submitted its response to TC back in January, 2025. This just-published post include the most revealing documents yet. These internal documents reveal why CN imposed its Crossing Supplement on October 11, 2024 thereby ensuring VIA's Venture trains run late on CN trackage in the Corridor for the past five-plus months. Here's the link:

VIA and CN in Federal Court - The Facts, Part 4

As I continue to garner (with which to populate posts here!) more public documents from the now moribund Federal Court case, I've been shari...

tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com

 

[Bordercollie]

OK, April Fool's Day is technically over now. This is not a joke. Here are the last of the documents from the moribund VIA application for judicial review before the Federal Court. CN's Motion to Strike took effect in February, 2025 and VIA took its case to the Quebec Superior Court. Still extant is Transport Canada's action on its Ministerial Order now that CN submitted its response to TC back in January, 2025. This just-published post include the most revealing documents yet. These internal documents reveal why CN imposed its Crossing Supplement on October 11, 2024 thereby ensuring VIA's Venture trains run late on CN trackage in the Corridor for the past five-plus months. Here's the link:

VIA and CN in Federal Court - The Facts, Part 4

As I continue to garner (with which to populate posts here!) more public documents from the now moribund Federal Court case, I've been shari...

tracksidetreasure.blogspot.com

So....this whole thing is based on the fact that they lost the train for 15 seconds and because they didn't know that the trains were in service? Even though testing proved that the shunt detection was sufficient?

 

[ManyQuestions]

Via trains area still slowing down to 70 at the diamond between the Alexandria sub and CP near De Beaujeu despite this not being a CN interaction. Seems like a very strange consistent additional delay to add on if not at a crossing.

 

[Urban Sky]

Via trains area still slowing down to 70 at the diamond between the Alexandria sub and CP near De Beaujeu despite this not being a CN interaction. Seems like a very strange consistent additional delay to add on if not at a crossing.

My information could be outdated, but the Alexandria Sub seems to have a 50 mph (80 km/h) speed restriction for all passenger trains at MP 6.1 („Railway crossing at grade“)…

 

[smallspy]

My information could be outdated, but the Alexandria Sub seems to have a 50 mph (80 km/h) speed restriction for all passenger trains at MP 6.1 („Railway crossing at grade“)…

This still shows in the most recent files that I've been given.

The way to get around this is a grade separation.

Dan

 

[Urban Sky]

And speaking about 80 km/h speed restrictions, they even exist on the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Brussels High Speed Rail Line:

Source: International Railway Journal (March 2025 edition)

 

[Trackside_Treasure]

I was asked for an opinion piece, not just dry facts, on the months-long morass that is CN-imposed Venture delays. Four questions, my four opinions...
Why did CN start this? CN freaked out then doubled down on its fuzzy logic in fear of a fatal accident occurring on its tracks.
Did VIA react appropriately? VIA realized CN wasn't going to communicate, negotiate nor budge. VIA had to resort to the courts.
The effects: VIA needs to do more to explain to its passengers and to fight the slide it's experiencing.
The future: Transport Canada will eventually order this situation resolved since it alone has a wide range of power sufficient to allow the Minister to address CN and VIA's safety concerns.

 

[Urban Sky]

The future: Transport Canada will eventually order this situation resolved since it alone has a wide range of power sufficient to allow the Minister to address CN and VIA's safety concerns.

Transport Canada needs to do its job, which is to act as or create a safety regulator which determines acceptable safety standards and stops host railways from setting arbitrary limits which almost exclusively affect their tennants‘ trains…

 

[crs1026]

Hopefully a spinoff benefit is greater awareness in Ottawa that the negotiating power imbalance between CN and VIA needs adjustment.

- Paul

 

[Urban Sky]

Hopefully a spinoff benefit is greater awareness in Ottawa that the negotiating power imbalance between CN and VIA needs adjustment.

- Paul

Seriously, we shouldn’t tell passengers to be just angry at CN, but to call out the beancounting paperpushers at TC which sit as always on their hands…!

 

[Northern Light]

Seriously, we shouldn’t tell passengers to be angry at CN, but to call out the beancounting paperpushers at TC which sit as always on their hands…!

You don't suppose TC are a lax regulator because certain players with influence lobby hard to keep it that way do you?

Just sayin.

Yes, the sit-on-handsers and do-nothings should be shown the door.......but we absolutely need to get the attention of those who made them that way.......

Whether its imposing Positive Train Control; or demanding better crossing equipment from CN or a host of other matters......... an activist TC will require, at the least, a chastened CN and CPKC, if not their active support.

 

[Urban Sky]

You don't suppose TC are a lax regulator because certain players with influence lobby hard to keep it that way do you?

Just sayin.

Yes, the sit-on-handsers and do-nothings should be shown the door.......but we absolutely need to get the attention of those who made them that way.......

Whether its imposing Positive Train Control; or demanding better crossing equipment from CN or a host of other matters......... an activist TC will require, at the least, a chastened CN and CPKC, if not their active support.

When I criticize TC, that explicity includes the responsible minister and implicitly the Prime Minister…