A railway advocate says any federal investments in trains are good news, but safety and daily services also need to be considered.
The federal government confirmed this week, that they will provide the funds to replace the VIA Rail fleet that currently dates back to the 1950’s. Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez wouldn’t confirm an amount, he would only say it is expected to be in the billions of dollars.
Former President for Transport Action Atlantic Ted Bartlett says there are ongoing safety concerns about deteriorating CN-owned tracks. He adds 30 years ago, that track was safe for training speeds of 75 miles an hour, but now it’s 30 miles an hour.
“The track in northern New Brunswick is so bad that most days they can’t keep on time, so that’s something that has to be dealt with. There are so few freight moves on that line that there’s no shareholder value for CN in investing in upgrades. So the Government of Canada needs to take a leadership role. If they don’t, we won’t get the kind of improvements that we need, because all the newest and shiniest cars in the world are not going to attract passengers if they have to crawl along 30 miles an hour.”
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Bartlett adds that services also must be returned to what they were in the past, with a daily schedule
The federal government confirmed funding yesterday for the VIA Rail fleet, which dates back to the 1950s.
“The train has to be on a schedule that is usable to people. You have to be able to go and spend the weekend in Montreal and get back to northern New Brunswick. In Campbellton, Bathurst and Miramichi, if they need to come into Moncton to see the doctor, they need to get on the train in the morning, come in, meet their appointment and go back in the evening. Right now, they can’t do that,” Bartlett stressed.
He says if the service is convenient, fast, and modern enough, ridership will return.
“Atlantic Canadians love trains, no question about that, but they don’t love the standard of service they’re getting right now because it’s unreliable and it’s not frequent enough. There’s also the ongoing problem of the track in northern New Brunswick.”
