VIA Rail Canada

[John Oke]

Has anyone else noticed that the new Reservia is extremely buggy? It won't even let me select the train I want most of the time

[Urban Sky]

3 hours ago, Shaun said:

Hopefully adding venture sets to the corridor will free up some HEP II cars for long distance routes for the holidays.  Are they still refurbishing them? 

Only the (HEP-1) coaches will be of any use for non-Corridor services, but I wasn’t of the impression that those were the the car type in shortest supply…

[Shaun]

1 hour ago, Urban Sky said:

Only the (HEP-1) coaches will be of any use for non-Corridor services, but I wasn’t of the impression that those were the the car type in shortest supply…

So the rebuilding of HEPII's is only until all venture sets are in service? I thought they are good for another ten years?

 

[Urban Sky]

4 hours ago, Shaun said:

So the rebuilding of HEPII's is only until all venture sets are in service? I thought they are good for another ten years?

 

Sorry, I was only commenting on the cars (from the Corridor fleet) which will be freed up by the delivery of the Siemens trainsets…

[Shaun]

20 hours ago, Urban Sky said:

Sorry, I was only commenting on the cars (from the Corridor fleet) which will be freed up by the delivery of the Siemens trainsets…

So are they rebuilding any of the HEP I cars? They are always tacked on to the end of the train but that's probably because they don't have MU cables. 

[Chris_the_traveller]

I spotted a VIA Train this morning, was either VIA 61 or VIA 643, with 3 F40s leading an LRC consist towards Toronto. Did not expect to see so much power on a standard LRC consist.

[Urban Sky]

1 hour ago, Chris_the_traveller said:

I spotted a VIA Train this morning, was either VIA 61 or VIA 643, with 3 F40s leading an LRC consist towards Toronto. Did not expect to see so much power on a standard LRC consist.

Probably #61, as it is one of the preferred trains to send DH equipment from MMC to TMC…

[smallspy]

For anyone looking to ride one of the new Siemens trainsets, VIA has published a schedule on their website for the foreseeable future. 4 trainsets are in service daily.

https://www.viarail.ca/en/plan/new-fleet

 

Dan

[G.A]

4 hours ago, smallspy said:

For anyone looking to ride one of the new Siemens trainsets, VIA has published a schedule on their website for the foreseeable future. 4 trainsets are in service daily.

https://www.viarail.ca/en/plan/new-fleet

 

Dan

Hopefully they will be on 87 and others next year.

[Urban Sky]

1 hour ago, G.A said:

Hopefully they will be on 87 and others next year.

As long as the Siemens facility at TMC has not open, the Siemens trains will only visit Toronto during the day and therefore not continue West of Toronto. As next steps, I would expect more westbound morning departures from Ottawa or Montreal to be added with corresponding returns in the afternoon or evening. Once the TMC facility has opened, overnight stays in Toronto may happen, which should allow for the first outings into SWO, with 71-76 and 73-78 being the most likely candidates. Sadly, 87-84 would probably be among the last services to be converted…

[Chris_the_traveller]

What is the current plan for the 2 Renaissance trainsets in the corridor? Will they soon be pulled from service? I thought these were going to be pulled as soon as the Siemens trainsets could replace them. Now there are already 4 Siemens trainsets but I still see the Rens on the Ottawa-Québec route.

I rode a Renaissance train a few days ago from Montréal to Ottawa. From the passenger point of view, everything was great and I find it to be a much quieter ride (I.e. being unable to hear the movements of the car and outside noises) as compared to the rickety HEP 2s. But my understanding is that mechanically they have a lot of issues.

[smallspy]

12 hours ago, Urban Sky said:

As long as the Siemens facility at TMC has not open, the Siemens trains will only visit Toronto during the day and therefore not continue West of Toronto. As next steps, I would expect more westbound morning departures from Ottawa or Montreal to be added with corresponding returns in the afternoon or evening. Once the TMC facility has opened, overnight stays in Toronto may happen, which should allow for the first outings into SWO, with 71-76 and 73-78 being the most likely candidates. Sadly, 87-84 would probably be among the last services to be converted…

It's not often I get to correct you, but....

 

This is unequivocally false. The facilities at TMC are not the problem.

 

The units can and have been serviced at TMC already. And they are serviced at MMC, which has not had its set of upgrades - the same as being done in Toronto - done as yet, either.

 

No, the issue is training. At this point, only a very limited group of crews are trained on them in Toronto. This is why the first trainset is running from Ottawa to Toronto and back the same day - it is being run with one crew.

 

For the record, the issue with the TMC (and MMC) is that they are not configured to do overhead work on long consists of trains, as none of the equipment that VIA has had delivered has been configured like that. Until the new facilities are built and operating, the Siemens trains will have to be taken apart and the affected piece of rolling stock moved into one of the overhead bays if any major work needs to be done, and the equipment placed in the existing spaces where overhead access is available.

 

That said, I do completely agree with you that 71-76 and 73-78 make the most sense for the first trains converted to Siemens equipment. This will help the timekeeping on those trains immensely.

 

Dan

[Urban Sky]

2 hours ago, smallspy said:

It's not often I get to correct you, but....

 

This is unequivocally false. The facilities at TMC are not the problem.

 

The units can and have been serviced at TMC already. And they are serviced at MMC, which has not had its set of upgrades - the same as being done in Toronto - done as yet, either.

 

No, the issue is training. At this point, only a very limited group of crews are trained on them in Toronto. This is why the first trainset is running from Ottawa to Toronto and back the same day - it is being run with one crew.

 

For the record, the issue with the TMC (and MMC) is that they are not configured to do overhead work on long consists of trains, as none of the equipment that VIA has had delivered has been configured like that. Until the new facilities are built and operating, the Siemens trains will have to be taken apart and the affected piece of rolling stock moved into one of the overhead bays if any major work needs to be done, and the equipment placed in the existing spaces where overhead access is available.

 

That said, I do completely agree with you that 71-76 and 73-78 make the most sense for the first trains converted to Siemens equipment. This will help the timekeeping on those trains immensely.

 

Dan

Thank you, Dan, I guess that even though I was supposed to take a key role in planning the staging of the Siemens rollout, it starts to show that I‘ve left VIA two-and-a-half years ago and that my operational insights are thus fading.

That said, it was always planned to first roll out on MO, then QMO, then MT/OT (first: same-day return, then: with overnight stay at TMC) and finally SWO, though I was somehow of the (apparently: wrong) impression that the Siemens facility was already live at MMC…

Anyways, I‘m always happy to get corrected, as it gives me valuable insights and challenges any misperceptions!

[smallspy]

3 hours ago, Urban Sky said:

That said, it was always planned to first roll out on MO, then QMO, then MT/OT (first: same-day return, then: with overnight stay at TMC) and finally SWO, though I was somehow of the (apparently: wrong) impression that the Siemens facility was already live at MMC…

It seems that while at least this part of the plan is still as you saw it all those years ago, the MMC portion is not. You may recall that VIA released a press release back in November of last year stating that they'd signed two contracts for the rebuilding of each of TMC and MMC. While there was a big presser in Toronto back in July about that work getting underway, the work in Montreal had only started a couple of months previous.

 

Dan

[InfiNorth]

Forgive my ignorance (as it is excessive, as you all know), but what's up with the Sunday schedule for the new trainsets? Three arrivals in Quebec City and only one departure... are they deadheading the things back? All the other days make total sense, but Sunday has two Ottawa-QC runs that don't reciprocate.

[Urban Sky]

14 hours ago, InfiNorth said:

Forgive my ignorance (as it is excessive, as you all know), but what's up with the Sunday schedule for the new trainsets? Three arrivals in Quebec City and only one departure... are they deadheading the things back? All the other days make total sense, but Sunday has two Ottawa-QC runs that don't reciprocate.

Some trains stay in Quebec City overnight, so you have to compare how many trains end their days on Saturdays with those which start there on Sunday. Also, some routes shown in the VIA table don’t match the train numbers (e.g. Train 31 is „Montreal-Ottawa“, not „Quebec City-Ottawa“), so don‘t blame yourself if you got confused! Maybe this view is more understandable and shows space-time continuity:

[InfiNorth]

On 10/26/2023 at 7:11 AM, Urban Sky said:

Some trains stay in Quebec City overnight, so you have to compare how many trains end their days on Saturdays with those which start there on Sunday. Also, some routes shown in the VIA table don’t match the train numbers (e.g. Train 31 is „Montreal-Ottawa“, not „Quebec City-Ottawa“), so don‘t blame yourself if you got confused! Maybe this view is more understandable and shows space-time continuity:

Considering the size of Quebec City's station, where do they overnight?

[smallspy]

10 hours ago, InfiNorth said:

Considering the size of Quebec City's station, where do they overnight?

There are two platform tracks, and two servicing tracks within the station. Thus, they can store 4 trainsets in the station each night.

 

Dn

[Urban Sky]

4 minutes ago, smallspy said:

There are two platform tracks, and two servicing tracks within the station. Thus, they can store 4 trainsets in the station each night.

 

Dn

Correct, and this can be seen here (platform tracks on the left, storage tracks on the right):

 

However, with 5 departures and arrivals per day and #20 cycling to #37, #22/622 to #39 and #24 to #29, there should never be more than 2 trains in the station…

[Transitfan39]

General question, I am scheduled to be on Via Rail train #26 from Ottawa to Montreal and Train 37 to return on a following day, is it likely that I'll get to board the Siemens trainset on one of the trips? When I asked this to the agent who finalized my tickets she said it's possible but it would be good to know how I can find out online for certain

[Urban Sky]

4 hours ago, Transitfan39 said:

General question, I am scheduled to be on Via Rail train #26 from Ottawa to Montreal and Train 37 to return on a following day, is it likely that I'll get to board the Siemens trainset on one of the trips? When I asked this to the agent who finalized my tickets she said it's possible but it would be good to know how I can find out online for certain

You can now find the deployment of the Siemens trainsets on VIA’s website, but I’ve summarized it in this table below:

 

You can also find the most recent cycling plan I’ve seen here:

 

I hope this answers your question…

[GTAmissions1]

Via-Rail is implementing a new reservation system effective November 18th. 

https://www.viarail.ca/en/new-reservation-system

Our goal is to make trip planning as stress-free as possible for everyone. Flexible and simplified for your convenience, here are some of the features of the new system that you won't want to miss!

• Online trip modifications at your fingertips;
• Seat selection will (finally!) be available in the Corridor;
• Compare our lowest fares on a calendar view;
• A more intuitive interface for passengers with specific needs and accessibility requests;
• Pre-pay for additional baggage during the booking process;
• Get quick access to your profile and all your travel information (including your VIA Préférence points balance);
• Ability to save your boarding pass on your smartphone’s Wallet app (Apple and Android);
• Virtual gift cards, and much more!

There will also be luggage changes noted per this tweet below:

Final comments:

Really revamping the online reservation system to better adapt to today. The mobile app will be decommissioned on November 17th which won't work with the new system. 

At the same time, there is a trade-off regarding luggage which will impact the size of carry-on along with the type of ticket purchased per direction. Not sure how tightly enforced the carry-on bags will be. I know airlines are more hardball on it now than in the past to ensure that it is balanced for all passengers. Train travel being a lot different, but never had  a staff member check my bag yet. 

[Chris_the_traveller]

On 11/6/2023 at 8:13 PM, GTAmissions1 said:

Via-Rail is implementing a new reservation system effective November 18th. 

https://www.viarail.ca/en/new-reservation-system

Our goal is to make trip planning as stress-free as possible for everyone. Flexible and simplified for your convenience, here are some of the features of the new system that you won't want to miss!

• Online trip modifications at your fingertips;
• Seat selection will (finally!) be available in the Corridor;
• Compare our lowest fares on a calendar view;
• A more intuitive interface for passengers with specific needs and accessibility requests;
• Pre-pay for additional baggage during the booking process;
• Get quick access to your profile and all your travel information (including your VIA Préférence points balance);
• Ability to save your boarding pass on your smartphone’s Wallet app (Apple and Android);
• Virtual gift cards, and much more!

There will also be luggage changes noted per this tweet below:

Final comments:

Really revamping the online reservation system to better adapt to today. The mobile app will be decommissioned on November 17th which won't work with the new system. 

At the same time, there is a trade-off regarding luggage which will impact the size of carry-on along with the type of ticket purchased per direction. Not sure how tightly enforced the carry-on bags will be. I know airlines are more hardball on it now than in the past to ensure that it is balanced for all passengers. Train travel being a lot different, but never had  a staff member check my bag yet. 

This change is intriguing and I welcome the new modernized booking system. Though I am worried that the VIA Preference program will become less advantageous. Reward trips will no longer have free cancellation or changes. Taxes will also have to be paid on reward trips. Currently the fare for a short-duration reward trip in the Corridor is only 550 points in Economy -- what will the new base fare be?

[InfiNorth]

On 11/6/2023 at 5:13 PM, GTAmissions1 said:

Via-Rail is implementing a new reservation system effective November 18th. 

https://www.viarail.ca/en/new-reservation-system

 

That luggage policy is horrendous. I'm glad I did my trans-Canada journey back in 2019. I had two bags - one giant backpack, one small backpack. Was never challenged on it, ever.

[Tom1122]

Just before 8:00 I was on a late running VIA 98 passing VIA's Toronto Maintenance Center and I saw a trainset of the new VIA equipment pulling in. I know VIA presently runs the trains on trains 41 and 48 on Wednesdays. Is VIA adding departures of the new Siemens trainsets to Toronto?