VIA Rail Canada

[InfiNorth]

On 2/27/2024 at 2:28 PM, Urban Sky said:

HEP2s? If there is one car type VIA won’t have a shortage of during the transition phase between the full delivery of the new Corridor fleet and TC’s deadline for retiring the entire remaining HEP fleet by the end of 2035, it will be coaches…

Does the deadline include the Park and Skyline cars (and prestige cars in general)?

[Urban Sky]

10 hours ago, InfiNorth said:

Does the deadline include the Park and Skyline cars (and prestige cars in general)?

I would assume that the entire HEP fleet will need to be retured by then (at least those with passengers on board, which would only leave baggage cars, if anything) - and at an age of then 80 years, they will be twice as old than the regular useful life of rail cars…

[81-717]

1 hour ago, Urban Sky said:

at an age of then 80 years, they will be twice as old than the regular useful life of rail cars…

I wonder why those cars have been kept around that abnormally long. Normally the lifespan of rolling stock varies widely as is (from 20–25 years to 50+ years) but this is way beyond that range. Ofc some people on here will argue that just because those cars lasted 80 years, the T1s should last 80 years as well, because the T1s absolutely have to outlive all other rolling stock in the world.

[Urban Sky]

13 hours ago, 81-717 said:

I wonder why those cars have been kept around that abnormally long. Normally the lifespan of rolling stock varies widely as is (from 20–25 years to 50+ years) but this is way beyond that range. Ofc some people on here will argue that just because those cars lasted 80 years, the T1s should last 80 years as well, because the T1s absolutely have to outlive all other rolling stock in the world.

Because when it comes to the federal government and its bureaucrats looking after VIA, the Status Quo is presistent and almost unshakable…

[Doppelkupplung]

21 hours ago, Urban Sky said:

Because when it comes to the federal government and its bureaucrats looking after VIA, the Status Quo is presistent and almost unshakable…

Nothing says Canada more than nearly century old railcars.
 

Bild moar hiways!!!!!

[tomsbuspage]

CBC: Engine fire forces Via Rail train to stop near Cornwall, Ont.

[yrt1000]

13 minutes ago, tomsbuspage said:

CBC: Engine fire forces Via Rail train to stop near Cornwall, Ont.

It caused big delays yesterday. Train 67 ended up being hooked up to train 55 to Toronto and arrived about 5 hours late there (55 was about 2.5 hours late)

[InfiNorth]

On 3/5/2024 at 8:08 AM, Doppelkupplung said:

Nothing says Canada more than nearly century old railcars.
 

Bild moar hiways!!!!!

Wouldn't want people to get thinkin' they can just, you know git around this country. 

[Trimetwes Fan1003]

On 3/3/2024 at 9:45 PM, 81-717 said:

I wonder why those cars have been kept around that abnormally long. Normally the lifespan of rolling stock varies widely as is (from 20–25 years to 50+ years) but this is way beyond that range. Ofc some people on here will argue that just because those cars lasted 80 years, the T1s should last 80 years as well, because the T1s absolutely have to outlive all other rolling stock in the world.

What is a T1 in terms of Via Rail? The only T1 i know of is the class Steam Engines.

[81-717]

7 hours ago, Trimetwes Fan1003 said:

What is a T1 in terms of Via Rail? The only T1 i know of is the class Steam Engines.

A TTC subway car. My comment was in reference to the TTC conspiring with the feds' utter unwillingness to fund transit, solely for the purpose of keeping them forever and ever and beyond.

[T3G]

34 minutes ago, 81-717 said:

A TTC subway car. My comment was in reference to the TTC conspiring with the feds' utter unwillingness to fund transit, solely for the purpose of keeping them forever and ever and beyond.

If you don't have any proof of this conspiracy, this post is on the same level as Alex Jones claiming that chlorine in the water turns the frogs gay. 

[81-717]

On 3/8/2024 at 11:42 AM, T3G said:

If you don't have any proof of this conspiracy, this post is on the same level as Alex Jones claiming that chlorine in the water turns the frogs gay. 

Pretty rich & hypocritical coming from Mr. "LoNg LiVe ThE t1" 

On 3/8/2024 at 11:42 AM, T3G said:

If you don't have any proof of this conspiracy, this post is on the same level as Alex Jones claiming that chlorine in the water turns the frogs gay. 

What more proof do you need other than that the results of which we're already seeing (and the fact that the feds have completely ignored this issue while deadlines have come and gone)?

Perhaps this will help:

Quote

Normally, the transit authority would begin the process of replacing the newer MR-73 cars, which run on the Blue and Orange lines, in the next few years. However, Carl Desrosiers, the STM’s director general, said Wednesday the transit authority is confident it can keep the old cars running for at least 20 more years.

He said the general wisdom in the industry has been that trains should be replaced after 40 years, which would mean that the MR-73s should be replaced in the next few years. However, recent studies have shown that trains can last at least 60 years. Several cities have already decided to extend the life of their subway trains to 60 years

Quote

“This is becoming the world standard for trains that are reliable,” Desrosiers said.

How convenient that this "started to become the world standard" right after the TTC just finished retiring its 30-year-old cars, eh?

Quote

Although they look identical, there are stark differences between Montreal’s two models of métro cars. Built by the firm Canadian-Vickers, the MR-63s are far less reliable than the Bombardier-built MR-73s, Desrosiers said.

“The MR-63s are much more mechanical, while the MR-73s are much more electric,” he said.

The fact that both roll on rubber tires also improves their reliability, he said.

But make no mistake, the MR-63s must go. Desrosiers said they are far less reliable (at a breakdown rate roughly 50 per cent higher), and they cost much more to maintain.

“If we had done the same analysis with the MR-63s 10 years ago, we would have come to the same conclusion that they need to be replaced,” Desrosiers said.

Replace "MR-73" with "T1" and "MR-63" with "Hawkers" and that basically sums up the TTC fiasco, which proves that it was never about vehicles reaching the end of their lifespan, but rather cleansing the fleet of "unwanted" vehicles.

Quote

A graph produced by the transit authority showed that the reliability of the trains has actually improved over time, and they are now considered to be among the most reliable subway trains in the world.

“The older the trains get, the more reliable they are, so it would not be reasonable to change them,” said STM chairman Philippe Schnobb.

I don't know how credible the theory is that the MR-73s are only getting more reliable as they age, or the how's & why's, but we already know that's not the case for the T1s.

Now, to keep this thread on topic, if the deadline to retire all HEP cars is 2035, that means they still have over a decade to go and will be nearly 100. Is the delivery of the new fleet really expected to take that long? Meanwhile the LRC cars are just over 40, and the Renaissance cars are almost 30, are any of them also going to be replaced in the coming 10–15 years?

[T3G]

Why are you using Montreal, a completely different city, to argue something is happening in Toronto? And where in those articles does it say this is happening because X trains "absolutely have to outlive all other rolling stock in the world" and that the TTC is conspiring with the feds "solely for the purpose of keeping them forever and ever and beyond"? 

Your conspiracy theory is heavy in conjecture and sorely lacking in facts. The T1s are more reliable than the H5s and H6s, so it comes as no surprise that they'd want to extract more use out of them and that the urgency to replace them is manufactured political hysteria. I would find it pretty offensive if tax money went to replacing rolling stock you can still extract more value from. 

[81-717]

On 3/8/2024 at 1:37 PM, T3G said:

Why are you using Montreal, a completely different city, to argue something is happening in Toronto?

I always ask the same thing of you and everyone else who always argue that "because MTL / NYC / some other city has 50+ year old stock, Toronto should do the same going forward".

On 3/8/2024 at 1:37 PM, T3G said:

The T1s are more reliable than the H5s and H6s, so it comes as no surprise that they'd want to extract more use out of them and that the urgency to replace them is manufactured political hysteria. I would find it pretty offensive if tax money went to replacing rolling stock you can still extract more value from.

Reliability and longevity doesn't have to be a linear correlation, and it wouldn't be the first or last time "tax money went to replacing rolling stock you can still extract more value from". The most egregious example being Ankara retiring 20-year-old cars which were mechanically similar to the T1s (thus presumably equally reliable). The fact that a completely different city 1000s of miles away retired the Hawkers so early (even earlier than the least reliable of the Hawkers at the TTC), simply because they look like Hawkers (it can't be because of their reliability, since again they were mechanically more like T1s), further adds weight to what you think is nothing but a conspiracy theory.

On 3/8/2024 at 1:37 PM, T3G said:

I would find it pretty offensive if tax money went to replacing rolling stock you can still extract more value from.

And seriously, of all the ways taxpayer money is currently being thrown out the window (to the detriment of taxpayers might I add), this is what you take issue with?

[Urban Sky]

22 hours ago, 81-717 said:

Now, to keep this thread on topic, if the deadline to retire all HEP cars is 2035, that means they still have over a decade to go and will be nearly 100. Is the delivery of the new fleet really expected to take that long?

You are missing the point here: TC does not announce the timeline for the non-corridor fleet renewal. Rather, they are anouncing a deadline to signal to the federal government by what time they will need to have a new fleet procured and delivered, if they want to avoid getting caught with their pants down. Because if the federal government is allowed to continue doing what they do best (which is kicking down the can when it comes to investment decisions to the benefit of VIA), they will sit on their hands until the last HEP car falls apart…

22 hours ago, 81-717 said:

Meanwhile the LRC cars are just over 40, and the Renaissance cars are almost 30, are any of them also going to be replaced in the coming 10–15 years?

There absolutely won’t be any LRC remaining in VIA’s active roster after the delivery and acceptance of the 32nd Siemens trainset. These cars were the most urgent Corridor cars to be replaced and are therefore the first to get pulled out of service. The Renaissance cars are in deplorable state, but they are allowed to hang on a bit longer (at least on the Ocean)…

Edit: added missing word “not” in first sentence.

Edited March 9 by Urban Sky
Added missing word “not” in first sentence and far too many other sense-disfiguring typos

[81-717]

18 hours ago, Urban Sky said:

The Renaissance cars are in deplorable state, but they are allowed to hang on a bit longer (at least on the Ocean)…

How much longer, approximately? Like another decade? Or will they begin retiring right after the last LRC goes?

[dowlingm]

On 3/7/2024 at 2:16 PM, tomsbuspage said:

CBC: Engine fire forces Via Rail train to stop near Cornwall, Ont.

~40 year old F40 has fire, VIA posts picture of new SCV-42… media gonna media

CORRECTION: in my irritation at the CBC article, I committed a pretty calamitous typo as noted below. VIA of course did not post the picture on the CBC’s website.

[Urban Sky]

6 hours ago, dowlingm said:

~40 year old F40 has fire, VIA posts picture of new SCV-42… media gonna media

What makes you think VIA choses the photos for CBC articles which happen to report about something VIA-related?

[downbeat]

11 hours ago, dowlingm said:

VIA posts picture of new SCV-42

That's not how it works. Extremely unlikely that VIA chose the photos for that CBC article. Someone who works at CBC did — and let's face it: most non-railfan/non-transit-obsessed people probably can't tell VIA's locomotives apart and are even less aware of which locomotives are assigned to any particular service.

[Oc4526]

Another Venture set was spotted on a Virtual Railfan grab bag passing through Kerny NE on March 15th It should be in Toronto or Mtl by now 

 

[drum118]

On 3/8/2024 at 4:10 PM, 81-717 said:

I always ask the same thing of you and everyone else who always argue that "because MTL / NYC / some other city has 50+ year old stock, Toronto should do the same going forward".

Reliability and longevity doesn't have to be a linear correlation, and it wouldn't be the first or last time "tax money went to replacing rolling stock you can still extract more value from". The most egregious example being Ankara retiring 20-year-old cars which were mechanically similar to the T1s (thus presumably equally reliable). The fact that a completely different city 1000s of miles away retired the Hawkers so early (even earlier than the least reliable of the Hawkers at the TTC), simply because they look like Hawkers (it can't be because of their reliability, since again they were mechanically more like T1s), further adds weight to what you think is nothing but a conspiracy theory.

And seriously, of all the ways taxpayer money is currently being thrown out the window (to the detriment of taxpayers might I add), this is what you take issue with?

You need to check the Milano Peter Witt Fleet that are still in service built in the 30's and do not meet EU AODA Standards. The T1's will never match them, let alone passengers cars in Europe as well the US.

[via_foamer]

On 3/19/2024 at 4:42 PM, drum118 said:

You need to check the Milano Peter Witt Fleet that are still in service built in the 30's and do not meet EU AODA Standards. The T1's will never match them, let alone passengers cars in Europe as well the US.

Another thing worth considering is that the HEP fleet is all unpowered coaches, which are a lot more mechanically simple than a subway train, since they don't need motors and other propulsion equipment. The coaches only need comparatively minor repairs and rebuilds to keep rolling compared to locomotives or multiple units and last longer because of this.
It's about time VIA replaces their stainless steel cars though, since anywhere between 60-80 years of constant runs (sometimes at speeds up to 100mph) and often a lack of maintenance isn't good for any rolling stock.

[dowlingm]

That number on the back of the loco looks like 2213 so presumably set 2313 too?

[Oc4526]

19 hours ago, dowlingm said:

That number on the back of the loco looks like 2213 so presumably set 2313 too?

Correct. That is set 2213/2313.  

[FutureHeartsJunkie]

I wonder if VIA Rail offers something equivalent to fifth freedom rights in airline routes (or whatever that is)?

I'm dreaming of trying out the VIA Rail train (from Oshawa) to Toronto's Union Station in the future (owning to the fact that one of the GO Train lines (in this case Lakeshore East) will be temporarily shortened to Danforth due to construction during the first weekend of April (during which the VIA Rail trains will travel to a different route to get around the area).