At the end of September, VIA Rail announced their suspension of train service in the Maritimes would go on indefinitely.
Originally slated to resume in November, the crown corporation has not set a new date for reinstating service that was shut down in March.
Erica Butler spoke with Ted Bartlett, president of Transport Action Atlantic, to get his reaction to the news and find out more about the future of rail service in the Maritimes.
Here’s that conversation:
TRANSCRIPT
ERICA BUTLER:
So VIA Rail announced at the end of September that it’s indefinitely continuing the suspension of the Ocean service to Atlantic Canada. What was your reaction to that news?
TED BARTLETT:
Well, it didn’t really come as a big surprise because there are obvious complications, operating in and out of the Atlantic Bubble. And given that the one remaining tri-weekly train that we had, originates in Montreal, which is really the epicenter of COVID-19 in Canada, and makes a number of stops in Quebec before crossing into the Maritimes near Campbellton, one can readily appreciate that there would be difficulties with maintaining the integrity of the Atlantic Bubble there.
So it’s not really a big surprise that they’ve postponed restoring it. Now, having said that, our our focus now has to be on what form of passenger rail is going to take, when it finally does come back, because we know it is not going to be the same.
There have been changes while the service was suspended. VIA is no longer able to use the container terminal in Halifax to turn its trains. So when it returns, it’s going to have to run backwards to Montreal. And with the equipment that they have at their disposal, there are going to be numerous challenges with that. There’s going to be compromises that have to be made in amenities, as well. So it is not going to be as attractive a product, as it was before the pandemic hit. And before VIA was banished from the container terminal.
That’s ironic in itself, because the container terminal is a public asset. It’s owned by the crown, and operated under contract actually now by a Singapore-based company. So it’s extremely ironic that a federal crown corporation is denied the use of a federal asset. And the federal government didn’t really do anything to address this issue. VIA management tells us they looked at a number of different options, but they were either too expensive or fraught with operational challenges, or there were some safety considerations.
Of course, if there was more funding available, most of these challenges could probably be overcome. But VIA is chronically underfunded here in Atlantic Canada. And all they could do was, I guess, what they have done. And it’s, at best, a lash-up, which will certainly be not as attractive a product as they were offering before.
EB:
So this inability to turn around in Halifax… you’re saying that that VIA has sort of exhausted the technical possibilities of finding another way to turn around. So…
TB:
Well, there are possibilities there, if the government of Canada was prepared to make the necessary infrastructure investments, but there’s no indication that they are.
EB:
Are Canadians making a case for it? Is there any political will demanding this? Is VIA making a case for it?
TB:
There is but it’s mostly on the opposition side of the house and some government backbenchers. But you know, the strongest advocate for passenger rail in parliament from Atlantic Canada these days is the the Green Party member from Fredericton. And they don’t even have any passenger rail in Fredericton.
The government seems to subscribe to the same philosophy that VIA management has, that Canada ends at Quebec City and east of there, passenger rail is not important. And we’ve certainly seen adequate evidence from the Minister of Transport that his interest in passenger rail ends at Quebec City, period. And he’s not prepared to advocate for any investment.
Now of the the minister of infrastructure, who was previously the minister of environment, is more sympathetic. But so far, we haven’t seen anything. We’re pinning some hopes on Minister McKenna here, in the hope that the reality that passenger rail is the most environmentally friendly form of transportation will eventually carry the day and there’ll be some investment east of Quebec City. And it doesn’t require billions of dollars or anything like that. It’s a reasonable and modest investment… upgrading track, replacing rolling stock, much of which is more than 70 years old.
EB:
Now you say you sort of are paying some hopes on Minister McKenna. Are you concerned at all that this actually might be the end of the Ocean? Is that a possibility?
TB:
Oh indeed it is, yes. VIA management tells us they’re committed to returning it to service when it is safe to do so from a COVID point of view. But what form will it take? It is going to be a substandard train. It will be less attractive to the traveling public. And I don’t think it will meet the government’s stated objectives of promoting more environmentally friendly travel.
You know, there’s got to be money spent on it. It’s been neglected for years and years and years. And the Renaissance equipment–that’s probably rather ineptly named, that was bought 20 years ago–is now at the end of its useful life, because it was never intended for life in Canada. It’s British built stuff, designed for their climate, their operating conditions. It was supposed to be out of service by the end of 2020. They’re keeping some of it in service because they had invested money to make it accessible for people with disabilities. And the 70-year-old equipment, which is arguably much more robust, doesn’t have that capability.
And furthermore, from the point of view of the Sackville-Amherst area, there’s two closed stations there. A person with disabilities cannot board the train there anyway. They’ve got to go to Moncton, where there’s an elevator on the station platform.
So really, we need new equipment that’s designed for the 21st century, that has the capability of accommodating travellers with disabilities. And it is not going to bankrupt the Treasury to do that. But the political will has to be there. And we haven’t seen the evidence that it is up to this point.
EB:
As an observer of train and public transport systems, do you see train service taking a similar hit in other jurisdictions?
TB:
Well, Canada is at the tail end of the developed world as far as passenger rail is concerned. The United States is no shining light, but at least they have invested money in infrastructure and new rolling stock in recent years. And there’s a rolling stock being built as we speak, and it’s suitable for North American conditions. Canada could piggyback on some of the existing orders in order to get equipment that that would work in in our operating environment, and probably save a bit of money in the bargain. But there’s, again, no indication that there’s a will to do that.
EB:
Now CHMA is celebrating its 35th anniversary on the FM dial this month. So in light of that, I wonder if you could give us a historical snapshot of what train service might have been like in Sackville in 1985.
TB:
In 1985, there would have been two trains a day in each direction between Halifax and Sackville and between Sackville and Moncton. The Ocean ran seven days a week, and there was also a local rail liner service that ran between Halifax and Saint John. And the station, of course, was staffed. I don’t think we’ll ever see that again. I think that’s a reality that in smaller communities, there will be unstaffed stations. But the trains themselves have to be adapted to reflect this new reality. And arrangements have to be made to reopen the stations as a shelter for passengers. Not necessarily as a place where one can buy a train ticket, but because most of them are bought online these days anyway. But in Amherst, they seem to have made significant progress towards that end, but nothing has happened in Sackville.
EB:
Now, you did just mention some smaller regional train services that used to exist, and in 2015 VIA had announced that it would pursue regional train service.
TB:
Absolutely nothing has happened. And this is certainly not the time to start up a regional service. No, we view VIA’s role at this point as providing a medium to long haul service between Halifax and Montreal daily. And I say that with a capital D, maybe all caps, let’s shout it out! It needs to be a daily service that can build ridership. And it will supplement the motorcoach service that is being run by Maritime Bus, and will also feed connecting passengers to and from places like Charlottetown, Antigonish, Sydney, Saint John and Fredericton, that are not on the rail line. You know, it’s a win-win situation for both VIA and Maritime Bus, if it’s managed properly.
EB:
All right, Ted, and is there anything you know that I should have asked that you want to add?
TB:
Well, I guess there’s one other aspect to this as well. There’s a problem with the track infrastructure in northern New Brunswick that has resulted in slow restrictions on the train for a number of years now. Whereas it used to take under four hours to go from Moncton to Campbellton, it now takes six, because the train can only operate at a maximum speed of 30 miles an hour over a considerable section of the line. So there needs to be infrastructure investment there to bring it up to snuff, to bring it up to the standard that it was 20 years ago. You know, even in the days of steam locomotives, it didn’t take six hours to go from Moncton to Campbellton. And it’s a disgrace.
EB:
This is like federal government, federal infrastructure
projects that we need…
TB:
Yes, it’s got to be the federal government to take a lead role. CN, which is now a private company (it used to be a crown corporation) is answerable to its shareholders. And it’s not in the interests of shareholder value for them to invest in what’s called the Newcastle sub, the Newcastle subdivision, which is the track between Moncton and Campbellton. It carries very little freight, and that’s where CN’s bread and butter is. So if it’s going to be primarily a passenger line, the federal government has to step in, because VIA is a user and VIA is a creature of the federal government and it needs to be properly funded.
EB:
All right. Well, thanks very much for your time today, Ted.
TB:
It’s a pleasure.
