VIA announced Wednesday that it will drop one of two weekly round trips south of Thompson, Man., to Winnipeg, Man., starting Nov. 1. Tri-weekly service north of Thompson — now truncated to Gillam, Man. — is being maintained, as is the weekly round trip as far south as The Pas., Man. The rail line provides the only all-weather access to First Nations communities along its northern Manitoba route.
The adjustments mean only one set of equipment will be needed to protect the service. The sole Winnipeg departure now leaves Wednesdays from Winnipeg for Gillam, makes a Friday round-trip from there to Thompson, then a Saturday round-trip to The Pas, and finally leaves Gillam early Monday for Winnipeg, arriving Tuesday.
A tri-weekly schedule to provide "remote area" service (Sleepers. Diners, Domes are surely "Adios) Winnipeg-Gillman that will require only one set of equipment will be instituted as outlined in the report. Further, VIA will recover its stranded equipment at Churchill by ship. Not surprising, the indigenous population plans protests (could they give incarcerated Polar bears "get out of jail free" cards?), but it would appear that this line with marginal freight traffic potential will only be restored if it is acquired by the public sector.
Posted by David (Member # 3) on :
Trains Newswire may be using the term "discontinued" but in the latest timetable (5 Nov.) VIA is saying "temporarily out of service between Gillam and Churchill." It remains to be seen how "temporary" this suspension of service is. The stranded train has arrived in Montreal and is reported to be at the Montreal Maintenance Centre. The federal government has filed the lawsuit against Omnitrax, as they threatened to do.
Posted by MargaretSPfan (Member # 3632) on :
I am only an outsider, but -- shouldn't the Canadian government try to work with Omnitrax to get the line to Churchill repaired and reopened, instead of sung them? It is going to cost whoever repairs that line a lot of money. Is a lawsuit the only way to start the process of getting the line repaired and reopened? Just wondering.....
TIA for any info on this.
I'm glad the railroad equipment has been retrieved. Those poor folks in Churchill......
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
The timekeeping of "The Canadian" has simply dropped off the page. Arrivals of 12hrs late are common. Lodging for inconvenienced passengers must be costing VIA "heap big". So here is "a modest proposal".
Might it be time to simply drop the funny papers they call a "schedule" and simply "run it when we run it".
Passengers would book a trip on a train identified by a "Run#". Beyond, say, a three day window to leave an originating station, they would be notified with hopefully a 24 hour "window" as to when the train could reasonably expect to depart.
Finally, I realize this sounds a bit like being in Service and being "deployed" overseas. Very simply, they tell you when you are leaving. There is no calling up and saying "hello Pan Am, when can I get a flight to Saigon...."?
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
quote:Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: Finally, I realize this sounds a bit like being in Service and being "deployed" overseas. Very simply, they tell you when you are leaving. There is no calling up and saying "hello Pan Am, when can I get a flight to Saigon...."?
Ah, yes. I remember those events. However, one major difference: You couldn't decide the aggravation made the trip not worth in and cancel out. (My final return to the US from the Southeast Asian vacation land was over 48 hours after it was supposed to have been thanks to airplane mechanical problems.) You had no choice unless you wanted to spend time in the military equivalent of the Graybar Hotel. By the way, for those never in the service, the clock counting down your obligated time stopped for the duration of your stockade residency.
Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :
quote:Originally posted by MargaretSPfan: I'm glad the railroad equipment has been retrieved. Those poor folks in Churchill......
After 18 months without service, Churchill, Man., residents gathered to welcome the town's first passenger train since 2017 on Tuesday afternoon.
Via Rail Train 693 left Winnipeg on Sunday, arriving in the town — 1,000 kilometres to the north — about 36 hours later, with at least 100 people braving –20 C degree weather to see its arrival..