Paul Langan, President of High Speed Rail Canada will speak at a luncheon hosted by the International Right of Way Association, June 3rd, 2015. Location is the Harbour Banquet & Conference Centre, 2340 Ontario St, Oakville, On.L6L 6P7.Non -Members tickets are :$45.00 (HST included). For more information: http://www.irwachapter29.org/#!information/vstc1=luncheons To order tickets go HERE:

I love this interview. It is short but captures the essence of  being a passenger in 1977 on the Turbo and comparing it to the cost/convenience to travelling by plane. FROM CBC ARCHIVES  February 28th, 1977, Federal Transport Minister Otto Lang announces the creation of a new Crown corporation that will take over all passenger rail services in Canada. It is called VIA Rail Canada. Until this time, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways both operated a mix of profitable freight services and debt-ridden passenger services. CBC Radio reporter Bob Johnstone, on board the Turbo train between Toronto and Montreal, asks his fellow passengers why they prefer traveling by rail. http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/1977-via-rail-canada-is-born

NOTE: This blog title sums up the present state of passenger rail in Canada. WINDSOR STAR - A train travelling from Windsor to Toronto clipped a John Deere lawn mower east of Chatham. The 83-year-old lawn mower driver was wearing ear protection while cutting grass and did not hear the train coming, according to a police news release. He was not injured. Damage to the lawn mower was estimated at about $1,500. Police said no charges will be laid. Maxime Dupont-Demers, spokesman for VIA Rail, said the train made an emergency stop after it struck the mower at a crossing between fields where there are no lights or barriers. Police said it was near the intersection of Kent Bridge Road and Northwood Line. “There is a right of passage for tractors there,” he said in an email. He said the mower driver was not injured, nor were any of the train passengers. Dupont-Demers said the train has the right of way and whistles at all crossings.

Windsor Star - The Windsor market will gain two runs as part of a strategy by Via Rail Canada to increase ridership. Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, the president and CEO of Via Rail, announced the return of a 5:30 p.m. weekday train from Toronto to Windsor and an extra run between Windsor and London during a Wednesday luncheon hosted by the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We’re working hard to increase ridership at Via Rail,” Desjardins-Siciliano told about 50 people at the Caboto Club. “We believe we’re poised for growth.” He said the extra service should be in place late this year or by early 2016. There is also a plan to add an extra service between Sarnia and London.

High Speed Rail Canada officially announces that their on-line store is now open to buy High Speed Rail Canada clothing. WireService.ca Press Release (05/20/2015) Cambridge, ON , - High Speed Rail Canada is Canada's only national advocacy group promoting the introduction of high speed rail since 2008. High Speed Rail Canada has over 20 previous Canadian high speed rail studies on their website as well as the world’s largest publically available video and audio recordings relating to the CN Turbo Train and Bombardier Jet Train. Their newsletter goes out to over 300 supporters and is growing each month. The introduction of clothing embroidered with the High Speed Rail Canada logo for sale is now being offered on their website. Payment is available through Paypal. Clothing available through the site includes: Short and long sleeve T-shirts. Ladies and mens polo Shirts. Zippered and pull over Gildan Hoodies High Speed Rail Founder Paul Langan states , &qu

Angelo Young - International Business Times - If you step onto a train in Uzbekistan, you’ll discover a system far more advanced than anything built in the United States. The 4-year-old Afrosiyob high-speed rail system connects the country’s two major cities with a modern, efficient and safe train that can get from one end of the 214-mile line to the other in 90 minutes. That’s roughly the same distance Amtrak trains travel between Boston and New York, a trip that takes nearly four hours. And like many other rail systems of the United States (and underdeveloped countries), Afrosiyub is technologically safer because high-speed rail lines utilize high-tech accident-avoidance systems that have been implemented only on short stretches by Amtrak, which shuttles more than 30 million people every year, mainly through its Northeast Corridor. “The Northeast Corridor has a hodgepodge of modern train control systems,” said Richard Harnish, executive director of the Chicago-based Midwest High Spee