High Speed Rail Canada to Release the flawed VIA Rail High Frequency Rail Study 9:00am 04/19/2022. We will make this study available to you as we believe that taxpayers have the right to see what they pay for.  This study is so heavily redacted the public is unable to get basic information on VIA Rail Canada's proposed High Frequency Rail Plan.  Why is VIA Rail Canada not willing to share the details of this plan with the public?  This is a NOT at study about high-speed rail.  We deserve better. http://highspeedrailcanada.com

VIA Rail High Frequency Rail Plan - (Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec City) vs Rail Baltica High Speed Rail Plan (Estonia - Lithuanian - Latvia) In our first review we compared Canada’s VIA Rail service to  Uzbekistan and to no ones surprise  Uzbekistan had faster passenger trains. Now we will do a quick look at comparing two new projects. Now maybe it’s not fair to compare a rich country like Canada (Gross Domestic Product ranking 9th in the world  to Estonia, Lithuania -Latvia (GDP 46th,38th and 47th in world respectively) That GDP rating didn’t seem to matter when Canada VIA Rail passenger rail system was compared to Uzbekistan We will look at what I believe are three important factors. Safety, Speed and the Environment. Rail Baltica (Estonia-Lithuanian-Latvia): Electrified  Double tracked, no level crossings - grade separated ERTMS- newest generation of European railway traffic management system Maximum design speed of 249 km/h (the maximum op...

VIA Rail Canada has proposed a $4 Billion High Frequency Rail Plan. They are starting to promote the plan as the Infrastructure Bank continues the review of it. Unfortunately there are some things that VIA Rail Canada are not telling you.

It is hard to believe that VIA Rail’s $4billion dollar passenger rail plan has gotten this far in the process of consideration by Transport Canada and the federal Liberal government. The Liberal’s pre-election budget is being presented March 19th, and it is judgement day for VIA Rail’s flawed plan. New readers to our site should read the previous articles linked at the bottom of this page to learn more about this plan and why it is problematic. This 4 billion dollar debacle has VIA trains travelling at 1975 era speeds through sparsely-populated areas on an abandoned Ontario-Quebec Railway line. (Toronto - Peterborough - Ottawa). Then the line travels on to Montreal - Trois-Rivières - Québec City. Sadly, taxpayers who would fund it, cannot comment or see the proposal before the Liberal government potentially approves it. Here are some facts that should alert the public and the government to the fact that this plan is seriously flawed. FARES NOT KNOWN Amazingly VI...

High Speed Rail Canada continues to review possible stops along the proposed VIA Rail Canada $4 Billion abandoned rail corridor plan VIA Rail Canada is so desperate to get their trains off CN owned rail lines that they have spun this idea of using an abandoned CPR, former Ontario Quebec railway line. In previous posts we have examined communities along the line that once had service or are getting service in the proposed VIA Rail Canada plan before parliament. We examined the communities of Pontypool, Sulfide, Ungava, Kaldar, Sharbot Lake and Tweed. They are all along the abandoned route which is now part of the Canada trail system. We all know about the VIA Rail High Frequency Rail Plan ( A phrase they made up)  The plan is better known now as the VIA Rail Sharbot Express Train due to the fact VIA Rail has stated they are stopping in Sharbot Lake and will be travelling at speeds from 50 years ago, to pick up and drop off the happy campers. (bringing tents on the train wil...

More than two years after the federal government set aside $3.3 million to look into the possibility of a new, faster rail link between major cities in Ontario and Quebec, only around one 10th of that budget has actually been spent. Read this excellent article by Monique Scotti, Global News. HERE

Will the Canadian government spend $4 billion resulting in the same trip times between Toronto and Montreal as in 1973? One of the biggest unsubstantiated statements by VIA Rail is their proposed high frequency rail line will reduce trip times by 25%. What data have VIA Rail released to show how this reduced travel time will be accomplished?  The answer is simple. VIA Rail has not even released any data to the public to support that statement or even the exact routing of the line. Current VIA trains tips between Toronto and Montreal is  about 5hrs and 5hrs 17min on the main line. Even if VIA Rail could obtain a 20% reduction in trip times it would result in travel times like we had in 1973 around 4hours.(and  this percentage reduction would take a leap of faith). Travelling along the old Ontario-Quebec (CP) Rail line has many level crossings, a winding route, travelling through small communities and the reduced speed to enter and leave Montreal and Toronto. I...

Pontypool the Next Stop for VIA Rail For those in the public that have never been up that way, here is a video of the CP running a freight through Pontypool Passenger rail  history buffs are excited about VIA Rail's proposed milk run from Toronto - Peterborough into Ottawa.  VIA Rail officials are courting politicians along the line and promising their community might have passenger rail service restored that had been abandoned for over a half of century. With the media announcing that Sharbot Lake is getting service again, the guessing name of where VIA will stop next on their slow speed, multiple stop 1950s style passenger rail service, has begun. Now come news from Kawathra Lakes Region that Pontypool  Ontario will be pushing for a stop on the  VIA Rail milk run. Pontypool is probably best known lately for the filming of the budget conscious Zombie movie named after the community. Pontypool Railway Station and Grain Elevator It has been awhile since the...

One thing has been constant about VIA RAIL in my over thirty years of rail advocacy. Their secrecy and arrogance to the taxpayers and the advocates that support them has not waivered. One classic example is VIA Rail still not releasing an uncensored  version of the taxpayer funded study VIAfast from 2002. A more recent example is the secrecy regarding details of the VIA RAIL High Frequency Rail (HFR) plan. VIA RAIL President Yves Desjardins-Siciliano has been pushing the idea of HFR (or how it should be known as Lots of Trains Moving at Speeds from 1975 ) to the public and politician of all levels. When you ask for details of this HFR proposal they send you generic slides and press releases. When you ask VIA RAIL for a map for where there this HFR line will go, you get nothing. We can only speculate that VIA RAIL is suggesting their rail line runs along the old Ontario/Quebec Rail Line. In the early days it was known as the Scottish Line due to the heritage o...