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  1. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    You may be right, and I have no way to otherwise prove my claims. 🤷‍♂️
  2. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    You can check the transit times yourself here. Type Montreal and Vancouver as endpoints and you'll see that transit times for a container moving from Vancouver, BC to Montréal, QC ranges between 269 (11d5h) and 302 (12d14h) hours. It's a CN calculator that you can find on their website, so it's...
  3. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    I took it as a counter-example to disprove a claim. Also, I fail to understand why Russia should have a higher output than the US on a raw tonne-km basis considering that all the factors play against them. On the contrary, one would expect the US to far outperform Russia, given the geographical...
  4. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    I expected the "Canada is not a socialist country" comment to be posted earlier, though. Jokes apart, there's some truth in your remarks. The last available data (Y2019) put Russia second to China and ahead of the US in terms of volume of rail freight transport (2 617 039,00 million tonne/km)...
  5. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    You're absolutely right. Unfortunately for some users, VIA has to provide at least three different types of services: intercity, long-distance, and rural. Would you imagine an RDC service between Toronto and Montréal? I can't, and I can't imagine using a Venture trainset for the Sudbury-White...
  6. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    Well, it depends on your business model: airlines typically focus on one type of model, be it short-haul or long-haul, and therefore acquire their airplanes accordingly. You can't expect a passenger rail operator to only have one type of train unless you plan to only focus on one business model...
  7. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    I think it depends on the electronics of the units, so in theory it would be possible — I guess.
  8. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    This is the natural outcome of an industry that is more focused on short-term profits rather than excelling in railroading. To whoever says that private railroads in North America are the most efficient and the best one could imagine getting from the industry, I suggest taking a look at the...
  9. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    If I'm not mistaken, the Nippon Sharyo DMUs can be configured for basically any operation. While DMUs for SMART are essentially comprised of gangway-less A-cars and B-cars, which only differ in internal seat and amenities arrangement, DMUs for UPX have been designed with non-aerodynamic...
  10. ec_traindriver

    Transportation Policy in Canada

    BTW, talking about transportation policies. RFI (Italian Rail Network), contract update with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT): €31,7 billion of new investment (CA$46.9 billion). Of those €31,7 billions: — €2,7 billions will be invested to repair and stabilize tunnels, seismic...
  11. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    State-supported services are one of the key factors in Amtrak experiencing an increasing ridership in the latest years. I can't see why that wouldn't happen in Canada as well. You know, if only some of the provinces involved avoided spending hundreds of millions of dollars in highways and...
  12. ec_traindriver

    VIA Rail

    Thank goodness, it still is a national carrier — albeit a maimed one. Regarding hydrogen, it has to be seen whether fuel cell technology will be chosen, or if railroads will switch to a hydrogen-diesel mix to be used as fuel for existing equipment. Although it isn't CO2-free, the fuel mix makes...
  13. ec_traindriver

    Transportation Policy in Canada

    Exactly, "if you massively overproduce." As if that were a good thing. Like, if I were to massively overwork to death, I might become a millionaire. Or maybe I might rent out a tank to go buy some groceries. :rolleyes: Also, I feel the urge to remember @kEiThZ that he's talking about...
  14. ec_traindriver

    Transportation Policy in Canada

    Past isn't future, sure. But physics is physics, meteorology is meteorology, astronomy is astronomy. Solar produces electricity only during the daytime with a capacity factor that varies throughout the day (talking about grid stability, ahem) and is inherently subjected to obstruction by...
  15. ec_traindriver

    Transportation Policy in Canada

    Cheap construction costs ≠ cheap energy. Quite the opposite, if you factor in the fact that all the extra capacity which is unneeded in the summertime and that produce almost nothing during wintertime has to be paid for both for CAPEX and OPEX. I don't know exactly how the energy market works on...

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