In normal times, yes driving is more dangerous. But we you consider the increased risk of contracting COVID-19, and the safety issues of leaving cars unstaffed. And you balance that with the fact that there are fewer cars on the road reducing the risk of a collision, along with the fact that I...

Masks don't protect the person wearing them, rather they protect others. Given that VIA staff interact with dozens of passengers daily, many staff members could have the disease and be asymptomatic. Requiring VIA staff to wear masks would help to mitigate this possibility.

They don't need to stop running if the staff wore masks and gloves to protect themselves and staffed cars in a safe way. But if they continue to be operated in a way that compromises safety then yes. Also, I have 3 years' worth of toilet paper that I purchased last summer, thanks for asking.

I could have taken greyhound or driven, I took VIA because I have a student pass. Had I known that that they were leaving cars unstaffed, I would have driven.

Of course I would sit in car 3, but my point is that the trains should really stop operating ASAP, both because of the virus and because of the way in which they're being operated right now. It's just not safe. In fact, I will be submitting a complaint to TC. Edit: I made the trip to clear out...

I know, but it's a safety hazard not to have a member of staff available to help evacuate. Having all the crew sitting in a deadhead car isn't safe. If VIA can't run it's trains safely, it shouldn't be running them at all.

I was on 73 and 76 today, and the crew were all sitting together in car 3 (deadhead) for most of the trip. Is this a temporary measure, and isn't this unsafe (derailment)? Also, here's the water and snack they handed out:

This is kind of an upgrade compared to the current service in economy class. You get a free bottle of water and a snack when you used to get nothing. It is a downgrade in business though...

Oh no... https://www.viarail.ca/en/travel-advisory-information

I understand it, it's just that there have been times when I've been on that train where there was both a customs delay and signal issues causing the train to be delayed for over 2.5 hours en-route, yet the train just kept on going and the SM never said anything about the crew timing out and...

Yeah, I saw this already and I was left with the impression that 97-98 were a single tour of duty which means that a fresh crew would be needed. Yet, I've neither seen nor heard of a crew timing out mid-trip.

Do you know if delays count towards duty time? Based on 9.5 hours, a new crew is needed after a cumulative 2.5 hours of delay (which I've seen, but it's rare). Also, I did some digging around, and you're right...

Honestly I'm not sure, maybe someone with an updated run manual can shed some light on this @Urban Sky I found a copy on the locomotive engineer's website last year, and posted it here. Someone probably reported it and it got taken down.

Thanks for clearing that up, I completely forgot about that! I was also under the impression that the crews might time-out (fatigue) since the manual indicted a reporting time of 6 am (I normally see the Maple Leaf backing out of the TMC when I'm on 71 in the morning). The train also doesn't get...

The 2012 running manual for VIA loco crews says that they layover overnight in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Not sure if this is the case today, but I doubt that things have changed.

i wonder why VIA needs to move 20 SMART boards from Oakville to Totonto

We'll, there is a crew change right before crossing the actual border on either side...

Yay I'm so happy!

It probably also has to do with the changes in the way they clear trains at the border. 5 years ago they were done on the train. Today everyone has to get off in Niagara Falls.