[micheal_can]

There are 4(5) trains served out of the TMC that serve the West. They are; Canadian, Winnipeg - Churchill, Sudbury - White River, Jasper - Prince Rupert, and (Victoria Courtney/E&N). Of these, the Sudbury - White River and Jasper - Prince Rupert all are less than 12 hours. Via divides the Jasper- Prince Rupert into 2 segments. Also, if the E&N is ever running again,it is also less than 12 hours. This does mean that those 2(3) routes could be done without sleepers. Just like the shorter routes,the existing Siemens trains could be transferred over.
The only challenges would be:
1)Jasper - Prince Rupert would need twice as many trains as the other shorter routes as even though it only goes during the day, it still takes 2 days to do it.
2) Sudbury - White River would need to see if there are enough slots to fit more Via trains with CP.
3) Canadian would need to see if there are more slots with CN.

As with the east, the single biggest hurdle would be the funding.

 

[dowlingm]

Would you agree that had they decided to replace the fleet back then, ignoring those costs, the subsidy would have gone down due to the lower operational costs for the same number of equipment?
If so, can you see how even though not explicitly stated, that the age of the existing LDF is a potential reason for the CPC government to cut the service instead of replacing it?

Lower operating costs is something of an assumption but even if that is the case - the cost of buying the trainsets needs to be accounted for. Buying new equipment is not a magic wand to turn uneconomic routes into economic ones.

The reason that the LD fleet is being replaced in a decade and not now is that the cheapest option remains running the wheels off the equipment you have, not buying more complex newer vehicles and paying USD for them. In the case of the corridor fleet, the safety case could no longer be put off given the state of the Rens and LRCs.

 

[micheal_can]

Lower operating costs is something of an assumption but even if that is the case - the cost of buying the trainsets needs to be accounted for. Buying new equipment is not a magic wand to turn uneconomic routes into economic ones.

The reason that the LD fleet is being replaced in a decade and not now is that the cheapest option remains running the wheels off the equipment you have, not buying more complex newer vehicles and paying USD for them. In the case of the corridor fleet, the safety case could no longer be put off given the state of the Rens and LRCs.

I know that it is not a magic wand. however, it is a wand that when used may cause lower costs over enough time to make sense. I look at the fleet replacement as a person buying a car. Outside of the government telling you it can no longer be used, everyone will have a line at which keeping it on the road is not worth it. Following that analogy, the government is waiting too long for them to be pulled off the road. How much worse are the Rens and LRCs compared to the LDF?

 

[dowlingm]

I know that it is not a magic wand. however, it is a wand that when used may cause lower costs over enough time to make sense. I look at the fleet replacement as a person buying a car. Outside of the government telling you it can no longer be used, everyone will have a line at which keeping it on the road is not worth it. Following that analogy, the government is waiting too long for them to be pulled off the road. How much worse are the Rens and LRCs compared to the LDF?

The LRCs are in such a bad state that their planned refurb was terminated. Meanwhile HEP cars continue to be life-extended. I don’t have specifics on the Rens - presumably the side sill rusting was either not repairable or not repairable at reasonable economic cost.

But at the end of the day sometimes business cases don’t exist for new equipment - look at how Mexico is importing flogged out Mk3s and Amfleets rather than buy new. I would love for the Tories to lose power in Ontario and the real story published about the purchase of the Northlander sets and what exactly were the comparators done between getting legacy cars somewhere and paying for an SC-40 to haul around 3 coaches and also pay Siemens to maintain them - assuming that doesn’t only exist in personal email accounts and text message chains.

 

[micheal_can]

The LRCs are in such a bad state that their planned refurb was terminated. Meanwhile HEP cars continue to be life-extended. I don’t have specifics on the Rens - presumably the side sill rusting was either not repairable or not repairable at reasonable economic cost.

But at the end of the day sometimes business cases don’t exist for new equipment - look at how Mexico is importing flogged out Mk3s and Amfleets rather than buy new. I would love for the Tories to lose power in Ontario and the real story published about the purchase of the Northlander sets and what exactly were the comparators done between getting legacy cars somewhere and paying for an SC-40 to haul around 3 coaches and also pay Siemens to maintain them - assuming that doesn’t only exist in personal email accounts and text message chains.

We should not be happy about a comparison to Mexico.

The Northlander issue is one that is personal to me on many levels. I feel that what is being done is more political than much else. My hope is it is a success and not just a vote buying venture.