OTTAWA — If you thought VIA Rail’s service was getting worse, you’re right. And if you haven’t ridden on a train in recent years, you’re part of a growing trend.
In a report released Tuesday, the federal auditor general’s office found nearly a quarter of trains operated by the Crown corporation in 2014 were late. That was “significantly” worse than in previous few years, the report reads, when fewer than one in five were late.
Because of that worsening performance, the number of passengers has steadily declined from 4.1 million in 2010 to 3.8 million in 2014. “The on-time performance of trains is one of the key indicators of the effectiveness of VIA’s services and is the main factor in customer satisfaction,” the report reads.
The resulting flatlined revenues and rising operating costs means taxpayers have had to pump in millions more to keep VIA afloat. The government gave the Crown corporation $317 million for operating costs in 2014, which was $56 million more than in 2010.
VIA wasn’t entirely to blame for the increasing number of late arrivals. The auditor general noted that rail freight carriers and other railway companies own and are responsible for maintaining about 98 per cent of the tracks used by VIA trains. As a result, those other trains usually get the right of way.
“VIA’s trains are frequently required to yield to freight traffic, which sometimes results in significant delays,” the auditor general reported. “From 2010 to 2015, the overall on-time performance rate of VIA trains varied between 84 per cent and 63 per cent.”
VIA did try to negotiate new agreements with the other rail companies several years ago, but they ended up coming to naught.
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Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters Tuesday that the Liberal government is looking at ways to ensure VIA Rail’s long-term sustainability, including the possibility of more high-frequency rail.
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For example, the Crown corporation had planned in 2009 to invest $251 million to build 160 kilometres worth of dedicated tracks near Kingston, Ont. The hope was that it would allow for an additional 14 trains, which would generate $32 million in additional revenue and increase ridership by 23 per cent.
Five years later, the company had spent $318.5 million to build only 70 kilometres of track. And while eight more trains have been added, travel times have actually increased, trains are later than ever, and there has been a 17 per cent decrease in ridership.
“We found that project management systems and practices had not adequately supported the planning and implementation of a number of the projects examined,” the auditor general’s report said. “These deficiencies had a significant impact on VIA’s operations.”