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Discussion of Canadian Passenger Rail Services such as AMT (Montreal), Go Transit (Toronto), VIA Rail, and other Canadian Railways and Transit

Moderator: Ken V

 #1486264  by theseaandalifesaver
 
How old are most of the coaches VIA run? I take the train from Seattle to Vancouver pretty frequently and it seems like the coaches have some age to them. It's almost like something you'd find at a heritage railroad.
 #1486273  by R36 Combine Coach
 
The Budd HEP equipment on the Canadian are CP originals from 1955.

LRC coaches on corridor service are from early 1980s. Corridor service also uses Budd coaches from 1950s.

The RDCs on Sudbury-White River line are from 1955/1956/1958.

Finally, the Renaissance cars (on the Ocean) were built as shells by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham (UK) 1995-96 for a stillborn service (then mothballed and stored), but not purchased by VIA and assembled until 2001-2002.
 #1486305  by Mark0f0
 
Some of the Budd Economy Class cars on the Canadian were acquired from Amtrak in the early 1990s I understand. As old as 1946.


The Seattle-Vancouver equipment is Amtrak's, is it not? Pretty sure VIA has nothing to do with that service.
 #1486408  by Mark0f0
 
theseaandalifesaver wrote:lol i'm aware it's different. Amtrak even has its track fenced off from everything else. I just see a lot of the VIA rail consists every time I'm in BC.
Yes. The cars on the inside have been modernized quite nicely though, especially the "Prestige" ones. The coaches are scheduled to be modernized completely at La Pocatiere, Quebec over the next few years. Rumours include basically most of the Prestige styling including LED lighting, leather seating, wheelchair lifts, and even a shower available for use by Economy Class passengers. LCD-based passenger information screens (probably some sort of moving map and "time to next stop"), as well as WiFi are part of the contract. Barring anything major arising, they will basically go 100 years in almost continuous service.
 #1487121  by R36 Combine Coach
 
Mark0f0 wrote:Barring anything major arising, they will basically go 100 years in almost continuous service.
Quite a milestone record. Nothing from 1910s or 1920s is in daily service now (excepting some vintage trolleys such SF MUNI's Peter Witt cars).
 #1489121  by NeoArashi
 
Mark0f0 wrote:

The Seattle-Vancouver equipment is Amtrak's, is it not? Pretty sure VIA has nothing to do with that service.

Correct, unlike the Toronto-New York train where VIA takes care of the Canada part (Until Niagara Falls ON) and Amtrak takes care of the US part (From Niagara Falls NY to New York City), I'm 100% sure Amtrak takes care of the entire Vancouver-Seatle route. Pretty sure Amtrak also take care of the entire Montreal-New York route as well (correct me if I'm wrong)

That said, even though Via and Amtrak split themselves the Toronto-New York trip, they still use the Amtrak train the entire way trhough.
 #1489371  by jp1822
 
And VIA's onboard staff has been known to HATE the "poorly maintained Amfleet" cars (sometimes other word inserted there) that gets forwarded to them at Niagara Falls. Have heard from several LSA's (or equivalent for VIA) and conductors. So even though VIA's equipment can by MUCH older than the Amfleets, VIA prefers its more "well maintained" equipment that would often be what Amtrak dubbed "Heritage equipment." So interesting.
 #1489375  by NS VIA FAN
 
jp1822 wrote:......... Have heard from several LSA's (or equivalent for VIA) and conductors.
There are no conductors on VIA.... so this would be the Service Manager.
 #1489592  by Tadman
 
jp1822 wrote:And VIA's onboard staff has been known to HATE the "poorly maintained Amfleet" cars (sometimes other word inserted there) that gets forwarded to them at Niagara Falls. Have heard from several LSA's (or equivalent for VIA) and conductors. So even though VIA's equipment can by MUCH older than the Amfleets, VIA prefers its more "well maintained" equipment that would often be what Amtrak dubbed "Heritage equipment." So interesting.
They had the same feelings about the Horizon cars on the International years ago. As a kid, I witnessed a conductor cursing up a storm trying to slide the pocket doors closed. Supposedly this is why they were modified to swing/dutch doors.
 #1489593  by Tadman
 
NeoArashi wrote:
Mark0f0 wrote:

The Seattle-Vancouver equipment is Amtrak's, is it not? Pretty sure VIA has nothing to do with that service.

Correct, unlike the Toronto-New York train where VIA takes care of the Canada part (Until Niagara Falls ON) and Amtrak takes care of the US part (From Niagara Falls NY to New York City), I'm 100% sure Amtrak takes care of the entire Vancouver-Seatle route. Pretty sure Amtrak also take care of the entire Montreal-New York route as well (correct me if I'm wrong)

That said, even though Via and Amtrak split themselves the Toronto-New York trip, they still use the Amtrak train the entire way trhough.
This is my understanding as well. I wish the VAN-SEA segment was taken a bit more seriously by Washington State and BC. It's a relatively sparsely populated and beautiful area bracketed by two of the most expensive cities in North America, one with a booming tech and aerospace industry. As I understand it, the line is capacity-constrained by freights, but 2x/day is slim pickins, as is the 20+ year Talgo trains. 5x/day with border pre-clearance would be great for passengers and the local economy, and perhaps alleviate housing issues.
 #1489650  by MACTRAXX
 
NeoArashi wrote:
Mark0f0 wrote:

The Seattle-Vancouver equipment is Amtrak's, is it not? Pretty sure VIA has nothing to do with that service.

Correct, unlike the Toronto-New York train where VIA takes care of the Canada part (Until Niagara Falls ON) and Amtrak takes care of the US part (From Niagara Falls NY to New York City), I'm 100% sure Amtrak takes care of the entire Vancouver-Seatle route. Pretty sure Amtrak also take care of the entire Montreal-New York route as well (correct me if I'm wrong)

That said, even though Via and Amtrak split themselves the Toronto-New York trip, they still use the Amtrak train the entire way trhough.
NA: The break point between Amtrak and VIA is at Niagara Falls, Ontario which is where the crew
changes have been since the Maple Leaf through service was implemented back in the Spring of
1981. Between NFS and Toronto this is officially a VIA train with Amtrak equipment and VIA train
numbers 97-98; The Amtrak train numbers are 63 west and 64 east in case anyone is unfamiliar.
MACTRAXX