Dropped Stops

You have to think about the cost/benefit of dropping Transcona as a stop. The place probably cost $50-100k/year to maintain. Each train stop likely cost $50-100, given the time and fuel used. Such a stop blocks the CN main, which costs CN money. So local passengers were asked to drive an extra 20-30km to board a train for a 2294 km ride to Vancouver. That's a journey that's 0.8% longer distance, or 1% more time, to drive downtown.

Given that perspective, it's probably worth dropping the stop.

Tadman wrote:You have to think about the cost/benefit of dropping Transcona as a stop. The place probably cost $50-100k/year to maintain. Each train stop likely cost $50-100, given the time and fuel used. Such a stop blocks the CN main, which costs CN money. So local passengers were asked to drive an extra 20-30km to board a train for a 2294 km ride to Vancouver. That's a journey that's 0.8% longer distance, or 1% more time, to drive downtown.

Given that perspective, it's probably worth dropping the stop.

Ahh, but Transcona was a flag stop with no shelter. Union Station is however a huge building which likely costs a fortune to maintain. However VIA rents most of it out as office space so they likely make money off it. VIA's high number of flag stops is amazing. The Hudson Bay has 82 stops on it schedule, 56 of which are flag stops for a 1600 km journey. That's a average of a stop every 20km (though you can get off almost anywhere with enough notice)

Interesting comments - I did a little reading on Winnipeg Union Station. I forgot about the Hudson Bay train that originates there. It seems the station is indeed used for a number of other tenants, which is a good thing. It would be a criminal waste of money to maintain a station like that just for two trains. Kudos to VIA for figuring out how to support such a historic asset.

As for an unsheltered flag stop at Transcona, I'm sure the maintenance costs more than we imagine still - have to provide lights, security, road access, snow removal, and a somewhat reasonable platform. That stuff adds up despite not sounding like a big deal. I also did the math on the cost to stop and start at a flag stop. If you figure it adds five minutes to the journey, times ten crew on train, at $60/hour fully allocated cost (rough guess), times one train/day, you get $18,250. If, as CSX claims, a gallon of diesel is good for about 400 ton/miles, and the Canadian has (2) F40 at 180,000 lbs and (10) Budd cars at 80,000 lbs, and the diesels use twice the fuel for five minutes to regain track speed, you have a marginal use of $2,600 of fuel for the year. So, for rough numbers, you have a marginal cost to stop and accelerate the train of roughly $20,000 for a year, not including whatever costs Via or CN incur for the station or schedule slot.