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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

 #1469470  by Tadman
 
On another thread, someone mentioned 15-car corridor trains at one time. Today we see 4-5 car trains. What happened? Artificially low fares? Changes in road/air options on the corridor?
 #1469573  by mdvle
 
Like most things it is unlikely it is any once specific thing but a lots of things ranging from minor to significant.

Randomly, some thoughts.

air travel deregulation, which resulted in lower fares for flying. (for Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal you currently have at least 3 choices which helps to keep fares low).

society's changing attitudes to drunk driving, making bar cars not just socially unacceptable but a legal liability - it is much easier for train staff to control consumption when served directly to the person at the seat. This in turn removed part of the "fun" of taking the train for certain types of people.

per above, the decline in the "business lunch" and other former business perks like hotel stays, meaning it became preferable to fly so you could do everything in one day.

cars became more comfortable and reliable, with AC, quality audio systems, comfortable seats, etc. all resulting in driving being less of an inconvenience.

with the government taking over passenger rail, limits to how much the government was willing to spend both on service subsidies and capital expenditures. Hard to run 15 car trains if you can't get the subsidy or the money to replace the equipment.

deregulation (of sorts) of the railways, the result being it became acceptable to impose often significant delays on passenger trains to keep the freight moving.

related to previous, the property tax system that encourages the freight railways to cut their infrastructure to the bare minimum, and often below, to cut costs.

the unwillingness of the government to bring VIA rail into not just the modern world, but the late 1900s. It was unacceptable 20 years ago never mind today to force passenger to get on or off a train at whatever door(s) happen to be convenient for staff to open. Passengers shouldn't have to line up to get on or off a train, and shouldn't have to carry their belongings through a train to get to a open door. This is an indirect encouragement to run shorter trains, because longer trains would require more staff who would only be needed to open additional doors.
 #1469582  by NS VIA FAN
 
I'll also add:

We now have a more frequent service on some route. Toronto - Ottawa had 2 day trains and an overnight service in VIA's early years. There's now 10 trains a day each way so the capacity is spread throughout the day..
 #1469721  by bdawe
 
mdvle wrote:
with the government taking over passenger rail, limits to how much the government was willing to spend both on service subsidies and capital expenditures. Hard to run 15 car trains if you can't get the subsidy or the money to replace the equipment.
Every single Rapido Train that ever rolled was a government run train...
 #1469819  by mdvle
 
My point (perhaps not phrased correctly) was though that governments today aren't willing to fund that level of service.
 #1469836  by marquisofmississauga
 
The Rapidos were not always 15 cars long. From my travels and observations, it was usually the Friday and Sunday afternoon Rapidos that were that long. I seem to recall they didn't always have a baggage car. The Rapidos normally had two dining cars and three Club cars (first class). The first diner was for the use of coach passengers and was immediately ahead of the first Club car. The second diner was between the Club cars and was for the use of those passengers whose meals were included in the price of the ticket.

Some of the Toronto-Windsor trains were also very long from time to time, especially on Fridays and Sundays when hundreds of people on "Can-Am Tours" would come from the Detroit area to Toronto.
 #1469879  by Mark0f0
 
Where was the Bistro (piano bar) car usually positioned?

There's a video on YouTube with the Bistro car. Sounds like it was a lot of fun!

Did the Rapidos decline significantly after the Turbos ran for a few years?