SALFORD, Ontario — It was fitting that on Oct. 31, a ghost of VIA Rail Canada’s past was officially brought back to life. The VIA Historical Association completed a full restoration of FP9A No. 6539 back into its classic blue and yellow paint scheme. The unit debuted at the Ontario Southland Railway shops in Salford, […]
Peer in, as Trains.com staffer Lucas Iverson converses with Scott Griggs, Founder and Chief Engineer of Trainz.com. Scott was kind enough to carve time out of his frenetic fall 2024 calendar to drop into this exclusive Q&A interview via remote video feed. Throughout this extensive interview (edited), you’ll glean behind-the-scenes insights into the past, present, […]
MONTREAL — Despite speed restrictions abruptly imposed by host railroad Canadian National as a safety measure on Oct. 11, VIA Rail Canada is not adjusting schedules on trips involving Venture trainsets to reflect slower running times. Instead, passengers are being given a revised delay estimate. And beginning the week of Nov. 4, the carrier is […]
MONTREAL — Canadian union Unifor has opened contract negotiations with VIA Rail Canada, the union announced Monday, Oct. 28. The union’s Council 4000 represents 1,800 VIA employees in station services, headquarters, maintenance centers and onboard positions; Local 100 represents 700 employees working as diesel engine mechanics, electricians, railcar technicians, and general workers. “Our goal in […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Unifor, Canadian’s largest private-sector union, is calling on Canadian National Railways to prioritize passenger operations — and for more government oversight of the relationship between freight and passenger service — in the wake of restrictions CN has placed on VIA Rail Canada corridor trains in Ontario and Quebec. “This is about CN […]
In this late summer 2024 interview hosted by Model Railroader magazine’s Editor Eric White and Senior Editor Cody Grivno, the two visited with founder and CEO of Rapido Trains Inc., Jason Shron. The dream job of making model trains is one nearly every hobbyist envisions, but few have ever brought to fruition. In the span […]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Passengers on VIA Rail Canada’s Canadian who found their trip disrupted by a freight-train accident in Saskatchewan on Wednesday were eventually taken to Winnipeg, but left to find their own way home from there, the CBC reports. The collision between a CN freight train and a farm tractor killed the driver of […]
MONTREAL — When safety is on the table, there can be no debate about measures taken to ensure it. So when Canadian National informed VIA Rail Canada last Friday that all Venture trainsets of less than 32 axles could not operate at track speed across highway crossings equipped with warning devices triggered by Grade Crossing […]
GERARD, Saskatchewan — A Canadian National intermodal train has derailed near the Manitoba border after striking a farm tractor, the Canadian Press reports. The incident occurred this afternoon (Oct. 16) at a grade crossing near Gerald, Sask. The driver of the tractor was killed, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while a CN spokeswoman […]
GATINEAU, Quebec — A VIA Rail Canada train came within about 1,100 feet of a head-on collision with a Canadian National freight train in an April 2023 incident, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released today (Wednesday, Oct. 16). In the report, the agency renewed its call for Canada to […]
MONTREAL — Apparently triggered by one or more incidents in which a VIA Rail Canada Venture trainset failed to activate highway crossing warning devices, Canadian National is now requiring that all of VIA’s Venture-equipped trainsets operate with 32 axles. The edict came late Friday, at the beginning of Canada’s Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend. It also […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government is seriously considering making the proposed High-Frequency Rail project linking Toronto and Quebec City a true high-speed line, according to a government official. The CBC reports that Jean-Yves Duclos, public services and procurement minister, said Monday that the models for the high-frequency project, which would build a separate, passenger-only rail […]
