Yesterday’s news out of Montreal was a stunner: VIA Rail Canada will re-equip its long-distance, regional, and remote-service trains with new single-level equipment — including dome cars for its flagship, the Vancouver-Toronto Canadian.
VIA Rail’s 70-year-old Budd-built stainless steel fleet is a testament to durability and design. But nothing lasts forever, and despite all their classic streamliner charm, the venerable Budd cars have served well beyond their useful lives.
Industry observers had expected VIA Rail to follow Amtrak’s lead as the U.S. passenger railroad looks to replace its aging bilevel long-distance fleet. Canada, the thinking went, would simply have its next generation equipment tacked on to whatever Amtrak ordered. Instead, VIA has leapfrogged ahead of Amtrak.
Now, with funding approved in Ottawa and the promise of new equipment on the horizon, VIA Rail is making a statement: The Canadian is here to stay and it’s getting a 21st-century makeover worthy of the last great streamliner.
Let’s start with the dome car. For you and me, the dome offers a front-row seat to the railroad, where you can immerse yourself in the tracks, signals, and trains ahead. For the typical passenger, the 360-degree glass is simply the best way to soak up Canada’s landscape, from the Rockies to the Prairies and on to Ontario’s forests and the Toronto skyline. In either case, there’s nothing like a dome.
Purists will lament the lack of a classic round-end dome-observation car. There’s no argument that VIA’s Park series cars are an iconic exclamation point on the end of the Canadian. But VIA says those curvy derrieres would be too expensive to build today. That’s a pity, as is VIA’s plan to equip only the Canadian with domes. There are regional train routes – VIA’s service linking Jasper, Alberta, with Prince Rupert, British Columbia, comes to mind – that have scenery deserving of a dome.
But what’s important is that the dome car is coming off the endangered species list. The fear had been that they would not be replaced – or could not be replaced if VIA Rail re-equipped its trains with bi-level equipment. So, long live the dome.
There’s much to like in the rest of VIA Rail’s proposed consist. Every car type (save baggage, for obvious reasons) features an abundance of glass that should create an open feeling inside while offering passengers great views outside, particularly in the panorama lounges that feature couches, tables, and floor-to-ceiling wraparound windows.
Dining cars will get the wraparound treatment, too. And — Amtrak take note — they will, in VIA’s words, “have a full kitchen, allowing our chefs to prepare tasty meals using fresh ingredients, with an emphasis on local produce.” VIA gets it: Meals made to order in the galley and served at your table are not a frill. They’re an essential part of the passenger train experience.
VIA also seeks four different types of sleeping cars. A “room sleeper’s” compartments will accommodate two people, with facing seats by day and upper and lower bunks at night. All rooms in the accessible sleeper will be able to serve people with disabilities. The berth sleeper is a blast from the past: The all-section car caters to loonie-conscious passengers who want more overnight comfort than coach but don’t want to splurge for a private room. Prestige sleepers are at the other end of the budget spectrum and will feature large rooms with fold-down double beds.
In a compromise that may not sit well with single travelers who like privacy, roomettes are missing from the new sleeper accommodations. Berths are the economical choice, while the rooms for two maximize capacity and revenue potential compared to roomettes. It’s a trade-off for sure, but we won’t know how much of one until the new trains arrive and fares are set.
VIA Rail puts an asterisk on the illustrations of the proposed equipment: They’re conceptual. The final designs may differ, and much will depend on budgetary considerations. But the fact that prospective manufacturers have been in on the process from the beginning suggests that what VIA has in mind is within the realm of the possible.
The concepts themselves are exciting, hinting at a train that blends modern style with the timeless appeal of the Canadian. Whether the new equipment lives up to VIA’s vision remains to be seen, but the intention is clear. VIA Rail is thinking big.
You can reach Bill Stephens at bybillstephens@gmail.com and follow him on LinkedIn and X @bybillstephens
For those unacquainted with the Canadian political landscape, the political party that would be friendly to this concept is headed out the door after nearly a decade in office. The incoming Conservative government will not touch this. So realistically there won’t be an inch of movement on this for at least five years, more realistically 10 or more. The Liberals will have to be back in office with reasonably good economic conditions before this procurement project actually happens.
If only the creative VIA Rail could fix the chronic slowness of its trains!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Viva VIAction 2030! An exemplary strategic plan for passenger rail à la canadienne.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Mr Carlton some commentors try to blame Biden & Obama (no mention of Trump, hmm..) for Amtrak not investing in new LD cars they evidently advocated & received funding for the new Acela’s & Aero cars but now have an appropriation for new LD equipment but continue to delay. The decision to proceed is up to Amtrak mgmt/board Congress or the President cannot force them to use the funding. We are all familiar with pattern Amtrak mgmt has displayed to try & undermine the National Network the longer they wait the more likely the funding will be clawed back or the current equipment will become less reliable or have to be taken out of service & require reducing/eliminating service before any new equipment can be acquired thus becoming the solution to their (mgmt) problem. As for the NEC issues if the National Network is eliminated then it will be POLITICAL because the NEC will have to go too!
Amtrak management (that’s an oxymoron) was looking for a “soft” renewal for the LD fleet. Amtrak owns the design for the Viewliner. The nextgen bilevel was to be designed for intercity service and then carried forward for the Superliner 3. This would save money…that could be expended on the Nothing Else Counts.
If the Viewliner contract had gone to a competent manufacturer (Bombardier, Alstom, Siemens, Kawasaki) the option for 70 cars would have been exercised. If the nextgen bilevel contract had gone to a competent manufacturer (Bombardier, Alstom, Kawasaki) the Superliner 3s would be rolling off the shop floor right now. Instead the contracts went the way of the political process and now we are WAY behind the eight ball.
I remember VIAs brand new Halifax Maintenance Centre which opened in early 1988 or 89 to serve RDCs running in the Maritimes. A year or so later VIA had to stop all local services in the region.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the new equipment, if ever build, will soon be useless because the governement feels like discontinuing the long distance trains altogether
The reason for the delay in Superliner replacements is not POLITCAL as some here try to imply its the will of Amtrak mgmt who have dragged their feet when it comes to acquiring new LD replacements. Mgmt has been proactive when it comes to replacing Acelas & awarding a contract for the new Aero Trains yet seem to be myopic when it came to the LD fleet. They have had this funding since the Infrastructure Bill was over 2 yrs ago this is a willful delay to sabotage the LD network. They want Amtrak to be their NEC sandbox to play in at
taxpayer expense of the states outside of that region & use the remaining state supported routes as their slush fund to keep their glorified commuter corridor in operation.
How is Amtrak management’s shortsighted dithering of the Nothing Else Counts NOT political?
“But VIA says those curvy derrieres would be too expensive to build today.” Just a word or two about passenger cars: the dome car as fantasized in the conceptual artwork is structurally the same as the current stock; a bilevel car with a split center sill. This makes the dome cars different vehicles from everything else in the set. In the United States that car shell would be buff tested separately from the others to satisfy the strength requirements of 49CFR238. The point: Putting a round back on a dome is “easy” compared to designing a new bilevel vehicle.
Correction (before I get thunked by one of my peers): A classic dome car construction is “multilevel” (having the dome seating level, the pass through corridor level underneath and the “normal” levels on either side) not bilevel. The classic dome has more in common structurally with a multilevel commuter car than a true bilevel Superliner.
At least VIA Canada is buying equipment for it’s long distance trains. Democrats controlled the White House for 12 of last 16 years and controlled the House and/or the Senate half the time in last 16 years. Why wasn’t any new long distance equipment purchased during this time, especially how Biden has talked a good game the last 4 years. Car fleet is 30 to 40 years old and needs replacing (you can rebuild only so much). And when they purchase new equipment (Siemans Charger locomotives), it’s less reliable than 35 year old GE units.
Sorry, for the fourth time is this thread, I’m nt buying the hype. VIA is getting an awful lot of mileage out of a press release. No one has bought any cars yet.
There’s a difference between VIA’s hope for new cars and Amtrak’s. VIAs cars are older not only in age but in technology.
Oh, and while I’m posing, Paul brings up a point. The Socialists in each country (Biden and Trudeau) have each flopperood on LD passenger rairoading. So when the music ends and the house of cards collapses, it will be blamed on the (somewhat) conservative successors, Trump and Poliveau.
They had a plan. Of course, Custer had a plan too. The nextgen bilevel cars for California and Illinois were to provide a vehicle platform for the next generation of Superliners. CAF USA was to build the next generation of Viewliners. So, the nextgen bilevel contract went to an outfit that had never built a split level center sill vehicle before and CAF had never built a shot welded stainless steel vehicle before. So, here we are back at square one.
So who they gonna order the new F-7’s from?
Dare I ask, will VIA order enough equipment to restore a daily Canadian on its original CP route? I know the answer but one can dream.
DARE I ask will VIA restore the numerous routes it has discontinued? VIA has abandoned so many routes and lessened frequencies, to the point it hardly exists. Remember when VIA ran two daily transcons, each with a Montreal section? What’s left of that?
It’s more likely that no big car order will happen. When the Tories take over in 2025, they will likely to care not one iota about VIA Rail except to ask the tough questions like: So why are we spending billions on a semi-weekly train between Toronto and Vancouver that averages less than 30 MPH and basically has no utility? The answer is clear: There is no reason. VIA should be requesting equipment for a daily train, but the fact that they aren’t suggests that, like Amtrak, expanding long-distance service isn’t even on the radar. The only thing that might save the current pathetic Canadian (with new equipment) could be sentimentality factor in that the railroad linked the country (and its construction was a prerequisite for British Columbia joining the confederation). As for a Montreal section of the Canadian as suggested by Mr. Landey: Won’t happen. Large chunks of both the ex-CN and ex-CP are gone between North Bay and Ottawa.
At least VIA has a plan & seems to be enthused about ordering new equipment unlike Amtrak who keeps pushing it off hoping the clock will run out in some form either by Congress clawing back the funds for the new LD equipment or the current equipment will be depleted to the point they have to begin eliminating routes either one will suit Amtrak mgmt.
GALEN —I’m the opposite of you. I have some good feelings about Amtrak and none at all for VIA. I’m not easily swayed by a press release and pretty-picture CGI.
VIA Rail Canada was formed on the downslope of an era when Canada was (proportionate to population) more into intercity passenger trains than USA was. With the wind at its back at its inauguration (first as CNR’s passenger train branding, soon after as a Crown Corporation including a few CPR routes) VIA had a real chance. Now VIA is a shadow of its former self, slashing routes and cutting frequencies year after year until almost nothing is left. As an analog in USA, VIA now resembles Southern Railway in the 1960’s — touting a handful of good trains on the main line while on the lesser-known routes, trains were being downgraded to cattle cars and summarily abandoned.
One of VIA’s early mistakes (blame the Canadian government, not VIA management) was its failure to piggyback on Amtrak’s first order for Superliners. VIA’s fleet has been downhill from there — four decades of failure to invest.
This leads me to be as cynical about VIA, with good reason, as I am about CalHSR. It didn’t help that I woke up this morning to those ridiculous fantasies of what a train interior could look like. The real ones will be nowhere close. By the time when (if) the new equipment arrives, VIA likely will have shut down.
What a concept! Ask the manufacturers what’s possible instead of coming up with impossible designs. Amtrak take note
VIA has come up with impossible designs that have nothing to do with what’s possible from the manufacturers. Two articles today, one this morning, one this afternoon.