gmane.recreation.railway.canadian-passenger

Re: Two Park cars on Monday's #622

2013-05-23T03:32:53

If you look carefully you can see that the bottom of the new wheelchair lift extends farther into the centre of the car than the old vestibule steps did.  The size of the entrance door has also been widened; you can see the reworked steel around the door.  The plate you see folds down, and becomes part of the ramp or base of the lift onto which the wheelchair rolls.  VIA did state that these cars would be able accommodate those is a wheel chair.  There is even an internal lift to get the chair up to the dome.  
Grant in Victoria

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Recommended places to stay in or near Jasper?

Jason Shron — 2013-05-23T03:27:37

Hi guys,

We are stopping over in Jasper on #1 this summer during the GMD-1 western Canada tour.  I'm looking for a good place to stay in the Jasper area, preferably with a kitchen.  There are so many cabin rentals in the area it's impossible to know which ones are good and which ones belong in National Lampoon's Vacation.

Can anyone recommend something?  We're willing to travel a bit out of town to get a good experience and a good rate.  It's pretty late to be booking so the stuff I have found so far tends to be either all booked up or very expensive.

Thanks in advance,

Jason




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Re: Two Park cars on Monday's #622

Eric — 2013-05-23T01:45:18

Vestibule steps covered by a stainless steel plate with handles? Presumably temporary.

Eric Gagnon
Kingston, Ontario
Portage Layout Planning Progress at:
http://tracksidetreasure.blogspot.ca

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RE: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

Mark W. Walton — 2013-05-23T01:38:49

If you do that, maybe have AMT take over all Corridor service in Quebec, and
WCX its reasonable facsimiles in BC?

Mark Walton
mark.walton-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg< at >public.gmane.org 

-----Original Message-----
From: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org
[mailto:Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of Mike J.
Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 11:02 PM
To: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org
Subject: RE: [CanPassRail] Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

<big snip>

Heck, maybe just turn VIA and Ontario Northland over to Metrolinx, pool the
resources, and run a national train network. At least you'd have a group of
transportation professionals running it at a LONG arms' length from the
government.

<big snip>

Mike





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Re: Two Park cars on Monday's #622

G Burridge — 2013-05-22T21:31:05


         As elegant and as pleasant as it may be, a PARK car would 
not at all fit with the style and level of service provided by the 
Charlevoix tourist train(TLMC) experience. <http://www.lemassif.com/en/train>
         The shuttle, scheduled to start running in mid-July, between 
La Ferme at Baie-st-Paul and the base station of Le Massif  will use 
a pair of two-unit double-ended dmu's. 
<http://www.lemassif.com/docs/50cb438b273d0/full_photofeature/navette-montage.jpg>


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Gerry Burridge - P.O. Box 152 - Pte.Claire, Que. - H9R 4N9 - CANADA
         Railways of Quebec City and South-Eastern Quebec:
          <http://pages.globetrotter.net/burridge/index.htm>
===================================================================== 



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Re: Two Park cars on Monday's #622

2013-05-22T18:48:01

The picture show that a wheelchair lift has been installed on the forward entrance door.  Fully accessable now even at stations without a lift.
Grant in Victoria

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Re: Two Park cars on Monday's #622

boxthom — 2013-05-22T12:58:46


Jerry Laboda wrote:

Thanks for the links to the photos.  That's definitely the
same train that I saw on Monday.  Since I saw it between
Central Station and Wellington Tower, I couldn't be absolutely
sure of its identity, but the photos from St. Lambert confirm
my guess that it was #622.

I suspect they're going TO rebuilding, not returning from it.
Branchline magazine says that the rebuilding is being carried
out by CLN Railway Industries and Services ferroviares Julien
in Charny after Avalon Rail in Milwaukee failed to complete
the planned work, and that some cars destined for the rebuilding
have been stored in Toronto until now, after returning from
Milwaukee.  These cars were headed east from Montreal, so
Charny is a plausible destination.

Although I only had a quick look at the cars as they passed,
it appeared to me that the work on them was unfinished.
For example, in the second photo above, note the rough weld
lines just above the painted stripe over the rear door.  So
I doubt that they're going to

Re: Two Park cars on Monday's #622

Jerry LaBoda — 2013-05-22T12:33:11

Returning from rebuilding???

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3486835
http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3486843

Re: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

papoocanada — 2013-05-22T11:16:23


--- In Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org, G Burridge <gburridge< at >...> wrote:


-Jim Crow ! 









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RE: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

G Burridge — 2013-05-22T07:09:42

         Okay ... So what filtering system would you use to ensure 
that only Canadians had access to the cheap 'travel fares' for the 
same space non-Canadians are paying the higher 'cruise train' fares?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Gerry Burridge - P.O. Box 152 - Pte.Claire, Que. - H9R 4N9 - CANADA
         Railways of Quebec City and South-Eastern Quebec:
          <http://pages.globetrotter.net/burridge/index.htm>
===================================================================== 



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Re: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

Knut — 2013-05-22T06:23:18

Talking about using Via to get from point A to point B...

A few of my friends have to go from Montreal to Winnipeg and back next month.

Via is not even an option since it's more expensive than flying and the trip takes 2 days each way.

As to charging "tourists" more - sounds to me like a logistical nightmare.
How would one even manage that?
How would Via know whom is a tourist and who is not?

It would also be contrary to what the norm is in the rest of the world.
If I go to Europe as a tourist, I can buy special discount train tickets if I buy them here, before I go.
Once over there, everyone is treated the same and the tickets are more - tourists get a break which is the way it should be since they generate more revenue than the point a to point B traveller. Charging tourists more, even if it were possible, is counter productive.

Knut

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Re: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

Will — 2013-05-22T06:06:15

On 2013-05-22, at 12:40 AM, "Mike J." <mjacula-EynCeXvFgoheoWH0uzbU5w< at >public.gmane.org> wrote:


If they pay less, not necessarily. 


Via's lack of fine revenue management makes it more affordable, typically sales are good for many dates with excellent availability. Amtrak typically doesn't have meaningful sleeper sales. 


Could the service be improved? Sure. I can personally make the service work for much of my point A to point B travel. E.g. I'm doing a bike trip ending in Jasper, and the schedule of the Canadian works out fine for when I need to be back home - I don't even have to stay over in Jasper for a night. The fare is no more expensive than an airport shuttle to Edmonton + a flight. I think far too many people assume the service can't work for them, than nobody rides the service than the government asks why they even run it…..

Will

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OS: VIA #2, Vancouver, BC, May 21, 2013

FortSheppard — 2013-05-22T05:59:28

OS: VIA #2, Vancouver, BC, May 21, 2013
Departed on time at 20:30

VIA F40PH-2D 6412
VIA F40PH-2D 6451
VIA F40PH-2D 6438

Baggage 8616
Coach 8143
Coach 8117
Skyline 8503
Diner Emerald
Skyline 8510
Dunsmuir Manor
Bliss Manor
Brant Manor
Glass-roofed Coach 1722
Abbot Manor
Carleton Manor
Wolfe Manor
Chateau Latour
Rogers Manor
Chateau Iberville
Sherwood Manor
Skyline 8500
Diner Imperial
Burton Manor
Bayfield Manor
Elgin Manor
Revelstoke Park

Total 23 cars

Observed

Corwin



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RE: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

Mike J. — 2013-05-22T05:40:28

Amtrak's superliner cars have their observation cars (with "domed" ceilings)
which are perfectly fine.   I rode from Chicago to New Orleans in one and it
was more than enough to see the scenery.   On the contrast, VIA's skyline
cars seem to be under-utilized (at least in the off-season when I rode);
there is a decent kitchen in them but all I could get was drinks and food
samples.  The games tables are nice and the movies at that end of the car
are a nice touch and would be good for families travelling.  Just seems a
lot of extra weight for about 20 seats up top and a few tables.  More
weight, more fuel burned to move it.

I am aware there is fixed cost of crews and a couple other almost-fixed
costs such as fuel, cleaning the trains, food, and water.   These can be
offset by more passengers riding the train.

The trick to getting a decently priced ride on Amtrak is to plan several
months ahead, especially if you want a roomette.  Also, certain days of the
week seem to have lower pricing than others; midweek

Re: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

Will — 2013-05-22T05:18:46

On 2013-05-20, at 10:57 PM, Terry <terrybc-EynCeXvFgoheoWH0uzbU5w< at >public.gmane.org> wrote:


You have 60/100 occupancy on a train with a revenue of $1000 (60% load factor, $16.67 revenue per passenger).  

You decide to cut fares and increase ridership, you cut fares by 30% and you get an increase of 20% in ridership. 

Now you have 80/100 occupancy on a train with a revenue of $933.52 (80% load factor, $11.69 revenue per passenger). 

This all assumes you have 100% fixed costs, and the increase in passenger count doesn't have any other hard costs. This also assumes there isn't a delay between cutting the price and the load factor rising. For better or worse Via operates as a business, and I believe they are maximizing revenue for their shareholders given the constraints they are under. 

Will 

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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Re: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

Will — 2013-05-22T05:07:25

On 2013-05-21, at 11:32 PM, Mike J. <mjacula-EynCeXvFgoheoWH0uzbU5w< at >public.gmane.org> wrote:


Cool, so let's implement this Does our train still need dome cars? I mean if people are going from point A to point B, do they really need a wasteful car to look out the window when a coach would do? Do we really need meals prepared on board? Perhaps Swanson's for four days? You could save money and cut back on all that, and still have a mega money loser. 

I would speculate the cost of running a "luxury" service vs the cost of running a "bare bones" train isn't as different as you presume. I don't think Via has significantly more staff than a given Amtrak train, I would guesstimate they are about equal. Due to union agreements you probably aren't going to save lots of money cutting back staffing per train without a fight. The cost of providing higher end meals in the dining car is pretty insignificant compared with the extra revenue it generates. Part of the reason people are willing to pay above Amtrak prices

RE: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

Mike J. — 2013-05-22T04:32:24

Let me clarify.

Many of us take trains in other countries to get from point A to point B.
That's fine.  I personally take Amtrak a couple times per year to do just
that.  I just have my suspicions that the subsidy on the Canadian is rather
high per passenger; these tourists are almost always labelled as "privileged
tourists" (or similar).  If that is true, then raise their fares a little
and give a bigger break to the Canadians who would also like to travel but
cannot afford the fares.   Vacation/luxury trains are completely different
than a mode of transportation.  On my recent trip on the Canadian, I would
estimate at least 3/4 of the passengers were taking it as a vacation and
could care less as to which cities it travels in (as long as they got views
of the mountains, they would be happy).  There were a handful of students
coming home from school in Ontario and only a few more using it as a slower
way to get where they needed to be.  Many of the people I had dinner with
did not even know VIA ran more se

Two Park cars on Monday's #622

boxthom — 2013-05-22T04:32:34

I was in Montreal yesterday, and saw Park cars 8708 and 8706
on the tail end of a train departing from Central Station at
about 09:00.  I believe it was train #622 bound for Quebec,
and that the Park cars were going to Charny for rebuilding
for the deluxe sleeper class planned for the Canadian.

As far as could tell from a cursory inspection of the exterior
as the train passed by, the two cars were at a similar stage
in the rebuilding process.  They certainly don't look finished.
The cars had their numbers painted on their sides, not their
names (Kootenay and Glacier).

The May 2013 Branchline magazine says (p. 26) that 8708 was
already in Charny and 8706 in Toronto at press time (April 15,
2013).  My observations don't prove that was wrong, but they
do call it into doubt.  I don't know why 8708 would have been
sent away from Charny and be returning there yesterday.

Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada




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RE: Amtrak President says VIA is "in trouble"

I.W.P. — 2013-05-22T00:45:32


I am afraid Mike that this statement might put you in a small minority!

Ian
Dorval,QC

--- In Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org, "Mike J." <mjacula< at >...>
wrote:






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RE: OS: VIA #71, #72, #73, and #85

Mark W. Walton — 2013-05-22T02:50:33

At Toronto, 71's consist, which came through from Windsor, became # 48 to
Ottawa. I went Business Class in 3469; at some point before Toronto its air
conditioning croaked, and the crew couldn't fix it, nor could they get
another car even if one were available. Right up front the crew told us we
get a 50% credit on our next trip.

Mark Walton
mark.walton-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg< at >public.gmane.org 

-----Original Message-----
From: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org
[mailto:Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of db5355
Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 3:24 PM
To: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw< at >public.gmane.org
Subject: [CanPassRail] OS: VIA #71, #72, #73, and #85

Monday 20 May, 2013
London VIA Rail Station

#71
6452  F40PH
6441  F40PH
3469  LRC Club
3331  LRC Coach
3313  LRC Coach
3308  LRC Coach
(4 cars)





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Re: Re: OS: CN CP & VIA May 19th & 20th Woodstock and Ingersoll Ontario

Walter Pfefferle — 2013-05-22T02:01:46

No, getting camera shy as I get older. :-) Glad you enjoyed it.

*Walter Pfefferle
Beachville Ont
railpast.com

*
On 5/21/2013 9:52 PM, Derek wrote:



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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