Category Archives for "National News"

Rail advocates outraged by Garneau announcement

By admin | Media Releases , National News

“With climate change on everyone’s mind, and transportation causing a huge percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, smart solutions are needed,” says the public transportation advocacy group’s president Bruce Budd. “And the smartest solution of all is the rail network we already have. Except for a brief passing reference to a feasibility study of high frequency rail service linking Toronto to Ottawa and Montreal, why has Minister Garneau virtually ignored VIA Rail Canada in his 2030 Vision?”

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Gaspésie Railway Reps to meet with Minister of Transport

By admin | Interurban Rail and Bus , National News

According to Radio Gaspésie, representatives of the Gaspésie Railway, the MNAs for Bonaventure and for Gaspé will soon meet the Minister of Transport (Québec) to convince him to fund the return of the (passenger) train to their line. The track has to be upgraded to passenger train standards according to VIA Rail which has stated it will restart the “Chaleur” train if the track is upgraded.

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State of play regarding Lac-Mégantic’s quest for justice and for safety of oil transported by rail

By admin | Interurban Rail and Bus , National News

It has been more than three years since the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, which killed 47 people; left 27 children orphaned; spilled six million litres of crude oil, poisoning the land and waterways; destroyed the town centre; and traumatized a community – trauma that continues to afflict its residents. Combining lives lost, environmental damage and physical destruction the July 6, 2013 Lac–Mégantic rail disaster is – outside of wartime – without precedent in modern Canadian history.

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Positive Train Control

By admin | Interurban Rail and Bus , National News , Topics

There has been a lot of talk on Positive Train Control, PTC, lately, especially with the New Jersey Transit, NJT, in Hoboken recently. Exactly what is PTC, why did it come in to being and what will it do? Positive train control (PTC) is a system of functional requirements for monitoring and controlling train movements as an attempt to provide increased safety. The American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) describes Positive Train Control as having these primary characteristics:[1]

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“Transport Canada Survey” & “Minister Marc Garneau to be on Facebook Live!”

By admin | National News

From the Transport Canada website: The Future of Transportation in Canada: Developing a Long-term Agenda for Transportation Transport Canada believes listening to Canadians will help us better fulfil our mandate, deliver programs, launch new initiatives and build public trust. Giving Canadians, our stakeholders and industry experts more opportunities to get involved will give us new […]

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