Rust spots are showing through on this Renaissance sleeper, a common sight on many of these cars in 2018. Corrosion has been the source of many problems with this equipment, and after only 15 years in service on the Ocean, VIA is already planning to retire the fleet...
The troublesome British-built Renaissance cars used in VIA Rail’s downsized Atlantic Canada service were never designed for life in Canada, and are in urgent need of replacement. But Budget 2018 makes provision only for fleet renewal in the Quebec City-Windsor...
In 2018 Canada’s national passenger rail service is marking the 40th anniversary of its creation. Some critics will ask if there’s really anything to celebrate after decades of retrenchment and cutbacks, but optimists think there just might be a headlight at the end...
“VIA Rail at 40: The good, the bad, and the ugly” – our feature coverage on VIA’s 40th anniversary is just one of many topics featured in this issue of The Bulletin The Spring-Summer 2018 issue of The Bulletin, Transport Action Atlantic’s twice annual publication, is...
South West New Brunswick Transit Authority chair Stan Choptiany of St. Andrews NB (at right) receives the 2018 John Pearce Award from Michael Perry, a long-time member of Transport Action Atlantic’s board of directors. This year’s outstanding public transportation...
Transport Action Atlantic’s Annual General Meeting will be held in Moncton, New Brunswick, this coming Saturday. All are welcome to attend! Saturday, May 5 at 2:00 p.m CN Pensioners Centre 1 Curry Street (off Donald Avenue) Moncton NB This year’s feature will be an...
New Brunswick releases report and recommendations on inclusive and sustainable transportation – by Yves Bourgeois “A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transport.” – Enrique Penalosa, former Mayor...
Transport Action Atlantic is viewing recent statements from both Prime Minister Trudeau and Transport Minister Marc Garneau on the future of VIA Rail service with a mixture of optimism and concern. Both have been quoted in media interviews as being supportive of the...
Marine Atlantic’s customer satisfaction rates increased to 77 per cent during the 12-month period ending March 31, 2017, and on-time performance rates improved to 91 per cent. The vessel reliability rate stood at 99 per cent, and the Newfoundland ferry service...
By Marcus Garnet On Friday, December 1, 2017, Halifax Regional Municipality’s Integrated Mobility Plan was released to the public as an agenda item for consideration by Committee of the Whole Council. On December 5, 2017, Council unanimously endorsed the plan – a...
Greyhound Canada’s announcement that it will eliminate or reduce passenger and freight routes in Western Canada was met with disappointment on Monday, with lawmakers and activists warning that it will leave the country’s most marginalized communities no choice but to...
TransLink’s Canada Line experienced two major shutdowns (Feb 3 / 6, 2017). The cause was the apparent inability of trains to travel northbound between Bridgeport and Marine Drive Stations. These incidents are a reminder of a similar incident in November 2010 when an...
Global News BC had a 15 minute, year-end interview with TransLink Chairman Kevin Desmond on 19 Dec 2017. Issues discussed included possible later SkyTrain service on Friday and Saturday nights, safety, new Canada Line stations, Canada Line capacity expansions, double...
Transit ridership is up a reported 41% on certain routes in the South Okanagan. Good news but the numbers would be starting from a fairly low level. Unfortunately, there is no source for the numbers published and there is one oddity; a 30% decline in operating costs...
The Eno Center for Transportation in Washington DC published a report touting the benefits of contracting out as a way to improve transit service. “A Bid for Better Transit: Improving Transit Service with Contracted Operations” looks at a number of examples of...
Transport Action BC wishes to express condolences for the deaths of Jim Hamre and Zack Wilhoite, as well as the other victim and the many people injured in the December 18, 2017 Amtrak Cascades Train 501 crash. TABC was shocked to hear the news about the derailment on...
=============================================================================== BC’s new NDP government cancelled bridge tolls on TransLink’s Golden Ears and the province’s Port Mann bridges, as promised in the recent election campaign. Member Stephen Rees wrote an...
Transport Action BC (http://bc.transportaction.ca/) Regular Meeting Agenda: 27 June 2017 (Tuesday) 19:00 Waves Coffee Shop Meeting Room 100-900 Howe St (at Smithe St), Vancouver A. Membership and Finances (19:00) 1) Approval of 24 May 2017 meeting minutes. 2) Expense...
Transport Action BC (http://bc.transportaction.ca/) Regular Meeting Agenda: 24 May 2017 (Wednesday) 19:00 Waves Coffee Shop Meeting Room 100-900 Howe St (at Smithe St), Vancouver 19:00 to 20:45 PM A. Membership and Finances (19:00) 1) Approval of 3 April 2016 meeting...
An April 5, 2017 column by The Vancouver Sun’s political columnist, Vaughn Palmer, described how the B.C. government’s pre-construction / pre-election photo-op for the $3.5 billion Massey Bridge project was hijacked by a group protesting the mega-project. TABC Member...
Our affiliate organization, the Northern and Eastern Ontario Rail Network (NEORN) has issued a media release requesting the Ontario government to revise the mandate for the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines to include pursuit of passenger rail service...
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is developing a long-range (2051) multimodal transportation plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Objectives include reducing congestion, supporting economic growth, promoting healthy lifestyles, responding to the climate...
Transport Action Ontario has released a second update report and backgrounder on funding gaps for transit in the GTHA. It reflects an assumed rapid transit network as proposed by Metrolinx in their 2017 draft Regional Transportation Plan, rather than that identified...
Transport Action Ontario and our affiliate, the Northern and Eastern Ontario Rail Network (NEORN) have jointly issued a media release decrying the extremely poor on-time performance of the Canadian. Data shows that the Canadian from Vancouver to Toronto was on...
TAO questions Ontario’s high-speed rail proposal, calls for replacement by a high-performance rail plan Will the Government of Ontario’s wildly optimistic predictions about the benefits of high-speed rail (HSR) actually materialize? The odds are they will not – and...
TORONTO – In a hard-hitting policy statement, the transportation advocacy group, Transport Action Ontario (TAO), calls for the rejection of the provincial government’s high-speed rail (HSR) proposal and its replacement with a more practical, high-performance rail...
This article by TAO board member Ken Westcar and resident of Woodstock ON appeared in the London Free Press in somewhat edited form on June 9, 2017 under the title “Westcar: Upgrading passenger rail makes most sense.” Although there are many critics of the province’s...
Transport Action Ontario to focus on high-performance rail for the North Main Line and revival of the Northlander, By TAO President Robert Wightman, June 5, 2017 The way Canada and Ontario fund, govern and deliver rail passenger service desperately needs change. But...
BRAMPTON, ON – As a result of a deputation to Brampton City Council by Transport Action Ontario (TAO) president Robert Wightman, local politicians have said they want Queen’s Park to make changes to its recent high-speed rail proposal, which fails to include…. Click...
TAO Brampton HSR Deputation Release 170524 Source: TAO
Greyhound Canada’s announcement that it will eliminate or reduce passenger and freight routes in Western Canada was met with disappointment on Monday, with lawmakers and activists warning that it will leave the country’s most marginalized communities no choice but to...