Transport Action BC Praises Investment in Vancouver Island Railway

The government of Canada announced its half of the $15 million to save and rehabilitate the Vancouver Island Railway. The railway owned by the Island Corridor Foundation has been gradually detiorating and VIA Rail passenger service was cancelled last year due to poor track conditions. The other half of the money was committed by the BC government, and $500,000 of that money was used for an inspection of the bridges. The results of the study haven’t been released but sources say that the bridges are generally in good condition have just been released, see below.

Transport Action is pleased to see the governments make investments in rail infrastructure, and is happy that the actions of everyone who contacted their MP or MLA made a difference.

Federal Government Invests in Restoring the Corridor

Story from Nanaimo Daily News

E&N Bridge Assessment Reports
More to follow on this item.

Seattle-Vancouver Amtrak will continue

The second daily Amtrak train between Seattle and Vancouver will continue. Canadian Border Services has agreed to not charge Amtrak for customs and border inspection services. Unlike past announcements, this one seems to be permanent.

Crosscut has a good summary of the news:

Canada relents on cash demands for late Amtrak run from Seattle

 

Amtrak Cascades sign at Pacific Central

Good News for Vancouver Island Rail (E&N)

The Island Corridor Foundation (formerly the E&N Railway on Vancouver Island) received some good news on June 28, 2011. The B.C. government agreed to provide funding for much needed track maintenance, albeit with provisos.

As a starter investment, the province will provide $500,000 to perform safety evaluations on the rail line’s 40 bridges. An additional $7 million will be provided, once the bridges are determined to be safe, AND when the ICF has found other partners willing to invest another $7.5 million. The obvious ‘other partner’ is the federal government. Local MPs are working to ensure federal support for the maintenance project.

Coincidentally, this funding announcement comes almost a year to the day, after the province released a major evaluation study on the E&N. The report has a detailed analysis on commuter rail, freight activity and potential, passenger rail scenarios and tourist train possibilities.

                                                                                                 

Vancouver Island railway in dilapidated state

The VIA Rail dayliner on Vancouver island between Victoria and Courtenay has been cancelled until further notice. The dilapidated nature of the track has finally been noticed by the authorities. In the meantime, the train service is being replaced by bus, and there’s no word on when the train service will come back.

According to VIA’s press release:

“An inspection of the tracks and structures between Victoria and Nanaimo was conducted jointly over the last two days by Southern Railway of Vancouver Island (SRVI), the BC Safety Authority, the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, and VIA.  Following that inspection, SRVI informed VIA of its decision that significant infrastructure improvement will be required before passenger rail service can resume on this route.”

The problem has been years of neglect and systematic under-investment in our transportation system for years, except for highways, which are lavished with funding.  The provincial government needs to immediately follow the recommendations of the Island Corridor Foundation which calls for $30 million dollars in funding for urgent repair of ties, rails, and ballast. This will also enable the re-jigging of the passenger schedule to doulble the service and enable a commuter service to be added to the existing Victoria-Courtenay-Victoria daily round-trip.

What you can do is contact the powers that be at the Island Corridor Foundation’s You can help make a new passenger rail service a reality page to help get funding to repair this vital transportation link.

VIA Rail Canada press release

Island’s Dayliner train parked indefinitely due to track problems – by Sandra McCulloch, Times Colonist

Island Corridor Foundation – the owner of the railway corridor

Corridor somewhere between Courtenay and Qualicum Beach Aug-2008

Amtrak Cascades trains cancelled by mudslides again

Yet again the Amtrak Cascades service between Vancouver and Seattle has been canceled due to a landslide along the track. This is the twentieth time this season! See below the picture for more information about this story.

 

Sign at Pacific Central says no trains.

 

 

Stories

• WSDOT seeks federal rail money for mudslide prevention
• Mudslides Disrupt Train Service, Again

Current issue of Trains should be required reading

The April issue of Trains magazine has a special 48 page report on fast trains. It describes new high-speed trains in China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Europe, relative speed, why some Americans can’t seem to embrace high-speed rail, a map showing the highest speed portions of tracks in the USA (70 mph (112 km/h) is considered high-speed for Amtrak) and many other articles.

A special article on Amtrak Cascades describes how Washington state has grown their system slowly and steadily over the past 10 years by focusing on small incremental improvements to increase the average speed over time, instead of trying to focus on top speeds. It is frequency, reliability and comfort that will bring people back to the train, not absolute top speed.  This article especially should be required reading for folks at the BC Ministry of Transportation who are overly focused on roads.

Fraser Valley Rail – Two conflicting visions

The latest issue of The Sandhouse (Vol 35, No. 4, Issue 140 – Winter 2010/11) which is the journal of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association, Pacific Coast Division has a good summary of the Fraser Valley transit studies, one done for the BC government, the Fraser Valley Regional District, BC Transit and TransLink. The other study was sponsored by the group Rail for the Valley.

The article titled Visions of Fraser Valley rail collide in two studies: by Ian Smith. The first paragraph states:

Duelling visions of the future of rail transit in the Fraser Valley have emerged in two recent studies. One is decidely lukewarm on the prospects for rail even over an extended period, while the other proposes that work should start as soon as possible.

The eight page article describes both studies in depth and is well worth reading. Rail for the Valley is a group of people that want to see the old BC Electric Railway right of way, that is currently used for freight only, restored for passenger use. A major bottleneck would be the single track portion of the line in Langley between Cloverdale and the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 10. This portion currently sees up to 18 coal trains and 12 container trains from CN and CP as well as trains of the short line operator Southern Railway of BC.

The Sandhouse is not widely distributed, I couldn’t find a current website for the group, but copies of the Sandhouse are available at Central Hobbies in Vancouver, and Kelly’s Kaboose in Kamloops.

For more information:

• Fraser Valley Transit Study by BC Ministry of Transport
• The Leewood Study by Rail for the Valley

Hopes for improved Vancouver Island Rail

The  Island Corridor Foundation which owns the former Esquimalt and Nanaimo railway on Vancouver Island has put forth a new plan to rehabilitate the track between Nanaimo and Victoria, switch the terminus from Victoria to Nanaimo and add additional VIA service to the line.

You can read more about the service plan on their page. This is  a less ambitious plan than a few years ago, but it would be a vital first step to revitalising the railway and increase the patronage on the trains. The plan would introduce an early morning run from Nanaimo in the morning appealing to commuters before the traditional departure from Nanaimo, up island to Courtenay. In the afternoon the train would arrive back in Victoria in time for take the Victoria commuters back to Langford, Duncan and as far as Nanaimo. They are asking for the federal and provincial governments to put in $15 million each. They point out that there has already been $30 million in investment around and along the corridor including $4 million in ties, signals, and ballast, a new bus exchange at the Langford station, new Admirals Road crossing, 2 new rail and bike bridges, and a rebuilt Nanaimo train station.

Transport Action BC supports this plan and encourages members and the public to show their support by contacting the BC Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Transport, and politicians in charge. The Island Corridor Foundation has put together a list of people to contact.

 

Courtenay Station

 

 

Wi-Fi now available on Amtrak Cascades

Another reason to take the train in the Vancouver-Seattle-Portland corridor is the introduction of free wireless Internet on the trains. This is a good enhancement for business people, students and anyone who wants to stay in touch and be productive while travelling.

Visit the Amtrak Cascades website for more information.

 

Cab control car for Amtrak Cascades train at King St station in Seattle. Photo by M. Buchanan

 

 

Reprieve Granted for Amtrak Train

At the last minute, a deal was made to continue the Amtrak train for another year. Canadian Border Services (CBSA) wanted to charge Amtrak $1500 per day ($550,000 per year) for border inspections. Amtrak refused to pay and was going to cancel the second daily Vancouver-Seattle train at the end of October if a deal wasn’t going to be made by October 15th. Transport Action has learned that the CBSA has agreed to a one year extension,

• Amtrak deal reached CKNW Radio, Vancouver.

Thanks to everyone who spoke out on this issue including Transport Action members who contacted politicians, publicised the story on blogs, and talked to friends and colleagues. A special thanks go to Ian Burkheimer at PNWER who organised a group of tourism officials, government people, and public transport advocates. Ian brought together everyone with conference calls and emails to try to get the government to listen to common sense.

This issue isn’t dead yet, only delayed for another year. The fact that the CBSA made another extension instead of dropping the idea of cost recovery means that we haven’t heard the end of this story. At least it will give Amtrak Cascades another year to grow and improve the service over the next year.

More Details

• Second Vancouver-Washington Amtrak train gets a reprieve The Globe and Mail
• B.C. must innovate to pay the freight The Globe and Mail – Gary Mason.
• Extra Seattle to Vancouver train chugs on CBC British Columbia