Tag: Ocean

A New Proposal to Rehabilitate the Ocean

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Federal Green Party leader and MP Elizabeth May and New Brunswick Green Party leader and MLA David Coon hold a copy of Greg Gormick's new report on the future of VIA's Ocean
Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May and New Brunswick provincial leader David Coon are among elected officials who have received copies of Riding the Ocean’s Next Wave.

“VIA Rail’s Ocean is dying.” So begins the report recently completed by transportation consultant and advocate Greg Gormick for the advocacy group Save Our Trains in Northern New Brunswick. The new report is titled “Riding the Ocean’s Next Wave: A proposal for VIA Rail Canada’s Maritime services”, and was released in mid-August with considerable media coverage.

Gormick is no stranger to VIA’s Maritime services. He has completed reports on rail service in the region in the past, and toured Atlantic Canada as part of the “National Dream Renewed” campaign several years ago, aiming to generate support for improvements to VIA’s services across the country at a time when the future was looking particularly bleak.

His assessment of the current situation boils down, in essence, to three points: VIA is struggling to compete with discount airlines for end-to-end travel; their equipment is deteriorating; and the inconvenience of a tri-weekly schedule is simply unable to generate adequate ridership or effectively serve any part of the market. These are concerns that are generally shared by TAA. Continue reading “A New Proposal to Rehabilitate the Ocean” →

TAA hosts successful Nova Scotia members event

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A group of people wait on a station platform as a teal VIA passenger train arrives
Attendees of TAA’s Nova Scotia Members Rendez-vous excursion wait on the platform in Truro as VIA #14 arrives. (Photo – Tim Hayman)

On Saturday, March 18th, TAA hosted the first of what we hope will be many events for our members. This event was targeted primarily towards our members in Nova Scotia, as we set out on an excursion from Halifax to Truro and back. At noon, seventeen TAA members (including our Vice President and several members of the board) gathered at the VIA Rail/Maritime Bus station in downtown Halifax and boarded Maritime Bus Route 103 to head to Truro. As we boarded the bus driver commented that this was an unusually busy trip for that time on a Saturday…we doubled what he guessed would be a “normal” load!

Despite running slightly behind schedule the bus trip was smooth and uneventful, with only two short stops in Dartmouth and at the airport. The chatter on board throughout the trip was full of discussion about public transportation locally and farther afield!

Upon arrival in Truro we made our way to the Engineroom Pub, where we enjoyed lunch before migrating over to the adjacent VIA Rail station. The waiting room was surprisingly busy – it seems we weren’t the only ones making the trip in to Halifax! Our wait in the station gave us a chance to talk a bit more about what TAA was up to, and provide an opportunity for members to provide feedback on what they thought we were doing well (or not so well), and what they’d like to see us do in the future. There were some excellent ideas floated during this chat. Continue reading “TAA hosts successful Nova Scotia members event” →

New threat to the Newcastle Sub?

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A railway track disappears to the horizon amidst a forest
CN’s Newcastle Sub just north of Rogersville NB. Parts of this line could soon be in jeopardy once again. (Ted Bartlett Photo)

There’s a chance that the fight to save the Newcastle Subdivision could be back on the table sooner than expected. In 2014, the Province of New Brunswick signed an agreement with CN to provide funding to maintain the north (from Irvco, N.B. to Nepisquit Junction, N.B.) and south (between Catamount, N.B. and Nelson Junction) portions of the Newcastle Sub.. This left only the middle section (roughly from Miramichi to Bathurst) uncovered, an issue that would later be solved by an agreement with the federal government.

The original agreement signed between the provincial government and CN indicated that it would ensure continued freight operations on the line for the next 15 years. Unfortunately, one detail was not specified in the press release from CN or other public information at the time: a clause in the agreement would allow for CN to re-evaluate the situation after 5 years, and if traffic on the line had dropped below 2012 levels for two consecutive years, they would be free to terminate the agreement and re-apply to abandon the line.

That clause will be applicable in 2019, meaning that in as little as two years time we could be facing another fight to preserve the route of the Ocean, which may also soon be the route of additional VIA trains if the proposed daily regional services between Campbellton and Moncton get off the ground. Of course it’s not a sure thing that CN will choose to invoke this clause, nor is it certain whether traffic levels have indeed dropped to the point that would make that possible – but the situation does give cause for concern.

TAA will continue to monitor this situation closely, and will plan to work with our partners throughout the region to advocate for solutions to preserve the line and passenger service, should CN seek once again to walk away from the route.

Here are CBC and Radio-Canada reports on the current situation:

 

CBC (English): http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/freight-rail-project-cn-1.3992590

Radio-Canada (En français):  http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1017997/troncon-miramichi-bathurst-survie-menacee