Passenger trips to take longer in Ontario and Quebec after CN rule change: Via Rail

New passenger trains sit on the tracks at the Via Rail Canada Maintenance Centre in Montreal, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Source: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi)

Passengers riding on Via Rail's most heavily travelled corridor may endure a slower trip after Canadian National Railway Co. imposed restrictions on Via's new trains.

CN last Friday said Via's recently arrived Siemens trainsets running between Montreal and Windsor, Ont., must lower their speed at public crossings.

The rule — previously in effect only at certain crossings between Montreal and Quebec City — is causing delays of about 30 minutes per train on average, Via said.

The requirement came "without prior notice" on the eve of the high-volume Thanksgiving long weekend, said spokesman Karl Helou in an emailed statement.

No incidents at level crossings have been reported since the 16 Venture trains now in operation first hit the rails two years ago, he said.

CN, which owns most of the tracks used by Via in Central Canada, says it made the decision when it learned the new trains were traversing routes they had previously steered clear of.

However, an Aug. 26 CN bulletin obtained by The Canadian Press shows that the company was aware Venture trainsets were already running in Ontario.

The new trains have been shuttling between Montreal and Ottawa since November 2022 and between Montreal and Toronto since last October, all "with CN’s collaboration and approval" and no new requirements imposed, Helou said.

Nonetheless, if Via hopes to maintain higher speeds through crossings it will need to add cars to the new trainsets in order to raise their axle count for reasons tied to signalling and speed detection, CN said.

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. and Ontario's Metrolinx transportation agency, which also host Via trains, have no such requirements.

CN said it advised Via in October 2021 that operating trainsets with an axle count of 24 rather than 32 "could create issues." It said it imposed the rule requiring either a higher axle threshold or lower speeds in March on routes where the new fleet was running.

"This is a safety issue, both for the trains and their passengers, but also for pedestrians and motorists at crossings. Safety is not something we can compromise on, ever," said CN spokesman Jonathan Abecassis in an emailed statement.

Even before the slowdowns at crossings, delays were not uncommon at Via Rail. Only 59 per cent of Via trains reached their destination on time last year, and 57 per cent the year before.

Last year, more than 96 per cent of Via's riders and more than four-fifths of its revenue stemmed from the stretch of track that runs between Quebec City and Windsor, including the Ottawa loop.

All 32 Venture trainsets that Via ordered from German manufacturing giant Siemens are poised to enter service along that corridor by the end of next summer, with older rolling stock to be phased out.

That means more and more passengers will experience delays — since the new restrictions apply only to Venture trains — unless Via can find a workaround.

"We can't just add more Venture cars," Via said in an Oct. 11 notice sent to locomotive engineers and seen by The Canadian Press.

One solution may be a so-called shunt enhancer, which strengthens the reliability of track circuits used near crossings to detect an approaching train and trigger warning devices — lights, bells and gates.

"Via is actively engaging with suppliers to evaluate and procure these devices," the company said in the notice.