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In the message above I meant to say 1981 not 1991. The first round of Via cutbacks followed a period during which Via Rail spending was over budget.

With due respect to Mr. Willbridge, VIA Rail IS a legal corporate entity. It is not under the direct control of the Prime Minister's Office. It reports to the Minister of Transport through a Board of Directors. The PMO is not the equivalent of the Office of the Management and Budget. I am not...

"I would guess a similar restoration could be undertaken again if they have mechanical life left in them, but AFAIK the only ones that have been redone are the ones VIA gutted and turned into Prestige cars." Not entirely true. Via uses Chateau sleepers on the Ocean and the Churchill train...

I thought VIA Rail owned the 35 mile portion of the Chatham Subdivision from Bloomfield (near Chatham) to Lacasse (approaching Windsor). When did the ownership revert back to CN?

I believe the Amtrak test train was in 2009. Nothing came of it. Fourteen years later, the discussion, to my knowledge, has been strictly among railfans.

I would not call Gare Centrale a glorified Penn Station. It is not a basement station: The concourse is NOT below ground. Gare Centrale is an excellent example of art deco from the 1940s. Look at the (original) murals on the walls. The situation is not at all analogous to what happened in...

The Union Pearson Express is now back on an every 15 minute schedule throughout the day, seven days a week. Since COVID and prior to last week's temporary shutdown the schedule had 15 minute headways only on peak hours Monday to Friday.

The comment in the article suggesting that this will be the end of public ownership of Canadian passenger rail is a bit misleading. HFR is intended to be a build/operate/ transfer project that would be financed jointly by the successful bidder and the public Canadian Infrastructure Bank. There...

I believe the 11.6 million figure incldes both arrivals and departures within the State of California. A more meaningful comparison would be between the three Amtrak California corridor services and VIA's seven Ontario and Quebec corridor routes. The daily number of trains are similar , but...

I believe Pukatawagan is a First Nations Reserve, and as such is private property. I do not think you can visit without permission. Here is the link to their website: https://web.archive.org/web/20131024142721/http://www.norman-rha.mb.ca/Pukatawagan.htm

<<The only train is the Via continuation of the Maple Leaf.>> Not entirely. GO Transit has a weekday commuter train leaving Niagara in the early morning and returning from Toronto late evening. (The remainder of the all- day Niagara Falls service is the bus/train link at Burlington.) GO...

That simply not true. Via has multiple fares, based on yield management principles, with each booking class having different restrictions. You will find three different booking classes in coach and two in business class on corridor trains, each of which have different price points, depending on...

Fresh Tracks is based in Vancouver. Their website is freshtrackscanada.com. The toll free number is 877 210 5451. I believe the name refers to fresh tracks in the snow, not RR tracks, but they do a lot of customized train tours.

The projected date for "substantial completion" currently is early 2018. There were delays in the excavation under the station to build the new concourse and retail space. Also the train shed revitization (a separate sub-project) has been complicated by the need to accommodate plans to...

The renovations that Palmetto noticed in May will not be over anytime soon. They are part of a multiyear project, originally budgeted at CAD 800 million, but the actual cost far exceeding that. The hoarding and temporary signage in the concourse is due to the closure and rebuilding of the GO...

The Skeena operated on an overnight schedule with sleepers until 1993, when the present 2 day schedule went into effect. For a few years prior to the switch the sleeping accommodation for most of the year was in a 10 roomette combination baggage-dorm (converted from CN 22 roomette cars) so...

There are flights from Vancouver to Port Hardy, and a bus from Victoria., Accommodation in both Port Hardy and Prince Rupert can be at a premium, which is why some people arrange this itinerary through a wholesale travel agent that specializes in Rail Tours, e.g. Fresh Tracks or John Steel.

Either direction would be fine. Taking the BC Ferry from Port Hardy up the Inside Passge to Prince Rupert and connecting to the eastbound Skeena would be a good plan. Try to book a train which offers Touring Class, if only because the catering in Economy is pretty limited, while Touring Class...

You could have been on an HEP 1 as they do operate in the corridor occasionally. It is easy to tell the two apart. Exterior: HEP 1 cars have blue striping; HEP 2 have blue and yellow. HEP 1 have large picture windows; HEP 2 have uniform window height, but the width varies depending on the...

You were probably riding in HEP 2 equipment used in corridor service, as opposed to HEP 1 cars, normally used on long distance trains, but occasionally in the corridor. The former have blue and yellow striping, signifying that the cars are equipped for MU operations in J-trains. The HEP 2 cars...