After a recent trip home to see family in November, I took Via Rail's Train 84 east from Sarnia Station to Toronto on November 24. A great deal has changed since I last took this train. I would estimate it has been 26 years.
And I have to say the experience was a little disappointing. I mean no disrespect to the excellent crew who took care of the passengers on the train. They are great ambassadors for the company and are not to blame. However, the general state of Via Rail's operations in the Windsor-Quebec City corridor are to blame, without a doubt. Does that mean it's all CN's fault? I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to assume this. On the other hand, one cannot blame Via Rail entirely, either. The state of Via's relationship with its landlord in the corridor, CN, has never been worse.
This has to do with CN imposing speed restrictions on Via's new Venture trains at grade crossings. CN contends that these 24-axle trainsets increase the risk of crossing gate failures by a large degree, while Via disputes this finding and has made more than one comment in legal filings to suggest CN's network infrastructure might be to blame. To be fair, Via Rail has been quite consistent that no safety issue exists. These opposing opinions have resulted in Venture sets being held back in the corridor, which has harmed on-time performance and increased congestion in the network. It's a mess to be sure and there's no end in sight.
Read Eric Gagnon's latest post about this in Trackside Treasure for a much more comprehensive breakdown of the issues.
This brings me to Train 84, the daily morning eastbound that departs Sarnia at 8:40 a.m. with stops (some on demand) in Wyoming, Strathroy, London, St. Marys, Stratford, Kitchener, Guelph, Bramalea, Brampton and Malton. The train travels on CN's Strathroy Subdivision, through CN rails in London before following the Guelph Sub most of the way into Toronto before its lays over at Union Station before becoming an Ottawa-bound train later in the day (this was my train home to Ottawa, which I will write about in a later post).
This shot above shows Train 84 backing out of its layover spur next to Sarnia Station on the morning of Nov. 24. The good thing about Via Rail using the Venture sets is that their bidirectional capabilities do not necessitate a wye movement to turn the train around in the yard. The train can simply be left on the spur when the evening westbound arrives. The spur is under video surveillance, which I suppose helps CN Police thwart any would-be vandals.
Rather than getting into a blow-by-blow of the entire trip, I will mention some of the highlights and low lights. The initial move out of Sarnia Yard was mostly smooth sailing, so to speak, as the train was able to move fairly quickly on the Strathroy Subdivision. This stretch of the CN network is well maintained and is able to accommodate freights at higher speeds, given that it is a crucial link between Toronto and Chicago.
On the morning of Nov. 24, our train encountered no freights on the sub and the station stops in Wyoming and Strathroy were skipped, as no passengers were there to get on board. At this point, the train was likely at five-percent capacity. It was quiet and peaceful.
Hello, Goodbye: Wyoming station early in the morning on Nov. 24. No one's home.
I have to admit that I didn't feel any noticeable reductions in speed as Train 84 encountered the level crossings on the Strathroy Sub. I credit the engineer for making the ride fairly consistent. I know this speed restriction mandate is a pain for Via crews on lines like the Strathroy Sub, as there are many country roads crossing the tracks.
Our train began to slow east of Strathroy where our train proceeded to enter busier CN territory near London. As you might expect, we were briefly stopped at a junction west of London, although I can't be sure it was the Melrose connection with the CP Windsor Subdivision or the Komoka Junction with the Chatham Sub. The area was the subject of a fair amount of maintenance of way crews. Possibly they needed to give the all clear before we crossed. Either way, the train's speed gradually slowed as we neared London.
A bit of a surprise. I saw an Essex Terminal Railway engine in London as our train made its way through the city toward the station. I have to say, I miss the old yellow, green and black ETR scheme. This one is okay, but not nearly as distinctive. ETR is cycling its engines to Lambton Diesel Specialists in Sarnia for maintenance and work. Since these units can no longer be routed via CSX's old line in Chatham, the easiest connection is from Windsor to London and then down the CN Strathroy Sub.
ETR engine awaits its move to Sarnia by laying over in London.
This is where Train 84 began to suffer from elements that are out of its control. After our station stop in London, the train had to pass onto the CN Guelph Subdivision toward St. Marys. Long story short, this stretch of the CN network between London and Kitchener is in rough shape. Our train made its way through the countryside at a fairly constant 46 km/h, which everyone can see as the train's display panels show you its speed in real time.
This is not at all acceptable for a passenger train today. It's unfair to compare this train to the Sarnia-Toronto train I rode more than 20 years ago in my university years, but I can distinctly remember the train being able to move much more quickly back then. Did the Goderich Exeter Railway take better care of this track when it controlled the Guelph Sub on a long-term lease from CN? I can't say. That's just my impression. The trains didn't seem as slow when I was in university.
I've been told that CN would likely be glad to hand over the tracks from London to Kitchener, so it can rid itself of the maintenance burden on this lightly used rail line. Already, the Metrolinx-controlled tracks east of Kitchener show how much better things can be when a motivated owner is in charge. I can't imagine that Via Rail would like to take on the burden of owning the tracks between London and Kitchener, given it only uses this line twice a day for the Sarnia-Toronto trains. This means the line will continue to be operated and maintained by CN, which has very little reason to upgrade these tracks for fast passenger operations. CN's local freight service can operate at slower speeds given there is so little traffic on this line.
What surprised me was was the number of passengers that got on from St. Marys to Guelph, despite the speed restrictions on this line. This train does much of its business east of London.
All aboard in St Marys. This little town had lots of people who "love the way."
St. Marys is a good example of a small town that relies on Via Rail service, although the service is spotty. I fear for these small towns, as they are often the first to lose service when bigger issues are at play and threaten margins.
I missed the old stone GTR station in St. Marys but caught the caboose.
There was no opposing traffic for our train to contend with on the Guelph Sub, thankfully, as our speed was already pretty slow. By the time we arrived in Kitchener, the train was already behind schedule, but not by a wide margin. Thankfully, the tracks east of Kitchener are maintained well by Metrolinx, which is expanding its rail service to Kitchener and points east in the coming years. This meant our train could actually stretch its legs and move at a more reasonable speed.
Kitchener's CN operations getting started for the day with lots of grain and covered hopper cars ready to serve agricultural customers in southern Ontario.
As we got closer to Toronto, our train was stopped for quite some time in Brampton as we had to wait for a meet with a GO Train because CN had a freight train blocking an interlocking east of the station. This delay, combined with the speed restrictions east of London, not to mention the delay in Komoka/Melrose, made for a slower-than-usual ride. This has to be frustrating to passengers and crews alike, as this train's scheduled 1:38 p.m. arrival in Toronto is already a pretty generous schedule. I can't imagine many people in Sarnia and London would take this train for its timetable. You take this train if you have to.
Passengers in London, in particular, have better options, as the eastbound trains that take a different route (Dundas Subdivision) through Woodstock, Brantford and Aldershot (Hamilton) are much quicker. I took a train west from Toronto to London on this route on my way down to see family and it was a much quicker ride, even with the occasional slowdown.
From a business point of view, this has to be troubling. If you cannot offer a fairly timely service, people will be less likely to take the train.
Finally in Toronto: Our train was more than a half hour late, which wasn't
so bad considering the obstacles it faced. The Via Rail engineers are likely exhausted.
When we arrived in Toronto, I felt exhausted, given my car was quite loud, with screaming babies and a boisterous group in St. Marys. I'm not complaining. It was nice to see a full train, but I have to wonder how long Via Rail can count on its passengers' patience as it sorts out its Venture dispute with CN. Neither side appears willing to budge while the federal Transport Minister does not appear eager to step into this mess.
I went into this trip from Sarnia to Toronto with a certain excitement as it was a chance to revel in the nostalgia of taking the train in the late 1990s. How times have changed! Via Rail is struggling in every respect. It has not done a great job explaining to its passengers why its brand new trains are performing worse than its aging LRC and HEP fleets. Meanwhile, CN appears to be in no hurry to accommodate Via Rail in any way.
I suppose in a perfect world, Via Rail would have its own tracks that were free of freight trains that more often than not are prioritized higher than passenger trains. Of course, this is impossible. For every train that is rerouted to a theoretical Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal route via the Kawartha Lakes Railway and a potentially reactivated line east of Havelock, you lose all the passengers along Lake Ontario from Port Hope to Cornwall. This is just not feasible. You have to serve the cities on the lake.
And, although Via controls rails between Chatham and Windsor, Brockville and Ottawa as well as Ottawa and Coteau, Quebec, it is still very much at the mercy of CN. And there is no solution.
And sadly, trains like Train 84 are the hardest hit.
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