Transport Action Canada
@transportaction.ca
1.4K followers 240 following 350 posts
Advocacy for better public transport across Canada. Bringing people together by bus, train, ferry, and bicycle.
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The grade crossing problem is a symptom of a regulatory environment that is no longer fit for purpose and raises concerns about Canada’s railway safety culture overall. Engineering is what makes a railway safe, lawyers shouldn’t be necessary!
The Transportation Safety Board shouldn't have to make a video like this to get something done about Enhanced Train Control in Canada. After years of consultations, we expect new regulations in early 2026, and we demand a rapid rollout of ETC.
youtu.be/pMHf1gmoQxQ
Not Following Signal Indications – TSB Watchlist
The TSB just launched its latest TSB Watchlist! Shaped by investigations, industry input and safety trends, it highlights where action can prevent accidents. Learn more about this issue:…
youtu.be
A lot of the high-risk crossings on the existing CN route should be closed or grade separated even though @altotrain.bsky.social HSR is going ahead.
Probably asking too much, although we did suggest keeping the same iconic design so that the new cars could be phased in as they’re built.
Unfortunately even stainless steel can only last so long in daily mainline service. A procurement for a replacement fleet was launched last year and we hope the new equipment will be a worthy successor and as well built.
With luck, many of these cars will survive in museums and preservation.
The backend of the old system was at least 20 years old - dating back to the Renaissance program - and technologically obsolete. It was well overdue for an overhaul. Delivery of the new system didn’t go smoothly, at least partly due to the build-up of kludges and workarounds in the old system.
There’s the cement plant and wind turbine blade factory.
Reopening to the cement plant this year will be a major milestone.
With functional rail, it’s also possible to attract other plants of significant size and for local industry to grow beyond what’s going to fit on a couple of trucks.
However, much of Quebec’s capital investment is to support freight service to local industries. This should become an example of a regional strategy for broad-based economic sustainability—after decades of infrastructure retrenchment—that other parts of Canada can learn from.
However, the case for the passenger trains includes bringing high-spending international tourists into the region. They don’t take the bus.
For residents, an overnight trip to Montreal is more convenient for business meetings and more comfortable for medical appointments than taking a bus.
There was a connection with RÉGÎM, but it got lost when the VIA reservation system was modernized, along with connections to Maritime Bus. We’ve been told these intermodal connections would be coming back, but it’s taking rather longer than we would like. (Same with bike reservations…)
VIA Rail's big fall sale is on: Up to 30% off trips on the Ocean and the Canadian from January to March.
The train is a great way to cross Canada in winter, chatting with other passengers in the cosy Park car while watching the snowy landscape roll by!
www.viarail.ca/en/offers/bl...
Black Friday Sale | VIA Rail
Take advantage of Via Rail's exceptional Canadian Black Friday offers! Discover exclusive discounts for train travel across Canada.
www.viarail.ca
This evening Transport Action met with the Alto High Speed Rail team in Toronto, with members from BC to Nova Scotia also joining online. We appreciate Alto's willingness to engage with us and enjoyed a candid discussion ranging from community impacts to systems engineering.
This kind of public input gathering is good, but revealed preferences are more reliable than survey responses. We must also look to see where people are going but choosing not to use transit bus networks.
www.sasktoday.ca/saskatoon-to...
Your Ride. Your Voice. Saskatoon Transit needs your input
Saskatoon residentsare encouraged to help shape the future of public transit by participating in a bus network redesign survey
www.sasktoday.ca
Reposted by Transport Action Canada
Lakeshore West GO track work DEFERRED for Blue Jays playoffs this weekend (Oct. 4-5).

Apparently last weekend was a disaster.

www.gotransit.com/en/service-u...
Alto HSR is now happening, but won’t open until the mid 2030s at the earliest, even with national interest designation, so VIA has to manage with the Kingston Sub for at least the next decade!
If HFR had been approved in 2017, it could have been open already and we wouldn’t have this problem.
It creates an opportunity for constructive discussion, although the root of the issue is that we need to have more train paths between Toronto and Montreal than six each way, and more between Ottawa and Montreal too.
We are pleased to see this pilot project paused. Hopefully this gives time for a rethink so that services to lakeshore communities are maintained and enhanced, as promised by the "Kingston Hub" strategy for the future of lakeshore service alongside HFR/Alto.
www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/artic...
Via Rail hits the brakes on nonstop Montreal-Toronto service pilot project
Via Rail has hit the brakes on nonstop service on some trains travelling between Montréal–Toronto due to “operational constraints” with CN, according to the Crown corporation.
www.ctvnews.ca
Reposted by Transport Action Canada
Register Now for the #Guelph Transportation Summit on October 18th!

Find out who is speaking at taaguelph.com/summit
Every major city should be investing in support services like this for people in crisis:
For years, transit users have called for an inclusive, non-enforcement approach to safety based on evidence & care.

This is why we are celebrating the pilot to deploy Community Crisis Workers on the TTC, bringing much-needed supportive staff presence on transit. Read more:

www.ttcriders.ca/tccs
TTCriders celebrates expansion of Community Crisis Workers, urges for more investment in transit safety
www.ttcriders.ca