In This Issue

The Trans-Newfoundland Railway was not quite complete in 1897 when the SS Bruce arrived in Newfoundland from shipyards on the Clyde in Scotland on October 13th. Almost immediately the Bruce began sailing the 265 miles between the railhead at Placentia and North Sydney. At 2pm October 19th, she steamed into North Sydney on a warm, bfight autumn afternoon. Passengers were mostly young Newfoundlanders, coming to work in the Cape Breton coal mines, who swelled Sydney's population from 3,000 to 10,000 within 3 years.

The Bruce was 237 feet long, weighed 1155 tons, and was all steel. She was as elegant as she was seaworthy, with carved gilt curlicues, brass fittings, and a stack with a jaunty rake. During the ensuing winter, she won the name of "ice crusher" by plowing easily through the two-foot ice in North Sydney harbour. Her speed, accomodations, and power became a legend.

At 10:45pm on the night of June 30th, 1898, a double-headed train arrived in Port-aux-Basques completing the inaugural 27-hour trip across the island from St. John's. About 50 passengers disembarked from the diner, coach, and two sleepers and in an hour were aboard the Bruce enroute to North Sydney. Many passengers spent July 1st in Canada at the annual fair in Sydney, then returned to Newfoundland on the Bruce that same night, arriving in St. John's in time for Sunday dinner. In the following 13 years, the Bruce completed over 2000 round trips, carrying about 350,000 passengers! She was lost near Louisbourg on March 24, 1911, but with the loss of only 2 lives.

Today, the Cabot Strait is crossed by two giant ferries of over 15,000 tons, (the Caribou and the Joseph and Clara Smallwood) each capable of carrying 800 passengers by night or 1200 by day, at speeds up to 22 knots.

Canada's new Transport Minister, Hon. David Collenette, has been busy setting forth a new, kinder, and gentler Transport Policy in a flurry of speeches and media interviews over the past two months. The minister has stated that Ottawa must play a larger role in Transport Policy than his predecessors envisioned during the previous Liberal administration. Collenette admitted that Doug Young's zealous privatization of airports, ferries, and rail systems has had "rough edges" in less populated parts of the country where there isn't always enough money to take over essential services. Mr. Collenette has also expressed a concern with the loss of a sense of "national identity" caused by transportation cuts. He has also focussed on concern for the environment and support for a policy of sustainable transportation.

Some direct quotes from media and speeches illustrate the points above:
- Financial Post, Oct.4: Improving passenger rail service is also high on his (Collenette's) list of priorities, including use of high-speed technology if costs can be justified and existing systems integrated. A lot of equipment will have to be replaced in the early part of the new century. More private sector involvement is probably the only way out. Collenette rules out full privatization because he believes Canadians still want a publicly owned passenger rail system, but how it's operated can be debated.

- Globe & Mail, Nov.6: Transport Minister David Collenette has asked for the reinstatement of $80 million in passenger rail subsidies, according to government sources. He is also seeking funding for highways and arguing that investment in transportation infrastructure would strengthen national unity. But other ministers have raised questions about the impact of his highways proposal on greenhouse gas emissions.

- CFRA Radio, Ottawa, Nov.18: We'd like to have a seamless passenger rail system, but VIA needs to get money for its equipment. Now do you go back to Cabinet and ask for hundreds of millions of dollars for new equipment, or do you try to involve the private sector. Getting the private sector involved in management, in operations, perhaps under a franchise, that's not like selling. I'm not sure VIA would be attractive to a private buyer, because they would only want certain services where they could make a lot of money, probably in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor. But we have to provide services right across the country. There'll probably always be a level of subsidy needed by the public sector. Can we use the private sector and structure partnerships so that they can then go out and raise money to pay for equipment against the revenue stream over the life of the franchise?

My personal view is that Canadians want the symbolism of coast-to-coast passenger service. If we can get new equipment on and have increased frequencies and work with the railways, we probably will have better and more increased service in many parts of the country. You could segregate each of the operating units of VIA, the western trans-continental or tourist services, the Atlantic (region), the corridor services (Montreal-Toronto or Toronto-Windsor) and you could have them as business units. You could have private companies bid to operate those for VIA, for the national passenger rail system. I'm not suggesting we end the subsidy; I'm suggesting that we get the capital acquisitions (cost) off the government's balance sheet. There's some degree of urgency to it...the next 12 months, if we are going to reorganize VIA and put it on a better footing, then we have to do it within that time frame.

- Montreal, Nov.19, address to the National Forum on Passenger Transportation: Current trends suggest that auto traffic will grow between 50 and 100% over the next 25 years. We can't sustain it - we can't build it - we can't afford it. Clearly building more highways cannot be the only solution. We will need an integrated strategy that encourages the best use of all transportation modes. We are committed to achieving sustainable transportation in Canada.

In Canada, only 2 percent of total passenger Kms are by urban transit, intercity bus and train. That leaves 98% of passengers travelling by car. The good news is that this leaves plenty of opportunity for increased use of public modes. The future of rail passenger services is currently a major focus. There will be a shortage of funds for equipment replacement that is sorely needed. An option would be to restructure VIA so that it is able to raise money from the private sector. We could develop strategic alliances with rail equipment manufacturers or apply some type of franchise arrangement for VIA as an entity or for various components. There is already a successful example of a commercial operator in the Rockies.

An area of improvement in the urban context is the movement of people to and from our urban airports. You could check your bags at the train or bus station, go to the airport and board your flight, without having to handle your luggage. An important element in (public transport) revitalization will be integrating the different modes of transport to give seamless, efficient, intermodal travel. We need to integrate intercity networks with those within cities. A competitive intermodal system must facilitate the smooth transfer of people - from auto to train, from train to airplane, from airplane to bus, etc.

The federal government is ready to work closely with other levels of government - indeed with anyone who has a stake in passenger transportation. It's time to strike new partnerships and harness our combined imagination, expertise and determination.

In our previous bulletin, we reported that sleepers 20 and 21 from the Ocean were being turned at Moncton because of heavy demand on the Canadian. In October, this practice was discontinued and all sleepers now operate through to Halifax.

VIA has undertaken three major station projects:
(1) The construction of a new station for Edmonton (ref. Aug. Bulletin). March 1, 1998 is the targeted opening date.
(2) Montreal's Central Station is undergoing a $4 million reconstruction which includes a new ticket office integrated with a new baggage-handling facility with a conveyor belt and a redesigned information booth, all of the above to be located on the south side of the concourse. The VIA-1 lounge remains on the opposite side in its present location. This project is slated for an April, 1998 completion.
(3) July is the anticipated date for the completion of work which has already commenced at the Dorval station. There will be a canopy to shelter passengers who are being picked up or dropped off, a business area for first class passengers and a family area with television.

Ridership for the year to the end of September has declined by 6.6% on both the Eastern and Western trains but has increased by 4.2% in the corridor. For the entire system, there was an increase of 2.6%.

VIA Preference which povides to its members one point for each dollar spent on tickets, now includes credit points for using three hotel chains, Novotel, Best Western and Radisson, as well as Hertz Car Rentals. The Hertz credits can be obtained only in conjunction with a rail ticket but points from the hotels can be obtained without an accompanying rail trip.

VIA and Amtrak are offering a combined rail pass which is to take effect in January. Covering 900 destinations and 45,000 kilometers of rail travel, it will cost $895 for a 30-day period during peak season, and $625 in off-season. Although the pass is for coach travel, upgrades to first class and sleepers are permitted.

CN recently announced the sale of a portion of the ICR from Pacific Junction (just north of Moncton) to Mont Joli, approximately 500 km, to two subsidiaries of the Quebec Railway Corporation. Mont Joli to Tide Head will be operated by Matapedia Railway and Tide Head to Pacific Junction by the New Brunswick East Coast Railway. The deal will be finalized by the end of December, 1997, and will include provisions for the continued operation of VIA's Ocean. Transport 2000 Atlantic hopes that the new owners will maintain standards of track maintenance that are at least equal to that provided by CN.

At the time of this writing, the future of the Levis and Charny stations remains uncertain. CN has agreed to delay action until January 13 so as to allow VIA to provide service throughout the holiday period.

Three entertainment coordinator positions were created on the Ocean for the summer months of 1997. A recent issue of "Vialogue" states that "there is one coordinator per train, each one doing return trips between Halifax and Campbellton.
Besides their activities with children, which include sing-alongs, story reading, face painting, movie viewing, and arts & crafts, coordinators also give tourism information sessions in Skyline cars, play trivia games, show tourism related videos and midnight movies. The reaction from customers is very positive."
The program will be evaluated in order to determine whether or not it will be continued and possibly extended to other peak periods.

Latest VIA Ocean/Chaleur statistics (October) show ridership up 0.5% but subsidy up sharply to $2.1 million for October from $1.6 million in 1996.

Operation intermode was introduced at the Transport 2000 Atlantic Fall Board Meeting. It is a program which responds to several important issues...

What does Transport 2000 Atlantic need?

Small, do-able demonstration projects to attract new members.
Projects of interest to all public transport users.
Projects with a local constituency of interest.
Projects which do not require government spending.
Projects which maximize the usefulness of what we already have.
Porjects which demonstrate how public transport serves today's needs.
A theme to link these projects.

What do public transport users need?

Integrated schedules.
Integrated terminals.
Integrated fares.
Information about services.

What does the industry need?

Passengers.
Publicity.
Market information.

What can Transport 2000 offer?

- A users' perspective.
- A national and regional perspective.
- A local volunteer base.
- Access to research and professional expertise.

So what is Operation Intermode?

- A set of initiatives aimed at integrating services which already exist.
- Each initiative can be independent yet compatible with the others.
- Each initiative will be locally driven by those who would benefit.
- Each initiative will be approved and assisted by the Transport 2000 Atlantic board as required.

Where do we plan to start?

- Locally driven initiatives are already happening in PEI (for provincial bus service) and Cape Breton (to restore the Sydney train). While these initiatives are more ambitious than what we envisage for Operation Intermode, Transport 2000 is already providing strategic assistance.
- We need to increase our profile in New Brunswick, where trains have been cut and railways have been abandoned at an alarming rate.
- Fredericton is the only provincial capital which does not appear in the Via national timetable.
- Fredericton recently became the third rail-free capital in Atlantic Canada.
- Fredericton has no bus connection to the national passenger rail system.
- So we are proposing a new initiative: "Focus on Fredericton".

Fredericton has been left out of Canada's national passenger rail system:

- The SMT bus leaves Moncton for Fredericton just as the train from Halifax is arriving across the street.
- The VIA timetable omits a bus connection from Moncton to Fredericton for train passengers arriving from Central Canada.
- The bus which substituted for the Atlantic train does not serve Fredericton.

There is a mindset on the part of some bus companies in relation to VIA:

- Letters were sent to VIA and SMT about this "near miss" several years ago.
- VIA claimed that its schedules are too difficult to change.
- SMT suggested that prople simply use the bus for the entire journey.
- While some progress has been made toward intermodal cooperation elsewhere, nothing has been done to help Fredericton.
- Some bus companies still see VIA as an enemy rather than a partner.
- VIA and the bus companies must recognize that together they face two formidable competitors: the airlines and the private car.

So here is what we propose:

- Persuade VIA and SMT to integrate or expand their schedules to provide a bus/train connection between Fredericton and Moncton.
- If they refuse, encourage local van operators to provide such a connection.
- Promote a long-term partnership to develop the Moncton VIA station as an intermodal center.

How can it be done?

- We need volunteers in New Brunswick who will champion the project.
- If there is sufficient interest, we will visit Fredericton to convene local activists and help them get started.
- We will provide advice and assistance for brochures and letters.
- We will provide contacts for potential business and government partners.
- We will share research on the benefits of intermodal cooperation elsewhere.
- We will assist with submissions to task forces and public hearings.

1997 has been a year of "stable" traffic patterns according to CB&CNS General Manager Peter McCarron. New traffic was generated when the Irving Company acquired Sproule Lumber near Valley, Colchester County. This traffic involves the movement of logs into the mill and the consequent outbound traffic of finished lumber. However, in recent weeks, the shipment of Devco coal to the Trenton, NS, power generating station has dramatically decreased due to Devco's rockfall problems. In addition, pulpwood traffic originating in areas such as Antigonish has also fallen off considerably.

While the above traffic downturns are likely short-term in nature, much attention is being devoted to recent developments in the Strait of Canso area. Should a pipeline lateral carrying Sable Island natural gas be constructed to Point Tupper, there is the possibility that a fractionation plant will be constructed there, which will separate commodities such as butane and propane from the natural gas. Recent media stories concerning visits by several CN Rail and Halterm officials to the Strait of Canso also generated considerable enthusiasm. Apparently, with container facilities in Halifax being extremely busy, and very little additional land available within the Halifax Harbour area to construct additional facilities, a possibility exists that an additional container facility could be constructed in the Strait area. Such developments could generate tremendous increases in CB&CNS traffic should they become a reality. CB&CNS general manager McCarron states that the railway will be "keeping a close eye" on these happenings. Also in the Strait area, CN has been working with Stora paper in Port Hawkesbury to design a rail car to transport the new premium supercalendered paper which Stora will produce. Starting in April, Stora will begin shipping the paper to printers and distribution centers serving Canada and the eastern U-S.

The current year has also involved some major capital expenditures on the CB&CNS. In terms of track maintenance, over one million dollars was spent. The line also acquired one GP18 road switcher, and two former Burlington Northern GP50's in September. Four additional GP50's will eventually be arriving on the property. Such a purchase will probably mean the end of the line for many of the current Alco locomotives which have powered CB&CNS trains since the line's inception in October, 1993.

Passenger Service

Following our meeting with MP Peter MacKay on Jan. 6th, Transport 2000 met with Messrs. McCarron and Touesnard of CB&CNS at their head office in Stellarton to discuss track speeds and costs for running rights, dispatching, enginemen, and track maintenance. Transport 2000 suggested a train leaving Sydney at 7:30 and arriving in Truro at 13:45 with stops at N. Sydney, Iona, Orangedale, Pt. Hawkesbury, Antigonish and Stellarton. After connecting with the "Ocean" for halifax and Montreal in Truro, the train would leave at about 15:15 to return to Sydney.

Interurban Bus: Acadian Lines (NS) service changes which were the subject of early August hearings in Antigonish, Halifax, and Kentville, were ruled on in October by the Utilities & Review Board, and implemented December 2nd. (See Sept/97) bulletin)

As requested, the Halifax-Middleton service was cut back to Kentville, while the only Halifax-Yarmouth service was cut from 5 days/week to four. The Kentville terminal was NOT moved to Coldbrook, but instead to the travel center in the former VIA station downtown, based on comments at the Kentville hearing.

The experiment with commuter service from New Glasgow and Truro to downtown Halifax was NOT approved but the Shubenacadie stop was cut. The Board opted for continued "same-day-return" service from Antigonish to Halifax based on concerns voiced at the Antigonish hearing. Although a 13:30 last departure of the day from Sydney for Halifax was approved, it remained at 16:30 in the December 2/97 update. Transport 2000 supported the existing better spread of departure times from Cape Breton County.

SMT has cut back the 3 round-trips per day between Moncton and Charlottetown inaugurated with the opening of the Confederation Bridget. (See Sept/97 Bulletin) The 11:15 Moncton departure (VIA connection) and the 17:45 Charlottetown departure were eliminated and the evening Moncton and morning Charlottetown departures limited to Fri., Sat. and Sun. only.

Ferries: Bay Ferries have postponed the expected announcement of details of the high-speed Yarmouth-Bar Harbour ferry service until January. It is expected that the ferry will carry cars and up to 4 tour buses. A one-way trip will take three hours with one or two round trips per day as required. Meanwhile, parent company Northumberland Ferries was pleased that Caribou, NS-Wood Islands, PEI traffic remained at 80% of 1996 levels despite competition from the new bridge.

Freight Railways: CN has completed the sale of the Moncton-Mont Joli line to Quebec Railway Corp., and transfer will take place Jan. 19/98. Meanwhile, according to Maine Rail Watch, Kent Lines of Saint John (marine) has shifted its containers from the CN route through Moncton to the former CP line through Brownville, Maine and Sherbrooke to Montreal and Toronto. Some intermodal traffic also comes from Sunbury Truck Lines.

VIA: Christmas is busy with the Ocean carrying 5 to 8 coaches and 6 to 9 sleepers plus baggage, Skyline Dome, diner and Park-Observation cars. The Ocean departures were moved from Wednesdays Dec. 24 and 31 to the preceding Tuesday. The Chaleur ran as a separate train Dec. 17 to Jan. 5. An effort to eliminate second stops by placing local passengers in the center of the train has apparently been successful as ontime performance has been quite good.

At supper time Dec. 22, an empty Skyline car was destroyed in a fire at Rockingham due to a lighted cigarette placed in a plastic container. The train was deadheading to a wye at Windsor Junction. Two adjacent coaches were cleaned of smoke damage at a contract cost of $20,000 each.

AIR: Beginning Jan. 1/98, the Sydney, NS airport authority has begun collecting an $8 "Airport Improvement" departure fee. The fee will generate $400,000 annually and will be used for refurbishing the main runway, and installing new landing lightsm, which will cost a total of $2 million. The airport, which was privatized on Oct. 1/97, is currently in a deficit position (ed. note: as are most Atlantic airports except Halifax).

TRANSIT: After a one month trial in November, Trius Tours Charlottetown Transit ended service on Nov. 27/97. Service ran hourly on four routes from 7:30 to 17:30 and 3 hourly on a fifth route. Service was free for the first two weeks, then a $1.50 fare was charged for city routes. Lack of a funding committment and passengers were cited as reasons for the demise. Citizens said the service was needed but not nearly well enough planned or publicized.

The Air Canada crash in Fredericton late on December 16th brought the issue of "how safe can we afford to be" into clear focus. Many interviews fizzled out when yours truly declined to fan the flames of media hype about air safety. Safety is a "motherhood" issue and it's difficult to be objective and dispassionate without discrediting Transport 2000 as a consumer watchdog.

It was pointed out to the media that public transport, including air, is 50 to 100 times safer, in terms of deaths per kilometer, than the ubiquitous automobile. It was also pointed out that no deaths occurred in this very serious accident, while every year several thousands of people die on Canadian roads. But the occurrence is so commonplace that the media and public become desensitized to the killing of people one or two at a time. The fact that (as highway supporters often state) many lives would be saved through widespread expansion of our 4-lane divided highways was discussed. But at a minimum of $5 - 10 million per mile, can we afford it where traffic density doesn't warrant? If so, who should pay: drivers through tolls or gas taxes, or the general public, including the 30% who don't drive? It is almost certain that limiting speeds on our highways to 50 or 60 km/h with strict enforcement would save lives. But are we willing to pay the price in terms of lost time and inconvenience?

On January 1, 1998 an $8 departure tax was imposed at Sydney airport and will almost certainly spread to other Atlantic airports. Some of this tax is related to safety issues. How much would travellers at other airports be willing to pay for added fire, air controller, and weather coverage? If the air traveller is to pay (and not the general taxpayer), is it fair (or feasible) to extract fees of up to $50 per flight at smaller airports with fewer flights such as Yarmouth, Bathurst, or Stephenville?

Finally, would some of our "safety" money be better spent in providing an improved network of public transport of all types (ferries, air, transit, bus, and train) to cut the automobile death toll? Some in Transport 2000 would say yes.