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Newsflash: VIA Rail testing additional trains for SW Ontario

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RDC 6105 at London

VIA Rail has repositioned three recently refurbished Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) to the region to begin compatibility testing with Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) signalling with grade crossing protection equipment on routes in Southwestern Ontario. The first series of tests is scheduled to take place on Saturday February 20th between Chatham and Thamesville.

Should the tests be successful, the additional equipment may provide the capacity needed for VIA Rail to reverse some of the 2011 cuts to Sarnia and Stratford services.

RDCs usually operate in pairs, with a driving position at each end so that they do not have to be turned at the end of each run, and would be an ideal way to economically supplement services until VIA Rail receives the investment needed to replace its oldest passenger cars with new equipment.

Canadian National and VIA Rail regularly used RDCs on London-Stratford-Kitchener-Toronto services up until the service cuts made by the Mulroney government in the early 1980s. CTC signalling has recently been installed on both the Chatham and Kitchener routes, hence the need for thorough compatibility testing before returning RDCs to service in the region.

The eight RDCs remaining in the VIA Rail fleet have all been rebuilt with more environmentally friendly engines, improved passenger seating, and new heating and air conditioning equipment. Some of these units are in regular service between Sudbury and White River in Northern Ontario.

Photo: Walter Pfefferle / Railpast.com

The Ghost Train Returns

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VIA6420_20150507_Chatham

Saturday morning train from Windsor and Chatham to return on Halloween.

VIA Rail Canada is reinstating the early morning train from Windsor and Chatham to Toronto on Saturdays starting on October 31st. The early evening service from Toronto to Windsor on Fridays will also be reinstated, providing extra capacity at this peak travel time.

Both services had been suspended since 2012 as part of a series of austerity measures to cope with a cut to VIA Rail’s operating budget made by the previous federal government, with the train idling in London on Friday nights instead of continuing to Windsor. The restoration of these services was one of the low-cost measures to improve mobility options for local communities proposed in the Network Southwest report.

The restoration of the early morning train on a Saturday once again makes it possible for local families to visit Toronto for the day, without spending hours in highway traffic or staying overnight, to visit the Ontario Science Center, the Royal Ontario Museum, the new aquarium, or to attend major league sporting events.

Train #70 will leave Windsor at 05:30 and Chatham at 06:18, arriving in Toronto just after 10am, and the last train back from Toronto to Windsor leaves just after 7pm.

VIA Rail has also recently refreshed its onboard catering menu to include breakfast wraps and improved dinner options, and has been refurbishing coaches to improve the on-board experience. VIA Rail is also working on three crossing safety improvement projects in the Bothwell area that will reduce speed restrictions on the route, making journeys to London and Toronto faster.

Once fully implemented, the recommendations of the Network Southwest report would reduce journey times by thirty minutes, allowing train #70 to leave Windsor after 6am.

A train ticket to Toronto and back costs around $90 for adults and $50 for children. VIA Rail posts discounts to its website and Facebook page every Tuesday, and has offered deep discounts for families travelling in the summer holidays.