New bill could speed up rail service in Canada
Deputies have decided to fight against late trains.
New Democrat MP Taylor Bachrach has introduced a bill that boils down to prioritizing passenger trains over freight trains.
A parliamentarian is proposing amendments to the Canada Transportation Act to require railroad companies to give passenger trains priority fare rights. Otherwise, they would face monetary penalties of up to CA$ 250,000 for each violation.
According to Bachrach, such a simple change will help drastically change the situation of delays and tardiness on the railroad:
"It's a very simple change and it would make a difference towards improving our passenger rail system right across the country."
To prove his point, the official took a train ride from Toronto to Vancouver during the Christmas vacation. At the end of the trip, he said that the train had to "pull over dozens of times" to let freight trains pass. The total travel time took about a day longer than it took 50 years ago.
"If we had passenger priority, that trip would take less time and Via Rail would be able to maintain a reliable schedule that would allow more people to get on the train and know that they're going to arrive at their destination with some level of predictability," he said.
How rail transportation works
VIA Rail is responsible for passenger rail service in Canada. The company owns only 3% of the 12,000 kilometers of track. That means it has to negotiate schedules and pay track owners, including CP, Metrolinx and CN. These are major Canadian carriers that give priority to their own freight trains on their tracks — which have to let passenger trains through.
As a result, only 72% of VIA Rail trains arrived at their destination on time in 2021. In 2022, the situation was even worse: only 57% of passenger trains arrived on time.
Bahrach's bill echoes changes that occurred 50 years ago in the United States. At that time, the American national passenger railroad company AMTRAK received priority right of way. At the same time, Canadian companies CN and CP operate in the U.S. as well — and there they respect AMTRACK's priority. However, even with this legally protected right, American trains are still late, as opponents of the bill point out. What else?
Arguments against
Workers in the shipping and trucking industries believe any regulation restricting the movement of cargo across Canada could affect the supply chain. John Corey, CEO of the Freight Management Association of Canada, reminds us that the transportation industry is barely recovering from the pandemic, and additional challenges could become critical:
"VIA having priority over tracks will turn that upside down and I don't think that's what we need right now."
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Corey, along with CN leadership, is proposing an alternative — Canada should create a dedicated network of rail lines for VIA Rail:
"You need to have dedicated track if you want to have a passenger service that is going to be effective and efficient. The problem with that is it’s going to cost a lot of money."
Toronto's current mayor, Olivia Chow, introduced a similar bill when she was an MP, but it was never passed. Bachrach's amendments have already passed first reading. The MP is going to discuss it with the Minister of Transportation at the next meeting in late January.
