Posts: 4,371
Threads: 15
Joined: Aug 2014
Reputation:
120
(02-11-2023, 04:37 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Are you guys suggesting that they are running revenue service on the new trains right now? I feel like we'd have heard about that.
'We' have heard about it - those who follow rail transport closely.
The general public hasn't as they're still testing them as they go and there's no guarantee you'll get a new train on a given run, so Via has not heavily publicized them yet. Once they've been properly broken in and are running reliably, I'm sure there'll be a big marketing push.
Posts: 7,554
Threads: 36
Joined: Jun 2016
Reputation:
196
(02-11-2023, 05:24 PM)KevinL Wrote: (02-11-2023, 04:37 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: Are you guys suggesting that they are running revenue service on the new trains right now? I feel like we'd have heard about that.
'We' have heard about it - those who follow rail transport closely.
The general public hasn't as they're still testing them as they go and there's no guarantee you'll get a new train on a given run, so Via has not heavily publicized them yet. Once they've been properly broken in and are running reliably, I'm sure there'll be a big marketing push.
I'm asking about revenue service, i.e., carrying paying passengers, not "testing". You said they are being "rolled out" which is unclear, but dtkvictim specifically said they're carrying passenger service.
I feel like even a non-railfan who rides via rail (do those even exist?) who was scheduled on a via train and a brand new modern European style Stadler train pulled up instead of Via's typical 1950s - 1970s fare would be taking a selfie with it and posting it on twitter. Certainly someone in a train with 500 people on it would be posting something.
I cannot believe Via would run passenger service without a launch, OTOH, it'd be great if they were that far along.
Posts: 787
Threads: 1
Joined: Apr 2020
Reputation:
75
(02-12-2023, 03:46 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: (02-11-2023, 05:24 PM)KevinL Wrote: 'We' have heard about it - those who follow rail transport closely.
The general public hasn't as they're still testing them as they go and there's no guarantee you'll get a new train on a given run, so Via has not heavily publicized them yet. Once they've been properly broken in and are running reliably, I'm sure there'll be a big marketing push.
I'm asking about revenue service, i.e., carrying paying passengers, not "testing". You said they are being "rolled out" which is unclear, but dtkvictim specifically said they're carrying passenger service.
I feel like even a non-railfan who rides via rail (do those even exist?) who was scheduled on a via train and a brand new modern European style Stadler train pulled up instead of Via's typical 1950s - 1970s fare would be taking a selfie with it and posting it on twitter. Certainly someone in a train with 500 people on it would be posting something.
I cannot believe Via would run passenger service without a launch, OTOH, it'd be great if they were that far along.
I think there was more confirmation of it in the UT thread, but again it's a nightmare to find anything there.
All I could quickly find was this video. The video claims they are on "one of the very first revenue runs", and the train seems to be displaying a regular route number.
Posts: 7,554
Threads: 36
Joined: Jun 2016
Reputation:
196
(02-12-2023, 04:09 AM)dtkvictim Wrote: (02-12-2023, 03:46 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: I'm asking about revenue service, i.e., carrying paying passengers, not "testing". You said they are being "rolled out" which is unclear, but dtkvictim specifically said they're carrying passenger service.
I feel like even a non-railfan who rides via rail (do those even exist?) who was scheduled on a via train and a brand new modern European style Stadler train pulled up instead of Via's typical 1950s - 1970s fare would be taking a selfie with it and posting it on twitter. Certainly someone in a train with 500 people on it would be posting something.
I cannot believe Via would run passenger service without a launch, OTOH, it'd be great if they were that far along.
I think there was more confirmation of it in the UT thread, but again it's a nightmare to find anything there.
All I could quickly find was this video. The video claims they are on "one of the very first revenue runs", and the train seems to be displaying a regular route number.
Cool! Thanks! Yeah, I am surprised that there wasn't more press about them starting service. I feel like they'd want to talk about that more.
It's great news for me, there's some chance that the next time I visit, we might be on new trains--not that I'd choose Via if I had a choice, but this is certainly an improvement.
As a complete aside, does anyone know why trains move so slowly 1km from Union Station and what it would take to fix this? It takes nearly 5 minutes to go from "just arriving at Union" to "stopped at the platform". That kind of delay is insane, and doesn't happen at other stations I'm aware of.
Posts: 4,371
Threads: 15
Joined: Aug 2014
Reputation:
120
02-12-2023, 01:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-12-2023, 01:49 PM by KevinL.)
(02-12-2023, 05:54 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: As a complete aside, does anyone know why trains move so slowly 1km from Union Station and what it would take to fix this? It takes nearly 5 minutes to go from "just arriving at Union" to "stopped at the platform". That kind of delay is insane, and doesn't happen at other stations I'm aware of.
That's down to the track control systems in the area around the station, which are in desperate need of upgrade. That will be done in the coming years as the GO lines are electrified and signals upgraded.
Posts: 1,460
Threads: 5
Joined: Sep 2014
Reputation:
40
I expect that speed around Union Station also has a lot to do with number of switches that exist in the area which limit speeds.
Posts: 354
Threads: 4
Joined: Sep 2022
Reputation:
37
Information on the new VIA trains still seems a bit scarce, but VIA sent an email blast out this morning that included a link to this YouTube video (12m long, YouTube closed captions work well on it, posted a month ago) from this past winter where they invited someone to ride along on a testing run. They do a pretty decent overview of the experience within the cars, and the available features that elevate the new trains above the current experience.
https://youtu.be/B1f2WhsmYkY
Posts: 4,371
Threads: 15
Joined: Aug 2014
Reputation:
120
Mike Downie isn't the most critical of transport YouTubers but at least he's enthusiastic. Good to see the features highlighted, hopefully there's no issues they haven't made public.
Posts: 7,554
Threads: 36
Joined: Jun 2016
Reputation:
196
Well, I didn't get to ride it, but I did get to see Via's new trains parked on the platform at Toronto Union.
It looks like it was being used to operate train 40 and 41 so far, so anyone going to Ottawa probably has a chance.
It really is a nice and modern looking train. I talk a lot of shit about Via, and while I'll have plenty left to slag, it'll be nice not to get to complain about the trains being half a century old, they'd not look out of place at any European train station.
At least I'll still get to mock Union Station....
https://types.pl/@danbrotherston/111647644572165433
Posts: 4,371
Threads: 15
Joined: Aug 2014
Reputation:
120
It was an easy choice for Via after Brightline and Amtrak also bought a whole bunch of what is basically the same design. Still, encouraging that they did make the right choice.
Posts: 3,782
Threads: 61
Joined: Jul 2015
Reputation:
186
It's a nice train but as an actual proper train foamer, I miss the old days of a "real" locomotive and a bunch of carriages in tow. Modern trains are so boring because they all look the same. Each train ends up looking really dull because the locomotive and the cars are all done in the same industrial design, intended to be run as a single unit that is rarely uncoupled or altered unless it's for shunting things around for maintenance. They all sort of look like any other, even completely unrelated train...I mean you could slap some Avanti or Lumo livery on these sort of trains and would barely tell them apart from a train running on the East or West Coast Mainlines in England.
Nonetheless, it's nice to see new equipment that can actually go fast with no issues (not that they're ever going to use these at a high speed lmfao) and modern amenities. It's been ages since I've been on a VIA train so I can't even remember how comfy the carriages are.
Posts: 787
Threads: 1
Joined: Apr 2020
Reputation:
75
(12-30-2023, 05:14 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: It looks like it was being used to operate train 40 and 41 so far, so anyone going to Ottawa probably has a chance.
The schedule of the new fleet is publicly available on this page https://www.viarail.ca/en/plan/new-fleet
Posts: 1,967
Threads: 18
Joined: Aug 2014
Reputation:
36
Nice. But I wonder how the air circulation is on those. On the old equipment there was quite high CO2. Friends of mine just got COVID, perhaps from the train ride? It's hard to tell.
Posts: 7,554
Threads: 36
Joined: Jun 2016
Reputation:
196
(12-31-2023, 04:56 PM)dtkvictim Wrote: (12-30-2023, 05:14 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: It looks like it was being used to operate train 40 and 41 so far, so anyone going to Ottawa probably has a chance.
The schedule of the new fleet is publicly available on this page https://www.viarail.ca/en/plan/new-fleet
Oh man. Thanks! Sadly, I don't think we'll be on a Via train for at least another year (I'm not even sure what our travel plans will look like once the little one is in mandatory school).
Posts: 7,554
Threads: 36
Joined: Jun 2016
Reputation:
196
12-31-2023, 10:03 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-31-2023, 10:03 PM by danbrotherston.)
(12-31-2023, 09:52 PM)plam Wrote: Nice. But I wonder how the air circulation is on those. On the old equipment there was quite high CO2. Friends of mine just got COVID, perhaps from the train ride? It's hard to tell.
Hmm...hard to say. The LRC cars have a lot of fan noise, I would have assumed that meant they had good air circulation (airplanes usually do have good air circulation as well).
But I honestly have no idea what it's like on any trains (I usually hang out in the vestibules on NS trains...since I'm not usually going that far or I have luggage) so the doors opening provide a lot of fresh air. Via trains stop much less frequently.
That being said, I'm not sure I'll ever ride a train or airplane without a mask again. So far we've avoided COVID (or anything for that matter) on two international trips with many transit legs.
|
