The song and dance routine Working the North Pool was always one of my favorite pools to work. In this case a pool was a regulated number of assigned crews that rotated on what was known as a board. The first out crew was the next call and a crew that just tied up would […]
BEISEKER, Alberta — No injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved when 19 cars of a Canadian National train derailed today (Friday, Nov. 1) about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) north of the town of Beiseker, the Calgary Herald reports. The derailed cars included empty petroleum tank cars and 14 cars of household goods, […]
SALFORD, Ontario — It was fitting that on Oct. 31, a ghost of VIA Rail Canada’s past was officially brought back to life. The VIA Historical Association completed a full restoration of FP9A No. 6539 back into its classic blue and yellow paint scheme. The unit debuted at the Ontario Southland Railway shops in Salford, […]
MONTREAL — Despite speed restrictions abruptly imposed by host railroad Canadian National as a safety measure on Oct. 11, VIA Rail Canada is not adjusting schedules on trips involving Venture trainsets to reflect slower running times. Instead, passengers are being given a revised delay estimate. And beginning the week of Nov. 4, the carrier is […]
CALGARY — Unifor has filed for conciliation in its negotiations with Canadian Pacific Kansas City, following a path the Canadian union has also taken in its contract talks with Canadian National. The union, which represents more than 1,200 mechanical workers at CPKC, said contract talks had reached an impasse. The filing of a Notice of […]
MONTREAL — Canadian union Unifor has opened contract negotiations with VIA Rail Canada, the union announced Monday, Oct. 28. The union’s Council 4000 represents 1,800 VIA employees in station services, headquarters, maintenance centers and onboard positions; Local 100 represents 700 employees working as diesel engine mechanics, electricians, railcar technicians, and general workers. “Our goal in […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Unifor, Canadian’s largest private-sector union, is calling on Canadian National Railways to prioritize passenger operations — and for more government oversight of the relationship between freight and passenger service — in the wake of restrictions CN has placed on VIA Rail Canada corridor trains in Ontario and Quebec. “This is about CN […]
SOREL-TRACY, Quebec — The Canadian government will provide up to Ca$38 million in funding for seven shipping projects in Quebec and along the St. Lawrence Seaway, several of them rail related, Transport Canada announced today (Friday, Oct. 18). At the Port of Quebec in Quebec City, projects will include increasing capacity and efficiency of the […]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Passengers on VIA Rail Canada’s Canadian who found their trip disrupted by a freight-train accident in Saskatchewan on Wednesday were eventually taken to Winnipeg, but left to find their own way home from there, the CBC reports. The collision between a CN freight train and a farm tractor killed the driver of […]
RICHMOND, British Columbia — An error in canceling a track occupancy permit led to a Canadian Pacific train striking a track supervisor’s hi-rail vehicle in a Dec. 29, 2022, incident, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said in an investigation report released on Thursday, Oct. 17. No one was injured in the incident near Kamloops, […]
MONTREAL — When safety is on the table, there can be no debate about measures taken to ensure it. So when Canadian National informed VIA Rail Canada last Friday that all Venture trainsets of less than 32 axles could not operate at track speed across highway crossings equipped with warning devices triggered by Grade Crossing […]
GERARD, Saskatchewan — A Canadian National intermodal train has derailed near the Manitoba border after striking a farm tractor, the Canadian Press reports. The incident occurred this afternoon (Oct. 16) at a grade crossing near Gerald, Sask. The driver of the tractor was killed, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while a CN spokeswoman […]
