VIA goes to court over CN speed restrictions on Venture trainsets

OTTAWA, Ontario — VIA Rail Canada is asking a Canadian court to review speed restrictions imposed on its Venture passenger equipment by Canadian National Railway, saying CN has not provided any evidence or valid reasoning for the move.

The Canadian Press reports VIA said in a Federal Court filing that “there is no evidence to suggest a safety risk associated with the operation of VIA’s Venture trains at grade crossing.”

CN imposed a restriction on Oct. 11 that requires Venture trains of less than 32 axles to slow at some grade crossings — those trigged by Grade Crossing Predictors, which activate crossing gates based on train speed — to slow to a speed that allows engineers to visually confirm that gates are operating. VIA’s fixed-consist Venture trains have 24 axles, so all of the new equipiment in corridor service has to slow at those crossings from a track speed of up to 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph) to 72 kph, or about 45 mph (see “VIA Venture slowdown limited …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 17, 2024). Those trains have been consistently late as a result, although VIA is continuing to use its existing schedules while warning passengers of delays, rather than adjust schedules [see “VIA retains existing Venture schedules …,” News Wire, Oct. 30, 2024].

CN spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski said in a statement to the Canadian Press that the railroad imposed the restrictions given industry experience and known risks with similar trains: “At the heart of this matter is a question of safety at rail crossings.” Michnowski had said in an earlier statement to Trains News Wire that CN had cautioned VIA as early as October 2021 that the 24-axle Venture trains “could create issues,” and that this was confirmed in March 2024. CN has said an issue with loss of shunt — a problem in which signals or crossings are not activated — was discovered on Oct. 11 and it “took immediate measures to issue the propoer instructions to protect the safety of train operations and crossings.” VIA, however, says CN has never identified a specific incident of a crossing activation issue.

The Venture equipment began operating in VIA corridor service in November 2022. It continues to run without similar restrictions on track controlled by VIA, CPKC, and Ontario transit agency Metrolinx.