Back on track: NDP bill aims to make train passengers a priority
There’s a new push in Parliament to give passengers priority over freight on Canada’s vast network of rail lines.
The Rail Passenger Priority Act seeks to amend the Canada Transportation Act to require railway companies to give passenger trains the right of way or face monetary penalties of up to $250,000 per violation.
The NDP's transportation critic Taylor Bachrach introduced the private member's bill and said the "simple change" would go a long way in speeding up passenger rail service.
"It's a very simple change and it would make a difference towards improving our passenger rail system right across the country," he said from the VIA Rail station in Smithers, B.C.
To help hammer home his message, Bachrach took the train from Toronto to Vancouver over the Christmas break. He said the train had to "pull over dozens of times" to let a freight train pass, with the overall journey taking about a day longer than it would have 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.
In 2022, only 57 per cent of VIA Rail trains were considered to be on time compared to 72 per cent in 2021. The company said its on-time performance was "negatively impacted due to congestion on third party infrastructure."
VIA Rail only owns three per cent of the 12,000 km of rail lines it uses. To run trains on tracks it doesn't own, VIA has to negotiate scheduling deals and pay track owners including CP, Metrolinx and CN.
"There are currently no regulations in Canada that give passenger trains priority when meeting a freight train, forcing VIA Rail trains to give way to trains owned by the infrastructure owner, resulting in chronic delays for passengers across the country," a spokesperson for VIA Rail said in a statement.
"A multitude of measures could be used to guarantee the reliable and punctual service expected by passengers, including a clear priority for passenger trains."
Roughly 50 years ago, the American national passenger railroad company — AMTRAK — was given the right of way Via Rail is now pushing for. Both CP and CN operate in the United States and give priority to AMTRACK to run its services.
“What we need here in Canada now is the legislative tool that allows us force Canadian National to actually offer a regular service and provide high performance service on trackage that they owe,” said AJ Wray, a doctoral candidate at Western University who focuses on public transportation planning.
In a statement, CN, who owns the vast majority of the lines used by VIA Rail, said any proposal of that kind needs to be carefully reviewed and the company advocated for separate dedicated rail lines for passenger trains.
“Any such proposal must be considered carefully in consultation with railways of all types and shippers across a range of industries that depend on safe, efficient freight rail service to get their resources to market and essential products to communities across Canada,” a spokesperson for CN wrote in an email to CTV News.
Even with the law in the United States, AMTRACK says freight trains caused more than one million minutes of delay to passengers in 2019. AMTRACK says the law has only been enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice once in 1979.
Still, the CEO of VIA Rail has said he wants to see something similar come to fruition in Canada.
"I would love that, together with a bill of rights for passengers similar to what we see in the airline industry, as imperfect maybe as it is," said VIA Rail's CEO Mario Peloquin in October.
A Via Rail employee walks past the Ocean, the Halifax-to-Montreal passenger train, at the station in Halifax on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. (/Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS)But those in the shipping and freight industries have concerns that any type of regulation limiting the movement of cargo as it moves across Canada could impact the supply chain.
"We're getting over our COVID hangover right now," said John Corey, CEO of the Freight Management Association of Canada. "VIA having priority over tracks will turn that upside down and I don't think that's what we need right now."
Instead of competing with the freight service lines, Corey agrees with CN and believes Canada should create a designated network of rail lines for VIA Rail.
"I think is the real answer," Corey said. "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."
Canada is consulting on the creation of designated lines for a high frequency line between Quebec City and Toronto, but that is not expected to be completed until at least the mid-2030s.
Two decades ago, riders could board an express train in Montreal's downtown Central Station and arrive at Toronto's Union Station about four hours after departure, said Greg Gormick, who heads On Track Consulting.
Now that same trip typically takes about five hours — assuming no delays hamper the journey — despite roughly $300 million in federal investments along the Montreal-Toronto corridor since 2009.
Gormick believes many of VIA's delays happen because of what he calls "poor" equipment maintenance and track congestion in southwestern Ontario where Metrolinx operates the GO Transit system.
Olivia Chow, now mayor of Toronto, tabled a similar bill in Parliament when she was an MP. It never passed.
“I don't have a lot of confidence in this private member's bill going forward unless the government ... steps up and acknowledges that they want to do this,” said Wray.
Bachrach's private member's bill has completed first reading and would require the federal government's support to be enacted. He said he intends to contact the transport minister and other government officials when Parliament returns at the end of January.
With files from The Canadian Press
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
3 law officers serving warrant are killed, 5 wounded in shootout at North Carolina home, police say
Three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout Monday at a North Carolina home, police said.
'Shocked and concerned': Calgary principal charged with possession of child pornography
A Calgary elementary school principal has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities announced Monday.
Health authority confirms cockroaches at B.C. hospital, insists they 'do not bite'
The Vancouver Island Health Authority is downplaying what staff describe as a cockroach infestation in a medical unit of Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
Toronto police arrest 12 people, lay 102 charges in major credit card fraud scheme
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
Winner of US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
Britney and Jamie Spears settlement avoids long, potentially ugly and revealing trial
Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears will avoid what could have been a long, ugly and revealing trial with a settlement of the lingering issues in the court conservatorship that controlled her life and financial decisions for nearly 14 years.
WATCH 'Double whammy': What happens if you don't file your taxes by the deadline
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2023 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.
Local Spotlight
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.