LOCATION: National
ISSUE/SOURCE: Prioritizing VIA Rail to improve on-time performance
DATE: September 2024
SUGGESTED RESPONSES
- The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of efficient passenger rail and freight rail in supporting the mobility needs of Canadians and sustaining Canada’s supply chains.
- This past spring, Transport Canada concluded studying the impacts of prioritizing passenger rail over freight rail which highlighted that, on balance, the real costs of prioritization would outweigh the potential benefits to passenger rail on-time performance.
- As such, the Government remains focused on advancing the best approach to transform passenger rail in Canada with the High Frequency Rail initiative.
IF PRESSED
- Based on the results of Transport Canada’s analysis, the Government does not intend to explore passenger prioritization further as a potential solution.
- The Government continues to advance High Frequency Rail and identify other possible opportunities to enhance the reliability of passenger rail services while simultaneously continuing to support the fluidity of our national supply chains.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- Currently, 97% of VIA Rail’s network is owned by third parties, including Canadian National and Canadian Pacific. VIA Rail shares track infrastructure through commercial Track Service Agreements (TSAs).
- In Canada, track access issues and TSA negotiations are commercial matters to be addressed by the parties involved. The Canada Transportation Act contains legislative provisions to address track access issues that may arise, including a defined dispute resolution process.
- In June 2023, VIA sought Agency dispute resolution under s. 152.1 of the Canada Transportation Act after being unable to come to an agreement on an updated TSA with Canadian National Railway. The Agency process is ongoing.
- In July 2023, the Government indicated in media interviews that Transport Canada was exploring solutions, including prioritization, to improve the efficiency of passenger rail services.
- In December 2023, Member of Parliament and New Democratic Party Transportation Critic, Taylor Bacharach, tabled his Private Member’s Bill Rail Passenger Priority Act (Bill C-371).
- While the United States provides Amtrak with legislated priority over freight rail, in practice, Amtrak has a comparable on-time performance to VIA Rail, particularly on shared track infrastructure.