Harold F. Murray, 1924 – 2016

Harold Francis Murray, former Senior Advisor – Passenger and On Board Services, PTSI Transportation, Winnipeg, Alberta, Canada, has passed away, the company announced April 11, 2016. He was 92.

Canada slates C$3.4 billion for passenger rail

Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced details of phase 1 of the federal government’s new infrastructure plan, which was unveiled as part of the 2016 budget on March 22, 2016.

Commentary

Let’s keep spinning our wheels

The other day I found a buried snippet of information on the Federal Railroad Administration website pertaining to high speed rail. Dated March 11, 2016, it’s a “Notice of Request for Proposals for Implementing a High-Speed Rail Corridor.” Hmmm . . . This looks interesting. I wonder why it was kept so quiet?

SISCOG wins VIA Rail Canada contract

SISCOG, a Portugal-based software company that specializes in solutions for optimized planning and management of resources in transportation companies has secured a contract with a new international client: VIA Rail Canada, the company announced Jan. 19, 2016.

Guelph Subdivision upgraded to CTC

VIA Rail on Nov. 14, 2015, commissioned CTC (centralized traffic control) on its entire North Mainline (Guelph Subdivision) between Georgetown and London, Ontario.

Commentary

High times ahead for Canadian rails

Canada’s three major railways should benefit from the Oct. 19, 2015 sea-to-sea election sweep by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party of Canada. Trudeau’s party even managed to get four members of parliament elected in Alberta’s two metropolises, Calgary and Edmonton—the ideological and financial anchors of the defeated Stephen Harper’s pro-pipeline and anti-rail Conservative government.

Funding agreed for Ottawa – Montreal upgrade

Canadian Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt and Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, President and CEO of Via Rail, announced on July 31, 2015 that the Canadian government will invest $C 102.5 million ($US 77.6 million) over two years to improve the safety and efficiency of passenger operations on the 187km Ottawa – Montreal corridor.

The Canadian resumes transcontinental schedule

Somewhere near the photo-worn steel trestle at Miniota, Manitoba, Via Rail’s eastbound and westbound Canadians will meet Sunday, April 12, 2015 for the first time since a pair of mid-winter oil train explosions closed CN’s transcontinental main line through northern Ontario.

Via Rail pondering alternative Ontario routing for suspended Canadian

After months of late arrivals due to track congestion on CN’s northern Ontario main line, compounded by slow orders arising from CN’s efforts to recover from two tar sands oil train explosions, Via Rail is examining an alternative routing for the Canadian,the continent’s last classic streamliner, originally Canadian Pacific’s premier luxury passenger train.

VIA Rail’s ambitious new CEO

Yves Desjardins-Siciliano attempts to reshape Canada’s intercity carrier into a high-efficiency, high-performance system.

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