Passenger Trips in Ontario and Quebec to See Longer Travel Times Following CN Rule Change, According to Via Rail

October 17, 2024 TruthUSA

Passengers traveling on Via Rail’s busiest corridor may experience slower journeys due to Canadian National Railway Co. imposing speed restrictions on Via’s new trains.

Last Friday, CN announced that Via’s recently arrived Siemens trainsets running between Montreal and Windsor, Ont., must reduce their speed at public crossings.

Via reports that this new rule, previously only enforced between Montreal and Quebec City, is causing an average delay of about 30 minutes per train.

Despite this, no incidents at level crossings have been reported since the 16 Venture trains began operating two years ago.

CN, which owns most of the tracks used by Via in Central Canada, made the decision after discovering that the new trains were using routes they had previously avoided.

The company explains that in order for Via to maintain higher speeds through crossings, they would need to add cars to the new trainsets to increase their axle count for signaling and speed detection purposes.