Island train boosters want to run the railway

ROB SHAW / TIMES COLONIST

AUGUST 14, 2013
A proposed passenger train service would start in Nanaimo around 5:30 a.m. and shuttle commuters to Victoria. Service was halted in 2011 due to track-safety concerns  Photograph by: Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist
Island rail proponents want to take over from Via Rail most of the tasks in running a passenger train service that would shuttle commuters into Greater Victoria each morning.
The details are included in the Island Corridor Foundation’s service proposal to Via Rail, released to the Times Colonist on Wednesday.
It proposes to reverse the previous route of passenger train service — halted in 2011 over track- safety concerns — by starting in Nanaimo about 5:30 a.m. on weekdays and going to Victoria. The service previously started each morning in Victoria, travelled to Courtenay, then came back in the afternoon.
Under the new plan, the train would pick up commuters, including military base workers and shipyard employees in the Cowichan Valley, and arrive in Victoria by 8 a.m. It would head north to Courtenay next, return to the capital at 5 p.m., then travel north again, reaching Nanaimo by 8 p.m.
It’s a good plan for Islanders that will increase service and create a viable passenger train system, said Island Corridor Foundation executive director Graham Bruce.
The foundation has accused Montreal-based Via of negotiating in bad faith, because it asked for the proposal but hasn’t formally responded since it was submitted in April. “In general, I believe it meets their concerns,” Bruce said. “It improves service and gives them certainty in operation for the future.”
The proposal is designed to address Via’s concerns, Bruce said. “We were trying to find a way to help.”
Via has previously said it would not restart Island service if it costs the Crown corporation more money. A Via spokesman declined comment Wednesday.
Under the old agreement, Via was responsible for train stations, schedules, ticketing, marketing, trains and track maintenance. The foundation’s private operator, Southern Railway of B.C., ran the trains on Via’s behalf.
Via lost between $973,000 and $1.93 million annually on the route — though the foundation argues Via loses money on many of its rural routes.
Under the new plan, Via would essentially provide the trains, money and liability insurance, with Southern Railway handling operations and the Island Corridor Foundation taking over almost everything else.
The foundation, a charity made up of First Nations and local governments, said it would handle almost all of Via’s responsibilities for scheduling, stations, ticketing, marketing, taxes, safety, rail crossings and maintenance, and limit Via’s annual subsidy at $1.8 million, plus inflation. Any revenue would go back to the foundation, Bruce said.
The foundation wants Via to provide three refurbished diesel rail cars, totalling 158 seats, and $6 million from its $50-million rural rail fund.
The foundation would also take over Island E&N track maintenance. Via sidestepped that responsibility until the track deteriorated to unsafe levels, Bruce said.
“We’re acknowledging they are not going to do [track maintenance] anyway,” he said. “We’re basically saying we’ll take over the whole thing.”
The foundation has more than $18 million in promised regional, provincial and federal funding to upgrade track safety, but the money is contingent on a new deal with Via.
Bruce has said the funding agreement could fall apart this month if negotiations with Via fail.
Once the track is upgraded, Bruce said there could be special excursion trains for Island events. Those, along with a possible West Shore commuter service, wouldn’t require Via’s participation, he said.
The foundation would also build a new train station in Vic West, and conduct maintenance at an existing rail yard in Nanaimo near the Gabriola Island ferry terminal, Bruce said.
He appealed to Via to resume negotiations. “What can we do to talk through this with you, and complete the deal?”
Once the track is upgraded, Bruce said there could be special excursion trains for Island events. Those, along with a possible West Shore commuter service, would not require Via’s participation, he said.
The foundation would also build a new train station in Vic West, and conduct maintenance at an existing rail yard in Nanaimo near the Gabriola Island ferry terminal, Bruce said.
He appealed to Via to resume negotiations. “What can we do to talk through this with you, and complete the deal?”
The Island Corridor Foundation’s proposal to restart passenger rail service includes:
• Reversing the direction of previous service, so weekday trains depart from Nanaimo at 5:30⊇a.m., get into Cowichan at 6:30 a.m., and arrive in Victoria by 8 a.m.
• An 8 a.m. run from Victoria to Courtenay, arriving at noon.
• A return trip from Victoria at 5 p.m. through Duncan, to Nanaimo by 8 p.m.
• A five-year trial period for the service.
• Ticket prices at around the same cost as in the past.
• A new Victoria rail station in Vic West at Esquimalt Road and Catherine Street.
• Limiting Via Rail’s annual subsidy to $1.8 million, indexed to inflation.
• Taking over Via’s responsibility for stations, property taxes, train operations, scheduling, maintenance, marketing, budgeting, ticketing and safety campaigns.
• $6 million from Via’s 2013 $50-million fund for rural Canadian rail service.
• Moving the rail maintenance depot from the Railyards in Victoria to Nanaimo’s existing freight-rail depot, near the Gabriola ferry terminal.
• Three refurbished diesel passenger cars from Via, with bike racks, galley beverage service and wireless Internet access.
• No increase in the number of spots where the rail line crosses a road.
rshaw@timescolonist.com
 

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