New ONR trainsets

[peach james]

As per https://www.mobility.siemens.com/ca/en/company/newsroom/short-news/ontario-purchases-three-trainsets-for-return-of-the-northlander.html?linkId=300000004093978&fbclid=IwAR1VJzwqJt1CwH1fdcMp-JSeYVhz68P5wRVqdtH4tK2Yy-zF_tzZTCE8Jjc

New trainsets for ONR, one presumes for the Northlander.

 

 

[davknigh]

Good to hear, cutting the old Northlander was a mistake and created much hardship for people from northern Ontario. 

 

Cheers,

 

David

[Johann Marsbar]

Surprised to see they are going for new stock but it will be interesting to see what they are like. 

I rode on it in 1997 when it was using the former GO commuter cars.....

 

[Mike_Walker]

Here's what they will look like.  Siemens Chargers.

 

 

For me, The Northlander will always be one of these...

 

[davknigh]

A group of us used to take what we called the “Washago turn” boarding at Union and having lunch on board as the train headed north. We’d get off a Washago, do some railfanning  then catching the sound bound Northlander back to Union. A pleasant outing all around and the crew was very accommodating.

 

Cheers,

 

David

[stivesnick]

All 

 

The business case document can be found here:

https://ontarionorthland.ca/sites/default/files/corporate-document-files/UIBCen.pdf

 

The plan is for one train a day each way in the summer and a reduced service, 4 days a week during winter. The rail journey would be 10 hours 40 minutes to cover the 495 miles, a bit quicker than the bus but 2 hours longer than a typical car journey.

 

The train would run overnight southbound - leaving just after midnight and arriving in Toronto around 11.00. The northbound service leaves early evening arriving in North Bay at midnight and Timmins early morning.

 

The business case is rather weak at 0.2 ( >1 means benefits are greater than costs) and in the UK would be rejected by the Treasury. 

 

I visited the area on a Ffestiniog Travel trip several years ago - we took a coach from Toronto to Cochrane to travel during daylight and stayed at the hotel at Cochrane station. If I remember correctly the southbound Northlander woke everyone up when it departed in the early morning. We then took the Polar Bear Express to Moosonee. 

 

Regards 

 

Nick 

 

[mdvle]

On 16/12/2022 at 02:05, Johann Marsbar said:

Surprised to see they are going for new stock but it will be interesting to see what they are like. 

I rode on it in 1997 when it was using the former GO commuter cars.....

 

I'm guessing they were forced to by various reasons but if nothing else the issues VIA is having with their 50+ year old equipment would be a warning - and it may also be VIA told the government if they wanted VIA to service the trains it would have to be new Siemens stuff.

 

On 16/12/2022 at 13:34, stivesnick said:

The business case is rather weak at 0.2 ( >1 means benefits are greater than costs) and in the UK would be rejected by the Treasury.

 

There is no business case, it is simple politics.

[VIA185]

I had a ride on the Northlander in its last summer of operation. I asked at Toronto Union how far I could go and be sure to get back in the same day. The guy sent me to Huntsville. It was a very warm summer's day. I browsed the museum in Huntsville station, photographed a CN GP9 that was just tying up for the day, and had lunch by the river in beautiful Huntsville. Return train got me back to Toronto on time. It was a great trip and I was very glad I did it. Sounds like the the proposed new train is intended - rightly - for people from the North coming to Toronto, so wouldn't be much use to tourists but frequent, regular local usage is what will keep it going. (CJL)