VIA Rail Services Cut in Preparation for Strike
VIA Canada has begun to cancel long haul trips in fear of stranding passengers across the country. The company has ensured that customers already en-route or departing before the strike deadline will reach their destination by "train or alternative means." If VIA Rail workers don't reach an agreement by noon Friday, all services will be halted indefinitely.
The railway remains in talks with Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union, which represents the 340 engineers who are threatening to strike. Negotiations are currently ongoing with a mediator in place which was sent from Ottawa in an attempt to avert a strike. I am hoping that this will resolve the situation quickly. The union has been without a contract with the Montreal-based firm since December 31, 2006.
Malcolm Andrews, a spokesperson for VIA Canada said that the company hopes to resolve problems over contract length, salary, scheduling and benefits with the union. The news comes a week after the federal government awarded VIA $300 million in economic stimulus funding. Ridership is expected to rise by 40% over the next 5 years as track and train services improve. It looks like their job is only going to get harder when there are more customers to handle in the near future. This is why I am not overly opposed to the strike.
The strike looms in the height of the Canadian tourist season, which is already severely crippled due to global economic conditions. Randy Williams of the Canadian Tourism Association said that if the strike does occur, "businesses, attractions, and accommodations" would be affected as well. I don't think the garbage in the city is necessarily helping either. In light of this, Air Canada and Greyhound have announced they will ramp up their services to handle the extra influx of travelers if need be. VIA moves 11,000 people daily and operates 500 trains over 12,500 km of track.
A full list of cancellations (and other passenger options such as refunds) for specific routes can be found in on VIA's website. Currently, all long haul trips to the west coast are cancelled.
As the strike deadline looms, many are beginning to call this the "summer of the strikers," and I think it's a reasonable moniker given the frequency at which unionized labour issues are occurring.
With the ongoing garbage strike in the city, if no agreement is reached Toronto's tourism industry will suffer this summer.
Photo by Danielle Scott.
Comments (15)
Everyone wants more money in a recession it seems. Which is a shame for VIA as they need to be cutting costs and improving speed.
Man, you guys seriously need to privatise 90% of your services. One group of public servants playing chicken against another group of public servants, all of them enjoying extra summer holidays, and the only loser is the public? I have found the service provided by every publicly run service in this country to be abysmal. Wake up people the econopocalypse is upon us and the never-ending supply of cheap credit is ending. Time to a) fire all of them, b) re-hire 50% and c) make them transparently accountable to the public. Though only re-hire 5% of the managers and politicians.
If you're looking for someone to blame, don't blame Toronto. Via Rail is national, but is headquartered out of Quebec.
This is GREAT news for Go Transit! Just recently there was a brouhaha with Greyhound, other busing companies and Via rail because Go Trains are going all the way to Niagara Falls. (only on weekends and holidays for the summer, but potentially daily moving forward)
Which, being from St. Catharines, was AWESOME for me, faster than busing, and just as comfortable as trains. (but CHEAPER)
I love VIA RAIL and stayed on it for all my trips to see my family, simply out of loyalty.
But hey, Thank you GO trains for being ready for this.
And go ahead Via Rail. Go Transit will thank you.
I respect all comments but We have been without a contract for three years The company is trying to change the way Locomotive engineers are sceduled by making them work more.We are in a job where everyday we go to work we have a near miss. Your loved ones are in our hands and one small mistake and a serious accident could occur .... Not to mention the hundreds that commit suicide staring into our eyes as ouir equipment demolishes them teenagers playing chicken with us constantly People in so much of a hurry that they cannot wait 15 seconds for the train to pass ............We, the Locomotive Engineers in your national Passenger train service do not deserve to be talked about in the manner in wich some are doing in the comments We go to work everyday with the safety of our passengers and crew our number one priority Travelling at high speeds etc The Company does not see fit to offer us the norm for the country What it offered and signed with the CAW members who sell you a ticket carry your bags to the train clean the toilets in the station.....BUt they atack our collective agreement and keep us without contract for three years and continue to disrespect our craft .....Most Engineers in passenger service has an avreage of 25 years service You cannot replace the experience it takes to run trains period!!! Especially with Human cargo The stress level in the cab is above normal and people must undestand we are human beings We do not strike and cause disruptions all the time WE all love our job very much or we couldnt do it IN 2006 the same thing happened we were backed into a corner without a contract for three years We gave our notice for December 24 they gave us a contract DEc 23 People forget that ..So before you start putting your mouth in fifth gear while your brain is in neutral Think there might be another side of the story..................Oh and by the way........the holidays and benefits you enjoy now weather union or non or management can be directly linked to the Union movement So if your going to be harsh on us then at least give 50 percent of the blast to the company VIA RAil who has squandered Millions and Millions of tax payers dollars of stuff you would not believe but that is another issue. VIA RAIL CANADA knew they were backing us into a corner and knew the strike notice was comming long before they announced it to thier customers They could have prevented all this take care and remember Train time is anytime
Thank you for the explanation. I for one have always blamed VIA Rail. I have been aware of this problem for a little while now.
I am a frequent customer of the Toronto-St. Catharines line, and I thank you for the many safe and happy trips.
Good luck!
I don't understand this. You say you have been without a contract for 3 years but later you say you were given one in Dec 2006. How does that work?
VIA Engineer - good post. The number of level crossings I saw on the Kingston-Toronto run I was on yesterday was unreal and you must see all manner of nonsense. Perhaps at a later date you'll fill us in on what VIA could do better/has screwed up as you alluded to above.
just another strike to hurt the economy. i don't understand why this all has to take place in the summer - when Toronto brings in so much $ with tourism.
Oh that's an easy one, it's during times of peak business that the unions figure the employer will more likely to cave. Maximum impact, like the local CUPE striking during summer.
Strategically it's not bad, people-most-effected aside.
Yes, Mike. It is an easy one. I think we all smart enough to understand why strikes happen during certain times of the year. I wasnt asking in the literal sense. Because, yes Mike, it is an easy one.
View More Events
Suggest an Event
Join the blogTO Flickr group
Join the blogTO YouTube Group
RSS