VIA returns to Vancouver Island

['[e-mail]' [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Spoke to a person this morning from the SRVI (Southern Railway Vancouver Island) Railway & a timeline has now been set for the return of the RDC's.

Sept 2014 work starts on the railbed, changing out rail, tie replacements

May 15 2015 will be the start up of service for the RDC's. 3 RDC's will be assigned to the island & all 3 might be used at once during the peak travel periods. Apparently I'm told a there is hoping to be a canteen on board where light snacks & refreshments can be purchased.
The start up service will operate out of Nanaimo & will run south to Victoria & return back to Nanaimo.

Sept 2015 the full service will return to Courtenay.

I'm told that all the money is in place from all levels involved & the agreement was signed last week The Island Corridor Foundation will be the ones In charge of the service. They really plan to market the service & encourage ridership. There is also a new fast ferry (foot passenger only) service that will be up & running by march of next year between Vancouver & Nanaimo which might help out with attracting more ridership.






------------------------------------
Posted by: "Terrybc-***@public.gmane.org" <terrybc-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------

For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org

['Mark W. Walton' [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Which Nanaimo terminal will the new fast ferry use - Departure Bay or Duke Point? Services from those terminals connect, respectively, to Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen terminals at Vancouver.

Mark Walton
mark.walton-***@public.gmane.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org [mailto:Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org]
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 7:02 PM
To: michaelshaw-***@public.gmane.org; canadian-passenger-rail-***@public.gmane.org; elsamike-***@public.gmane.org; williamhbaird-***@public.gmane.org; ve7pge-***@public.gmane.org; chris_mcmahon1981-***@public.gmane.org; Jim.mac2001-FFYn/***@public.gmane.org
Subject: [CanPassRail] VIA returns to Vancouver Island

Spoke to a person this morning from the SRVI (Southern Railway Vancouver Island) Railway & a timeline has now been set for the return of the RDC's.

Sept 2014 work starts on the railbed, changing out rail, tie replacements

May 15 2015 will be the start up of service for the RDC's. 3 RDC's will be assigned to the island & all 3 might be used at once during the peak travel periods. Apparently I'm told a there is hoping to be a canteen on board where light snacks & refreshments can be purchased.
The start up service will operate out of Nanaimo & will run south to Victoria & return back to Nanaimo.

Sept 2015 the full service will return to Courtenay.

I'm told that all the money is in place from all levels involved & the agreement was signed last week The Island Corridor Foundation will be the ones In charge of the service. They really plan to market the service & encourage ridership. There is also a new fast ferry (foot passenger only) service that will be up & running by march of next year between Vancouver & Nanaimo which might help out with attracting more ridership.
------------------------------------
Posted by: "Terrybc-***@public.gmane.org" <terrybc-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------





------------------------------------
Posted by: "Mark W. Walton" <mark.walton-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------

For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org

[Marcelo Benoit [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Sadly there is no longer an station at Victoria, so the service is now
less atractive...

Regards,

Marcelo

Post by 'Mark W. Walton' mark.walton-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
Which Nanaimo terminal will the new fast ferry use - Departure Bay or Duke
Point? Services from those terminals connect, respectively, to Horseshoe Bay
and Tsawwassen terminals at Vancouver.
Mark Walton
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 7:02 PM
Subject: [CanPassRail] VIA returns to Vancouver Island
Spoke to a person this morning from the SRVI (Southern Railway Vancouver
Island) Railway & a timeline has now been set for the return of the RDC's.
Sept 2014 work starts on the railbed, changing out rail, tie replacements
May 15 2015 will be the start up of service for the RDC's. 3 RDC's will be
assigned to the island & all 3 might be used at once during the peak travel
periods. Apparently I'm told a there is hoping to be a canteen on board
where light snacks & refreshments can be purchased.
The start up service will operate out of Nanaimo & will run south to
Victoria & return back to Nanaimo.
Sept 2015 the full service will return to Courtenay.
I'm told that all the money is in place from all levels involved & the
agreement was signed last week The Island Corridor Foundation will be the
ones In charge of the service. They really plan to market the service &
encourage ridership. There is also a new fast ferry (foot passenger only)
service that will be up & running by march of next year between Vancouver &
Nanaimo which might help out with attracting more ridership.
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
Yahoo Groups Links

------------------------------------
Posted by: Marcelo Benoit <mmbenoit-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------

For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org

['[e-mail]' [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

This will be a private operator out of Nanaimo called island ferry services & not BC Ferries. The service will operate out of the downtown waterfront harbour & has been approved by the city of Nanaimo to start construction to build the terminal. Negotiations are being worked out with Translink to try & use the seabus terminal in downtown Vancouver. This will be the 3rd passenger only ferry to operate between Nanaimo & Vancouver as the other 2 went bankrupt.

----- Original Message -----From: 'Mark W. Walton' mark.walton-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail] <Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org>To: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 19:31:43 -0600 (MDT)Subject: RE: [CanPassRail] VIA returns to Vancouver Island









Which Nanaimo terminal will the new fast ferry use - Departure Bay or Duke Point? Services from those terminals connect, respectively, to Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen terminals at Vancouver.

Mark Walton

mark.walton-***@public.gmane.org

-----Original Message-----

From: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org [mailto:Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org]

Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 7:02 PM

To: michaelshaw-***@public.gmane.org; canadian-passenger-rail-***@public.gmane.org; elsamike-***@public.gmane.org; williamhbaird-***@public.gmane.org; ve7pge-***@public.gmane.org; chris_mcmahon1981-***@public.gmane.org; Jim.mac2001-FFYn/***@public.gmane.org

Subject: [CanPassRail] VIA returns to Vancouver Island

Spoke to a person this morning from the SRVI (Southern Railway Vancouver Island) Railway & a timeline has now been set for the return of the RDC's.

Sept 2014 work starts on the railbed, changing out rail, tie replacements

May 15 2015 will be the start up of service for the RDC's. 3 RDC's will be assigned to the island & all 3 might be used at once during the peak travel periods. Apparently I'm told a there is hoping to be a canteen on board where light snacks & refreshments can be purchased.

The start up service will operate out of Nanaimo & will run south to Victoria & return back to Nanaimo.

Sept 2015 the full service will return to Courtenay.

I'm told that all the money is in place from all levels involved & the agreement was signed last week The Island Corridor Foundation will be the ones In charge of the service. They really plan to market the service & encourage ridership. There is also a new fast ferry (foot passenger only) service that will be up & running by march of next year between Vancouver & Nanaimo which might help out with attracting more ridership.

------------------------------------

Posted by: "Terrybc-***@public.gmane.org" <terrybc-***@public.gmane.org>

------------------------------------








------------------------------------
Posted by: "Terrybc-***@public.gmane.org" <terrybc-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------

For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org

[[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

That would be great!

The RDCs sitting at Toronto Maintenance Centre need a considerable amount of TLC before going back into service. A lot of the upholstery is damaged and there is an air of neglect about them.


They are currently used as our lunch room while working on 6917...


-Jason

[[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

What happened to the station in Victoria?




M A P

[Jon Calon jon.yg-E/[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Long story short Mark:

The city of Victoria is replacing the big blue bascule bridge (aka the Johnson street bridge) with a new structure. To have rail on that bridge would have cost an extra 12 million. The city balked at the price, asked the communities who would likely use a rail commuter train to buck up the money and they said to pound sand.

The bridge does not include rail, and the rail span of the existing bridge was removed for constructing the replacement. As there will not be any rail into Victoria proper again, the station was removed and I think relocated elsewhere in the Victoria/Esquimalt area.

Any future train will have to locate a new station in Vic West. My hopes is that it will eventually be located right across the bridge, if indeed the service gets restarted.

Cheers,
Jon

Post by maperry-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
What happened to the station in Victoria?
M A P

[cncrw94-FFYn/[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Jason,

You seem to have quite a bit of knowledge regarding the RDC's, might we look forward to a model of them soon from the team at Rapido? :-)


Caleb

[Tom Box [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Post by maperry-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
What happened to the station in Victoria?

The station was at the east end of the Johnson Street Bridge.
The bridge is being replaced, and the new bridge will not
include a railway track, so trains can no longer reach the
station.

Here's a image of the old bridge, where you can see there
were two side-by-side spans, one for rail and one for road:
<Loading Image...>

Here's a more recent overhead view, where you can see that the
rail bridge has already been removed:
<http://goo.gl/maps/C6EFv>. You can see the station just east
of the bridge.

Here's a Google street view of the station:
<http://goo.gl/maps/2wfap>

The old road span is still there. It will stay until the
replacement is built, just to the north. Here's a webcam
showing the construction activity:
<Loading Image...>

There will probably be a new station farther west, perhaps near
the roundhouse: <http://goo.gl/maps/mJFsN>, but that will be less
convenient for people wishing to travel to downtown Victoria.

Despite the subject line, VIA hasn't returned to Vancouver Island
yet. Recent reports have been very positive, but I still wouldn't
bet my life on it coming true.

Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada


------------------------------------
Posted by: Tom Box <tbox-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------

For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org

[Tom Box [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Grant in Victoria who is on the list said the old station
structure has been moved to Ogden point to the cruise ship terminal.

With that clue as a starting point, I found this picture of the roof
being moved: <http://goo.gl/ss16HN> or
<http://www.vancouversun.com/Victoria+Harbour+authority+prepares+take+Railway+station+pieces+Ogden+Point/7627369/story.html>.

As for the replacement station I'm taking a guess it might be
where the old Esquimalt station use to be?

Here's a Google street view of "Esquimalt Station".
<http://goo.gl/maps/zMJnA>. I suppose it would be of use to
people commuting to the navy base, but it's several kilometres
west of the end of the line, even after the removal of the
tracks on the Johnson St. bridge. When I rode the line for
the first time in 1980, there was no service across the bridge,
but the terminal station was in Vic West, not in Esquimalt.
I'd expect that any new service would want to get as close to
downtown Victoria as possible.

I'm also guessing this station might not have a ticket agent

Sounds plausible.

& instead be ticket machines instead like on the corridor.

Or maybe not even that. Print your tickets yourself, have them
on your phone, or buy them on board.

As for Tom's speculation of the service not returning I hate
to disagree with Tom

Fell free to disagree. I certainly won't be offended.

I'm not going out on a limb and predicting that passenger trains
will definitely NOT return. But I'm not yet convinced they will,
either. I think the jury's still out.

as all the money is in place & the agreement has been signed
off on.

"All the money" meaning about $20 million, right? Will that be
enough to get the line up to an acceptable standard? Opinions
differ.

The ICF who will be operating the service is going to make
this a money making line & not money losing.

How? What magic formula does the ICF have that's unknown to
other passenger train operators around the world? Don't
statements like the above make you wonder about the ICF's
credibility?

I was told that there will be a lot of changes that will
attract ridership.

Very possibly. Increased ridership is a good thing, to be sure,
but it doesn't guarantee profitability. GO trains carried 51
million people in the 12 months from April 2013 to March 2014.
But they didn't make money, nor did anyone expect them to.

Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada


------------------------------------
Posted by: Tom Box <tbox-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------

For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org

[[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

The following was posted to the Rail for Vancouver Island Facebook
group today by Ian Kennett:


-------------------------------------------------------------------
I wrote to Via Rail to enquire about the state of Vancouver Island
rail service. I received a response this morning. Here it is.


"Good morning,


Thank you for your email inquiring about services on Vancouver Island.
At this time, while discussions are ongoing, no signed agreement is
in effect. An announcement will be made only once an agreement has
been ratified and the terms of the agreement can be specified.


VIA Rail's primary consideration is the safety of passenger trains
on the railway track. Once a service agreement is ratified and the
track is brought back to safe operating standards, service on
Vancouver Island will resume.


Sincerely,
Amanda
Customer Support"
-------------------------------------------------------------------


This contradicts statements made in July by Frank Butzelaar, the
president of the Southern Railway of Vancouver Island (SRVI), Judith
Sayers, the co-chair of the board of the Island Corridor Foundation
(ICF), and James Lunney, the Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Alberni.
All said that an agreement had been signed between VIA Rail, the ICF
and SRVI, and that all that remained was for the boards of the three
organizations to ratify the agreement.
<http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=396419&binId=1.1180928&playlistPageNum=1>
and
<http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/news/agreement-signed-to-resume-e-n-passenger-rail-service-1.1200461>


There was to be a VIA board meeting on August 27, and the above
message from Amanda of VIA Customer Support was apparently after
that date.


Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada

['Don Thomas' [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

If you read closely what Amanda said, it is actually consistent with what Frank Butzelaar said. Amanda did not say there was no signed agreement. She said there was no signed agreement in effect. The agreement must be ratified to come into effect. Therefore Amanda’s statement is consistent with an agreement having been signed but not ratified. (It would also be consistent with an agreement not actually having been signed yet.)



It would have been more helpful for Amanda to have said that an agreement had been signed but not in effect pending ratification, assuming that is indeed the fact of the matter. I don’t know why she or her management chose that slightly tricksy phrasing, but it seems merely confusing rather than deliberately misleading, and if an agreement has indeed been signed then it isn’t actually incorrect. Perhaps one or more of the parties wants to be able to deny that an agreement was actually signed if subsequent failure of ratification negated the would-be agreement. After all, an un-ratified agreement never actually was an agreement at all, rendering the signatures not worth the paper they are written on.



Don Thomas



From: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org [mailto:Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org]
Sent: September-06-14 4:25 PM
To: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org
Subject: [CanPassRail] Re: VIA returns to Vancouver Island (or not)





The following was posted to the Rail for Vancouver Island Facebook

group today by Ian Kennett:



-------------------------------------------------------------------

I wrote to Via Rail to enquire about the state of Vancouver Island

rail service. I received a response this morning. Here it is.



"Good morning,





Thank you for your email inquiring about services on Vancouver Island.

At this time, while discussions are ongoing, no signed agreement is

in effect. An announcement will be made only once an agreement has

been ratified and the terms of the agreement can be specified.



VIA Rail's primary consideration is the safety of passenger trains

on the railway track. Once a service agreement is ratified and the

tr ack is brought back to safe operating standards, service on

Vancouver Island will resume.



Sincerely,

Amanda

Customer Support"

-------------------------------------------------------------------



This contradicts statements made in July by Frank Butzelaar, the

president of the Southern Railway of Vancouver Island (SRV I), Judith

Sayers, the co-chair of the board of the Island Corridor Foundation

(ICF), and James Lunney, the Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Alberni.

All said that an agreement had been signed between VIA Rail, the ICF

and SRVI, and that all that remained was for the boards of the three

organizations to ratify the agreement.

<http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=396419 <http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=396419&binId=1.1180928&playlistPageNum=1> &binId=1.1180928&playlistPageNum=1>

and

<http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/news/agreement-signed-to-resume-e-n-passenger-rail-service-1.1200461>



There was to be a VIA board meeting on August 27, and the above

message from Amanda of VIA Customer Support was apparently after

that date.



Tom Box

tbox at ncf dot ca

Port Hope, ON, Canada

[Jon Calon jon.yg-E/[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Her response could certainly be reflective of the current state of affairs. That is, the trackwork hasn't begun to restore safe operating conditions, and as such, the agreement to run the trains remains unfulfilled due to factors out of VIA's control.

It's unfortunate that VIA isn't more forthcoming with the details, intending any questioners get their answers from those who are responsible for the trackwork - the ICF in this case - who are also not terribly forthcoming with exactly what's going on in terms that can be trusted.

Cheers,
Jon

Post by 'Don Thomas' thomasd-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
If you read closely what Amanda said, it is actually consistent with what Frank Butzelaar said. Amanda did not say there was no signed agreement. She said there was no signed agreement in effect. The agreement must be ratified to come into effect. Therefore Amanda’s statement is consistent with an agreement having been signed but not ratified. (It would also be consistent with an agreement not actually having been signed yet.)
It would have been more helpful for Amanda to have said that an agreement had been signed but not in effect pending ratification, assuming that is indeed the fact of the matter. I don’t know why she or her management chose that slightly tricksy phrasing, but it seems merely confusing rather than deliberately misleading, and if an agreement has indeed been signed then it isn’t actually incorrect. Perhaps one or more of the parties wants to be able to deny that an agreement was actually signed if subsequent failure of ratification negated the would-be agreement. After all, an un-ratified agreement never actually was an agreement at all, rendering the signatures not worth the paper they are written on.
Don Thomas
Sent: September-06-14 4:25 PM
Subject: [CanPassRail] Re: VIA returns to Vancouver Island (or not)
The following was posted to the Rail for Vancouver Island Facebook
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I wrote to Via Rail to enquire about the state of Vancouver Island
rail service. I received a response this morning. Here it is.
"Good morning,
Thank you for your email inquiring about services on Vancouver Island.
At this time, while discussions are ongoing, no signed agreement is
in effect. An announcement will be made only once an agreement has
been ratified and the terms of the agreement can be specified.
VIA Rail's primary consideration is the safety of passenger trains
on the railway track. Once a service agreement is ratified and the
tr ack is brought back to safe operating standards, service on
Vancouver Island will resume.
Sincerely,
Amanda
Customer Support"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This contradicts statements made in July by Frank Butzelaar, the
president of the Southern Railway of Vancouver Island (SRV I), Judith
Sayers, the co-chair of the board of the Island Corridor Foundation
(ICF), and James Lunney, the Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Alberni.
All said that an agreement had been signed between VIA Rail, the ICF
and SRVI, and that all that remained was for the boards of the three
organizations to ratify the agreement.
<http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=396419&binId=1.1180928&playlistPageNum=1>
and
<http://www.nanaimodailynews.com/news/agreement-signed-to-resume-e-n-passenger-rail-service-1.1200461>
There was to be a VIA board meeting on August 27, and the above
message from Amanda of VIA Customer Support was apparently after
that date.
Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada

[Fred Mills [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

RE; the note travelling around that "No agreement has actually been signed,
by Via Rail, and the other parties involved in Passenger rail on Vancouver
Island"

Having monitored this whole "Island" story, over the years; why does it
always seem that something is rather rotten fish smelling, about the whole
thing. Everyday money seems to be paying for something, or papers are
switching hands, but truely NOTHING seems to get done, but yet there does
not seem to be anyone accountable to the taxpayer, or Canadian citizens,
anywhere in this long sad tale.

Maybe it is time for a legal investigation into what is really going on.

Could someone on the Island, convince one of the newspapers, or CBC News
to actually do some in depth investigative journalisim on this whole feasco,
or would this open up a festering political cover-up of undercover rip-offs
from the public purse. Are the funds paid to the "Foundation" audited ? Is
anyone accountable to anyone, but themselves ? TOO MANY QUESTIONS, and
never a straight answer.

Why does it seem that no-one locally, or any group out there, wants to
know; or they would be yelling and screaming for answers....it is primerily
their tax dollars paying for the "Foundation", with most of it paying a very
few people a salary, to do what, besides taking a cheque to the bank each
week.

Boy, would it ever be great to hear some REAL answers.....what-say, you
guys...is anyone satisfied with what is or isn't going on ? Has anyone got
enough "Fire in their bellies" to start the "CRY FOR TRUTH IN FULL
DISCLOSURE".......

I dare anyone to get up and DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE..... If I could
afford to move out there, I sure would be willing to try.....

Of course, watching anything to do with government in BC, always has
seemed rather "WACky".....pun intended...!!

Another Feasco, is; the "MAJOR HOSTAGE TAKING IN BC.........ALL BC
STUDENTS BEING HELD HOSTAGE" by Education proffesionals, in the name of
greed..try that for a headline...!!


Fred Mills, 36 Starwood Road, Nepean/Ottawa, Ontario, K2G 1Z1, The Dominion
of Canada. [phone]


---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com

[Tom Box [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Post by 'Don Thomas' thomasd-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
If you read closely what Amanda said, it is actually consistent
with what Frank Butzelaar said. Amanda did not say there was no
signed agreement. She said there was no signed agreement in
effect. The agreement must be ratified to come into effect.
Therefore Amanda's statement is consistent with an agreement
having been signed but not ratified.

True, but Amanda also said "while discussions are ongoing...".
That wouldn't normally be happening if there were a signed but
unratified agreement. While there's a tentative agreement, its
contents need to remain frozen, so that each party knows what
it's being asked to ratify. Otherwise they'd be shooting at a
moving target.

If you want to be careful not to assume anything while trying to
interpret Amanda's statement, you can note that she didn't say
what the ongoing discussions are about. Perhaps they have nothing
to do with the contents of a signed tentative agreement awaiting
ratification, but instead are about the weather, or the price
of tea in China, or something else. In that case, the ongoing
discussions would not be inconsistent with a signed but non-
ratified agreement. That seems unlikely to me, but I can't
rule it out. It would be nice if VIA, SRVI and the ICF would
be clearer about the current state of affairs.

The VIA press release at <http://cnw.ca/rOQiV> refers to
"its quarterly board meeting in Québec City on August 27, 2014",
and another press release at <http://cnw.ca/Iy5LJ> shows the
board did transact business at that meeting, naming a interim
chairman. This meeting was well after the announcement by SRVI
and ICF in early July of a signed agreement, so it should have
provided the board with an opportunity to ratify the agreement.
The mention of a "quarterly board meeting" suggests there may
not be another meeting for three months. If VIA were serious
about restoring service, you'd think they'd want to ratify the
agreement at the first opportunity, or else reject it if they
found it unacceptable, and get back to negotiating a better one.

Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada


------------------------------------
Posted by: Tom Box <tbox-***@public.gmane.org>
------------------------------------

For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org

['Don Thomas' [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

The agreement could in fact be a moving target. It is conceivable that the ratification process turned up further issues which are being discussed. The agreement as originally signed might then be subject to amendment. In fact the “agreement” that was signed may be a Memorandum of Understanding or agreement in principle. Since the process is not transparent to outsiders we do not know. I also don’t know whether the lack of transparency is a good thing. Public second guessing can sometimes hinder negotiations.



Don



From: Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org [mailto:Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org]
Sent: September-06-14 9:29 PM
To: Canadian Passenger Rail
Subject: [CanPassRail] Re: VIA returns to Vancouver Island (or not)

Post by 'Don Thomas' thomasd-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
If you read closely what Amanda said, it is actually consistent
with what Frank Butzelaar said. Amanda did not say there was no
signed agreement. She said there was no signed agreement in
effect. The agreement must be ratified to come into effect.
Therefore Amanda's statement is consistent with an agreement
having been signed but not ratified.

True, but Amanda also said "while discussions are ongoing...".
That wouldn't normally be happening if there were a signed but
unratified agreement. While there's a tentative agreement, its
contents need to remain frozen, so that each party knows what
it's being asked to ratify. Otherwise they'd be shooting at a
moving target.

If you want to be careful not to assume anything while trying to
interpret Amanda's statement, you can note that she didn't say
what the ongoing discussions are about. Perhaps they have nothing
to do with the contents of a signed tentative agreement awaiting
ratification, but instead are about the weather, or the price
of tea in China, or something else. In that case, the ongoing
discussions would not be inconsistent with a signed but non-
ratified agreement. That seems unlikely to me, but I can't
rule it out. It would be nice if VIA, SRVI and the ICF would
be clearer about the current state of affairs.

The VIA press release at <http://cnw.ca/rOQiV> refers to
"its quarterly board meeting in Québec City on August 27, 2014",
and another press release at <http://cnw.ca/Iy5LJ> shows the
board did transact business at that meeting, naming a interim
chairman. This meeting was well after the announcement by SRVI
and ICF in early July of a signed agreement, so it should have
provided the board with an opportunity to ratify the agreement.
The mention of a "quarterly board meeting" suggests there may
not be another meeting for three months. If VIA were serious
about restoring service, you'd think they'd want to ratify the
agreement at the first opportunity, or else reject it if they
found it unacceptable, and get back to negotiating a better one.

Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada