A group of rail-friendly MPs from various
political parties could buttress the case for restoring or enhancing
passenger service along Lake Superior and other Northern routes
simply by hitching a ride, says MP Bruce Hyer.
Hyer said he‘s hoping such a trip on either CN Rail or CPR lines
will take place on one of Via Rail‘s Budd cars – a self-propelled
coach like the one currently running between White River and
Sudbury.
“I‘d like to see this happen some time this summer,” Hyer (NDP –
Thunder Bay-Superior North) said Thursday.
A Budd car can carry large-scale freight like canoes, plus about 60
passengers – about the same amount as a Greyhound bus.
Some see enhancing Via Rail service in remote parts of the country
as an alternative to governments subsidizing Greyhound‘s
money-losing Northern service, whose coaches often carry less than
10 passengers in Northwestern Ontario.
Currently, Via has only two Budd cars in service: the one that
travels the White River-Sudbury route, and another one on Vancouver
Island.
There are no plans to add any Budd cars, a Via Rail spokeswoman
said.
Hyer, who tried unsuccessfully to get a motion through Parliament in
favour of restoring passenger service to areas that lost it, said he
plans to reintroduce a similar bill this year.
In the short term, said Hyer, putting a Budd car on CN‘s northern
line through towns like Hornepayne and Armstrong would help First
Nation residents and remote tourist operators.
The Budd car that travels daily between White River and Sudbury runs
year-round.
Tourists heading for remote lodges, or blood samples heading to
health clinics in Sudbury, all go on the Budd car.
