Why Passenger Trains Suck in Canada - VIA Rail
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- čas přidán 12. 07. 2020
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I love taking the train, but taking the train in Canada is difficult. This video explains what it's like to take the train in Ontario, Canada, and some of the history behind why it's so painful.
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VIA rail passenger train #76, Komoka ON, VIA 916 [drone] (13-May-2017)
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Meet the new fleet
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TRAINS PART 2!!
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... will be released later this summer.
You correctly point out that most of Canada's population lives in a relatively small, highly densely populated area, but that means nothing. If the Federal Government decided to set up a nice national rail for the Quebec City/Windsor corridor where most of the people live, it would probably work. Cities will do what the people want, and having a fast, reliable train connecting major and minor cities would get used and the municipalities would adjust. Unfortunately, every welfare case and tax payer alike from Vancouver to Nunavut to Newfoundland will be demanding the same service at the same cost. It's the nature of the beast. If you don't believe me, ask yourself why it costs the same amount to mail a letter to someone that lives across the street as it does to mail it from the backwoods of Labrador to Victoria.
You shut the hell up about our country.
@@The_Rayman_Derivative Who are you talking to?
@@nickh5081 not just bikes
@@The_Rayman_Derivative lol does he hurt your feelings?
Me: "How bad could it really be?"
Not Just Bikes: "They weigh your bags 30 minutes before departure"
Me: ...
Not sure what it is but there is a limit to what you can take on UK trains. Never seen anyone affected by it though, nobody checks and weight doesn't matter.
I once had a bag that was over their limit of ~50 lbs, however they do allow passengers to have two bags with them. They required me to put things in a box until the original bag was under the limit. This would make sense at an airport because other people need to handle your luggage, but for VIA trains you carry your own luggage on the train. I am still astounded by their logic on this.
To be fair, I often show up at Union Station Toronto a few minutes before the train leaves, and have always had time to board. I've departed from Union Station about 20 times over the last couple of years and have never got there 30 minutes early.
@@citynightslikethese .
That is one of the things I like about most trains, you can turn up at the last minute and travel.
I don't book ahead even though I can save money, I like the flexibility.
Of course on trains like Eurostar, that isn't possible.
@@grahvis It was part of the North American cuts about ten years ago. Instead of meeting the demand they just limit it and say NO. With new cars in the states, the Amtrak baggage services have been cut, everything cut. If the rotten Trump government got back in Amtrak's national network would have been gone Oct 2021. National time table, gone! ( Not on line either, some times ) Agents gone! Food services cut way back. Covid was perfect for 3 day only a week. Done to the best revenue producing trains. That retained their ridership cause of personal travel that couldn't be replaced by ZOOM> Now Biden has the job to repair all this damage done to the US Government. While the menially ill Trump still pushes the big lie.
"I watch videos about trains"
Me: haha, such a nerd
Also me: watching this video about trains
I expected bikes, but got trains instead :(
Craftypiston bikes are boring tho
@@Njx063 not really
@@lewitm4591 yes really
@@Craftypiston your own fault, its in the title ;-)
I remember when my cousin from the Netherlands was preparing to visit Canada and he asked how long the cab ride from Calgary to Lethbridge would be. When I explained it would be two-and-a-half hours he said "Ah, OK, I'll just take the train."
Oh how we laughed and laughed about that one. :)
Yep, that is very funny... There is no passenger train to Lethbridge...
LOL as a Calgarian this cracks me up.
Your cousin (like most Europeans) needs to learn about how big Canada and the United States are, how vast the distances are between cities, towns, provinces/states, and also to get over their arrogance at _everybody_ on Earth having HSR, DanOCan.
@@Neville60001 He was a rare case. Most of us Dutch folk aren't miss/uninformed like his cousin.
@@jody024 Nou ja, je hebt mijn familie nog niet gezien.
"High Frequency Rail" by Via Rail is the "Train" everywhere else in the world. Meanwhile in France you can travel 800km in 3 hours for 18€.
High Frequency Rail is such a cop out to proper high speed high frequency rail, and yet we can't even accomplish that.
Is that a same day walk up fare, or a fare booked weeks in advance?
@@ronclark9724 it was booked in advance but you can easily buy tickets and the last minute are not that expensive either.
I would think at those prices the rail is heavily subsidized though eh?
@@seanfrank4158 I think they are. France subsidizes certain routes, if I'm to believe the video by the Tim Traveller. He travelled to a station in a village with like 20 people in one of his videos, and it didn't cost much.
An efficient inter-city passenger rail service is far more efficient than a 16 lane 401
Yes. See my Downs-Thomson Paradox video, where I talk about efficient transit and even show traffic on the 401!
czcams.com/video/RQY6WGOoYis/video.html
yea, i always wish canada have it. i dont drive , and go buses sucks
Only works in a dense urban model, which is not the case in Canada. To fix the rail system, you need to fix the cities first.
@@saideepakb Even then, it could work in Ontario/Quebec, where the cities are relatively close.
@@saideepakb Just like @Owen mentions, there is ample opportunity for it to work in SW Ontario. I live in Kitchener-Waterloo, and we have been waiting ages for a better inter-city rail connection to justify building the transit hub. The money is being poorly allocated to highway enhancements, which is not what this part of Canada needs now.
You could replace every mention of “Via Rail” with “Amtrak” and you’d have almost the same story!
Right, like I was thinking the same thing. I think the only difference is more in recent times where Amtrak is actually looking to start focusing on high use corridors. Of course, that'd dependent on funding from congress (unless state DOTs do it first) and we all know how that goes.
@Ploke Newo78 "High Speed" rail with an average speed of 70mph... sure.
Indeed, although freight trains have to yield to Amtrak trains (they never do because there is no sanction, but legally they are required to).
Really, if the US does trains better than you, you failed miserably.
Amtrak seems to have two successful areas. The Northeast Corridor which is track that Amtrak owns and the Autotrain the world's longest passenger train which the freight line it runs on I believe has a parallel route.
@@saxmastergq At least the Acela does not shake like crazy like VIA...
I'm from Sweden and I did take it for granted until my friend from the US came over for 3 months. He was stunned on how good the public transport is here. He was really worried that I don't have a car but I'm a student and have never felt the need for a car so I was fine with doing all of the trips with public transport. Every time we went out he got amazed at how easy everything is. I have a store like 500m away so we just walked to get the shopping and when we did a trip to my family in a different part of the country we just took the train. His constant amazement was an eye-opener for me.
In most American cities, public transit is so poorly designed. That public transit generally takes 2-3 times longer then it would to drive.
I've always wanted to take the train somewhere, thinking oh we can just take a train across the country. Then I look at the insane cost, the stupid amount of time it takes, and realize I'll just raise a pony from young, and then ride it to where I want to go for less and quicker.
"How old do you think this car is?"
"Hm.. from the 40s?"
"WRONG. It's from 1947"
..but.
I thought the same when I was in New York City, only to find out that some of the rolling stock is only 10-15 years old lol
let's guess something like 73 years old... "WRONG!"
i guessed 1950 XD
I honestly thought it was from the 70s.
I guessed 1960 lol
Btw...I'm a student who commutes often between Ottawa & Montreal. Besides the 7 trains/day limitation, I found VIA rail's fares to be ridiculously expensive. The student fare is about $100 roundtrip for the train, whereas the greyhound bus costs $40-50 rountrip. Travel time is similar & the bus has departures every 1-2 hours.
I'd agree, but now there is no more Greyhound bus... anywhere in Canada.
Greyhound no longer exists. The only thing left is the train now.
the 'hound has been gone for 3 years - where have you been?
@@tedsmart5539 The just officially announced it 2 months ago. 3 years ago I went for surgery to Montreal. As far as I know, I took a bus leaving the Cathrine Street bus terminal in Ottawa in April 2018. They were still operating runs between Ottawa and Montreal in 2019 because I went for a follow up check up. Also, there was a big slender grey dog on the side of the bus. I suppose you're going to tell me there's another bus company out there called Big Grey Dog? The buses were still running before the pandemic.
@@tedsmart5539 It wasn't gone everywhere in Canada. I believe it shutdown in central Canada a few years ago, and now it's officially gone Canada-wide.
Gotta say it, the train trip from Toronto to Montreal we took 10 years ago was a really nice way to make our way across the country for two tourists who weren’t in a hurry!
10 years ago huh, guess you could be arriving any time now :p
A country that discontinues electric trains... I can't even
Well, considering the distances it's not that weird. Overhead wiring doesn't power itself by just setting up poles everywhere, and feeding it from both ends. You need quite some extra infrastructure to support a steady voltage and enough current to be drawn. And you get something extra: ice build-up on the wires in freezing conditions, seriously limiting the ability to draw power from the contact wire.
"Hold old is this train?"
Me: "uhhhhh, I'm going wild - 1950s."
"Wrong! It was built in 1947."
WTF?!
Missed it by that much
Took these trains across the Rockies through Jasper. Arrived 4 hours late as we had to wait for freight trains and then couldn't enter the rail yards. Cool cars, though.
lol the oldest train that ride on the Dutch railways is from the early 1980's
I thought I was on a relic when I was on the Isle of wight railway!
Yeah - I thought "1952" and thought I was stretching it a bit...
As an American living in Germany, the parallels were... painful
Yeah. Someone in the comments sent me this video about the US and ... it's basically the same video:
czcams.com/video/mbEfzuCLoAQ/video.html
@@RodFarva right, because god forbid somebody does fix it and the Canada and US gets decent public transport in at least few places /s
As a Swede living in Canada, even more painful. I have taken the train here exactly .... hmmmmm ..once. As a matter of fact, in the 20 years I have lived in Canada I have taken trains in Sweden more often than in Canada and I have been there for about a total of maybe 45 days. It is very odd since Canada is a pretty progressive country, until you start to talk about transportation.
@@hanstun1 Wait, you've only lived 40 years in Sweden and you call yourself a Swede?
@@hocrazor wait what do you mean? I thought japan has a good public transport
I'm Dutch, been to Canada many times, my fiancé is Canadian and I was pretty shocked to see how difficult it is to get around there without a car. I'm used to taking the train everywhere which was definitely not an option in Canada.
But on the upside it is easy to own a car here :)
Funny thing, my daughter and granddaughter are visiting my Dutch in-laws right now, and to her surprise, she finds herself mostly driving around in her in-laws car. Trains are getting too expensive for foreigners she says (she used to be a student in Utrecht with some student discounts, and always had this memory that trains are cheap in Netherlands. Now with family of three and no discounts, it does not work out that well).
@@dmitripogosian5084 yeah trains are pretty expensive but so are gas prices right now. Pretty much everything is expensive these days.
@@Anieckieee Well, Schiphol-Vlissingen was 75 euros for 2 adults and a child, while it is 186 km of highway, so will be something like 12 liters of gas. How much is it now, 3 euros ?, still cheaper.
@@dmitripogosian5084 yeah trains are definitely more expensive than driving. But it is nice to have the option to take the train.
5:20 It is quite telling that the article in blogTO about "High speed train between Toronto and Windsor" is illustrated with a photo of a Polish short distance commuter train, (you know, the type that connects suburbia and small villages). I guess this is how Canadians imagine high speed train tech from the future that will never happen :D
we have similar ones in Finland, that's definitely not high speed lol 😂
The weight limit for 'Carry on ' luggage on Via Rail is 18 kg. Versus 23 kg. for most airlines. So when you come to Canada you will find that the bag you could carry on to the plane is too heavy for the train. It's beyond ridiculous. No-one could be stupid enough to design such a system as Via Rail. It has to be deliberate. But why?
Talking about urban transport: The capital city Ottawa has just installed a light rail system which malfunctions and shuts down in cold weather. How could the planners have possibly known that it gets cold in Canada? But to be fair it also malfunctions and shuts down in warm weather and mild weather.
If Canada ever does build a high speed rail system, they will start from the assumption that no one has ever done it before. They will give the contract to the least capable company in Quebec, the one that pays the biggest bribes to politicians, and it will be a complete disaster.
Yep. BUM-Bardier built the trains for our ION LRT in Kitchener-Waterloo. Two years late, software bugs in the operating system. Trains not working. Defects. And now something about the welds.
Don't forget the fact that the proposal will not include the necessity to be able to work during winter. (Looking at you, LRT Ottawa)
@@garfieldsmith332 Doesn't Bombardier build the TGV's in France? They seem to be pretty bloody at building trains on this side of the pond.
@@Deckzwabber Over here they are shit. Lots of problems with the stuff built in Mexico and Canada. Lots of bad welds on the frames made in Mexico. Toronto street cars also had also a big problem with the quality. One American city would not take BUM-bardier bids for transit vehicles. They also have plants in Austria making cars/trucks etc. Quality control is a lot better over there and the buyers would not accept anything less than the best. Over here they get away with making some crap and are supported by provincial and federal governments. Any problems they scream "poor us" and beg for handouts. If they do not get them, they say many jobs will be lost. they got a billion dollar bailout just a short time ago.
@@garfieldsmith332 Wow, that's insane. It almost seems like even the train builders are in on the anti public transport conspiracy.
Love my job as a train driver for the NS. Things we do:
- Complain about our company
- brag about how good our company is
- complain about Passenger’s
- and blame ProRail 🤣
Don't worry, at ProRail we blame NS all the time too
As a traveler I blame both
@@teunw6699 as a traveller in corona times I only blame Rijkswaterstaat
Realy ? are you so busy with this that you forgot about complaining about the weather ? are you really Dutch ?
@@pascalcoole2725 Saying you complain about the weather is like saying you breath air it just comes naturally.
The irony;
"Bombardier" a Quebec company. One of the most advanced, innovative designing companies in the world. In 1950 fifties Bombardier designed, built the futuristic monorail for Disney Land. Invented the snowmobile, skidoo, thrust propulsion in marine use, ie sea-doos/ water jet/boats etc. Also in aviation / trains, and high speed trains all over the world.
The metro system in Montreal is the most advanced, as well as in design with its under ground city.
But Bombardier is not a U..S. corporation, as the auto industry is. The Canadian government has subsidized the American automotive industry in Canada over the century in the tune of hundreds of billions.
If you can get car lover's out of their cars. Then the train's may succeed.
The Canadian government also subsidizes Bombardier, Who last year sold off its train division to Alstrom and its Canadair division to Airbus, and its LearJet division to Textron. There's hardly anything left of Bombardier now.
@@dougbrowning82 as the U.S. government through Boeing done their best to take down Bombardies aviation sector. The same as u.s. took down our areospace back in 50s. But we can't be stopped.
You sound overjoyed with your Anti Bombardier narrative.
@@coastaku1954 ✊
I wouldn't call them "one of the most advanced, innovative", at least not with trains. They're a disaster here in Europe.
@@RTSRafnex2 why would you , giving you being a none Canadian. If I were you I wouldn't want give another country any praise for their corporations. As most Europeans do over rate them selves.
It's like everything in Canada: dysfunctional, inefficient and so bogged down with rules and regulations that you're thoroughly exhausted by the endless ordeal of doing anything.
Hey, it could be worse. You could be the U.S….
Complain complain
Basically an inefficient germany
I'm German, so it's not like I was raised to have high expectations of rail services by European standards. But I was still baffled by how needlessly slow and inconvenient everything was in Canada.
Why the hell do I have to arrive early just to stand around for half an hour in a crowded waiting area? Just let me buy my ticket whenever and walk into the train when it arrives!
Wdym? German trains overall are good. Even for European standards. I'd personally only put Dutch, Swiss and Austrians trains above it.
France and Italy have GREAT high speed rail, but most trains outside of those are a complete joke, even compared to Germany (especially in France).
A Lonesome Brick On Connery Look up “Pofalla wende”- a policy where DB trains miss out previously scheduled stations or simply don’t complete their journey so they can be “on time” at other locations.
@@timpauwels3734 Better than e.g. France were local trains are complete garbage and e.g. 3 hours of (scheduled) transfer time aren't uncommon.
I'd rather have the chance of a quick journey than an insanely long one with a chance to be even longer.
Or talking about the TGVs fucking forget taking e.g. a bike with you, etc, etc.
Also that stuff you mentioned is exceedingly rare, even in Germany.
@@brick6176 In comparison to the Bundesbahn in the 80s, todays service sucks.
Its called get a car and you can leave whenever you want.
You should understand it, Germans are no strangers to the automobile and great highways....
After moving to the U.S., I wondered why public transportation, and moving around in general (including with cars) felt like it was painful on purpose. It's much more clear now that it was, in fact, designed that way.
Our leader suck. Just retire them already.
If I could go back in time, I would go back to the mid 20th century and slap every "urban planner" five ways to Sunday. That and berate all of the "architects" of Brutalist buildings.
We had over 3,000 years of experience designing livable urban spaces and had created such amazing gems as central Paris and Venice.
Then in one generation, yes one generation, we threw out all of that knowledge and experience to create the "age of the car" where every city is a mess of highways and parking lots, all downtowns are ugly grey office buildings with nothing distinguishing one city from the next, and all suburbs are cookie cutter McMansions that make the Stepford wives seem lively and vivacious.
I almost understand these "urban design" principles for Postwar Britain and Eastern Europe as they literally had to rebuild their cities quickly with almost no budget but there is no excuse for North America. What is even worse is that most citizens let this happen and their children are often defending these abominations even as it drives them deeper into poverty and depression.
@@jonathanbowers8964
When Man came down from his Tree, he made the cave his House.
Then he learned to build a cave from dirt, from wood, from stone. He learned to make his new cave beautiful.
Then man found a piece of metal. Then another piece of metal. Then a piece of black rock that could burn like fire.
Then he fell into a dark pit filled with dark slime. He came out exhausted, and sickened by the fumes.
And he built many little cages for himself out of those pieces of metal, and made them run around when he fed them the burning slime.
Then he threw some pebbles at the moon, and many rocks at his brother.
Then injected himself with poisons the Earth had never seen.
Then,
He forgot how to eat. He forgot how to drink.
He forgot how to sleep. He forgot how to think.
He forgot how to live. He forgot how to die.
One day, his whole world caught fire, and he could do no thing no more, but run around on his metal horses, pecking at his tiny bright screen, hiding in one last corner, short of breath, short of hope, his throat dry, his skin crumpling, his soul crumbling.
Then Man was no more.
When I was a teen living in Hamilton in the early-mid nineties, I regularly took the GO bus to the Toronto VIA platform and caught a train to Montreal to visit my grandparents. It was an amazing feeling of independence and autonomy, which I lost completely when my family moved to Dallas, TX when I was 17, and I’ve never really regained.
Travelled on The Canadian 3 years ago with my husband. It was our Christmas treat and we were looking forward to it. I can’t even begin to express the excruciating experience we had. It was so awful that you’d think the entire trip was a Monty Python sketch. Hours late? Try DAYS late. DAYS!
Totally agree with you. The passenger train service in Canada is pathetic. The argument that Canada is sparsely populated holds no water at all. For example, Finland, which is very sparsely populated and has a population of roughly the same as BC, has an incredible train network, connecting all large cities and most small towns. Yes, the train service here sucks and it really is damned embarrassing!
My first time going to Finland in 2017 held a very good first impression of rail travel and just the overall infrastructure there. Everything just works so seemlessly well there. One thing I think can be improved is to improve the accessibility and sale points of purchases of the HSL Card, and expanding methods of payment at the metro/train ticket machines and card readers on trams and buses.
Just got off a 32 hr via rail trip. The service was indeed poor.
A. low car ownership in Europe, B. Finland is 1/3 the size of BC. C. Finland run by commies for 50 years. Duh.
@@biffroberts5906
You sound nuts
Go lie down
You do realize that the entire country of Finland has an area only 1/3 the area of BC?
I could understand asking passengers to arrive 30 mins early if there were a necessity of security checks.
But to check tickets and weigh luggage?
Why not run a credit vetting and a medical check? Or do the passenger's horoscope?
Like Eurostar?
I guess a line of automatic ticket barriers might not have the same ambience?
uncriticalsimon I mean at least Eurostar has the excuse of crossing a border
@@seprishere Eurostar is a cross-border train between two countries with massive terrorism issues. And even there, they don't weigh luggage - that's still very much an aviation thing.
@@notroll1279 which two terrorist countries? Pakistan and Iraq?
@@kofola9145 If you don't know between which countries the Eurostar operates, look it up.
And what is so hard to understand about "countries with terrorism issues"?
My former partner's mother, when she arrived in Canada, was in Manitoba. She needed to get to Vancouver so she went to the train station. She asked what time the next train was, expecting a few hours. They said 2 days from now. She thought it was a joke, she couldn't believe there were so few trains.
I'm from London Ontario, seeing shots of my town on this channel was pretty funny. No one dunks on our downtown harder than other Londoners, but it's accurate.
Having been to Amsterdam once it was incredible to see the vast array of transit working so seamlessly. I remember a tour guide showing us a photo of women laying bikes across a construction zone to protest a highway being built. In Canada we protest when they try to build bike lanes or add buss routes. We get what we deserve I guess.
dutch city to visit first? giethoorn
As a university student in the GTA who rents out an area protesting bus routes being built, this hits me bad. My only silver lining is that I'll be going to Germany for my masters degree in 20 months
Could be worse the Fire brigade doing it
Fake London*
I love the glamourous shots of the downtown.
"I like trains" -violent asdfmovie flashback
aragonnetje Such a missed opportunity.
😉 Fred Eaglesmith
I definitely laughed.
I like singing
Thank you, I didn't know this stuff existed. I'm crying laughing!
My family emigrated from Russia and I was (and still am) so underwhelmed in Toronto to realize that trains are this trivial thing and there's no "train culture". It felt like it was a remote village where steam was used just yesterday. No electrified railways, no variety of locomotives from throughout the 20th century. The curious thing is how Europe managed to develop both excellent rail and road networks.
They kicked out their slow people to north and South America
Even Australia has better train services, although some trains there look old as well.
I think a lot of it is due to regional priorities and the fact that Canada sort of spread with the automobile rather than the train like the US did that our focus was on getting freight across the vast distances rather than people. Trains are far more efficient at moving cargo over long distances than trucks. On the other hand, our main population centers are along a relatively short corridor from Montreal to Windsor (896 km) as opposed to the more than 6000km (shortest road distance) from the east coast to the west coast with relatively few major cities in between. This makes buses and aircraft more efficient for moving people than trains. At least, this is how I read it.
@@davidka8345 We have less than 40 million people in Canada .Who is going to use the train ??
@@josephforest7605 Australia has less than 26 million people.
The West Coast Express, a morning-evening specific commuter rail service in the Vancouver area is a massive success, but it is so limited having to share track with freight that efforts to expand it always fail. Does prove the potential though.
WCE is the only train in the eastern metro area because Translink doesn’t come out here unfortunately. It should run more often because unlike within the city of Vancouver out in The Valley have no options.
It’s so painful that it only works as a commuter rail. Especially since the surrounding area is sparse for activities and it’s too rigid to use for days out
So many commuter rail systems in the US and Canada with terrible frequency throughout the whole day. Intercity rail can get away with seven trains a day but commuter rail should turn regional rail
Over here in Vancouver we have the skytrain network, which is basically a subway but above the city instead of underneath it. It connects Vancouver and most of its suburbs, but you generally have to couple it with busses to actually get where you need to be. They come every couple minutes. Far from ideal, but still a lot better than what Toronto has. It's very much a local solution since you can't get very far using it. We do have some land based passenger trains as well, but not many.
“If you’re going to need a car to get to where you’re going anyway, why bother taking the train at all?”
If this isn’t also the US, I don’t know what is.
The first step of the auto lobby in the 1930 was to get rid of transit in major cities, they got rid of the passenger trains by getting the mail they carried on trucks. It bankrupted the private rail passenger system. In both countries US and Canada
Maybe ride a bus..
@@chuckgates1171 A bouncing smelly bus? Most people with money will not ride a bus.
@@intercityrailpal ok. Ride a bicycle my bad.
@@chuckgates1171 In some places fine, but not long distances for me. I want and need the safety and comfort of a train. With my bike in the baggage car.
As a London Ontario resident can we get some more content shitting on London Ontario. Tbh I just need it to validate all my reasons for hating this place lol
I've never been but hear it's a s#ithole , 🤣 just tryi g to help 🤣
Clearly you've never been to Thunder Bay, London is a paradise compared to that place (from London, go to Uni in TBay)
Didn't we just rip up part of Dundas to make it pedestrian only?
Its such a shithole even the shit upon by townies Army bailed in 1992 lol
A few years back, I moved from Windsor to London for work. Everybody at work liked to shit on Windsor, but man I'll take Windsor any day over London. Half of the city (EOA) seems to be overrun by junkies for the most part, although I will admit, there are some very nice exceptions. The only thing I miss about London is biking along the Thames from Highbury to Byron on warm summer nights. I also enjoyed how close it was to everywhere else (1.5 hr drive to Windsor, Toronto, Niagara Falls, etc. 40 minutes to Stratford).
I just read an interesting article in the Calgary Sun, it talked about the upcoming Via Tail glow-up. But also argues that in Alberta, the Edmonton - Red Deer - Calgary - Lethbridge corridor is one of the densest parts of Canada, so "if there is no useful rail service in Southern Alberta, it's because governments and private enterprise have chosen not to try, not because of the absence of a case for it." Growing up in the Calgary area I'm shocked to learn there is even a Via Rail connection through Edmonton, I had no idea. It's offensive that there is no reliable transportation between Edmonton and Calgary and the larger towns around them and in between.
There's a good number living in each Edmonton and Calgary, but in between is pretty sparse (compared to southern Ontario anyway). The other difference is not that many people need to shuttle between Edmonton & Calgary. You typically live and work in one, or the other, and have no need to shuttle (in general) But in southern Ontario, you have the 2 hubs (Toronto and Montreal) and you have a good number of people in between....so it's usually someone from the smaller centers needing to go to one of those hubs....as the hub is "where sh!t happens", and back again. So you might say that's not true, look at all the flights between the two cities, and the reason for that is because Calgary is basically an air hub that has way more connections than Edmonton. Not too many people just flying to Calgary (from Edmonton) as the target destination. (edit - i kind of forgot Ottawa, my bad, it's sort of a 3rd hub)
Yup can take the ctrain all over Calgary but can't leave the city without a car, sucks.
@@CanadianCatDaddy The Edmonton to Calgary air corridor is one of the busiest in North America. There are plenty of people travelling that corridor. Now add the opportunities for people to commute into Calgary and not have to get stuck in the quagmire that is the Deerfoot trail. Areas like Airdrie, Balzac, Carstairs, Innisfail and even Red Deer could see many people buying houses. If the commute to Calgary Downtown is only an hour then it could be a huge boost for for these small towns and could see many professionals moving out of Calgary to cheaper areas.
It could be a huge opportunity for an economic boom. Not to mention all the jobs it will create.
@@bubba842 I covered this point in my original comment
Truly shocked to learn you have to check in and weigh bags for Canadian trains! And you can’t even wait on the platform! 😱
Some countries aren't quite normal.
How strange - I was in Canada a few years and travelled through Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec city spending just a couple of days in each using only public transport and I don't remember having a single problem with the trains. Perhaps it's because as a tourist i wasn't on a tight schedule. Or potentially it's because I come from Ireland and have extremely low expectations of trains 😄
Are you talking about trains inside the city or trains between the cities?
@@WukongTheMonkeyKing Between the cities. I think we mostly got buses or walked within each city.
I think it's mostly got to do with being a tourist. The whole checking in thing is pretty quaint, having a waiting area and all that jazz, it's just part of the "couleur locale". But if you're commuting by public transit and your bus gets stuck in traffic so you miss the train and the next one isn't due for another 3 hours, nevermind that it takes almost 3 hours to cover barely 200km, that's just not workable.
Even if you can deal with the fact that you'll spend the better part of 6 hours commuting each day.
By comparison, I live on the Dutch German border, if I wanted to I could feasibly commute to Amsterdam every day for work and it wouldn't be much more inconvenient than driving the same distance. Especially in rush hour the train is bound to be faster than a car. And even if I were to miss the 6:45 train, I wouldn't have to wait until 10:55 for the next one, I'd have to wait until 7:00 for the next one. In much the same way that if I were to miss the connection to the bus at either end of the train journey, it's never going to be more than a couple minutes wait for the next one to show up.
what, does even ireland has trains?
The guy who has created this channel comes from Canada and apparently has fell deeply in love with the Netherlands. I can understand why, as I love the Netherlands too, but one doesn't need to trash other places to get the point across. I'm Canadian and I disagree with some of the statements that he makes. One needs to keep in mind some of his statements are also anecdotal or based on certain things found online.
2:02 Jesus! I thought the UKs trains were bad but That sounds more like a airport than a train station, the only time you have to get there that early in the uk is if your going on the Eurostar!
we get trains every 10 minutes even at towns with less than 100k population, and still moan about poor service
I’ve used trains in Britain. You are in heaven, compared to Canada.
Bram Moerman British trains are bad, Canadian trains are just awful
I feel sorry for people in Britain as your basically the only country in Western Europe with sub par trains (mostly due to privatization)
@@miaclarkwebb British trains aren't bad, they could be better, but they are far from the worst in Europe. My main gripe with them is the ticket price, and the loading gauge that is too narrow, but the first is a political decision as much as it is a result of privatisation, and the second can't be fixed in anytime soon, but comes with having the oldest network in the world.
When it comes to safety, comfort, frequency, even punctuality, British trains aren't half bad, with some notable exception, but such lines exist elsewhere, too.
I live in Ottawa and I frequently ride the train to Montréal. It's usually a good option because it is probably the only place on the network that is shorter than driving, and there aren't many delays because its one of the few places where they own the track and use it almost exclusively. But it's the last mile that almost doubles the actual travel time. I live in the suburb and it takes me over an hour to take public transportation from my house! And while there used to be a train station in the heart of the city, some Robert Moses wannabes thought that trains in the city was way too convenient, and so it was moved in the middle of nowhere.
I did Vancouver to Halifax during the 2017 Canada 150 thingy. It was the coolest trip of my life. We returned 19h late due to the forest fires. It was crazy how much waiting we had to do for freight. I probably should have flown back from Halifax and spent more time east. But I too like trains. So that's how things went.
is it crazy waiting for freight trains who own the track?
"population density of six" I cried xD
It's actually 4. But that includes a lot of empty space.
for reach six you need to include bears, beavers and mooses too
@@Tonyx.yt. this is a lie, our population density is only 2 and 1 half. Look it up
@@tehabe 3.5 by square (civilized unit) kilometre
Disraeli was rumored to have said, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics." You can make the numbers "dance" to whatever tune you want, if you set the parameters, right.
when I traveled in Europe, I had my eyes opened to just how terrible our trains are. one I took a few times after meeting somebody, from Kiev to Sumy. a distance of about 300 km, or a little under twice the distance from London to Toronto (from London myself), the trip took about 6 hours with 6 stops on the way, and it cost about $12US. I loved the trains in Europe.
Ukranian rails suck tho since the country didnt put almost any effort/finances in it after the collapse of soviet union. Fueled by corruption the ukranian rail network is one that decayed for more than 30 years straight.
If you are a bloody train enthusiast and can look past 30+ years-of-non-serviced train equpment, Ukraine is actually a very nice country to see some train-gramps driving around which is pretty interesting lol
@@cccpredarmy accounting for differences in currencies, it still costs 8 times as much to travel by rail in Canada than in Ukraine, and the cost differences are also visible when comparing to other European countries, like Poland, Germany and France. In France, I remember paying 17 Euro's or so to take a TGV from Paris to Arras. Canada has no similar service to compare to, since the TGV can travel at over 120+ km/h. Roughly the same distance from London to Toronto, at about 2/3's the price, on a newer, faster train.
@@mspicer3262 The TGV can travel over 300 km/h at some parts :-)
@@wimpie133 I knew it could get right up there on some of the long straightaways, but didn't think it was quite that fast. Got me to Arras way faster than driving though. I love the European rail-models, and mass-transit models too. North America could learn so much if they'd just have a good look, and experience it for themselves.
@@morzh1978 in terms of cost & service, yeah, it's superior. Ukraine might not have better equipment, but Poland, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Italy, Austria & Denmark all have vastly better equipment, and are better in terms of cost & service than anything in North America. Anything. North American culture is still too centered on having a car, especially the US. The mass-transit systems in North America also reflect that car-centric culture.
Canada's mass-transit is orders of magnitude better than the US's, but isn't as punctual, or as inexpensive as those in Europe, including eastern Europe. Again, Ukraine's equipment may be dated, but the system they use for mass-transit, with small buses servicing more minor routes that feed into major routes serviced by larger buses and trolley-buses. North American mass-transit providers could learn a lot from how some of these countries deal with mass-transit.
To get on any bus or enter the subway-system in Kiev only costed 2UAH, which was about US$0.25. My hometown's bus system costed C$2.75, and is less reliable overall than what I experienced anywhere in Ukraine. From cities as diverse as Odessa, Sumy, Kiev, Lvov & Dnepropetrovsk, you could set your watch by their arrival and departure times, just the same as in Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, or any other western European city.
Coming from India, where you have public transit connectivity to every nook and corner of the country with passenger trains getting better by the day, I find Canada has the potential to enormously grow their public transit network and Long distance train network, and essentially the problem of commuting is technically solved. I'm hoping the Windsor Toronto GO transit line 🙏 will be done soon.
I took Via rail from Edmonton to Vancouver when B.C. had a snowstorm. It took 45 hours. Driving normally takes 12 hours. A bus takes 18 hours. Flying is 1.5 hours. We had to wait for freight trains passing as well. But in the lower mainland we were moving at a walking speed. You would think in Canada people would know how to clear snow. I think normally it takes 33 hours though. The positive side you get to go through the Rocky mountains and see some of the nicest scenery in the world.
If you are going to je talking about trains I would suggest visiting Utrecht first, since its the central trainhub of the country. Otherwise I would suggest going to Maastricht, since its a major city that is not a typical Dutch canal city but actually has a lot of Belgian, German and French influence while still having the Dutch quality of cycle infrastructure and public transport.
Yeah, Utrecht makes sense. Also because they have 2 tram stations and 2 major bus hubs at the train station, plus the biggest indoor bicycle parking. It's like the essence of this channel distilled into one place.
Maastricht is one of my favorite cities in NL. Lots of unique stores and buildings are there and it's not overly crowded.
Utrecht is nice, I live there, But what about Vlissingen, it is a terminal and afterwards you can take a ferry to Breskens which is close to station. Breskens in unremarkable. Return to Vlissingen and ramble to the Boulevard. From Amsterdam I think it is 2,5 hours , so if you love trains, you have 5 hours of fun.
I would add zwolle to that list
+1 for Maastricht, and Arnhem, because of the hills and architecture that can be reminiscent of Toronto
"I like trains"
*ASDF Flashbacks*
* immediately gets obliberated by a train *
I like trains
Passenger trains have to yield to freight trains..... This reminds me of our trip to Canada we made in 2005. We took the train from Toronto to Montreal and back. On the return trip, the train had to make a stop for 6 hours (!!!) because of the freight trains. I must say, that was a "interesting" experience. (The continuous honking of the train at every railway crossing was also quite "funny" to listen to).
this is really making me appreciate german trains. they might always be late but at least you can reach every tiny cow village and theres typically a replacement every hour if you miss one
You did a great job of covering basically the same issues in the US. Trains can not be fixed by just newer, more frequent journeys. The last mile is a transportation killer and urban density needs to increase in the US and Canada to solve that. The first way to do that is by changing zoning laws.
In Switzerland I saw that villages as small as 3000 were serviced by commuter trains, which connected a bunch of villages / small towns. That was near Bern. Those villages seemed quite compact, and there was no shortage of businesses or factories either.
And perhaps they just have the political will to pay the price. No larger roads in that area than 1+1.
@@kallelaur1762 Indeed, political will is a thing. Also, Alpine nations like Austria and Switzerland don't have the space and resources to build their country completely car-centric. Austria for example has been wondering why Germany and the Netherlands are so backwards when it comes to adopting car trains and mandatory shipping by train instead of trucks. The issue is these nations have the space for it while the Alpine nations don't have it. Also these countries really care about their environment.
Interestingly Australian cities are very similar to American and Canadian cities in density, yet they have fairly impressive suburban rail networks in each of their major cities.
@@infidelcastro1092 Your point? Most similar-sized cities in Canada and the US have rail transit as well.
Go in Toronto, Skytrain in Vancouver, the MTA in New York, we can go on...
@@TheOwenMajor I didn't really have a point, I just wanted to bring up how each major Australian city has an S-Bahn like network despite their extremely low densities and car centric planning. As someone originally from Europe, I find their systems really interesting.
You can't compare the Skytrain and the MTA to the networks of Australia, those are purpose built rapid transit metros whereas Australia's networks are more of Suburban-Commuter hybrid that functional like metros only in the inner city. As for similar sized cities, you can't compare the networks of Brisbane and Perth to those of any similar sized metro areas in NA (other than Vancouver, which has over twice the average population density of Perth and almost 6 times the average density of Brisbane.)
There is a good post on R/Transit that sums Australian networks up well. www.reddit.com/r/transit/comments/hq91ae/australian_commuter_rail_is_very_different_to/
I know that it was just hyperbole when he said that Canada has a population density of 6 but I looked at the actual population density and it's only 4 people per square kilometer.
@Ginger The thing is we are never getting Calgary to Edmonton HSR because Alberta is filled to the brim with public transport hating, road raging, gas guzzling, conservatives. The public transport network in Calgary and Edmonton is abysmal, and we'd have to fundamentally change the culture in Alberta to do it.
@Ginger With some good quality tunneling you could do Vancouver to Calgary and Edmonton. It would have to be top tier HSR though, as Vancouver to Calgary is about at the maximum distance where HSR beats air travel in terms of convenience vs. speed.
There's one other place in Canada that really makes sense for HSR though, just not entirely in Canada -- Vancouver to Seattle and Portland. They are spaced almost the perfect distance for where the comfort of a train beats the suckage of flying. They would need to make sure customs controls are streamlined and efficient though.
Honestly Canada and the US should just ditch their customs checks for materials below a certain physical size and just check identity. Most stuff that is legal on one side is legal on the other and the only real issue is smuggling to avoid taxes. Just accept that some smuggling will occur and let people cross the border with a fixed size of luggage that you don't have to declare or have searched (say, 2 bags of a common luggage size that is too small to hide a body in). If people are selling smuggled goods across the border tax-free you can bust them at the sales end (like we do now with people selling indian reservation cigarettes)
There's no real contraband problem at the US-Canadian border that's any worse than that between US cities and Canadian cities. Law enforcement just likes the fact that it lets them get away with warrantless searches.
@@NozomuYume I have heard (not sure how true it is) that the only reason there is not a high-speed rail between Calgary and Edmonton is effective lobbying by the airlines.
@@NozomuYume Guns ?
@@TheStefanskoglund1 Guns are already smuggled easily into Canada along the huge-ass border that is largely undefended. It's the longest border in the world (since the dissolution of the USSR) and they simply can't patrol the whole thing effectively.
Short of building a wall (whether through a million remote observation cameras linked to a thousand quick-response border stations, or a literal physical wall, but probably both, which would be prohibitively expensive) you aren't going to be able to stop weapons smugglers. The stuff is too small and high value.
Border security at crossings only stops casual smuggling. Stuff like liquor and cigarettes to avoid taxes. If you just limit the SIZE of what gets through you stop casual large-scale smuggling and just accept that the small stuff is going to get through anyway.
I took Via from Montréal to Toronto once, and literally everything you said was accurate about my trip. I'm a student, our train arrived late, we waited a long time stationnary as a freight car passed by us during the trip, the car was visibly old and in a deteriorating state (seats were ripped, cushions sticking out) and last but not least, our total travel time (somewhere around 6+ hours) was slower than by car.
The turkey sandwich was really good though, and the soft drinks were chilled
Absolutely amazing to hear someone else from London complain about the trains and horrible suburbanization of the region. Having moved out of SW Ontario I can't imagine going back!
Wendover Production: Why Train's Suck in America
Not Just Bikes: It's show time!
I asked Wendover to make one about Canada 😆 I think they're just way too similar to warrant another video
What is a train's suck? Part of the combustion system on diesels?
you watch both wendover productions and not just bikes? Its a small world. These two are about two completely unrelated topics. btw i watch them both too
Delft is nice, also because a big part of the railway area is getting completely revamped. The railway is now underground through the urban area.
i went to delft yesterday and it was pretty nice
MrFapianoo since when is that special?
Can confirm. Live right next to where the tracks used to be in Delft. The infrastructure is nothing special (though there is a medium size bike garage), but the station is very pretty on the inside! The roof is completely Delfts Blauw (Delftware)!
I've travelled across Canada a few times. I'd always wanted to take the train but it was kind of prohibitively expensive.
The train was an interesting experience, like you said it gets out of the way of freight travel, the cars are very old (Like, smoking and non smoking area signs exist, along with ash trays on every seat).
The cabin smelled like urine, but eventually most smells disappear. Seeing as it was a long haul, the interaction between people was very different versus something like the old Greyhound.
Another point to make is that most established cities put train stations in the worst part of town. So you're either treated to stellar views of untouched nature, or trash laden, graffiti heavy areas.
There is a community that forms, as the time presses on, and you come to know bits and pieces of your fellow passengers lives. I met a German mother and son who were travelling the world to celebrate his graduation.
I opted for the cheapest package, and would probably think about shelling out for business class if I did it again. Nothing makes you feel like a second class citizen like taking the train in the cheap seats. You are literally the unwashed masses who board last after every changeover. (The other compartments have showers, I'm told).
A lot of people would sleep in the observation car, because 1) You could get a whole bench to yourself 2) It had fresh cool air all the time (Not sure if the windows were leaking?)
I'd definitely do it again some day, even if it meant dealing with the strange airport like setup.
After coming across your "Not Just Bikes" channel and hearing your experience on the VIA from Union Station to London.... It was as if you had been sitting in the next seat to me. I had to laugh out loud when you described the archaic rituals that take place in London, and there it was on the screen! There was the weigh scale (are we flying...?) There were the ramps with lines of people, and there was the ugly streetscape and parking lots all around.
On my last trip back from London, I took the early evening train. We were moving along just fine until we were about half way back to the city. The train stopped. It was dark outside so we had no idea where we were or why we had stopped. There was no announcement, no one came by to inform us of the problem. We sat there in silence for 15 or 20 minutes when a staff person came walking through the car. Everyone stopped him to inquire what the issue was. Apparently there was some construction ahead of us.
That was it. No details, no free coffee, zip. After another interlude the P.A. came on and announced that we would be at least an hour and a half late getting into Union Station. They were correct; it was two hours past our arrival time when we finally disembarked at Union.
On our way out the staff person did say that if we kept out ticket, we could use it next time to pay half our fare. I called VIA the next day to verify same, but the byzantine regulations and details required simply weren't worth the effort.
I have a much worse story about my attempt to travel from Toronto to Kitchener on the GO Train. But that will have to wait for another time when the flashbacks aren't so disturbing for me.
Leo
Dude that's exactly how I felt when I visited The Netherlands - people talk about the cycling, but what's really amazing are the trains! And even more so - the bike-train combination.
Anyway cheers man, love your stuff
@@cebruthius Nah... I wouldn't call 7,50 Euro for a dayticket valid for the whole country "paying through the nose". It's relatively expensive if you want to take your bike on the train only to the next stop 7 km's away on a one way trip yes... but if you, say for instance, are planning on going for a biking trip somewhere nice on the other side of the country wanting to return by train the same day day, it's really cheap!
@@cebruthius I live here, I am Dutch (and I got rid of my car 12 years ago, btw). I live in a town in Brabant (22k inhabitants) and what I relatively often do on a saturdaynight when I'm visiting some friends who live in the nearest city about 10km away, is to take my bike on the train, hang out with my friends having some beers & cycle back home again later that night when the trains have stopped running. It's about a 30 minute ride which I don't mind. Sure, the bike ticket is 7,50 Euro, but once arrived I'm independent and it's way cheaper than taking a taxi home for about 40,- Euro! ;-)
So for short distances taking your bike on the train is indeed relatively expensive, but it gets cheaper the farther you go by train...
Hey NJB: You really hit the nail on the head about the inanities of VIA Rail. But you forgot to mention that a recent "innovation" is that they are selling assigned seating tickets ... several times over! This happened on a journey from Montreal to Toronto in summer 2019; I was asked to change seats twice to accomodate seniors who had to sit together -- and one of the ladies held a ticket with the exact same seat number as mine. Never actually occupied the seat/train number printed on my "boarding pass". Cheers from a fellow train-masochist.
Why not make an official complaint perhaps to the multiple transport watchdogs and see how this snowballs into a avalanche of pain for Via (as its simple to explain, makes via look stupid, easy for politicians to climb on the bandwagon and makes canadians embarrassed ie social pariah). Who know it might even get fixed in 2022 of the 21st century. If it can be compared in a bad way to the US- even more ridicule and pressure to fix. Another idea would be to use a fast ebike on a good warm day and outpace the train and throw it up on youtube. If there is one thing canadians hate - its looking foolish and getting laughed at (bonus points if it gets picked up by the US news or even press in other big canadian cities).
People nicking your seat is a problem on Irish rail
@@oscarosullivan4513 getting an actual seat is the biggest hurdle. Irish rail just promises to transport you from A to B (no time mentioned) , akin to an airline not promising a 💺 seat. In fairness the rolling stock in Irish rail is older than the pyramids.
@@stephendoherty8291 Where you got that from I don’t know. Most of our intercity trains are less than 20 years. Only on mark 4 stock and the enterprise can you take pets and have a proper train guard
@@oscarosullivan4513 Did some self checking- 60% of Irish rails locomotives are over 18yrs old (19% are 28yrs) and as for coaches all of the Cork stock is over 22 yrs old or near to it. Only the Rosslare/Dublin coaches are modern (ie only 20yrs old). The most modern stock is between 10 and 15yrs old and thats just 30% of the entire fleet. As for speed, its quicker (and cheaper) to drive from Dublin-Cork (even more so if the car is electric) than take our trains so no reason to consider taking the train for an efficient and economic reasons.
Superb. I’m really getting hooked on your videos. Well researched, engaging, and you ask a lot of questions that are similar to ones that I have bouncing around in my head.
Nobody:
Dutch ppl: "we have great trains. We can take our bikes with us"
Trains arrive so often in Japan I hardly ever check the schedule, and I never need to worry about delays, I can just roll up, park my bike at the station and hop on! I certainly don't miss my old commute in Canada!
My commute is 20 minutes in the comfort of my car, how is your commute?
Also do you miss not living in a shoebox in a land of concrete? Maybe having fresh air to breath?
@Ginger Forced? So what you are saying that even dispite excellent transit they still choose to own cars at amongst the highest rate in the world. The Japanese love their cars.
Says something about how awesome cars are then.
@@TheOwenMajor Japan has plenty of shoeboxes
Avarage skinkanzen delay is 12 secondes right?
Living in Southwestern Ontario, trains are not practical. It's driving to a Go Station to travel into Downtown Toronto or pay $65+ to take VIA. It's the failure of the public transit infrastructure that has not connected communities across Southwestern Ontario with rail or bus transportation. Yet, the perpetual building of 8+ lane highways for vehicular traffic continues to be the priority. I'm always comparing Ontario trains to the Netherlands NS. Looking forward to this series!
Honestly nuts to me we still don't have HSR between Windsor and QC. It's half the population of the damn country, lol.
yea i was trying to book tickets to go Toronto- Montreal(you would think this is a route that should be perfect but isn't) first off it cost $400 there and back for 3 people second off all out of the 7 trains only 1 was available and it took 8 hours at that point we just decided to take a car
I found a bit of humour in the video mentioning two places I have lived... Flin Flon and Iqaluit. I've lived all over the west, and just recently moved to the GTA, so I have a slightly different perspective. Since being here, I've actually been thinking FINALLY, another option than car or plane... As bad as it is here, the train 'service' is truly horrible out west. My mother and father in law last year took the train to Toronto and back to Kamloops. Never again. The limited track, and so many freight trains having priority means days of delays.
When I saw those prices up I was shocked. I mean the most expensive train ride in the Netherlands is EUR27 which is a four hour trip from Den Helder - Maastricht.
Yeah commuter rail with only one transfer station is not right. We also poured insane amounts of concrete to make spaghetti overpasses.
I used to take the train from Kingston to Quebec City twice a year to visit family and always found it enjoyable but your video has opened my eyes to the flaws in the system
I was born and raised in Stratford, on., and ya, I totally agree with everything you said here. I love trains, but the cost and the schedule, why bother.
I'd recommend Arnhem station: it has a futuristic design (eventhough the design is 25 yrs old) of steel and concrete, merging train, bus, car and bicycle functions in one building. Also, the city has the last remaining trolley network in the Netherlands. Fun fact: The steel parts were built by a ship builder, if you look closely, you can see the resembance of the surface to a ship's hull. The decades long construction was a nightmare, but the result is great.
Another plus about Arnhem: they're the only place in The Netherlands operating a trolley bus.
It's like a streetcar but not on a track and it looks just like a regular bus. Except it's powered by electricity coming from the overhead line.
I haven't asked myself before what would be the advantage of operating trolley buses instead of regular buses. But of course: less stink.
I second Arnhem as a destination. also the trip from Amsterdam to Arnhem goes through the prettiest parts of the NL.
'Iqaluit to Flin Flon' made me crack up
Grateful for another transit nerd from London! These videos are excellent, and I feel so Seen.
thank you for this video! This has been a serious source of frustration for me for years. Your video says it all. There exists a perfect place to build HSR in Canada, the Quebec City - Windsor corridor. They will never do it. It is honestly probably impossible at this point due to land claims (a legitimate sore spot in Canada with a horrible history) along the way and its really just sad. What they came up with instead is "High Frequency Rail" so more slow trains, more headache. We dont want no mo slo!
In 2019 I took viarail from Montreal to Toronto, Toronto to London, London to Stratford, Stratford to Toronto and finally Toronto to Montreal. Every single leg of that holiday was late, even the London-Stratford leg was 45 minutes late. Normally London-Stratford is about one hour. Since then I've been flying to major cities and driving to the smaller towns.
dont tell me, via got held up by waiting for a freight train
That line is particularly bad.
@@CanadianCatDaddy yeah because the guelph sub is 45mph for passenger trains
Nederlandse Spoorwegen will be running trains between Amsterdam and Eindhoven every 7½ minutes. I haven't done the math, but I *think* that's more than 7 trains per day. 🤔
www.nu.nl/binnenland/5594006/prorail-en-ns-willen-elke-75-minuten-trein-laten-rijden.html
For context: they run every 10 minutes now!
Some of the city’s you could consider is Nijmegen, Breda and Maastricht. They are unique, but that can be because I live in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 😅.
Am I the only one that directly though about the 'I like train's' guy from asdfmovie when he kept saying I like train's?
Stan Wever nope, I thought it as well. ^^
czcams.com/video/vyItidbjxLM/video.html
@@stanwever3829 Yeah and it made me increasingly more nervous.. xD
This was frighteningly entertaining to watch. A check-in process to board a train? That's insane!
Fantastic work yet again!
I've been taking the train between Toronto and Belleville three or four times per year for twenty years. My experience is different.
- I've never had my bags weighed. I think that's if your bags are big.
- You don't need to be at the train station early. Who would care?
- The train is not often late - never more than forty minutes for me in all these years. I have heard complaints about the Toronto to London run.
It's expensive though - at least $50 for a ninety minute trip. Greyhound is way cheaper.
I've taken the train to Ottawa and Montreal. Just two times in my life. My train to Ottawa was stuck on the track for 1.5 hours. My train to Montreal was stuck on the track for 3 hours. A service that should be convenient gets delayed because of freight trains. It gets bad east of Belleville especially with heavy freight train traffic.
That's my main complaint in NYC too. I take the train to Philadelphia fairly often, and it's about 90 minutes on the high speed line from NYPS to 30th Street. But it's sooo expensive. Much faster than driving though.
But honestly, why the hell would you weigh a bag at all for a train ride? I can see why size might be an issue (depending on how and where it is to be stowed), but why on Earth would baggage weight ever be a concern on a train?
You could go to Arnhem: it has a relative new trainstation (with a large bicylce and car garage directly under it), it als has trolley buses (the only one's in the Netherlands) and in the Openlucht Museum there are some antique trams as well. Arnhem is also close to some great national parks where you can enjoy some great cycling (such as Veluwe Zoom and NP Hoge Veluwe).
Im from London Ontario as well..took the via rail many times and you're right it definitely sucks. When you get back into London you're greeted by well empty buildings like you showed in your clip. Downtown is just horrible nowadays.
I have used Via Rail "The Ocean" several times and I HATE IT! The wifi only works in the lounge car, prices are too much, food sucks, no access to the dome car anymore unless you have a private cabin and it's always 2 or more hours late because of the whole freight service priority issue... I would use the service way more if it wasn't basically painful to do so.
Good video. I cannot speak much about the Canadian rail network, but am somewhat of an expert on the American rail network which is very similar to the Canadian system.
The abundance of cars, and the airline industry, after WWII both of which were, and are heavily subsidized by taxpayers, have spelled disaster for the passenger rail system in north America. Also, rail is over regulated and unloved in America, which is opposite of the airline industry. One factor that you left out is that the freight carriers do not want passenger trains on their networks. Reasons being that passenger trains are at least supposed to have set schedules, that the rail plant in some areas is already saturated, and that high speed passenger trains put a different type of stress on rails and bridges than low speed freights.
I don't think high speed rail would ever work in north America. One, is the vast territory of north America, two, it would only be used for passenger rail, maybe a few times a day at best, and finally, it would never be as fast as air travel. I think of high speed rail like the very expensive sports arenas in north America that are used maybe 40 to 50 times a year for a few hours. Several have recommended, and I agree, that the north American rail mainlines be triple tracked, like the speed way in the western Chicago suburbs. This would give us fast passenger trains, maybe like a 110 MPH which would be fine for trips to Toronto to Montreal, or in the USA, Memphis to Nashville or Atlanta to New Orleans. Also, it should ease some of the freight bottlenecks in America.
I am environmentally minded and I hate the waste that one person, driving one car produces. This has led us, and our Canadian friends into several Mideastern wars. But in my town of Memphis, Tennessee, it is near impossible to live without an automobile. Before I started telecommuting I rode my bike about 3 or so miles, or 5 kilometers to the bus stop. Waited anywhere from five minutes to near an hour, and then caught the bus, usually it took me about an hour to get to work. Driving took about a third as long.
Like you, I like trains as mechanical and soulful objects, and that they don't trash the environment as much as cars and jet aircraft. But, living in America, Amtrak is more like a novelty than a viable transportation option.
My experience (from French trains, which IMO are the best network), is that the track is the key, having specialized, high-quality, electric tracks, with linked to public transport stations, is the basic need for a train network. The cool travel cars and shops and high-speed comes afterwards. And for that, you need public investment to make it work.
Regularly do Perth, Western Australia to Bunbury on the Australind. 200km, A 2hr drive or 2 hr train trip, plus the trip to CBD station & irregular transit to or from Bunbury station at the other end. The trains used to go all the way into Bunbury but because of squirrelly business & government deals in the 1980s the train and bus terminal is 3-5km away.
It is often replaced by a road coach.
Australind is often 30min late due to the prioritisation of bauxite, woodchip, and coal trains. It has only space only for 2 bikes pre-booked in each direction & only 2 services per day.
I love train travel. When hubby and I travelled VIA rail across Canada from 🇦🇺 we were surprised about the number of delays giving way to cargo trains. We were 12 hours late into Jasper so missed all those views. Albeit, we loved our very memorable train trip from Halifax to Vancouver. Would still do it all again. 😊👏
Honestly, I think that Japan has the best rail network. Their trains pretty much go all over the countries and they are almost never late. And they even have bullet trains that let you travel quickly between the big cities.
its not fair to compare Japan with a hugely higher population density and a miniscule geographic area by comparison. you want to compare vs population you need to shrink Canada to the size of new brunswick and nova scotia.
@@daskritterhaus5491 Yeah that is a good point...
@@daskritterhaus5491 No, it's actually harder to build tracks in a higher populated area. It would be very easy for america to build highspeed trains (like 300km/h+) between their major cities, even germany did that while the high speed trains need to stop every 100km for the next big city (and the area between those cities is not empty either).
@@daskritterhaus5491 in the corridor, theirs no excuse nott o
@Das Kritterhaus but even in Hokkaido the train network is quite extensive, although they have been closing several stations and lines over the years.
Every city that's a capital of a province in the Netherlands is worth going to. If you want to go sightseeing it's worth it now because it won't be crowded during these times. If you want to have the real experience the cities can offer, you might want to wait a bit longer. As for cities I recommend, Haarlem is a good one, but that's not fair for me to say, because I can cycle there in 20 minutes. Den Bosch is really cool for the local snack (Bossche Bol), sightseeing and the great history you can learn about. Also Delft is a cool place, although it's not big, it's a good place to go sightseeing for a day and trying to find some cool places to grab a drink in all the small streets. Have fun!
every provence capital is cool, except Assen
@@koenmvandeurzen613 what about lelystad
@@koenmvandeurzen613 that is a strange way to spell Arnhem...
@@fermitupoupon1754 Arnhem has a cool station and trolley buses! Also a lot of parks, snelfietsroute to Nijmegen, a really good zoo and the Veluwe right around the corner.
I'm an American. Living in Michigan made it easy to travel on Canadian trains. Sarnia to Toronto was a day trip. I've done that many times. Another is Toronto / Montreal. This is a nice "Sleeper" I've done both the sleeper birth several times and the "roomette". It's too short of a journey to Montreal and the train pulls into sidings periodically threw the night. You arrive in Montreal in the early morning. A pleasant experience.
Once we rode the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Banff, and then something out of a 1958 National Geographic magazine from Jasper to Toronto. It was very efficient and very comfortable--but it was part of a tour.
Our Budd cars (the stainless steel ones) on the Vancouver-Toronto route were built between 1953-55. Yes they have indeed been modified many times, with HEP (head end power),air conditioning, and toilet retention tanks, for instance. This fleet of around 100 cars is among the most road ready and cost effective fleets in the world. Built to last? Oh, hell yes! We will be maintaining and running these beauties for many years to come.
Added bonus? These are the very same cars that such luminaries as Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, and Marylin Monroe rode in. Foamers (railway ultra-enthusiasts) love them.
What's their safety record and crash worthiness like? I imagine they're still in spec given they're barely going any faster than they were when originally designed and built lol.
@@TalesOfWar Safety and crash records are as good as any fleet. For VIA our deadliest accident was the Hinton crash in 1986 with 23 deaths. The consist was a mix of the Budd cars and assorted ex-CN cars passenger cars. Considering that a freight train missed a signal and collided head on with the VIA train at a combined speed of 108 mph I don't think any type of cars would have faired better.
I live outside of Vancouver and the more I watch your content (which I love) the more frustrated I am with Canadian infrastructure. Now to convince the family to move out your way.
Or you could, you know, lobby for better infrastructure and the necessary political changes that go along with it. Just a thought.
When is Canada going to build a paved road to the Arctic Ocean? When?
@@LisaBeergutHolst yeah like thats going to happen in the next 100 years when there are billion doller oil, gas and car companies lobbying for roads and against public inferstructure.
@@alionguy OK doomer
Having travelled by train a few times as a tourist in Canada, I'd say that although your criticisms are valid, it's not all so grim. We did Toronto-Montreal and back some years ago and that wasn't so different from the UK. Can't remember having our bags weighed though. And we did the Canadian quite recently, from Toronto to Jasper, and although we were VERY late (and saw lots of 2km freight trains) the journey was memorable, the staff friendly, the refurbished sleeper comfortable and food was the best we've ever had on a train. And that includes the prestigious tourist train, Rocky Mountaineer, which we did from Jasper to Vancouver which was more expensive.
A friend and I live in London and needed to get to Toronto because we had a flight to Montreal. We went through so many options including, via train, go train, ride share, biking (yes this was considered). We finally ended up having to drive because the go train only went once a day at like 4pm and the via train is the same if not more expensive then driving. So we basically had no option but to drive and pay 60$ to park in the airport.
I don’t understand why so many Dutch people complain about the NS, they have it so good!
I feel like it's human nature to complain about your local public transportation, no matter how good it is.
Because they are not ambitious enough. International train travel should be expanded way more!
because when they privatised the NS, the idea was that things would become cheaper. Instead tickets are now more expensive than ever.
Not knowing that it is worse almost everywhere doesn't help
But it is not great at many times
I use the worse train route every work day, and there is no week I travel smooth, delayed cancelled or just stuck in the middle of nowhere and have to walk to the next station for the next train... It's not all sunshine NS
Because we compare our trains to those in swiss and japan and love to complain about the chaos some light snow causes in nl. Then we point to Norway that can function flawlessly even with heavy snow.
We want all that and pay less ofcourse!
“Flin flon” sounded like a planet straight from Rick and morty
"The town's name is taken from the lead character in a paperback novel, The Sunless City by J. E. Preston Muddock. Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin piloted a submarine into a bottomless lake where he sailed through a hole lined with gold to enter a strange underground world. A copy of the book was allegedly found and read by prospector Tom Creighton.
"When Tom Creighton discovered a high-grade exposure of copper, he thought of the book and called it Flin Flon's mine, and the town that developed around the mine adopted the name."
So it was from a work of fiction, but not Rick and Morty. :)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flin_Flon#Origin_of_the_name
@@NotJustBikes And since then, local folks have been thankful that the town isn't called Flintabbateyflonatinville.
It had a Mixed train too!
That episode of WTYP was super interesting and worth a listen/watch. Alice and the dudes know a hell of a lot about rail in north america, Newfoundland included.
Go to Croatia and take a train. Is beautiful! You are there, watching the change of the seasons through the window. Priceless!
Dont Forget about Vancouver when you talk about public transit in Canada! We are very lucky here and our Passenger rail station is very connected. It has a transfer to the Skytrain which takes you into the main downtown area in less than 5 mins, and it is connected to 3 frequent bus routes.
I'm a Dutch freight train driver, I also get paid to complain about trains😂
Windsor native here - great video. When I visited Switzerland I was amazed that you could buy a cheap train ticket any time of day to go between cities, with no checked bags and security hassles. And they actually arrived on schedule! The irony of it all - the trains I took were made by Bombardier, a Canadian company.
Our rail network needs serious overhaul. Getting a ticket from Windsor to London or TO is needlessly expensive and always runs horribly late. And our train station is even stupider than London's - it's not even downtown, it's on the rails formerly used by the distillery, so you basically get off the train and are stuck in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by some old industrial buildings and wondering how to get into the city. Our awful bus system doesn't make it any easier.
As a sidenote - I think a high speed rail to TO could actually be bad for cities like Windsor and London. If people could get into TO that fast, these other cities might become commuter towns and housing prices would skyrocket even more. A lot of other planning would need to happen for high speed rail to work here. We need more high-density people-centred suburbs with affordable housing.
Bombardier used to make good trains. It's only in the last decade or so they've become... questionable. Their software especially is troublesome and is one of the big causes of delays on projects involving them, like Crossrail in the UK.
On the point of HSR. I just think better public transport in general would go further than higher speed links between the population centres. Public transport in North America is embarrassingly bad outside of a handful of specific places.
i giggled i laughed i cried i howled and laughed over again.... i fell even more in love with NJB channel!!!
Oh man, this sounds worse than Amtrak.
Still hope for high speed international trains to/from Canada and the US. But that boarding procedure has to change.
That will never happen.cuase US rails are for freight not poeple.
@@starandfox601
Nah.
@@IkeOkerekeNews why nah?
Most poeple in the us have a car they use to travel.so why would a company invest in something there is no need for?
Esipceally when freight makes them WAY more moeny.
@Untergrundmaschine they really aren't faster in most cases in the us and they also have a huge draw back which is they are limited in where they can go while cars aren't.
Also buses and planes do a way better job at transporting large groups of poeple quickly then a train ever could in most cases in the U.S..
Also most places in the US really don't have that much traffic.so not really wasting time in traffic unless it's a big city during rush hour which do often have trains like new york.
Again it makes zero sense to have passenger trains in the us.
@Untergrundmaschine oh and one other thing I forgot.trains shutting down in the winter due to cretain regions of the us having exterme winters that can easily freeze the tracks so much trains can't run safely.that's also a huge iusse.
"This is what you see when arriving in my hometown by train".
Oh hey it's my hometown, yeah it's a pretty sad downtown
Meanwhile the long distance trains to Singapore will only go up to the Singapore side of the border crossing with Malaysia, ~10km further from downtown than even Changi Airport. There's only 1 bus (950) connecting to the nearest subway/metro station (Marsiling; ~1km away) to continue your journey to the downtown, but because it begins from across the border, it's often full by the time it arrives (though there are other buses going to other subway/metro stations further away)
i hate that he generalised every Canadian downtown to this. like holy shit. it looks like detroit
@@coastaku1954 my hometown of Timmins it’s actually faster to walk to where you’re going, than to wait for the bus
@@ephraimboateng5239 York street in London is pretty bad looking.
5:28 I had never seen such a logo on an ICE train here in Germany. Then I googled, and to my amazement found out that the Dutch railway company also has ICE trains and even call them ICEs! I didn't know there were trains called ICE that actually were like the German ICE outside of Germany.
That are the international ICE trains on service between Amsterdam and Frankfurt.