CN’s Post

Exciting plans for #PillarPartners, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and CN on building a new Burnaby rail overpass to improve community connections, safety and trade! “CN is proud to be a partner on the Holdom Overpass project. This vital piece of infrastructure will improve safety and accessibility to the citizens of Burnaby, as well as increase efficiency for the Port’s operations including greater rail capacity to and from Port terminals in North Vancouver. This project demonstrates our commitment to moving the economy with safer, more efficient transportation solutions benefiting both our customers and the communities we serve. Together with our partners, we are committed to strengthening global supply chains, supporting growth and a sustainable future for Canada’s economy.” - Tracy Robinson ICD.D, President & CEO, CN Keep reading to learn more about the #HoldomOverpass and how it will increase trade capacity, while benefiting the local community in Burnaby 👇 #BCeconomy #BCbusiness #GlobalTrade #SupportingSupplyChains #SupportingGrowth #SustainableFuture #SaferCommunities #TransportationNeeds #TransportationSolutions #CN #PortOfVancouver

HS2, to where? 😏 Scrapping Manchester leg will be a big mistake with potential consequences on rail industry and UK circular economy. It also puts UK reputation of completing this kind of infrastructure projects at risk. It's unfair when individuals solely emphasize cost without considering the added value of HS2. It's vital to always keep in mind that HS2 is not an isolated project; instead, it is an integral part of the UK rail network designed to improve and facilitate customer journeys. Pic: https://lnkd.in/d5GACzeZ Quote: https://lnkd.in/djtmDXva

Spent yesterday representing HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd at the Network Rail North West and Central Passenger Conference. Really good conversations about what we need to do in the short, medium and long term to deliver for customers. Thanks to James Dean for the invite Rob Bolton for the chance to speak. HS2 will add resilience and capacity to the existing railway between London and Birmingham. Lots of opportunities for using the released capacity for improved passenger services and additional freight paths. Let's make sure customers in towns and cities like Northampton hear how they will really benefit from HS2. There was also an acknowledgement that there are capacity questions that need solutions, especially north of Birmingham. A reminder that the industry needs to really focus on what we do about this in the medium term and, given how long infrastructure investment takes, the longer term.

The Conservative Party Manifesto was released earlier in the week and included a number of rail pledges that covered the entire country. The following outlines some of the pledges that RIA L&S members may be interested in: • They committed to speeding up "the average time it takes to sign off major infrastructure projects from four years to one”. • Make an additional £8.55 billion available to spend on city and regional local priorities. • Improve accessibility at 100 train stations, starting with the 50 stations announced in May. • Reopen Beeching lines and stations to reconnect communities around the country, building on the success of the Dartmoor Line in the South West. • Complete HS2 between London Euston and the West Midlands and support the growth of the rail freight sector. What do you think of these pledges? How do you think they'll compare to the other parties approach? Let us know your thoughts below👇 #RIAMember

The cancelling of HS2 is a disaster for not only the rail industry, but also the British economy. The project was intended to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and change the whole dynamic of living and working in the UK. HS2 would have made Manchester a commutable distance from London. This would mean there is less incentive for businesses to confine themselves to the capital, spreading wealth and opportunities for work throughout the north and the midlands. The demise of HS2 will also have a major impact on our rail network’s ability to handle more passengers. It was expected to double UK rail capacity and reduce overcrowding, which is becoming increasingly problematic due to the rising popularity of public transport.

This ragtag and bobtail selection of bits and pieces – some of which no doubt have merit – will not compensate for the hammer blow that has been delivered today. By cancelling the Northern leg of HS2, the Prime Minister has taken much needed rail investment and ploughed it into yet more roads. The roads budget is already bloated, and today’s announcement simply diverts money from a sustainable transport future into unsustainable and unchecked traffic growth. The benefits of HS2 were set to go way beyond London. The case for HS2 was always built round capacity, not speed, so that problem will continue to exist on the already congested west coast main line and on the local lines that connect to it. Still, passengers can take heart apparently from the fact that HS2 trains will continue on existing tracks into Leeds and Manchester, more half speed 2 than HS2! We need more detail about what the transport projects that will replace the Northern leg of HS2 are and when they will actually be delivered. We also need to make sure that the PM is not double counting here as some of the schemes he mentioned have already been promised and are not new. What we do know is that ditching the Northern leg is not just a serious blow to the North of England and its people, but to the country as a whole.

Since its announcement in 2021, the Zero Emission Transit Fund has been a welcome support for transit agencies across Canada. From planning to full fleet zero-emission rollout strategies, Canadian Transit agencies are well on their way in their decarbonization journey. Since the funding program's inception, CUTRIC has been working with several transit across the country, to identify their challenges and leverage opportunities to reach their climate action goals through feasibility studies and rollout plans. These agencies include: Town of Okotoks/Okotoks Transit Town of Cochrane, Alberta/COLT Transit City of Brampton/Brampton Transit London Transit Saskatoon Transit Services St. Johns/Metrobus Transit Quinte Transit Codiac Transit Commission The fund has reached 75 per cent of its threshold and there is still a lot to be done. Find out more about the Zero Emission Transit Fund and how it could support your agency: https://lnkd.in/e4jnHFWw #ZeroEmissionTransitFund #SustainableTransit #CanadaTransitFunding Infrastructure Canada

Today’s announcement confirming yet further curtailment of the HS2 rail network is not just the most devastating blow to the UK rail network since the Tory party’s ‘Beeching’ cuts in the 1960s but it’s a devastating blow to UK decarbonisation. With the £38bn saving allegedly identified, the PM has detailed 79 transport schemes across the UK which will now be funded by these savings. Only 17 of these transport schemes are rail transport related whilst 39 are for road. The Tory party is investing in the encouragement of more fuel guzzling, carbon emitting road vehicles … our carbon emissions are going to rise significantly as a consequence. This announcement is purely to limit damage to the Tory party’s plummeting reputation, it does nothing for the UK’s decarbonisation programme nor the economy as a whole.

One of the 'flavours of the month' at the moment where railways are concerned are Open Access operations. In a way, they are the epitome of the Conservative privatisation of the 1990s - entrepreneurial privateers taking no cash from the State, and only making a return thanks to their customer service skills and commercial acumen. All sound, market forces stuff. In a world where capacity is unconstrained and the cost of running the railway (and providing the infrastructure) is under tight control, jolly good they might have been too. The reality is somewhat different. Open Access Operations have always generated something of a mixed press. For some, they are the cutting edge of private initiative. For others, they they consume capacity inefficiently and do not pay their way (or make a contribution to the enhancement of the railway) despite what their promoters say. One thing is guaranteed though is that any discussion on them generates fairly polarised views. I'm no exception - I don't like the principle of Open Access and never have, even if I accept that individual services can be good and stakeholders love them. However, the latest attempt to upgrade the East Coast Main Line timetable has been deferred. Again. And one of the reasons? Network Rail despite their best efforts just can't make the numbers of trains everyone wants to run to actually work, reliably. On the latest Green Signals, Nigel Harris and I discuss the background to the latest timetabling debacle and ask whether Open Access has gone too far. I end up proposing a slightly more directive approach to train planning and timetabling. And a few other things as well...... Apologies incidentally for the lack of sound about 18 minutes in. If you click in the top right hand corner of the video when the sound mutes briefly, you will see the option to iew a transcript. But it's only brief. #dft #rail #trains #openaccess

Its great news that the Manchester and Birmingham regional mayors are discussing options to manage the fall out of the cancellation of HS2 in the North. It seems that they, and their group of advisers, are looking at some interesting options. For sure, we need some answers to the poor infrastructure and service that our rail system delivers throughout the North of England, both for passengers and for freight. Is this a time, though, when the Regions can really look to innovate. Rather than sticking with rail infrastructure (which is slightly stuck in the past and has many limitations), is there an alternative that can be looked at, the hyperloop for example. I am not wedded to the hyperloop by any stretch of the imagination, but is this not an opportunity to truly look to the future and become world leaders in a new solution, a new technology? That could mean new skills and new jobs in the regions with product and services that can be sold internationally, as well as a solution to our transport infrastructure woes.