NDP Transport Critic tables bill to give passenger trains priority, to prevent travel delays

OTTAWA – On Wednesday, NDP Transport Critic Taylor Bachrach (Skeena-Bulkley Valley) tabled a bill, C-371, the Rail Passenger Priority Act, that would give passenger trains priority when they share the tracks with corporate freight trains, to prevent delays for travellers and people commuting.

“Canada lags behind much of the world when it comes to passenger rail. Passengers often experience delays in their travel, or see their trip cancelled,” said Bachrach. “One of the key things holding us back is the fact that Canadian passenger trains have to frequently pull off and make way for freight trains, resulting in poor on-time performance. New Democrats want to fix this problem.”

In October, VIA Rail CEO Mario Péloquin suggested Canada should pass legislation to give passenger trains priority, as a federal law in the U.S. already does. VIA Rail owns only three percent of railway tracks in Canada. The remainder are owned by private railway companies, with 48.8 per cent owned by CN Rail and 29.1 per cent owned by CP Rail. While VIA's passenger trains run on-time on the tracks where they have the right of way 90 per cent of the time, it drops to 60 per cent on tracks they don’t.

“Every Canadian who has ridden the passenger train in the past decade knows how bad things have gotten," said Bachrach. "It's tragic that successive Liberal and Conservative governments have allowed privatization and deregulation to undermine such an important service. My bill would put rail passengers first and help Canada get back on track."

Starting Sunday, MP Bachrach will be taking the train from Toronto to British Columbia. Along the way, Bachrach will be speak with passengers about his bill and discuss the future of passenger rail in Canada.