Trains whistling
THE TRAIN WHISTLES HAVE BEEN SILENT IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS. In recent weeks there has been more activity, and the whistles are blowing again. The first trains were maintenance trains which passed quickly and seemingly at arbitrary times. During recent weeks, the customary sounds of a hundred years are now marking the middle of the night at 3:30 a.m.
The freedom of simply walking along the tracks or not needing to look out for the safety of myself and the dog has been replaced with the ordinary cautions. During the day, I now pass a long cautionary look east and west on the tracks before crossing them during my regular hikes. The rust which developed during the summer is still coating the metal, but the shiny steel is revealed these days.
It has been difficult to find any news about the train schedule, however. The Rail America website http://www.railamerica.com/RailServices/OVR.aspx simply states:
OTTAWA VALLEY RAILWAY (OVR)
The OVR operates 342 miles of track between Conistion to Smith Falls, Ontario with a Class I interchange with the Canadian Pacific at Sudbury and Smiths Falls, Ontario.
The OVR moves commodities including intermodal, forest products, and chemicals with approximately 70,000 cars per year.
The significance of whether or not trains are running on this route has to do with measuring the state of the economy in the region. This article from May 2009, when the trains shut down, condenses the matter of freight transportation and effects on the local economy:
Silence of train tracks reflects sluggish economy
http://www.emcalmontecarletonplace.ca/20090528/Business/Silence+of+train+tracks+reflects+sluggish+economy
In the last year the successful freight company has seen a 19 per cent reduction in traffic on their rails, which forced them to tighten their belts and pull their trains from the Ottawa Valley Railway (OVR) onto their own lines. This decision has meant the loss of 30 jobs within the OVR as the CPR trains represented 85 per cent of their business, according to a previous interview with an OVR spokesperson. Lovecchio couldn’t say if this decision was a short or long term move by the company, but did note that CPR responds to customer demand and right now the lack of demand has provided excess capacity on their own track lines.
I have sent an email to Rail America requesting information about the train schedule changes and will update here when I receive a reply.
Meanwhile, there is interest in using the OVR track system to facilitate transportation in the Ottawa Valley. Residents in the large rural communities or Renfrew County, Mississippi Mills and Lanark County rely upon their own vehicles and sparse bus runs to Ottawa, being the major urban center destination. People in these communities are discussing how commuter trains could allow more freedom of transportation.
Ottawa Valley towns banding together to keep trains on track
http://northbaynugget.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1657201
An online survey was also launched to gauge interest in a regular commuter service.
Harry Gow, the founder of Transport 2000 in Canada and a technical advisor for the project, told those gathered at Tuesday’s meeting the interest is definitely there. Out of an estimated 6,000 who commute regularly to Ottawa, more than 600 took the time to answer the survey, with the majority of them in favour of a regular train service.
Group pushes for Ottawa Valley commuter train
http://northbaynugget.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1657201
It is the threat to economic development for our regions and the commuter train which is the prime motivation for this meeting,” Ms. Donaldson said, stressing it is important to preserve the tracks and not just for the potential future of a commuter train.”It is very difficult if not impossible to sell an area to industry without rail,” she said.
Today no trains have passed. Evidently there is no regular schedule, however, the trains are running.
