Saturday, August 9, 2025

VIA Ventures in Service, Part 4

Back in January, 2024 and with the delivery of the twelfth Siemens Venture set, I split my original Siemens Venture post first published on September 21, 2021, spawning VIA Ventures in Service, Part 1. Then a subsequent Part 2, then Part 3. We're now splitting it again, spawning this Part 4! VIA's Siemens implementation has so far spawned a blog-busting 21 Trackside Treasure posts and counting! (Maybe this blog should be retitled Venture Treasure?) Here are the Venture-centric posts:
VIA has been dealing with what seems like improved serviceability of the Ventures, as well as some train and finally a smoother implementation process. Part 3 is now six months ago and this post picks up the implementation at the beginning of August, 2025. It will be a living post, with updates added regularly and perhaps being bookended when we finally, if ever, see complete implementation. Here's Doug Bardeau's current Venture Corridor rotation diagram, effective July 7, 2025:

AUGUST 2025 UPDATES
August 7 - Set 31 operated between Montreal and Ottawa reportedly as No 336. 

August 9: Set 12 operated as No 67. Departure delayed by three hours, 22 minutes today due to crew shortage. No crew could be found who could co-operate linguistically so No 67 (247) towed No 69 (64), potentially the longest VIA Venture train yet

The first week of August, starting August 3, saw 22 of 30 in-use sets observed in Corridor service, based on 75 planned and/or observed Venture-equipped trains, with Sets 2, 9, 10, 14, 18, 20, 24, 25 and 26 reported on one trip only. Not observed were Sets 1, 2, 4, 15, 19, 21, 25 and 27, Set 7 donated two cars to 'ajoutay' set 12, with Set 31 not yet in service and Set 32 mere days from being delivered.

August 15: VIA Nos 50 and 60 travelled separately. While both were originally intended to be Venture consists, No 60 was swapped to a 6-car LRC consist. The Metrolinx RTC arranged for 60 to pass 50 inside the USRC, preferable considering the crossing-related delays that 50 will incur later in its journey.

Also August 15:  No 71's HEP consist was replaced with a Venture set from due to A/C issues at Toronto.

August 19 - Set 31 was planned for No 54, perhaps its first revenue run, though this did not take place.

As part of its 2025 Annual Public Meeting, VIA Chair Jonathan Goldbloom commented on some of the challenges VIA currently faces. "Our real challenge has been our operating performance, in that we've seen a decline in our on-tie performance. We've seen a decline in passenger satisfaction, and we've seen a decline in our passenger volumes. A good part of that is due to the relationship with our host railway and restrictions that they placed on us. We have to deal with that and we are going to." When CEO Mario Peloquin abstractly referred to VIA trains trying to navigate around much larger freight trains, the Chair cut back in to say that VIA is in active conversation with CN and Transport Canada to find short-, medium- and long-term solutions. Peloquin also mentioned that in 2024, there was the entry to service of VIA's new Corridor fleet, with the entire Corridor served by the new trains.

The third week of August, starting August 17, saw 23 of 30 in-use sets observed in Corridor service, based on 78 planned and/or observed Venture-equipped trains, with Sets 4, 5, 16, 17 and 19 reported on one trip only. Not observed were Sets 1, 2, 21, 25 and 29; Sets 7 and 25 each donated two cars to 'ajoutay' sets 12 and 24 respectively; Sets 31 and 32 are not yet in service.

August 26 - No 631 operated Montreal-Ottawa with Set 23 deadheading to replace 37's equipment 'doublavay' with Set 31 on its final acceptance run. Earlier in the evening, Set 13 operating as No 37 broke down at Dorval around 1720 - this was the first time a single Charger locomotive had provided HEP and traction for a 'doublavay' train, with Set 8 operating as No 39.

August 28 - VIA tested another variation on the varied-length consist, consisting of the cornucopic casserole of leftovers from Sets 7 and 25 not used in the augmenting of Sets 12 and 24. This 'melangay' consist comprised 2207-2606-2806-2306-2324-2824-2624-2224, operating as VIA No 631 Montreal-Ottawa. Some VIA fans use the term "XS" to refer to this Crossing Supplement-skirting assemblage.

August 30 - Set 31 operated as No 37.
August 31 - Set 31 operated as No 624.

The fourth week of August, starting August 25, saw only 21 of 30 in-use VIA Venture sets observed in Corridor service, based on 66 planned and/or observed Venture-equipped trains. This is a slightly lower number of in-use sets - since the middle of June, the average has been 22 per week. Not observed were Sets 1, 2, 4, 11, 16, 19 and 23; Sets 7 and 25 each donated two cars to XL sets 12 and 24 respectively; the remaining parts of those two sets have been combined forming an XS-J set. Set 31 is just entering service and Set 32 is still in its break-in phase. On-Time Performance improved somewhat, in the wake of CN issuing Permanent Slow Orders covering affected crossings in its Venture Crossing Supplement, though whether this new document results in OTP that is more than 25% better remains to be seen. 

SEPTEMBER 2025 UPDATES:
September 2 - Set 31 operated as No 61, one of its first revenue runs through Kingston.

September 4 - Set 31 operated as No 24.

September 11 - Set 31 operated as No 52, operating separately from No 62. Set 32 operated as No 631 on its acceptance run through Montreal and Coteau.

Planned changes afoot for all equipment types in the Corridor: Effective September 22, 2025 there are no scheduled HEP sets planned for Corridor service. Nos 71-73-76-78 will use Ventures (daily). Nos 641, 82, 83 will be LRC-equipped. Remaining M-O-Q LRC consists will transition to Ventures. No 41 will use Ventures (Mo-Sa). Rotation diagram to follow...

More planned changes: ***UPDATE - DELAYED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE ON SEPTEMBER 28***Effective September 29, 2025 (a three-month pilot project) VIA will evaluate non-stop service between Montreal and Toronto involving Nos 60, 61, 68 and 69. (No 50 which will still be J-trained with 60 will also operate non-stop until Brockville.) Equipment for this pilot project will be selected to avoid CN crossing restrictions. Not sure how this will dovetail with the September 22 planned changes, but Kingston local politicians raised a predictable stink with a distinct lack of consultation or review by the affected municipalities. VIA posted a Service Advisory Bulletin with more specific information including this curious statement: "The objective of the project is to offer a direct service between Montreal and Toronto with no intermediate station stops. Although the scheduled departure and arrival times have not been modified, actual arrival time could be 30 to 40 minutes earlier than the official scheduled arrival time indicated." This sounds to your humble blogger like a slice of scheduling sleight-of-hand. VIA says this service requested by 70% of our passengers. [Which 70%?]
Four days before the pilot project, launch, VIA issued a statement to media:
"This pilot is designed to test demand for faster, more efficient downtown-to-downtown travel, with some trips expected to arrive 30-40 minutes earlier than today's schedule. Direct trains are being tested to see how we can shorten travel times between major cities while still meeting the needs of all the communities we serve. Adding extra stops isn't as simple as it seems. Schedules are carefully coordinated, and unscheduled waits can quickly erase the benefits of a faster service. By testing faster travel times between Canada's two largest cities, we aim to position the train as the smarter alternative to flying or driving. Although this pilot project is an exciting opportunity, we recognize this change may inconvenience some customers who rely on intermediate stops. That's why we will carefully evaluate the pilot based on ridership, on-time performance, customer feedback, and community impacts. It is too early to determine whether the program will continue beyond this pilot phase."

September 16 - XS-J Set 7/25 operated as No 61 - first time through Kingston, possibly returning east as No 44?

VIA is set to expand its Venture rotation to the largest-so-far 15 sets and two guard sets. The number of sets in use has hovered around 12-14 from February, 2025 most recently 13 since July. Here's Doug Bardeau's current Venture Corridor rotation diagram, effective September 22, 2025:
Unlike previous notifications, there is still one HEP set operating east of Toronto. The new 15 set rotation includes:
  • Currently-cancelled trains to continue (18 trains/week)
  • Re-basing equipment on the Sept.20-21 weekend.
  • A major increase to depot-turning train pairs at Union.
  • Additional push-pull configurations for Legacy fleet.
  • Ventures applied to Nos 71/76, 73/78.
  • Non-stop Montreal-Toronto trains beginning September 29.
  • Three Venture Configurations:
  1. Venture L (C-5) Loco-Co-Co-Co-Cab *NEW*
  2. Venture XS (C-6-C) Loco-Co-Co-Cab-Cab-Co-Co-Loco *NEW (with Loco both ends)*
  3. Venture XL (C-8) Loco-Co 
September 24 - Set 32 operated as VIA No 336 through Kingston ahead of VIA Nos 46/66. The day before, executive special No 331 with Set 32 followed No 61 to Toronto.

September 24 - No 33 travelled over a section of broken rail at a public crossing at mile 50.84, CN St-Hyacinthe Sub near Mont St-Hilaire. The train was stopped and inspected. Lead locomotive 2210 had sustained undercarriage damage. The train was cleared to continue to travel to Montreal Central Station, where passengers were transferred to another train. It was reported that the rail may have possibly been previously damaged by a heavy vehicle travelling over the crossing. 

September 25 - LRC cars will all be temporarily removed from service after cracks were discovered. They'll return to service once inspections are complete. 

September 26 - Perhaps related to the above item, at least five trains that are nominally LRC-equipped were Venture-equipped today. 

September 29 - Due to operational constraints on CN (read it as opposition from all three levels of government, passenger and media outcry!) the three-month direct service pilot project on select Montréal–Toronto trains is cancelled. Two passengers were on the platform to meet both No 60/50 and No 61, until last night booked as non-stops with local passengers rebooked to subsequent trains. I guess few changed their bookings back to the way they were! Though the equipment for these non-stop trains were described as 'not subject to the CN restrictions' it was never made clear whether they would be modified Venture or just LRC consists. No 61 had 903 and six cars, the last being dirty HEP coach 4105:
The XS-J (DXS) double-short Venture J-train was planned to operate on Mon/Tue 53/54, Wed-Thu 47-48, Fri 647, Sat 644 and Sun 643-646 - though on September 29, the first day of this thing in regular revenue service, 53 was an LRC consist! Also, four to six trains listed as LRC in the Corridor rotation diagram have been operating as Ventures fairly consistently, comprising: 40, 44, 45, 46, 53, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 643.

September 30 - the DXS did operate as VIA No 54 this Tuesday. 
September 30 - Set 2 operated as No 631 after repairs.

[These HEP coaches are reportedly retired: 4101, 4104, 4106, 4107, 4109, 4117, 4120 and 4122.]

OCTOBER 2025 UPDATES:
October 1 - Set 31 operated as No 37.

October 2 - Set 4 operated as No 331 Montreal-Ottawa after repairs. 

October 5 - Venture serviceability from November 4, 2024 until today. Long-time 'shop queens' Sets 2 and 4 on their way back to revenue service, Set 1 at TMC may follow though not officially received by VIA. Red cells under 'September 29' may turn white if those Sets return to service next week. The DXS Set, comprising four leftover units from each of Sets 7 and 25 has been in limited service for the last three weeks:

October 6 - A banner day for the Venture fleet! Set 31 operated as No 45. For one of the first (?) times, two XL sets operated in one day: Set 12XL on No 66 and Set 24XL on No 40, plus Set 7/25 operated as No 53/54 and Set 2, returned to service for the first time in 2.5 months, operated as No 41.

October 7 - Nos 60/69 were not Venture for the first time since both 60/50 and 62/52 began using Ventures on February 4, 2025 today’s  No 60/50 were Legacy fleet: 904-5 LRC will stay on daily 60-69 (except Sun) and 900-5 HEP-901 will be on trains 50-26-33-645. 

An October 8 CBC article quotes a total of $31 million in travel vouchers - equivalent to seven per cent of the Crown corporation's total revenues in 2024 - paid out due to delays. Though the article seems to place the blame for the delays squarely at CN's feet, VIA also deserves scrutiny for delays it also causes such as crew and equipment availability plus its equipment rotation system. 

October 11 - Posted to social media, No 24 Set 29 towing Set 18L east towards Montreal. Set 18L arrived into Ottawa as No 646 on Thursday. 

Set 32 is still undergoing break-in testing.
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2 comments:

  1. JWM in FloridaSunday, August 10, 2025 at 1:06:00 PM EDT

    I suppose we can blame Louise Beaudoin for Via's current state of lingual affairs. This is not an insult to Quebec culture and language, just an observation based upon my history in the province in the 1990's. In any event, get the crew on the train, the train, out of the station and keep the passengers happy. That more than applies to Amtrak down here as well. Cheers on a hot Saturday, and it is not time for "Souper" yet!

    ReplyDelete
  2. EricSunday, August 10, 2025 at 1:43:00 PM EDT

    Hi Joseph,

    I have a feeling this example of VIA crew assignment has legs, and that we may not have heard the end of it. A pretty remarkable example of how one person can sabotage the travel of hundreds of passengers. No doubt exacerbated by crews on vacation and one can only work so many hours, in the nice, warm weather.

    Regardless, it set a record for the longest VIA Venture 'ajoutay' consist yet!
    Thanks for your comment,
    Eric

    ReplyDelete

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