[CA] Video: VIA Rail Canada preview their new Siemens Charger and carriages

[jamesontheroad]

Reece Martin, aka RMTransit on YouTube and Twitter, was among the press who got to see the first new Siemens Charger locomotive and rake of carriages in Ottawa earlier this week.

33 sets will be delivered with a locomotive, two business class cars, two economy class cars and an economy class driving car. They enter service on the “Corridor” between Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City from next winter. They will predominantly replace the LRC carriages as well as a mix of older stainless steel and newer Renaissance cars used on

Reece is a total nerd (it takes one to know one) but his videos are intelligent, charming and funny, so please like and subscribe and consider becoming a Patreon to help his channel grow.

 

[Shinkansenfan]

Thanks for posting the video.

My impressions:

1. The annoying trend where the seats in economy and business/first are the same width continues. On the ICE fleet (earlier models), DB removed their once plush and spacious first class seats in favor of skinny coach class seats that pretend to be first class. The wider gaps between seat pairs in VIA One also results in less privacy from row to row.

2. Windows and seating bays do not align. Brightline trains does a good job of seat and window alignment on their comparable trainsets which are bright and cheerful.

3. Grey and black as the interior motif. How depressing. No accent color to break up the monotony.

4. Looks like no cafe counter. Or perhaps there is one planned, but is not shown to the public. I prefer the ability to walk to a cafe counter than wait for someone to pass through (on their schedule) with a trolley.

While the LRC might look "dated" the interior looks more cheerful to me.

On the plus side, it is good to see a trainset where the carbody profile and roofline matches between the locomotives and carriages-- a la HST.

 

[jamesontheroad]

4. Looks like no cafe counter. Or perhaps there is one planned, but is not shown to the public. I prefer the ability to walk to a cafe counter than wait for someone to pass through (on their schedule) with a trolley.

It’s been a long time since I took a train in the Corridor, but I think VIA’s service concept has always been at-seat. The business class meals are served warm thanks to convection ovens in the cars, and are quite good.

 

[hexagon789]

Looks like no cafe counter. Or perhaps there is one planned, but is not shown to the public. I prefer the ability to walk to a cafe counter than wait for someone to pass through (on their schedule) with a trolley.

There isn't, no counter is shown in the seating plans. I don't think counter service is offered on LRC cars either, so it's not a change.

 

[jamesontheroad]

As an aside, apart from the long-distance Canadian and Ocean, the only pair of VIA Rail trains that offer a walk-up counter service in the Corridor are (I think) trains 97 and 98. This is the Maple Leaf (Amtrak 63 + 64), which (unlike the Adirondack) becomes a VIA Rail train in Niagara Falls, On. When I last rode it, the entire Amtrak café car stock and menus were swapped out and replaced with VIA Rail products.

 

[hexagon789]

As an aside, apart from the long-distance Canadian, the only pair of VIA Rail trains that offer a walk-up counter service in the Corridor are (I think) trains 97 and 98. This is the Maple Leaf (Amtrak 63 + 64), which (unlike the Adirondack) becomes a VIA Rail train in Niagara Falls, On. When I last rode it, the entire Amtrak café car stock and menus were swapped out and replaced with VIA Rail products.

The Ocean also has a counter service, not sure if the Renaissance operated Corridor (mainly Montreal-Quebec runs I understand) trains do as well or if it's specific to the Ocean.

 

[jamesontheroad]

The Ocean also has a counter service, not sure if the Renaissance operated Corridor (mainly Montreal-Quebec runs I understand) trains do as well or if it's specific to the Ocean.

Corrected!

 

[hexagon789]

Corrected!

Apologies, missed that ammendment