Dutch railways: "oh no, it has snowed, we can't have a fully functioning schedule now"Canadian trains: TOOT TOOT

@reinierl @VoxClamans @collectifission Yes, that is what I understood from this video from @notjustbikes about Canadian rail.

And that passenger trains are running on the tracks owned by the cargo train company. Cargo gets priority. The train we see here is also a cargo train.

And that as a passenger you have to 'check in' asif you are boarding a train. Ridiculous.

See https://youtu.be/n1G0Lyh3uik for example. Enjoy.

@rrustema020 Yeah, Canadian rail is all kinds of bad, barely standing above the absolute crap that is Amtrak in the US.

But at least they can blast through snow

@reinierl @VoxClamans @notjustbikes

@collectifission
Germany: We didn't put trains out at all and none got stuck in the open. Isn't that a success!?

@collectifission Canadian here - that train is hauling freight. From my limited experience as a passenger here, freight rules the rails. Our cross-Canada trip was 3 days late because we kept having to sit on laybys waiting for a freight train to rip by us at high speed. It might be worth looking at how many freight derailments happen here in Canada relative to elsewhere. In BC, annually it seems, there are usually a few significant ones.

@collectifission Canadian Trains? Careful what you wish for. There are just 3 trains a week between Halifax (population 500,000) and anywhere. The passenger carriages will soon be replaced with carriages built in the 1950's, and ViaRail proudly called that an "upgrade".

@Susan60 @collectifission yes. A passenger train hit two trucks inexplicably parked on the tracks here overnight, even _with_ visibility.

@collectifission @Em0nM4stodon the big noisy thing in the front is used to scare the snow away from the tracks

@bouriquet @collectifission

Oh. The snow or ice breaks the electrical connection?

Seems like they could fix that with some sort of scraper that's mounted ahead of the train. Or maybe a separate self-powered service-car that cleans off the lines.

@collectifission @rrustema020 @VoxClamans @notjustbikes I'm afraid it's worse than Amtrak.

@collectifission Sweden goes back and forth. Budget cuts suck. Modern heated switches can only handle about -10 and after that they get covered in ice and sticks.

But the funniest part was the great two winters of 2005-06 when the main train company had to take a snow blower from 1912 (!!) out of mothball storage at a museum because it was the only one powerful enough to handle 60-100 cm of snow for hundreds of kilometers.

@AlsoPaisleyCat Also, from what I've seen all major train routes here are cleared of trees on both sides to a significant distance. It would still be possible for a fallen tree to be somehow carried to the track, but those conditions would be significantly worse than heavy snow.

Gimli has an old train line, locomotive is an old Burlington Northern, that carries grain maybe once a week up to the distillery, presumably from some elevator or terminal to the south, I've never traced how far the tracks go but I suppose it probably runs all the way to Winnipeg still. That track has trees close enough that it could potentially happen, but this is not a major freight line to or from the coast.

@Jourei @Susan60 @collectifission

@AlexanderVI @reinierl @VoxClamans @collectifission @notjustbikes

Am afraid I would not be Canadian enough and forget all politeness. I would go wild and storm through any obstacles to get my train.

Nothing to lose after all. Cause a scene. Hopefully someone records it and can make a meme out of it.

10 minutes! That is when I leave home before my international train leaves. Someone should provoke some sense into those who invent such a stupid rule. No justification possible.

@number6 @collectifission It’s difficult. I recall issues in the mid 1980s on the British Rail line to Brighton from “leaves on the line” after a heavy rainstorm in the fall.

@AlexanderVI @reinierl @VoxClamans @collectifission @notjustbikes The Ottawa Police would show up when demanding service? It's not like you're breaking the law, only misbehaving according to some arbitrary rules of some company.

Once a phone company called the police when I demanded service. When the cops came they were too busy with angry customers and I helped them with my case. Very understanding. Outside I thanked them for the proper service. They wished me good luck. It was hell in there.

@AlexanderVI @reinierl @VoxClamans @collectifission @notjustbikes

For those who master the Dutch language. I told the anecdote on stage in a comedy club and it became a podcast.

Episode 24 https://echtgebeurd.net/podcasts and https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/afl-24-de-klant-is-koning-reinder-rustema/id638203140?i=1000396512212

@nilz @collectifission I was told this earlier in the evening by Germans. Apparently Deutsche Bahn are awful for time keeping.

Same conversation had a Dutch chap telling how a Canadian train he was on (one of a fleet which the Dutch have bought) stopped on track, lights went off for a few minutes, came back on and the train pulled off again. He's a government person who deals with transport. Apparently there was a software issue and the checklist said to restart it which knocked everything out.

@ottaross @collectifission

Oh dear…

@chris @collectifission

I think it’s the idea of driving blind that has me stunned. It’s just not something that happens in my country, so seems very strange.

@AlsoPaisleyCat @collectifission

Yes, totally foreign to me.

@chris @collectifission @manlycoffee i was just thinki mng the same thing! such a good attraction park!