Via Rail to upgrade all LRC coaches and some Nightstar cars

Milne · May 4, 2009

These two articles explain the new upgrades -

An All-Canadian Rail Innovation from Roof to Wheels
ABOUT THE TRAINS:
VIA’s Light, Rapid and Comfortable (LRC) trains represent one of the most innovative chapters in
the history of North American rail travel – completely Canadian in concept, design and construction.
The LRC was conceived in 1968 by a consortium of Dofasco, Alcan and Montreal Locomotive Works
(later Bombardier). One inspiration was a Canadian Transport Commission study on the future of
passenger transportation that found “the most profitable strategy to adopt involves maximizing the
potential of existing railway facilities through the introduction of new vehicle technology.”
The LRC would be an aerodynamically streamlined and lightweight train using service-proven subsystems
and operating techniques. It would not require all-new facilities, rail lines or other expensive
infrastructure upgrades, but would be capable of 200 km/hour operation on existing lines shared with
freight trains.
The LRC development project – supported by the Government of Canada – produced a prototype
diesel locomotive and coach in 1972 that were tested extensively under a wide range of operational
and climatic conditions. They met all expectations, setting a Canadian speed record of 208 km/hour
on a test run on March 12, 1976. The sturdy monocoque, aluminum alloy coaches were particularly
noteworthy, weighing one-third less than conventional rolling stock then in use.
VIA and the Government of Canada placed two LRC orders in 1978 and 1981 for a total of 31
locomotives and 100 cars for fast, frequent and improved service throughout the Quebec-Windsor
Corridor. The LRC was the first new equipment ordered by VIA following its creation as a Crown
corporation on January 12, 1977.
With extensive refinement by VIA’s engineering staff, the LRC coaches and business class cars
have become the mainstays of VIA’s corridor services since their introduction in 1981. The
locomotives were not as successful and have been retired. LRC trains are now hauled at up to 152
km/hour by VIA’s 21 high-performance General Electric Genesis locomotives or 54 General Motors
F40 diesels. The latter are now undergoing a $100 million overhaul to increase their environmental
and economic efficiency, and extend their operating lives.
A major achievement of the LRC design was the interior styling, undertaken through an international
competition sponsored by Transport Canada. The LRC broke with railway tradition by providing
passengers with at-seat food and beverage service provided from all-electric galleys and carts. The
LRC also featured panoramic tinted windows, a public address system, electrical heating and air
conditioning systems, overhead reading lights, specially-designed reclining seats and a soothing
beige-and-brown scheme for carpeting, upholstery and wall panels.
Today, VIA operates 72 LRC Economy class coaches, which seat 68 passengers, and 26 Business
class cars, with seating for 56, on trains throughout its Quebec-Windsor Corridor.
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ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The contract awarded to Industrial Rail Services, Inc. (IRSI) of Moncton, New Brunswick, totals
nearly $100 million and will completely overhaul VIA’s 98 LRC cars to provide even more
comfortable and efficient service levels than when first delivered. The project builds on the
knowledge gained and the improvements implemented through the LRC’s millions of kilometers of
service and will upgrade them with technological advances made since their construction more than
two decades ago.
The LRC overhaul began as a prototype project in 2005-2007 in which VIA staff disassembled
business class car 3451, assessed the integrity of the carshell and each sub-system, and then
installed all-new or fully refurbished components for service testing. This intense investigation
proved that overhauling the LRC cars for greater efficiency and comfort would provide benefits on a
par with buying new equipment.
Overhauling the LRCs will cost about $1 million per car and the first will be delivered within one year.
There is currently no suitable North American intercity passenger car design that VIA could purchase
“off the shelf” from any manufacturer. Developing such a car would take up to four years, require
extensive testing and debugging, and cost about $4-5 million per car.
Designed for a 20-year operating life, the LRCs have proved more durable than even their creators
suspected. The earliest cars are now approaching 30 years and have reliably provided millions of
kilometres of service. The sturdy carshells and many other sub-systems are structurally sound and
this overhaul will prepare them for up to 20 additional years of safe and productive service.
The LRCs will be moved to the IRSI Moncton facility for complete disassembly and stripping of all
reusable and recyclable components. Rather than being wastefully scrapped, the trucks, wheelsets,
couplers, drawbars and intercar diaphragms will be completely reconditioned. Any corrosion will be
repaired from the aluminum alloy carshells and a protective anti-corrosion treatment applied.
A key objective of the LRC overhaul project will be an increase of at least 20 per cent in energy
efficiency through reduced electrical requirements. This will be done with smaller and more energyefficient
wiring, LED lighting, nickel cadmium batteries, advanced microprocessor controls, the
elimination of obsolete and inefficient relays and switches, high-efficiency linear motors for automatic
door operation and the installation of a state-of-the-art “smart” heating and air conditioning (HVAC)
system. An environmentally-friendly, water-based cleaning system will flush the air conditioning
condensers in the maintenance facilities during servicing to keep them operating at peak efficiency.
The new HVAC system divides the cars into four separately-controlled zones. Sensors and
microprocessors will automatically reduce the overall interior temperature in the winter or increase it
in the summer if the cars have not moved, or there has been no interior movement for a certain
number of minutes, or when they are receiving external power in stations or yards.
Removal of the banking system will reduce maintenance costs without affecting top speed or
passenger comfort, as well as cut the LRC’s weight by two tonnes per car and reduce fuel
consumption. As well, the concurrent overhaul of VIA’s fleet of 54 F40 diesel-electric locomotives
will see many obsolete components replaced with advanced, more efficient equivalents. The
overhauled F40s and LRCs will improve energy efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and emissions,
and decrease VIA’s already low environmental footprint.
Improved comfort and accessibility are at the forefront of VIA’s LRC overhaul project. The seats will
be completely reconditioned and new upholstery applied. Business class seats will now be leather.
Brighter interior colours, new windows and individual curtains will give the LRCs a totally new look.
Washroom facilities will be fully modernized. The food service galleys will be refurbished with better
lighting and high-efficiency appliances capable of remote monitoring of the refrigerators to assure
that food temperatures are properly maintained.
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Twenty-six of the LRC coaches will be provided with larger, fully-accessible washrooms. Ten
percent of the seats in each of these accessible cars – one for each LRC train consist – will have
flip-up armrests to provide easier access and a generous amount of space for passengers with
special needs travelling with a service animal or care provider. In addition, tactile markers will
indicate seat numbers for the visually-impaired.
The final touch in the overhaul of VIA’s LRC fleet will be the application of a new green, silver and
gold exterior paint scheme. Service testing will follow. The first better-than-new LRC cars will arrive
in May 2010. Cars will be delivered at the rate of two per month until all 98 cars are in service by
December 2013 at the latest.
ABOUT THE PROJECT’S BENEFITS:
The LRC overhaul project will create 100 jobs at the IRSI in Moncton and 552,000 person hours of
employment. As well, this and the concurrent work to increase the accessibility of VIA’s
Renaissance fleet will create another 50 jobs at IRSI’s associated companies and suppliers
throughout Canada.
ABOUT INDUSTRIAL RAIL SERVICES, INC:
Industrial Rail Services, Inc. (IRSI) of Moncton, New Brunswick, is a full-service locomotive and
passenger rail car facility specializing in equipment repairs, remanufacturing, modifications and
refurbishment. Since its founding in 1999, IRSI has become North America’s premier rebuilder of
rail passenger equipment, strengthening Moncton’s reputation as a global rail centre of excellence
for more than a century.
IRSI’s modern and well-equipped facility is located in the CN Gordon Yard on the eastern
transcontinental main line. Its 125,000-square-foot facility is equipped with 18 exhausted service
bays, overhead cranes, drop tables, tool cribs, designated stores and document control areas, a
metal fabrication shop, training facilities, a wash bay and a new 100-foot, state-of-the-art paint shop.
The strength of IRSI is its highly skilled and dedicated workforce, whose craftsmanship is recognized
throughout the rail industry and has earned the company certification by the Association of American
Railroads.
ABOUT VIA RAIL CANADA
Click to expand...

http://www.viarail.ca/investmentprogram/pdf/BK090501E-VIA-LRC.pdf

Press release about the upgrade - this mentions the nightstar equipment.

ABOUT THE TRAINS:
VIA’s 106 Renaissance cars are not only the newest intercity passenger equipment on
North American rails, they are the most unique. Renaissance is a blend of the best of
Continental and Canadian rail technology that provides exceptional levels of comfort, safety
and operating efficiency.
The Renaissance cars have a remarkable pedigree. They were originally commissioned by
European Nightstock Services, a consortium of railways from Britain, France, Germany and
Belgium, for operation on trains through the Channel Tunnel to destinations in Britain,
France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. The cars were built by Alstom’s
venerable Metro-Cammell Washwood Heath plant, near Birmingham, England. The firm
spent four years completing the engineering designs to meet the stringent operating and
safety requirements of the five countries in the consortium.
But changing market conditions conspired against the overnight Chunnel rail services.
Work on the cars was halted in 1998 and it was mothballed in England in various states of
completion.
After an intense evaluation by VIA staff, three cars were brought to Canada for modification
and testing in June 2000. The equipment had previously been tested extensively overseas
to ensure its safety and reliability in Europe and Morocco. To ensure their suitability for use
in Canadian climatic conditions, the Nightstock was put through stringent “cold room” tests
at European research facilities comparable to Ottawa’s National Research Council labs for
operation at temperatures as low as -40° C.
On December 15, 2000, VIA announced the purchase of all 139 complete and incomplete
Nightstock cars, to be rebuilt as the Renaissance fleet and deployed on the Quebec-
Windsor Corridor daytime trains and the overnight Montreal-Halifax Ocean. This was the
first major purchase of passenger cars by VIA since 1981, expanding the total passenger
fleet by one-third to increase VIA's ridership, revenues and cost-effectiveness.
This rolling stock was purchased and completed for only $160 million, including the
upgrading to Canadian standards and the completion of some of the unfinished cars in
Canada. This was an exceptional bargain as the replacement value of the fleet was
pegged at $400-500 million.
The 64 completed cars and 75 incomplete Renaissance carshells and components were
shipped from England to Bombardier Transportation’s Thunder Bay, Ontario, plant for
modification and completion to VIA’s own designs. All safety-related systems were
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converted to North American standards. Major changes were made in the layout of some
cars to make them more suitable for VIA’s operating conditions and market demands. The
result was the 106-car Renaissance fleet consisting of:
• 27 sleeping cars with 10 two-berth cabins, all with en-suite full retention toilets. Six
of the cabins have showers and all are equipped with a clothes valet, seating for
three, luggage storage, an intercom system and a smoke/fire detector. The doors
can be locked by passengers for security when they are not in the room.
• 33 economy class coaches seating 50 passengers in a 2+1 arrangement with
under-seat baggage storage. The comfortable seats are equipped with footrests
and large seat-back trays.
• 14 business class club cars which, like the coaches, provide 2+1 seating for 50
passengers, but include food and beverage preparation and storage galleys.
• 17 service cars with a lounge area, a large galley for food and beverage preparation
and storage, a baggage area and a train service manager’s office.
• 3 dining cars with 32 seats arranged in tables of four on one side and 16 seats at
tables for two on the other, plus a full-service kitchen, a takeout counter and some
baggage space.
• 9 baggage cars with skid-resistant floors that prevent baggage from shifting during
transport. These cars were fashioned out of available shells.
• 3 baggage-transition cars, designed to let passengers aboard the Ocean access
sleeping and lounge facilities in the scenic dome-equipped Park car at the rear of
the train. The transition cars have a standard coupler at one end to mate with a
Park car behind and a second specialized coupler to connect safely with
Renaissance cars ahead.
All Renaissance cars are equipped with modern public address and passenger information
systems and a crew intercom. They have modern, clean appointments and exteriors
similar to VIA's Canadian-built Light, Rapid and Comfortable (LRC) cars, which are
undergoing a $100 million overhaul by Industrial Rail Services, Inc. (IRSI), in Moncton, New
Brunswick. A further 33 Renaissance car shells and components remain in storage to
protect for passenger traffic growth in the future.
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The current $5.8 million accessibility upgrading contract with IRSI covers 21 Renaissance
cars of three types. The designs are the result of extensive consultations between VIA and
representatives of the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) and the Council of
Canadians with Disabilities (CCD).
VIA is committed to maintaining the highest possible standards to ensure the comfort and
safety of customers with restricted mobility, as well as other disabilities. VIA takes pride in
its responsiveness to passengers with special needs and this latest project is a clear
demonstration of that commitment. This project greatly expands that previous level
accessibility on the Renaissance equipment. Mock-ups were prepared and scrutinized by
VIA, the CTA and the CCD.
In nine Renaissance economy class coaches – one for each daytime train used in Quebec-
Windsor Corridor service – seven seats will be removed from one end for the construction
of an enlarged washroom that will be spacious enough for easy use by a traveller with
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special requirements and accompanied by a service animal or care provider. As well, seats
in these new accessible coaches will be equipped with flip-up armrests to provide easier
access and additional room.
Nine Renaissance baggage cars will have their mid-car doors widened for more efficient
baggage handling.
Three Renaissance sleeping cars assigned to each of the trains on the overnight Montreal-
Halifax Ocean will be modified and improved for operation adjacent to each of the service
cars. Two cabins at one end of these sleepers will be combined and re-oriented to provide
straight-in access – eliminating the negotiation of a 90-degree turn – from the extra-wide
vestibules of the service cars. These new accessible cabins will also contain spacious,
fully-accessible washroom facilities.
The assistance VIA makes available to those with special needs on existing trains – such
as special wheelchairs designed for use onboard trains and free travel for care providers
accompanying passengers in certain circumstances – will be available on trains equipped
with the improved Renaissance accessible coaches, baggage cars and sleepers.
The first of these 21 accessible Renaissance cars will be delivered by IRSI in December
2009 and the project will be completed by December 2011.
ABOUT THE PROJECT’S BENEFITS:
The Renaissance accessibility upgrading project will create 35 jobs at IRSI in Moncton and
61,000 person hours of employment. As well, this and the concurrent overhaul of VIA’s
LRC fleet will create another 50 jobs at IRSI’s associated companies and suppliers
throughout Canada.
ABOUT INDUSTRIAL RAIL SERVICES, INC:
Industrial Rail Services, Inc. (IRSI) of Moncton, New Brunswick, is a full-service locomotive
and passenger rail car facility specializing in equipment repairs, remanufacturing,
modifications and refurbishment. Since its founding in 1999, IRSI has become North
America’s premier rebuilder of rail passenger equipment, strengthening Moncton’s
reputation as a global rail centre of excellence for more than a century.
IRSI’s modern and well-equipped facility is located in the CN Gordon Yard on the eastern
transcontinental main line. Its 125,000-square-foot facility is equipped with 18 exhausted
service bays, overhead cranes, drop tables, tool cribs, designated stores and document
control areas, a metal fabrication shop, training facilities, a wash bay and a new 100-foot,
state-of-the-art paint shop.
The strength of IRSI is its highly skilled and dedicated workforce, whose craftsmanship is
recognized throughout the rail industry and has earned the company certification by the
Association of American Railroads.
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ABOUT VIA RAIL CANADA:
As Canada’s national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide
efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective passenger transportation services,
both in Canada’s business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Every
week, VIA operates 503 intercity, transcontinental and regional trains that link 450
communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network.
The demand for VIA services is growing as travellers increasingly turn to train travel as a
safe, hassle-free and environmentally responsible alternative to congested roads and
airports. In 2008, VIA safely transported 4.6 million passengers – the most since 1989 –
and set an all-time record of $299 million in revenue.
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Media Contact:
Malcolm Andrews
VIA Rail Canada
514-871-6602
514-946-4160 (cell)
Click to expand...

http://www.viarail.ca/investmentprogram/pdf/BK090501E-VIA-Renaissance.pdf

YoHo · May 4, 2009

So, 1million a car huh?

I think that's about what California paid per car to have Amtrak refurb two superliners.

Canada seems to be getting a lot more bang for the buck, because those cars sure as heck didn't have LED lighting or upgraded toilets.

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Via Rail to upgrade all LRC coaches and some Nightstar cars

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