        
  Tweet
  
  Pin It
  
Share

« The changing face of Gottingen Stre… | Where did Harold MacKay get his num… »

Friday, March 25, 2011

Trains in Halifax, but not for Halifax

Posted by Amber Young on Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 11:58 AM

click to enlarge

With some talk of commuter light-rail along the Bedford Hwy, some Haligonians have been wondering what these new locomotives are doing sitting on the tracks at the end of the rail cut on port lands. But don’t get too excited.

The five-unit choo choo that has been spotted at the south end terminal is en route to Rotterdam, Holland.

This model, JT42CWR, was originally built in Canada by General Motors, but has since been acquired by Electro-Motive Diesel in 2005. These trains are built in London, ON, and brought to Halifax to get shipped to The Netherlands on a Jumbo Shipping vessel.

With its sleek design, onlookers assumed it would be used as a passenger train, but Tom O’Connor, from Electro-Motive Diesel, says the train was built to haul freight. He didn’t specify what cargo it would be hauling when it got to Europe.

According to EMD’s website, this is a regular occurrence; finished locomotives are transported out of Halifax to many countries around the globe.

These class 66 trains are currently chugging in places like France, Sweden and Egypt. Czech Republic and Slovakia are also looking into the freight trains for the future.

Survey Asks

Do you agree with Halifax's school board cutting 152 teachers?

Comments (5)

Showing 1-5 of 5

Add a comment

Typical, progressive countries are investing in trains and here we double up our roads and bow to the trucker unions... No wonder we are dead last in in public transportation according to a recent survey.

report

dislike

Posted by Bundy, Al Bundy on 03/28/2011 at 8:38 AM

When do the CN freight trains operate? I believe they only move automobiles to Montreal from the Eastern Shore. I think schedules could be made. Or use the same corridor but on a different track.

report

dislike

Posted by Whynot? on 03/27/2011 at 9:55 PM

Whynot, do you really think a commuter train can share tracks with freight trains?! Don't you think this raises huge safety issues and scheduling conflicts?

report

dislike

Posted by HalifaxIsn'tToronto on 03/27/2011 at 10:30 AM

While we are on the topc. . .The best way to bring people from Sackville, Waverley and Fall River to Halifax is along existing rail corridore to downtown Dartmouth. The it is an 8 minute ferry to downtown Halifax. The Dartmouth Ferry terminal sits next to a rail line. Bam! It actually works as a route for most people from Bedford too. Dartmouth has the infrastructure already in place. And while communting you can read the newspaper or surf the net and sip a coffee. Rail and quick ferry ride.

report

dislike

Posted by Whynot? on 03/25/2011 at 3:16 PM