Sackville, Amherst Via stations may close
CBC News
Posted: Jun 29, 2012 5:50 PM AT
Last Updated: Jul 1, 2012 11:44 AM AT
Via Rail employees are bracing for cuts to the Ocean service between Montreal and Halifax. (Phonse Jessome/CBC)
Related
The Via Rail stations in Sackville and Amherst will close on October 27, according to local ticket agents.
A company representative told CBC News Friday, however, that no decisions have been made yet.
Earlier this week, Via Rail announced plans to cut back train service throughout the Maritimes.
Officials said the company's Ocean service, which runs between Montreal and Halifax, will go from six round trips a week to three starting in the fall.
But they have said no stations will be closed as a result of the service running only on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
On Friday, Via spokesman Malcolm Andrews told CBC News there will be "some changes" as a result of fewer trains operating and a move to e-ticketing by the end of the year.
But he could not confirm what the cuts in service will mean for the future of the two stations.
"It's too soon at this stage to say exactly what changes could result from this and exactly how that goes forward in fact will form part of the discussions that we'll be having both with the unions, which have begun, as well as with the affected communities."
Andrews said that Via is not "looking at discontinuing any of the current stops being made by The Ocean."
Still, Amherst Mayor Rob Small is worried about the possibility of a pending closure.
"Of course, the big concern is that, you know, here we are the corridor between the two provinces and we have a pretty regular clientele that use the train here in Amherst," he said.
"The options that our residents have are not that many. You know, you've got the train, you've got either a taxi, you've got a shuttle and you've got a car or truck, if you're lucky enough to own one. So, for those people who don't have those things, the train is it."
Small is also worried about the economic impact on the community.
"I think the effect that the closure of this train station, just like any other municipality that has a train station going through them, is that it’s just one more issue related to economic development for our area," he said.
The service cuts come after the federal government's March budget which cut $41 million in subsidies to Via over three years, but the company insists the trip reductions and job losses are driven by weak off-season demand.
Ridership on the Ocean line has dropped by 50 per cent over the last 15 years, officials have said.
Jennifer Brown, president of Local 4005 of the Canadian Auto Workers union, has disputed those figures.
Brown, who works on trains between Halifax and Montreal one day a week, contends demand is up.
She said the service cuts will mean the loss of 15 jobs in Moncton and 30 in Halifax, effective the end of October.
Nationally, Via Rail said it expects to cut 200 unionized jobs, or about nine per cent of its positions.
The federal government's recent budget reduced subsidies to the passenger rail service by $6.5 million this year, $15.1 million in 2013-14 and $19.6 million in 2014-15.
Share Tools
Latest New Brunswick News Headlines
- Poisonous algae germinating N.B. lakes, say researchers
- A group that works to protect New Brunswick's lakes says blue-green algae is a growing problem. more »
- Human rights complaint filed on behalf of Ashley Smith
- An advocate for female prisoners says Ashley Smith's human rights were violated. more »
- Police find bodies of 2 missing New Brunswick fishermen
- Two bodies have been found close to a submerged boat off the coast of New Brunswick, a day after a boat capsized with three crew members on board. more »
- RCMP ‘relieved’ to see charges in Baby Taylor case
- Police in New Brunswick say they're consoled to see charges laid four years after the gruesome discovery of a dead baby in rural New Brunswick. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- NDP wants RCMP inquiry into $90K payment to Duffy
- The NDP has asked the RCMP to launch an investigation into the $90,000 payment from the prime minister's former top aide, Nigel Wright, to Senator Mike Duffy in relation to the Senate expense scandal. more »
- Unknown remains found on Dellen Millard's farm
- Police searching the farm of Dellen Millard, the 27-year-old charged with first-degree murder after the remains of Ancaster, Ont., man Tim Bosma were discovered, have found other remains on the property, but it's unclear if they are human or animal. more »
- Canadian on EI shut out amid foreign worker influx
- A jobless Canadian IT professional who is collecting employment insurance is upset because he now suspects several recent jobs he applied for went to temporary foreign workers. more »
- Can the Senate fire a senator?
- An expert on parliamentary rules says the Senate has the power to turf a senator from the chamber, as long as a majority approves the expulsion, and as long as there is cause. more »
- Police find bodies of 2 missing New Brunswick fishermen
- N.B. community mourns lobster fishermen's deaths
- Human rights complaint filed on behalf of Ashley Smith
- Poisonous algae germinating N.B. lakes, say researchers
- RCMP ‘relieved’ to see charges in Baby Taylor case
- Woman charged with hiding newborn's body
- Canadian on EI shut out amid foreign worker influx
- Dennis Oland named as prime suspect in father's slaying
- Rescue attempt over for New Brunswick fishermen

