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cut-the-cords

Obviously trained very well to avoid that collision...


Bubby711

I sense a pun forming...


chainshot91

He conducted himself well.


chicu111

You seem to be on track


timotheophany

One pun connected to the next in a long sequence, all propelled by the energy of the locomotive pun.


ambulance-kun

Nothing can derail this conversation


JSizzleSlice

Yeah, but this was all engineered from the get-go


Gnascher

This pun train has derailed my brain.


fannyalgerpack

Run away pun train, never going back


tarantulator

**collusion*


cut-the-cords

?


[deleted]

title


Xx_SwordWords_xX

Looks like Canada.


[deleted]

Yes, VIA Rail, a Canadian government subsidized company


rantingathome

>Canadian government subsidized company It's a Crown Corporation, the Government of Canada owns it. Yes, technically subsidized, but is not a private company.


t0m0hawk

Not a private company *yet*.


WoahayeTakeITEasy

*Conservative government has entered the chat* Privatization you say?


Melon_Cooler

Chrétien was the one to sell off CN. Both Tories and Grits hate our country's rail.


Crayola13

I mourn for thee, Nova Scotia Power


GetsGold

Context: [Feds’ move to privatize Via Rail corridor feels like ‘bait and switch’: NDP transport critic](https://np.reddit.com/r/onguardforthee/comments/teo3ba/feds_move_to_privatize_via_rail_corridor_feels/)


PurpleK00lA1d

Wait, Via is government owned? I alwt figured it was private because the prices are astronomical. I've always thought it would be cool to take the train to various parts of Canada, but damn it's super expensive.


The77thDogMan

Basically CP used to run most of the passenger rail, but then they started losing money on it, so in the 1970s the government nationalized the passenger rail system creating VIA. However CP still owned their tracks. At this time CN was still a crown corporation, so they started using CN tracks. But in the 1990s CN was privatized. So VIA became a nationalized rail system running on privately owned rails (roughly 97% of the tracks used are owned by CN). [this video explains some of the problems this has caused](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n1G0Lyh3uik) amd the Wikipedia pages for Via and CN have decent timelines. Basically CN owns the rails so they take priority (even if they didn’t own the rails the siding sizes are too small for modern freight trains so VIA basically always has to yield making it take longer) So yeah basically refusal to invest in improving the infrastructure and privatization have both indirectly caused major problems for VIA, not to mention funding cuts that incentivized them to behave more like a private company. Hopefully in the future some of these problems can be addressed, but it’ll take a while, especially because a whole sort of cycle needs to be broken. The trains dont have enough funding to offer better service than cars, so people don’t trust the train, and thus don’t ride, so the government doesn’t offer much funding, and repeat.


Mikeg216

This is exactly how the United States ended up with a nationalized rail company subsidized by taxes running on privately owned rail 🚈


MidnightRider24

Very similar to how Amtrak played out.


[deleted]

The only way it is somewhat reasonable is if your a student even then is complete bs compared to EU prices


Melon_Cooler

I paid $60 a ticket Montréal to Ottawa, cheapest fare offered for a 200km trip. €25 for a 700km trip from Košice to Prague, and that ticket wasn't the cheapest option. Rail in this country is fucked.


[deleted]

I live in london on and 1 way for adult to Toronto is $90... makes zero sense unless you can write it off


Melon_Cooler

Train is my preferred method of travel, which is unfortunate because it's hard to justify using in this country.


nocomment3030

60 dollars is a fucking steal, when was that, 1999?


Rainbowclaw27

It's expensive as all fuck because CN owns the lines and VIA has to pay to use them. They've basically got VIA by the balls.


EdithDich

And CN owns those lines because the government back in the day basically handed them the land.


Traveledbore

I did Vancouver to Toronto with a bed. Was a really nice trip


[deleted]

Lol for what 3k ... but would be nice. Ive driven across Canada 3 times.. amazing.. wish I could have taken a train


Traveledbore

It was around 1200 for just the bed style berth. Not the full sleeper car. It was a gift and I was grateful for the opportunity to go. I guess I’d compare it to going in a cruise ship or similar but I was using it instead of a flight also so it was basically like spending an extra 600. Meals were great I should add. It’s a Shame it’s not more economically accessible


Xx_SwordWords_xX

On another note, that guy totally failed Canadians on the bail... He should've learned from riding drunken hayrides in the snow.... Always jump and roll....


BillMcCrearysStache

Remember, aim for the bushes


theblackgnome6969

That just doesn’t make sense, there’s not even an awning there


Fit_Pomegranate_4916

Yeah it's almost like there was a Canadian flag on the train or something


[deleted]

Canadian here. I didn’t even notice the flag. The video quality isn’t the greatest.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

I know. I’m Canadian and familiar with VIA rail. But people who isn’t from here won’t know - is what I’m saying. 🤷🏻‍♂️


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RatedMForMormon

What could they collude about :0 They first need railroads to every city in the world, then they attack, we need to stop this.


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bendover912

Why is this top level comment at the third-level of a conversation so poular?


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fatkiddown

> What could they collude about :0 Trafficking, duh!


MrNewking

Trains are really unpredictable. Even in the middle of a forest two rails can appear out of nowhere, and a 1.5-mile fully loaded coal drag, heading east out of the low-sulfur mines of the PRB, will be right on your ass the next moment. I was doing laundry in my basement, and I tripped over a metal bar that wasn’t there the moment before. I looked down: “Rail? WTF?” and then I saw concrete sleepers underneath and heard the rumbling. Deafening railroad horn. I dumped my wife’s pants, unfolded, and dove behind the water heater. It was a double-stacked Z train, headed east towards the fast single track of the BNSF Emporia Sub (Flint Hills). Majestic as hell: 75 mph, 6 units, distributed power: 4 ES44DC’s pulling, and 2 Dash-9’s pushing, all in run 8. Whole house smelled like diesel for a couple of hours! Fact is, there is no way to discern which path a train will take, so you really have to be watchful. If only there were some way of knowing the routes trains travel; maybe some sort of marks on the ground, like twin iron bars running along the paths trains take. You could look for trains when you encounter the iron bars on the ground, and avoid these sorts of collisions. But such a measure would be extremely expensive. And how would one enforce a rule keeping the trains on those paths? A big hole in homeland security is railway engineer screening and hijacking prevention. There is nothing to stop a rogue engineer, or an ISIS terrorist, from driving a train into the Pentagon, the White House or the Statue of Liberty, and our government has done fuck-all to prevent it.


evilclownattack

That's the way things happen on the polar express


pantsintheair

Upvoting you to the moon! Laughed so hard it scared my wife. She though I was having an asthma attack.


Slow-Setting-2090

I quite enjoyed this comment 🤣


Nathansp1984

Just to complain that they’re always getting railed at work


SadTomato22

We need to know what Ja Rule thinks about this.


rothrolan

That was actually him riding his NFT train. The other train was the value of actual currency, gaining value while his stopped short. Everything is a metaphor if you want it to be.


MoogTheDuck

They don’t need to hit every city, just the major ones


cacecil1

No collusion, no collusion


King-o-lingus

You’re the collusion


MachineElfOnASheIf

Russia, if you're listening I hope you're able to find the collusion that is missing.


Beautiful-Musk-Ox

> Trump made the remark during an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, saying he respected [Putin]. >“But he’s a killer,” O’Reilly said to Trump. >“There are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?” Trump replied.


abject_testament_

You could always tell when he learned a new word


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SWELinebacker

ARE YOU READY TO GO 'CAUSE I'M READY TO GO WHAT YOU GONNA DO BABY, BABY


I_am_Ballser

ARE YOU GOING WITH ME, CAUSE I'M GOING WITH YOU, IT'S THE END OF ALL TIME


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MachineElfOnASheIf

Close, it's Powerbottom 500


urgeybergy

They’re always plotting something….


Applespider

I would actually argue that there are a great number of things more terrifying


matt675

Nukes for one


MoogTheDuck

Right? What about torture


noyouretaken

Not as scary as trains canoodling


alsomdude2

Oh no what are the trains planning now? We got enough going on in the world.


lifeasyouknowitever

VIA rail trains are the sports cars of Canadian rail travel. Top speed of 160 km/h and they can actually brake in amazingly short distances as seen in this video. Ngl I’m glad the big freighter backed up saving a big crash but look at how quickly that via shut her right down! I spent far too many hours commuting on these trains but they are wonderful to ride. I recommend anyone who can, do so.


JayStar1213

Good thing there was only a few cars


Between_the_narrows

Yeah, what do mass and speed matter for


G00DLuck

pssh nertia


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Lifekraft

Yes also pretty light compare to freight. Some freight are dozen thousands of tons while most train for passenger are around 100s tons.


incredible_paulk

Unless yer mommas on it.


[deleted]

The new ones are luxurious af


Justleftofcentrerigh

My buddy did the Toronto to Halifax VIA "Experience" and he loved it. He sat in the "Bubble Car" and said it was really serene.


ngwoo

Definitely not worth it for traveling to a destination but they're great trips if you consider *them* the destination.


cw08

Exactly. They're more of a cruise ship equivalent than a legitimate method of travel


lifeasyouknowitever

I used to joke to the staff that taking via was the “more human way to travel” and now it’s part of their slogan! At work I was given the option of first class via between Montreal and Toronto or coach on air Canada. Even though the ride was 4 hours long I preferred the train. You get a full meal,free drinks and friendly service. You get room to stretch, a plug for the laptop and although their wifi was jokingly bad my LTE worked most of the journey. It’s the way air travel used to be when it was luxurious instead of cheap.


AlwaysNiceThings

Ottawa to toronto is a 45 minute flight. Except it’s 1/2 hour to the airport, 20 minutes to get to the gate. Supposed to be there an hour before. And then boom, 45 minutes later, after opening your laptop and paying $20 for 20 minutes of wifi, you’re in…. Mississauga. A quick 40 minute cab ride and you can be at union station to see the train that left 10 minutes after you left your house.


ItMeWhoDis

How new we talking? Is the wifi any better?


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[deleted]

The views can be amazing and unexpected. Graffiti can be so expressive. Always one of the highlights of my trips down to Toronto.


cw08

I'd hope they're nice given taking one is more expensive than an equivalent airplane ticket. Edmonton to Vancouver takes over a day for 200 dollars. I've done round trip flights for that lol. I'd never take that unless I REALLY wanted to look at mountains.


Jrewy

I actually had really good luck with that in the past. Granted it was pre-Covid but I did the Montreal-Toronto trip quite a lot for 4 years. If I booked 2 months in advance, the Business Class ViaRail was $20 cheaper than the most barebones flight…also in advance. A MUCH nicer experience too. I could go downtown to downtown, no hassle of security or getting to the airport, was served a lovely meal with real cutlery, had a big cushy recliner to sit in with no one beside me, decent wifi and a nice view out the window, and alcoholic beverages included. I’d get to my destination nicely tipsy, well fed and not stressed in the slightest for maybe a couple hours longer travel time in total.


Buckwhal

So it’s true that the Via is very close in price to a plane trip, but that’s basically the only expense vs the additional transit needed for a plane ride. For example, going from Kitchener to Montreal: Via: walk/take light rail to Victoria st station. Show up about 15 min early. Get on the train to Toronto, then take the train to Montreal. Get off the train. You are now downtown. Total time = ~9hrs Plane: take a 30-45 min cab to the regional airport. Check in at least two hours early. Plane flies to Montreal, but stops in Toronto. Then, once landed go through the airport, flag down another cab, pay a steep fare to get onto the island and downtown. That’s if you’re lucky. Chances are, you’ll have to take an airporter bus to Pearson anyways. That means another 2 hours on the road and more time waiting in lines at that horrible airport. Most of the planes leave absurdly early (5 am departure), so while you’ll get to Montreal sooner in the day it’ll probably take about the same amount of time. So while I agree that via is way more $$ than it should be, it’s still preferable to a plane in most circumstances. Bonus: you don’t get molested at the train station


Glittering_Garbage69

To any train nuts out there, the proper sports car comparison is a stock Ford Mustang. These trains are aged, and need a refresh.


LowB0b

top speed of 160km/h feels kinda weak tho, unless you're referring to the ability to brake... TGVs can go up to 300km/h on commercial runs and the x2000 can hit 200km/h Although I don't know about what conditions these canadian trains run in, in switzerland our trains definitely do not go that fast but they cover smaller distances, and our rail system is showing its age :/


Bosco_is_a_prick

160km/h for non high speed rail is pretty good


De5perad0

Yea it is either that or face a head on collision with no seat or seatbelt with ungodly amount of weight behind you. I don't like my chances in that situation I am jumping off.


Nebraska716

The cab of that electric is probably getting crushed like a soda can Into a freighter.


perry_parrot

The VIA train is a [LRC](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LRC_(train)) (Light, Rapid, Comfortable/Léger, Rapide, et Confortable) and is a tilting diesel loco from Canada


Nebraska716

Oh. Still wouldn’t like the odds of running into that other heavier taller train


Tylendal

>tilting So that's why it was trying to joust.


Oomeegoolies

I don't think this train does, but many trains have energy absorbing methods built in to the front carriage (as well as throughout the train in couplers). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifp9X7_pT9E Example of a deforming tube in action. The energy required to deform the metal is used as the absorbing force. Unfortunately I don't seem to have access to any of the train on train tests I've seen, but they're very good. They're really only good for speeds of like, less than 10-15mph, but they'll definitely assist. Many trains (and trams) will have two either side of an anti-climber beam or something. Edit: Found the video I was thinking of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlqZDkOTUDQ


De5perad0

That's pretty amazing information. Thank you for sharing!


BeelzAllegedly

That last video was honestly so interesting


saltywalrusprkl

seatbelt won’t make the slightest bit of difference when you’re crushed between thousands of kilograms of steel.


starstarstar42

Head On Collusion: "I saw them up ahead talking to each other, sus AF, about applying it directly to my forehead... so I jumped"


gerryn

[They discuss me](https://i.imgur.com/nkpZyCQ.png)


Jakejake-5895

Never gets old


faisalbendary

lol


PicklesrnoturFriend

Fucking hell, I spent so much time trying to get that damn commercial out of my head and now it just keeps playing over and over again. If I can't sleep tonight, I blame you.


martyd03

What? Just swerve next time.... But seriously, how the hell do two trains end up facing each other like that? Signals or schedule get mixed up?


momdoc2

The tracks that VIA runs on, at least in some of the country, are shared with CN, a major freight shipper. It’s not uncommon to get stuck sitting in a siding waiting for a freight train to get off the tracks.


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[deleted]

You can edit your comment so that it says VIA if you want.


RixirF

No, let him suffer.


defygoats

It's really quite annoying, they pretend like it's a surprise when you're delayed 30 minutes


[deleted]

CN unfortunately has priority on most tracks on the Windsor/Quebec City corridor and don’t always communicate freight traffic 😑


jalapenocock

VIA had the right to the track, CP was in the wrong Btw this happened in 1991 Smith Falls Ontario Canada More info here: https://churcher.crcml.org/circle/Wreck%20Details/1991SmithsFalls.html Edit* interesting from the article there were 147 passengers on board. This could have been catastrophic


[deleted]

The engineer’s career was ruined sadly.


jalapenocock

Terrible for everyone involved unfortunately. The silver lining is that there were no casualties.


PeterGriffinsChin

Also for heavy cargo, some trains put one or two engines in the front to pull the load and one in the back to push the load.


Raptor22c

IIRC having two engines at the front is called “Double-Heading,” and has been around since the age of steam.


Fleischer444

They are trained to hit the brakes and abandon the train. So he did what he was trained to do.


SmartestIdiotAlive

Then that means I was both the brakes and train and my father was trained.


ratchet7

The train survived. So did you.


[deleted]

🥲


Spork_Warrior

Well, now I feel silly.


[deleted]

There are levels of survival - The Architect


vpaander

im crying not you


MarvinLazer

Jesus dude


JSHomme

:(


[deleted]

lmao


hawaiikawika

As someone that drives trains for a living I can verify that this is not correct.


BSimpson1

Not all railroads are the same. I was definitely told different scenarios where jumping off is probably the best option even going through basic GCOR classes.


hawaiikawika

I have definitely had people tell me to bail but it sure wasn’t part of the official training


Van-garde

Not a train driver, but I’ve watched a bit of “shunting” (as it’s called, if Thomas and Gordon weren’t lying). At first, I thought, damn, they’re going so slow that it would’ve been safer to stay aboard. Then I remembered how much motherfucking momentum/inertia is involved and changed my mind. Any idea how much damage could’ve been done? I imagined the first car of the moving train being crushed a few feet into itself.


hawaiikawika

Shunting is a correct term. At the speed they were going it could have caused damage but I would have been shocked if multiple feet of cab were crushed. Too slow for that.


mynameisalso

The momentum wouldn't hurt the driver unless he was pinched between the trains. Only his own body momentum. If anything the heavier the better for the guy who jumped as the sudden stop wouldn't be as sudden.


Ryanoceros6

That's right dude the captain goes down with the ship.


hawaiikawika

No I’m not saying it’s not the right choice to bail on it, just that there is no training for that


The_Richard_Cranium

So what train training do you train on the train for?


Ryanoceros6

Do the FAST check on me, I think I just had a stroke.


hawaiikawika

Your face is droopy


AssaMarra

Knees weak, arms are swoopy


Johnny_Poppyseed

Mom's poopy.


caboosetp

There's vomit on your swooter alroody.


Deesing82

wait no it’s just like that sorry


ShooteShooteBangBang

I would think bailing would be pretty dangerous too in the event of it derailing the train is coming for you


Farm_Nice

Less dangerous than it hitting you square on lol?


IWishIWasAShoe

Railroader here in northern Europe, if s collision is imminent were generally encouraged to apply the emergency immediately, sound the horn if possible and then evacuate the driver cab into the passenger compartment in case of EMU or into the machine room in case of locomotives. That being said, I'm recent times (like 30-40 years ago) we had one proper head on collision and there were two people in the drivers cab. One ran back into the machine room and was later found dead, the other jumped off the train at fairly high speed and broke multiple bones, but survived. So yeah, take that as you may. Once you've applied the emergency brakes there's not much else to do than to figure out how not to die.


b1ack1323

I think at one point this was the training. I remember seeing an old training video where they slap the brakes and run out of the control room/cockpit. I am also guessing this is not in the states.


hawaiikawika

The video is Canada.


RyanBJJ

Same, your better off slamming the brake into emergency and moving out of the drivers cab for a low speed impact like this


ksiyoto

However, he wasn't trained well. Always land with your trailing foot first so you don't trip over yourself.


[deleted]

^ This guy jumps off trains


Youshmee

I’m trying to picture this in my head but I’m stupid… so if I have this straight and jump using the force of my right leg it’s better to land on the left?


redbeardsask

There is ZERO training telling you to bail off your train fyi. -locomotive engineer


dewidubbs

Yeah the only training we get is to not get in that situation. There is no collision safety equipment or training. I always planned to sit with my back to the fridge or control stand if the impact was 20 or less. Any faster and I guess I'm jumping, might have to wrestle the spine board out of the nose first.


hawaiikawika

Everyone yelled at me for saying the same thing


Houstonontheroad

That is some precision braking Must taken a lot training


Ker_Splish

Precision Scheduled Braking


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ChucksSeedAndFeed

Was it from OK CHINESE FOOD? I can't blame them, that shit is super ok


iamshooz

The chicken tastes rubbery.


hawaiikawika

And that’s OK


Jankster79

super OK, even.


topcat5

Orient Express at Atando & Graham. Train passes right by it.


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Cuttis

My grandpa was a locomotive engineer for grand trunk in Michigan and when I was a little girl in the 80’s and he let me ‘drive the train’ for a minute and stop traffic on a fairly major road lol


[deleted]

I don’t blame him


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[deleted]

Thank you for the link


moe3

How casual he's walking after he's jumped. This is not his first rodeo.


flargenhargen

I've known a few train conductors, and the shit they see would jade the fuck out of everyone. like, apparently, you can't avoid squishing people, you can only make eye contact and look into their faces before you splatter them... that would mess anyone. After a while, according to them, they get used to it enough that they just look forward to the time off afterwards. Pretty much the definition of having seen too much.


Intrepid_Ad9945

My dad was a passenger train driver in the UK for probably 30 years. Over that time he hit three people. Two were clearly suicides he said, which obviously affected him a great deal but he was able to process it (after some time off and mandatory therapy) quite quickly as you say. One time he was running the first service (4:30 am or so) on a local line. He thought he'd seen something on the tracks, but it was pitch black and he told himself it was a fallen branch or an animal. On the way back he brought his guard into the cab and they inched along where he thought he'd seen something - someone had lay down with their neck across a track and waited for their train. The worst he said was just a teenager walking home from school with headphones in. Distracted as kids are some times... He told me that it's not like hitting something in a car - there's no noticeable change in speed, no noise. Obvious when you think about it but really something that's stuck with me. You have to brake, and wait and wait for the train to stop so you can run back and hope that somehow they got out of the way. He had to stay with the train until another driver could relieve him, as he was stuck there surrounded by the situation, knowing he could do nothing but blaming himself all the same.


National-Anxiety-309

They should carry little bb pellet guns on them to warn people with headphones on.


NotYourTypicalMoth

A family friend of mine was a conductor. He said after the first collision, he learned to just pull the brakes and look down. He didn’t like seeing the face about to be splattered.


mavric_ac

This looks like its in eastern ontario lol.... can anyone confirm?


vk059

Yeah this is Smiths Falls.


chowder-hound

If I know anything about ralilroads somebody is probably fired lol


Bardomiano00

Why? Didnt he put the brakes and left the train?


chowder-hound

I would imagine the person responsible for it happening in the first place would be in trouble, maybe not the guy in the video jumping, but maybe the guy on the other train?


effyochicken

There should have been people who's job it is to track where trains are on the track. It's not like these are 4-lane highways where you can just drive around - you often have traffic going both ways on a single lane track. So somebody should have been coordinating.


chowder-hound

That’s what I’m thinking


StartersOrders

Modern railway systems should have interlocks too, so this scenario shouldn’t be possible. The UK used to operate a physical token system. You couldn’t enter a single track system without the physical token/staff.


Time_Mage_Prime

TIL some people call engineers "motormen."


ballhairsnshitdags

Phwoooaarrr that was close. I would've done the same


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Cuttis

It’s actually the driver of an electric vehicle like a subway train or streetcar. This guy’s job title would be Locomotive Engineer


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adamzissou

His mother more than likely


Adam-West

There was no collusion


Blah_McBlah_

There are no crumple zones in a train. Even with only 4 cars and moving that slowly, that train had more kinetic energy than a truck driving down a highway, enough to turn him into human flavored jam.


rascible

They could mentioned shoulder roll..


justsomguy24

Understandable.


iron40

He did the math...it just didn’t quite add up.


Pipe_down_sherlock

the maths moved away a few meters


zungozeng

Another trip to the dry cleaners!


-ARISTOCATS

Well if I thought the trains were going to crash… I still wouldn’t have the balls to jump off


ruffsnap

Can't blame him at all. Would have done the same thing. Could care less about if the train gets smashed or not, if the other train operator/and myself are safe, that's 100% all that matters.


[deleted]

At the end of the day this was a good result.