VIA Rail Canada, which released its quarterly report on June 3, brought in C$96.2 million in total revenue in first-quarter 2025, up 8.3% from the prior-year period, despite “significant operational challenges.” On-time performance fell from 72% from 1Q2024 to 30% 1Q2025. VIA Rail said this “was largely due to arbitrary operational restrictions imposed by CN in the Québec City–Windsor corridor, leading to longer travel times and reduced service reliability, a key concern for passengers.” It also noted that ridership dipped 2.7% to 944,300, “marking the first such decline since the recovery from the pandemic began.”
The speed restrictions VIA cited have to do with LoS (loss of shunt) problems—which VIA did not acknowledge in its 1Q2025 earnings press release—and which have also affected Amtrak trains operating on CN’s U.S. network.
LoS is brief deactivation of track circuits, including those that activate grade crossing protection devices, while a train is occupying a signal block. This can occur due to various factors including insufficient wheel/rail electrical contact, especially with lighter or shorter trains, such as those equipped with Siemens-built Venture cars and Charger diesel-electric locomotives used by both Amtrak and VIA Rail. Amtrak trains operating on CN tracks in the U.S. have faced LoS problems that can affect grade crossing activation. To ensure proper shunt, CN has required Amtrak to use heavier Superliner cars and/or train consists with a sufficient number of axles on certain routes, especially the Chicago-Carbondale, Ill. line. Amtrak and CN have implemented various solutions, the installation of OSE (Onboard Shunt Enhancement) devices on Amtrak locomotives and cab cars. CN has also imposed restrictions on train length and speed, requiring a minimum of 30 axles and maximum speeds ranging from 60 mph to 70 mph on some routes to ensure proper shunt. CN imposed similar axle-count requirements and speed restrictions on VIA’s Venture trainsets, citing LoS problems.
In a June 4 statement to Railway Age, CN spokesperson Ashley Michnowski said that CN “is disappointed that VIA continues to refuse to assume responsibility for the choice it made when it purchased the same equipment [Siemens Venture cars and Charger diesel-electric locomotives] that had been recognized by industry experts to experience the same safety-related shortcomings [as Amtrak]. CN has zero interest in arbitrarily slowing VIA trains, as this impacts entire corridors at a time [including CN freight operations]. Safety over service, always. Ensuring proper train-to-signal interaction protects passengers, railway workers pedestrians and motorists. VIA has been aware of the solution for a long time but has refused to make the necessary adjustments to their Venture fleet to ensure the safety of passengers, employees, motorists and pedestrians, forcing CN to act. We will not compromise on safety, ever.”
VIA, however, has a contrasting view. “We want to reassure our passengers that VIA Rail’s operations are safe and fully compliant with all regulatory requirements,” VIA Rail President and CEO Mario Péloquin said. “The service disruptions we are experiencing are the direct result of infrastructure restrictions imposed by CN, restrictions that we believe are arbitrary and unnecessary. We have formally appealed this situation in court while continuing to engage with Transport Canada with a goal of finding a resolution that restores reliable, efficient service to the millions of Canadians who depend on passenger rail.”
“CN’s restrictions have severely impacted our ability to fulfill our public service mandate,” VIA Rail Chair Jonathan Goldbloom added. On-time performance has plummeted, customer satisfaction has eroded and confidence in passenger rail is being undermined. We will never compromise on safety and remain committed to working with our partners to put an end to this unsustainable and unjustified situation.”
The Federal Railroad Administration has been involved in addressing the LoS problem and has provided funding for projects like OSE device installation. Amtrak on Oct. 17, 2023, petitioned the FRA for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of federal railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR Part 229, Railroad Locomotive Standards. Amtrak’s petition sought approval to install, on its locomotive fleet, a “shunt enhancer antenna” designed to improve track circuit shunting and reduce the potential for an LoS incident. Amtrak sought relief from 49 CFR 229.71, Clearance above Top of Rail, to implement the shunt enhancer antenna. Section 229.71 states that no part or appliance of a locomotive (excepting “the wheels, flexible nonmetallic sand pipe extension tips, and trip cock arms”) may be within 2.5 inches from the top of rail. Amtrak, which sought to install the shunt enhancers on its fleet of Siemens Charger SF4 locomotives, explained that under conditions of worn wheels and dynamic profiles, “the mechanical and electrical hardware of the truck-mounted antenna devices could protrude below 2.5 inches from the top of rail.”
FRA in April 2024 said that comments were to be received by June 18, 2024 “to be considered by FRA before final action is taken.” FRA’s Railroad Safety Board granted the petition with conditions in September 2024 (download letter below).
According to FRA, known causes of LoS include contaminants on the wheel or rail and locomotive weight, with contributing factors including the number of axles in a train, train speed, wheel profile and weather. FRA said it recognizes that an LoS event is “a significant safety concern, resulting in activation failures at equipped highway-rail grade crossings and false proceed signals.”
An industry-led working group, the LoS Committee, supported by FRA, “has expended significant effort and funding to investigate LoS events, evaluate LoS causes, identify potential solutions, and to test those solutions,” FRA said last year. “The shunt enhancer antenna has been identified, tested and recommended” by the LoS Committee, which has confirmed that the shunt enhancer antenna reliably demonstrate[s] improvement of a vehicle’s interaction with the wayside track circuits.”
