Canada’s high-speed train from 50 years ago has lessons for today

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Jason Shron is president of the VIA Historical Association and author of TurboTrain: A Journey.

On Apr. 22, 1976, Canada’s first high-speed train achieved the Canadian rail speed record of 225 km/h, a record which still stands today. Yes, Canada had a high-speed train 50 years ago. It was called the Turbo. As the debate rages on about Canada’s new Alto high-speed rail (HSR) project, a look back at our first high-speed train can provide some much-needed insight into our potential future as an HSR nation.

The TurboTrain project was announced by Canadian National with much fanfare on May 17, 1966. The Turbo, as it was officially called from February, 1967, was conceived as a high-speed train capable of operating on the existing railway infrastructure between Toronto and Montreal. The majority of this line was built in 1856 and consequently had – and still has today – many tight curves that are poorly suited to high-speed trains. The Turbo featured short cars and a passive tilt system that would enable it to navigate those curves comfortably at higher speeds.

The Turbo was designed by United Aircraft Corporation in Connecticut, incorporating ST6 gas turbines from Pratt & Whitney in Longueuil and aluminum bodies built by Montreal Locomotive Works in Lachine. CN’s timeline for the train’s rollout was extraordinarily unrealistic, promising them in time for Expo 67.

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The trains were brand-new technology. At the time of the planned launch, not a single train had been built. New train designs normally go through an extensive multiyear testing program. As Expo 67 came and went sans Turbo, the pressure was on to complete testing and rush the trains into service. Perhaps heralding their long-term fate, on the initial press run in December, 1968, the eastbound Turbo hit a meat truck in Kingston, Ont. The impact was caught on film by London Free Press photographer Ernie Lee. Nobody was hurt, and the train only required minor repairs.

Initially, reliability was abysmal, especially in snow. The Turbo limped in and out of service through 1971, when CN decided to withdraw the trains and return them to Pratt & Whitney for refurbishment. The trains re-entered service in 1973 with numerous modifications. The result was by all measures a success. From 1973 to 1976, the Turbo trains were running between Montreal and Toronto in four hours and 10 minutes. They had a 97-per-cent on-time rate, and they were available to run as the schedule required 98.6 per cent of the time. To put that number in perspective, VIA’s new Venture trains today regularly have an availability below 60 per cent.

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When the VIA brand was created for CN’s passenger train services in 1976, it was decided to introduce the new logo and styling with flair (and hopefully not with a bang). After numerous unpublicized test runs, the press was invited aboard the Turbo for its record-breaking run near Morrisburg, Ont. As this stretch of main line was relaid to allow for the construction of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, it was (and still is) relatively straight. To ensure safety, all level crossings (where roads cross the tracks) were staffed by CN employees and all switches (which allow trains to move from one track to another) were spiked closed. The run was a success, and everyone aboard received an “Official Canadian Railway Speed Record” certificate.

The Turbo continued in service until October, 1982, when it was retired due to the fact that it was an oddball in VIA’s fleet – only two trains remained in service – and it was thus no longer possible to obtain spare parts. A new fleet of redesigned Turbos addressing the issues that plagued the train, such as the unreliable fuel line system which caused two major fires, was proposed to CN by Pratt & Whitney Canada but was not accepted. The Turbo is often recalled by both media and railway enthusiasts alike as a failed experiment. This is not supported by the facts. After a rocky start, it ran reliably and on time.

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The Bombardier LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) borrowed the tilting concept from the Turbo project in the design of its air-operated banking system for higher speeds on curves. Introduced in 1981, the LRC took over most services in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor.

The fastest LRC service, called the Metropolis, covered the distance from Montreal to Toronto in three hours and 59 minutes. Maintaining this schedule between 1992 and 2001, the Metropolis was considerably faster than the fastest service today. VIA’s train 668 is scheduled for four hours and 56 minutes to cover the distance between Toronto and Montreal, and its eastbound counterpart, train 669, is scheduled for five hours and nine minutes.

A new, dedicated high-speed line would allow a significant journey-time reduction compared to today’s trains, but the comparison with the Turbo and LRC timings is less impressive. If we look beyond China and Japan and instead toward Britain, we may find a compromise solution that would improve rail connectivity in Ontario and Quebec without saddling our future generations with a massive bill.

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The West Coast Main Line between London and Glasgow has been through two large modernization programs in the last 70 years, the first lasting from 1959 to 1974, and the second from 1998 to 2009. The route was electrified in stages, and it was also increased from two tracks to four in several high-traffic areas. Trains now regularly travel at 200 km/h on this route.

Taking a similar approach to the rail lines VIA uses in Ontario and Quebec would achieve many of the goals of HSR. Straighten the tightest curves. Electrify in stages. Close the majority of the level crossings, replacing them with a smaller number of overpasses. Double the tracks from two to four (on separate rights-of-way where space is restricted) and keep the heavy, slow freight trains off the passenger lines.

The Turbo proved that a high-speed train could run on Canadian tracks. It was the tracks that let it down. Investment and expansion of our existing rail corridors may not be as bold and exciting as a shiny new high-speed rail line, but it would get the job done at a fraction of the cost.