Canada: Flying Low

The usual reaction of railroaders to unprofitable passenger runs is to cut them out or make them virtually unbearable. Not so with the government-owned Canadian National Railways, which last week announced that though it lost $60 million on 1965 passenger service, it has now ordered five of the turbotrains developed by the U.S.'s United Aircraft Corp. Even without roadbed improvements, these lightweight, low-slung, turbojet-powered whizbangs should be able to clip nearly an hour off the present five-hour Montreal-Toronto run.

Though the U.S. Department of Commerce plans to test a pair of turbotrains between Boston and Providence starting next January, Canadian National will be the first road to put them into regular service. To be built by United Aircraft's Canadian subsidiary and the Montreal Locomotive Works, the first of the seven-car turbotrains should be on the tracks in time for Canada's Centennial next April.

By Canadian National's reckoning, on a downtown-to-downtown basis the turbotrains should approach the time—including traveling to and from airports—that the Montreal-Toronto trip takes by propjet Viscount. In fact, the ride will be somewhat similar: passengers will hear a faint engine whine, get free airline-style meals, sit in aluminum coaches slightly pressurized to keep out dust and dampen track noise. A pendular suspension system tilts the car inward on curves, thus eliminating the lurches of ordinary trains and enabling the train to hit 110 m.p.h. on existing tracks, and eventually 160 m.p.h. on improved rights-of-way using continuously welded track.

Best of all from Canadian National's point of view, the 340-passenger turbo-trains cost only half as much (about $2,500,000) as ordinary diesel equipment, can operate 30% more economically and, with engines at both ends, make three times as many trips a day without turning around.