People keep writing letters briefly talking about the need for commuter service on the railway tracks referred to as E&N.
But the track is dead, thanks to inaction by do-gooders and government such as Victoria council’s failed brinksmanship on the Johnson Street bridge.
The track was judged unsafe for passenger service at useful speed.
Yes, the province is wisely paying for more detailed evaluation so the extent of deterioration is better known, but what then?
It has long been obvious that the track was not being maintained, yet bureaucrats and do-gooders fiddled while wood rotted and spikes loosened as always happens.
Even the sensible notion of running a commuter service to CFB Esquimalt and the commercial dockyards needs examination to determine if bus service is needed to take people from the tracks crossing Admirals Road to the far end of the naval base where the main workshops are.
And the question of who will buy enough good rolling stock for a reliable service, since that service doesn’t seem to fit Via Rail’s mandate.
Keith Sketchley
Saanich
