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Quebec City-Windsor Corridor

Quebec City-Windsor Corridor

The 1,150-kilometre Quebec City-Windsor Corridor in central Canada is the most densely-populated, wealthy, and heavily-industrialized area of the country, containing over half of Canada's population, at 16 million, and three of its four largest cities. It has many similarities to the BosWash megalopolis that extends from Boston to Washington, D.C. in the United States. The name is derived from the names of the cities at each end and was first popularized by VIA Rail, which runs frequent passenger rail service along the corridor. Much as the Northeast Corridor in the United States, the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor name has been expanded to refer to the geography and demography of the region through which the corridor traverses.

Rail transportation

The Canadian National Railway and part of the Canadian Pacific Railway main lines run the length of the corridor. The corridor is the busiest service area for VIA Rail, which runs the majority of Canada's intercity passenger trains on trackage through the corridor, mostly using CN's former Grand Trunk Railway network. VIA derives the majority of its revenue from traffic in this corridor.

Passenger rail

The following VIA services operate along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor:
- Montreal-Alexandria-Ottawa
- Montreal-Charny-Quebec City
- Montreal-Toronto-Oakville
- Toronto-Kingston-Ottawa
- Toronto-Kitchener-Sarnia
- Toronto-London-Sarnia
- Toronto-London-Windsor
- Toronto-Niagara Falls (with service to Buffalo and New York City)

Non-VIA passenger rail

In addition to VIA, two commuter rail agencies operate passenger service using Quebec City-Windsor Corridor tracks.
- GO Transit Lakeshore West from Toronto to Hamilton
- GO Transit Lakeshore East from Toronto to Oshawa
- Agence métropolitaine de transport Montreal/Dorion-Rigaud from Montreal to Dorion
- Agence métropolitaine de transport Montreal/Mont-Saint-Hilaire from Montreal to Mont-Saint-Hilaire

Geography

The corridor extends from Quebec City, Quebec in the northeast to Windsor, Ontario (immediately south of Detroit) in the southwest, running north of the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie. Significant urban areas along the route include (from east to west) Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Drummondville, Montreal, Cornwall, Brockville, Kingston, Belleville, Oshawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Chatham, and Windsor. In addition to these, Sherbrooke, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Barrie, and Sarnia are connected to the major transportation routes by feeder highways and rail lines. For most of its length, the corridor runs through a narrow strip of farmland with the Canadian Shield to the north and the St. Lawrence Seaway to the south. A drive of only a few minutes north from many of the corridor's cities or towns will show an abrupt change from flat farmland and limestone bedrock to the granite hills of the shield. The highways often run right on the boundary of the shield, and it is possible to observe the frequent change from limestone to granite in rockcuts along the way. There are, however, several wider areas of flat farmland, including the southwestern Ontario peninsula between Lake Huron and Lake Erie, the eastern Ontario delta from Ottawa to the junction of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers at Montreal, and the Eastern Townships southeast of Montreal. The section of the corridor from Montreal to Hamilton is close to or actually on the U.S. border. Because of the moderating influence of the Great Lakes and the frequent influx of warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, the corridor — particularly the western half — has a markedly warmer climate than the rest of central Canada. The rich soil and the warmer climate mean that the flora and fauna in the corridor are similar to those in the deciduous forests of the eastern United States as far south as Virginia, rather than the evergreen forests that cover most of central Canada up to the Arctic.

History

During the French colonization of what would later be Canada in seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, only the eastern third of the corridor, from Quebec City to Montreal, was heavily settled. The major cross-country route used by voyageurs in the fur trade continued west from Montreal through the Canadian shield along the Ottawa Valley to Lake Nipissing and Georgian Bay, passing far to the north of what would later become the Ontario part of the corridor. The lack of good farmland made that route unsuitable for settlement, however, and the frequent portages made transportation in boats larger than canoes difficult. When the English-speaking United Empire Loyalists arrived in Canada after the U.S. War of Independence, they naturally settled along the narrow strip north of the St. Lawrence River and lower Great Lakes, where good farm land was available and larger boats could be used for transportation, and these people formed the English-speaking nucleus of what would later be Ontario (by contrast, many of the Ontario towns along the old fur-trading and logging route to the north, through the Ottawa Valley and westward, still have large French-speaking populations). Initially, Kingston was the principal city of the English half of the corridor, but eventually Toronto grew and eclipsed it in importance. During both the North American part of the Seven Years War between England and France (known as the French and Indian War in the United States) and the War of 1812 between England and the United States, settlements along the corridor were at the centre of the conflicts. Ottawa was eventually chosen as Canada's capital precisely because it was further inland, and thus, less vulnerable to attack, though it is now also considered part of the corridor. The Rideau Canal was constructed to provide a way to bypass the most vulnerable part of the corridor, from Cornwall to Kingston, where it lies directly on the U.S. border.

Non-rail transportation

The corridor is held together by a series of major transportation routes, all running close together and sometimes overlapping each-other. The oldest transportation route is the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes, where the series of channels and locks that make up the St. Lawrence Seaway allow ocean-going vessels and Lakers to travel the entire length of the corridor. For road travel, the Ontario portion of the corridor was originally joined by Highway 2 (often known locally by names such as Montreal Road, Toronto Road, Dundas Street, or Kingston Road) following the older stagecoach roads and the paths and trails that predated those. Highway 2 still forms the main street of many of the corridor's Ontario towns and cities, which were built around it, but large parts of the highway are now maintained by counties or municipalities rather than the province. During the 1960's, the province of Ontario built Highway 401, a freeway that bypasses most of the town and city centres, and it is now the main road as far as the Quebec Border, where it connects to Autoroute 20, which continues east through the Quebec part of the corridor to Quebec City. The low-level airway V98 runs almost immediately above the other transportation routes, though it is not the most direct great circle route between Windsor and Quebec City. Inside the corridor, the busiest area of travel is the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal triangle. Air Canada serves it with its Rapidair service, offering hourly flights among the three cities. Category:Geography of Canada Category:Metropolitan areas of Canada

Central Canada

Central Canada is a term sometimes used to refer to the two largest and most populous provinces in Eastern Canada: Ontario and Quebec. The term's use is limited and regional, encountered more in Ontario and Atlantic Canada than in Quebec or Western Canada. Historically Ontario was named Upper Canada or Canada West and Quebec Lower Canada or Canada East. Combined, the two provinces have approximately 20 million inhabitants which represents 62% of Canada's population. They are represented in the Canadian House of Commons by 181 MPs (Ontario - 106, Quebec - 75) out of a total of 308. The southern portions of the two provinces (particularly the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor) form the most urban and industrialized region of Canada, containing the country's two largest cities, Toronto and Montreal, and the national capital, Ottawa. Central Canada (particularly Ontario) also houses the headquarters of most Canadian national institutions and large corporations. Ontario and Quebec are by far the most powerful provinces, politically and economically, in the Canadian Confederation, and that power is often bitterly resented by the Western and Atlantic regions of the country. Central Canada is often regarded as an outside hegemonizing force, against which the other provinces must stand on guard to protect their local cultures and interests. The majority of the population of Quebec do not see themselves as Central Canadians, primarily because of the distinct Francophone culture which they feel is radically different from the culture of English-speaking Ontario. To Québécois, the economic, political and cultural power of Ontario is often seen as a dangerous force, requiring them to also protect the French culture and Quebec business interests. Another reason is geographical - only one mainland province (Newfoundland and Labrador, and only a small percentage of that) extends further east than Quebec. Geographically speaking, the longitudinal centre of Canada is a meridian passing just east of Winnipeg, Manitoba; the Geographic centre of Canada is located near Arviat, Nunavut. However, Winnipeg is usually considered to be part of Western Canada and Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic. See Also
- Canadian Arctic
- Western Canada
- Eastern Canada
- Atlantic Canada
- List of regions of Canada Category:Regions of Canada

Megalopolis

Megalopolis (Greek: large city, great city) can mean:
- The city of Megalópoli (Μεγαλοπολη), Megalopolis, Greece.
- Megacity or "megapolis", is defined as an extensively large metropolitan area, or a long chain of continuous metropolitan areas. The term was first used in the United States by Jean Gottman in 1957, to describe the huge urban area along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. from Boston, Massachusetts, through New York City, to Washington, D.C. According to Gottman, it resulted from changes in work and social habits. See also: BosWash, ChiPitts, Quebec City-Windsor Corridor, SanSan, and Bajalta California. Used in the study of Urban Affairs as a term to link the CMSAs of Boston, New Haven (Urban Connecticut), New York City, New Jersey (Camden, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, and Trenton), Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. The Pittsburgh-Chicago Corridor is a similar Urban Studies term that describes the area running through the Rustbelt from the Mid-Atlantic to the Western Great Lakes. The Steel City Corridor ideally describes the area connecting Cleveland to Pittsburgh via Youngstown-Warren (OH), and Sharon-Farrell-New Castle (PA). Historically, these areas are known as the Steel Valleys (Mahoning and Shenango). ja:メガロポリス

Washington D.C.

Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America. "D.C." stands for the "District of Columbia", the federal district containing the city of Washington. The city is named for George Washington, military leader of the American Revolution and the first President of the United States. The District of Columbia and the city of Washington are coextensive and are governed by a single municipal government, so for most practical purposes they are considered to be the same entity. It is known locally as the District or simply D.C. Historically, it was called the Federal City. The District of Columbia, founded on July 16, 1790, is a federal district as specified by the United States Constitution with limited—and sometimes contentious—local rule. The District is ruled "in all cases whatsoever" by the U.S. Congress, though its residents have no voting representative in that body. The land forming the original District came from the states of Virginia and Maryland. However, the area south of the Potomac River (39 mi² or about 100 km²) was returned, or "retroceded", to Virginia in 1847 and now is incorporated into Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. The term "District of Columbia" is derived from an old poetic name for the United States, Columbia, which has fallen out of common use since the early 20th century. The centers of all three branches of the U.S. federal government are in Washington, D.C., as well as the headquarters of most federal agencies. Washington also serves as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization of American States, among other international (and national) institutions. All of this has made Washington the frequent focal point of massive political demonstrations and protests, particularly on the National Mall. Washington is also the site of numerous national landmarks, museums, and sports teams, and is a popular destination for tourists. The population of the District of Columbia, as of 2003 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, is 563,384. The Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area includes the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, with a population surpassing 4.7 million. If Washington, D.C. were considered a state, it would rank last in area behind Rhode Island, 50th in population ahead of Wyoming, and 36th in Gross State Product, ahead of 15 states. __TOC__

History

Wyoming map of Washington, D.C.]] A Southern site for the new country's capital was agreed upon at a dinner between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. The initial plan for the "Federal City" was a diamond, ten miles wide on each side, totaling 100 square miles (260 square kilometers). The actual site on the Potomac River was chosen by President Washington. Washington may have chosen the site for its natural scenery, believing the Potomac would become a great navigable waterway. The city was officially named "Washington" on September 9, 1791. Out of modesty, George Washington never referred to it as such, preferring to call it "the Federal City". Despite choosing the site and living nearby at Mount Vernon, he rarely visited. On August 24, 1814, British forces burned the capital during the most notable and destructive raid of the War of 1812. President James Madison and U.S. forces fled before the British forces, who burned public buildings including the Capitol, the Navy Yard, and the Treasury building. The Presidential Mansion was also gutted. James Madison Washington remained a small city of a few thousand permanent residents until the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861. The significant expansion of the federal government to administer the war and its legacies—such as veterans' pensions—led to notable growth in the city's population. In July 1864, Confederate forces under Jubal Anderson Early made a brief raid into Washington, culminating in the Battle of Fort Stevens. The Confederates were repulsed and Early eventually returned to the Shenandoah Valley. The site, now called [http://www.nps.gov/batt/ Battleground National Cemetery] is located near present day Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Northwest Washington. The battle was the only battle where a U.S. President, Lincoln, was present and under enemy fire while in office [http://www.nps.gov/rocr/ftcircle/stevens.htm 1]. In the early 1870s, Washington was given a territorial government, but Governor Alexander Shepherd's reputation for extravagance resulted in Congress abolishing his office in favor of direct rule. Congressional governance of the District would continue for a century. The Washington Monument opened in 1888. Plans were laid to further develop the monumental aspects of the city, with work contributed by such noted figures as Frederick Law Olmsted and Daniel Burnham. However, development of the Lincoln Memorial and other structures on the National Mall did not begin until the early 20th century. Lincoln Memorial The District's population peaked in 1950, when the census for that year recorded a record population of 802,178 people. At the time, the city was the ninth-largest in the country, ahead of Boston and behind Saint Louis. The population declined in the following decades, mirroring the suburban out-migration of many of the nation's older urban centers following World War II. The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on March 29, 1961, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to vote for president and have their votes count in the Electoral College. The first 4.6 miles (7.4 kilometers) of the Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976. Walter Washington became the first elected mayor of the District in 1974. Marion Barry became mayor in 1978, but he was arrested for drug use in an FBI sting on January 18, 1990 and would serve a six-month jail term. His successor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, became the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance in the U.S. But Barry defeated her in the 1994 primary and was once again elected mayor for his fourth term, during which time the city nearly became insolvent and was forced to give up some home rule to a congressionally-appointed financial control board. On September 29, 2004, Major League Baseball officially relocated the Montreal Expos to Washington for the 2005 season, now named the Washington Nationals, despite opposition from Orioles owner Peter Angelos. A very public back-and-forth between the city council and MLB threatened to scuttle the agreement until December 21, when a plan for a new stadium in Southeast D.C. was finalized. The Nationals will play at R.F.K. Stadium until the new stadium is ready in 2008.

Geography and climate

Geography

2008, 2002. The axes bounding its quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol building.]] Washington, D.C. is located at (the coordinates of the Zero Milestone, on The Ellipse). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 177.0 km² (68.3 mi²). 159.0 km² (61.4 mi²) of it is land and 18.0 km² (6.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.16% water. Washington is surrounded by the states of Virginia (on its southwest side) and Maryland (on its southeast, northeast, and northwest sides); it interrupts those states' common border, which is the Potomac River's southern shore both upstream and downstream from the District. The Potomac River as it passes Washington is virtually entirely within the District of Columbia border. The physical geography of the District of Columbia is very similar to the physical geography of much of Maryland. The District has three major natural flowing bodies of water: the Potomac River, the Anacostia River, and Rock Creek. The Anacostia River and Rock Creek are tributaries of the Potomac River. There are also three man-made reservoirs: Dalecarlia Reservoir, which crosses over the northwest border of the District from Maryland; McMillan Reservoir near Howard University; and Georgetown Reservoir upstream of Georgetown. The highest point in the District of Columbia is 410 feet (125 m) above sea level at Tenleytown. The lowest point is sea level, which occurs along all of the Anacostia shore and all of the Potomac shore except the uppermost mile (the Little Falls - Chain Bridge area). The sea level Tidal Basin rose eleven feet during Hurricane Isabel on September 18, 2003. Geographical features of Washington, D.C. include Theodore Roosevelt Island, Columbia Island, the Three Sisters, and Hains Point.

Climate

Washington's weather is seasonal subtropical with some variations between summer and winter, although it is moderated by its proximity to the coast, making its climate more moderate than cities at a similar latitude further inland. Summer tends to be very hot and humid with daily high temperatures in July and August averaging in the high 80s° to low 90s°F (about 30°C). Spring and fall are mild with high temperatures in April and October averaging in the high 60s°F (about 20°C). Winter can bring cold temperatures and, on some occassions, significant snowfall. While hurricanes (or the remnants of them) occasionally track through the area, they have often weakened by the time they reach Washington. The average annual snowfall is 17 inches (430 mm) and the average high temperature in January is 43°F (6°C); the average low for January is 24°F (−4°C). The highest recorded temperature was 106°F (41°C) on July 20, 1930 and August 6, 1918 and the lowest recorded temperature was −15°F (−26°C) on February 11, 1899. 1899

People and culture

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there are 572,059 people (2004 estimate: 553,523), 248,338 households, and 114,235 families residing in the city. The population density is 3,597.3/km² (9,316.4/mi²). There are 274,845 housing units at an average density of 1,728.3/km² (4,476.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 60.01% Black or African American, 32.78% White, 2.66% Asian, 0.30% Native American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.84% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. 7.86% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race, with Salvadorans being the largest Hispanic group. A plurality of whites are of British ancestry. There are 248,338 households out of which 19.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.8% are married couples living together, 18.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 54.0% are non-families. 43.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.16 and the average family size is 3.07. In the city the population is spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 12.7% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the city is $40,127, and the median income for a family is $46,283. Males have a median income of $40,513 versus $36,361 for females. The per capita income for the city is $28,659. 20.2% of the population and 16.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 31.1% of those under the age of 18 and 16.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. As of 2000, 83.2% of Washington, D.C. residents age 5 and older speak English at home and 9.2% speak Spanish. French is the third most spoken language at 1.8%, followed by African languages at 1.0% and Chinese at 0.5%. According to the 2001 [http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_studies/aris.pdf American Religious Identification Survey], nearly three out of four District residents self-identified as Christians. This breaks down to 72% Christian (27% Catholic, 19% Baptist, and 26% as some other form of Protestant), 13% stating no religion, and minor religions including 4% Buddhist, 2% Muslim, and 1% Jewish.

Housing

Due in part to the renewed expansion of the federal government, Washington has experienced a huge housing boom that has seen thousands of units constructed, along with thousands of people moving to the District. While the Census Bureau estimated in 2005 that the District's population will drop to 433,000 by 2030, city officials alleged systemic undercounting and released their own estimate that the District's population will rise to 712,000 by 2030.

Crime

During the violent crime wave of the early 1990s, Washington, D.C. was known as the murder capital of the United States. The number of homicides peaked in 1991 at 482, with violence declining drastically since then. Once plagued with violent crime, many D.C. neighborhoods, such as Columbia Heights, are becoming safe and vibrant areas as a result of gentrification. While not as intensely violent, crime hot spots have since displaced farther into the eastern sections of Washington, D.C. and across the border into Maryland. Although the eastern side of the city has developed a reputation for being unsafe, these crime hot spots are generally concentrated in very specific areas that are associated with drugs and gangs. Other areas east of the U.S. Capitol, as well as the city's wealthier Northwest neighborhoods, experience low levels of crime. Despite the declining trends, Washington D.C. crime rates (2004) remain among the highest of U.S. cities, behind only Camden, New Jersey, Detroit, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, and Gary, Indiana. [http://www.morganquitno.com/cit05pop.htm#25]

Landmarks and museums

Gary, Indiana Washington is home to numerous national landmarks and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States. The National Mall is a large, open area in the center of the city featuring many monuments to American leaders, as well as connecting the White House and the United States Capitol buildings. Located prominently in the center of the Mall is the Washington Monument. Other notable points of interest near the Mall include the Jefferson Memorial (see right), Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, National World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the Albert Einstein Memorial. The world famous Smithsonian Institution, is also located in the District. The Smithsonian today is a collection of museums that includes the Anacostia Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait Gallery, National Postal Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the National Zoo. There are also many art museums in D.C., in addition to those that are part of the Smithsonian, including the National Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Corcoran Museum of Art, and the Phillips Collection. The Library of Congress and the National Archives house thousands of documents covering every period in American history. Some of the more notable documents in the National Archives include the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Other points of interest in the District include Arena Stage, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Blair House, Folger Shakespeare Library, Ford's Theatre, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, International Spy Museum, National Building Museum, Old Post Office Building, Theodore Roosevelt Island, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Washington National Cathedral.

Media

Newspaper

The Washington Post is the oldest and most-read daily newspaper in Washington, and has developed into one of the most reputable daily newspapers in the U.S., perhaps most notable for exposing the Watergate Scandal, among other achievements. The daily Washington Times and the free weekly Washington City Paper also have substantial readership in the District. On February 1, 2005 the free daily tabloid Washington Examiner debuted, having been formed from a chain of suburban newspapers known as the Journal Newspapers. The weekly Washington Blade focuses on gay issues, and the Washington Informer on African-American issues. Many neighborhoods in the District have their own small-circulation newspaper, usually published by the neighborhood association on a weekly basis. Some of these papers included the Dupont Current (Dupont Circle), Georgetown Current (Georgetown), In-Towner (Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, & Adams Morgan), Northwest Current (Upper Northwest), the Voice of the Hill, the Hill Rag (Capitol Hill), and East of the River (Anacostia).

Television

The metro area is well served by several local broadcast television stations, and is the eighth largest designated market area in the U.S., with 2,252,550 homes (2.04% of the U.S. population). Major television network affiliates include WUSA 9 (CBS), WJLA 7 (ABC), WRC 4, (NBC), WTTG 5 (Fox), WBDC 50 (WB), WDCA 20 (UPN), as well as WETA 26 and WHUT 32 (PBS) stations. Channels 4, 5, 20, and 50 are owned by the networks themselves. Public Access on Cable Television is also provided by the Public Access Corporation of the District of Columbia on two channels simulcast to both local cable TV Systems. One channel is devoted to religious programming and the other channel provides a diversity of offerings. Several cable television networks have their headquarters in the Washington area including C-SPAN on Capitol Hill, Black Entertainment Television (BET) in Northeast Washington, and Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, Maryland. Major national broadcasters and cable outlets including NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and CNN also maintain a significant presence in Washington, as do those from around the world including the BBC, CBC, and Al Jazeera.

Radio

Al Jazeera There are also several major radio stations serving the metro area, with a wide variety of musical interests. Rock stations include WARW 94.7 FM (classic rock), WIHT 99.5 FM (top 40), WWDC, 101.1 FM (alternative rock), and WWZZ 104.1 FM (alternative rock). Urban stations include WPGC 95.5 FM (Rhythmic CHR/Mainstream Urban), WHUR 96.3 FM (student-run Howard University Urban AC station), WMMJ 102.3FM (Urban AC), WKYS 93.9 FM (Mainstream Urban), and Radio CPR 97.5 FM (a popular pirate radio station broadcasting the area around Mount Pleasant, Adams Morgan, and Columbia Heights). Stations that concentrate on talk and sports include WJFK 106.7 FM, WMAL 630 AM (conservative), WPGC 1580 AM (Urban Gospel), WTEM 980 AM (sports talk), and WTOP 1500 AM (all news). There are also two NPR affiliates: WAMU 88.5 FM (usual NPR programs, community programming, and BBC news) and WETA 90.9 FM (round-the-clock news/analysis, broadcasting shows originating mainly from NPR, PRI, and BBC). Other stations include WASH 97.1 FM (adult contemporary), WMZQ 98.7 FM (country music), WLZL 99.1 FM (Latin/Hispanic), WGMS 103.5 FM (classical music), WPFW 89.3 FM (jazz and progressive talk), WJZW 105.9 FM (smooth jazz), and WRQX 107.3 FM (adult contemporary). XM Satellite Radio and National Public Radio are based in Washington. The Voice of America, the U.S. government's international broadcasting service, is also headquartered in Washington.

Performing arts

There are a number of venues for the performing arts in the city. Arena Stage, one of the first not-for-profit regional theaters in the nation, is rich with history and produces an eight-show season ranging from classics to world premieres, dedicated to the American canon of theater. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosts the National Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Opera, the Washington Ballet, and a variety of other musical and stage performances. Notable local music clubs include Madam's Organ Blues Bar in Adams Morgan; the Eighteenth Street Lounge in the Dupont Circle district; and the Black Cat, the 9:30 Club, and the Bohemian Caverns jazz club, all in the U Street NW area. D.C. has its own native music genre, called go-go, a post-funk, percussion-driven flavor of R&B that blends live sets with relentless dance rhythms (that "go and go and go.") The most accomplished practitioner of go-go was D.C. bandleader Chuck Brown, who brought go-go to the brink of national recognition with his 1979 LP Bustin' Loose. Go-Go band and Washington natives Experience Unlimited hit the American pop charts in 1988 with their memorable dance tune "Da Butt". Washington was also an important center in the genesis of punk rock in the United States. Punk bands of note from Washington include Fugazi, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat. Native Washingtonians continue to support punk bands, long after the punk movement's popularity peaked. The region also has a storied indie rock history and was home to TeenBeat and Simple Machines, among other indie record labels. There have also been a number of television series that have featured the District. Most of these have been related to government (The West Wing) or security organizations (The District, Get Smart). Other programs had the nation's capital as a secondary focus, telling stories on their own that were not always tied to the infrastructure of the government either in the district or for the country. For instance, Murphy Brown focused on the lives of the reporters of the (fictional) Washington-based television newsmagazine, FYI. The soap opera Capitol allowed for stories about political intrigue alongside the traditional class struggle sagas. The sitcom 227 portrayed the life of the African-American majority as seen through the eyes of residents in a Washington apartment building.

Sports

Washington Metro area is home to several professional sports teams: the MLS D.C. United, the NHL Washington Capitals, the NBA Washington Wizards, the WNBA Washington Mystics, the MLB Washington Nationals, and the NFL Washington Redskins (now based at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland). Other professional and semi-professional teams based in D.C. include the USAFL Baltimore Washington Eagles, the NWFA D.C. Divas, the Minor League Football D.C. Explosion, and the Washington Cricket League. It was also home to the WUSA Washington Freedom, and, during the 2000–2002 NLL seasons, the Washington Power was based in the city. There were two Major League Baseball teams named the Washington Senators in the early and mid-20th century, which left to become respectively the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers. In the 19th century, the town was home to teams called the Washington Nationals, Washington Statesmen, and Washington Senators on and off from the 1870s to the turn of the century. Washington was also home to several Negro League teams, including the Homestead Grays, Washington Black Senators, Washington Elite Giants, Washington Pilots, and Washington Potomacs. The MCI Center in Chinatown, Washington, D.C., home to the Capitals, Mystics, Wizards, and the Georgetown Hoyas, is also a major venue for concerts, WWE professional wrestling, and other events. Washington also hosts the annual Legg Mason Tennis Classic tennis tournament that takes place at the Carter Barron Tennis Center on 16th Street.

Economy

Carter Barron Tennis Center Washington, D.C. is first and foremost a company town, with the primary company being, of course, the federal government. A significant portion of the metro area's population has some sort of connection to the federal government. Also, the presence of many major government agencies, including the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, or the Food and Drug Administration, has led to a significant amount of business development both in the District itself as well as in the suburbs of northern Virginia and Maryland. These businesses include federal contractors (defense and civilian), numerous nonprofit organizations, law firms and lobbying firms, catering and administrative services companies, and several other industries that are sustained by the enormous economic presence of the federal government. This arrangement has the effect of making the Washington economy virtually recession-proof relative to the rest of the country, because the federal government will still operate no matter the state of the general economy, and often grows during recessions. The metro area includes thirteen major Fortune 500 companies, including:
- Freddie Mac (McLean, Fairfax County)
- Fannie Mae
- electric utility Pepco Holdings Incorporated
- manufacturing company Danaher
- communications giant Nextel (Reston, Fairfax County)
- the credit card company Capital One (McLean, Fairfax County)
- AES Corporation (Arlington County)
- Gannett (McLean, Fairfax County), the publisher of USA Today
- SLM Corporation (Reston, Fairfax County)
- NVR Incorporated (McLean, Fairfax County)
- hotel services company Marriott International (Bethesda, Montgomery County)
- Choice Hotels (Silver Spring, Montgomery County)
- Coventry Healthcare Incorporated (Bethesda, Montgomery County) Defense contractors General Dynamics (Falls Church) and Lockheed Martin (Bethesda) are also in the metro area. In addition to Nextel, several other major network and communications companies are located in the area, including America Online (Dulles) and MCI Communications (Ashburn). Other media companies located in the DC metro area include the new XM Satellite Radio and Al Hurra (Springfield), a new cable new channel marketed towards Arabic countries. The Public Broadcasting Service is also based in suburban Alexandria, while Discovery Communications, the parent company of such cable networks as the Discovery Channel, is based in Silver Spring. The largest private employer in DC is the [http://wwww.bna.com Bureau of National Affairs], a publishing company based in the west end of the city since the early 1950s. The aerospace and commercial air travel industries also have a major presence in the area, in addition to the aforementioned General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and US Airways. Independence Air, based in Dulles, started service in 2004, and operates as a low-cost air carrier to many major airports in the United States. The regional airline Colgan Air, based in Manassas, also operates out of the DC area. Defense contractor Orbital Sciences Corporation is also based in Dulles and specializes in satellite launch and manufacture. Due to the proximity to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, the American genomics industry has recently sprouted in the Maryland suburbs of Washington. Prominent players are Celera Genomics, The Institute for Genomic Research (also known as "TIGR"), and Human Genome Sciences (all of which are in the city of Rockville). The gross state product of the District in 2004 was $75.264 billion, ranking it #36 when compared with the fifty states.

Infrastructure

Government

Local government

$ The city is run by an elected mayor (currently Anthony A. Williams) and a city council. The city council is composed of 13 members — a representative elected from each of the eight wards and five members, including the chairman, elected at large. The council conducts its work through standing committees and special committees established as needed. District schools are administered by a school board that has both elected and appointed members. There are also 37 elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions that provide the most direct access for residents to their local government. The ANCs serve as local councils, and their suggestions are required to be given "great weight" by the DC Council. However, the U.S. Congress has the ultimate plenary power over the district. It has the right to review and overrule laws created locally, and has often done so. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not apply to the District of Columbia. D.C. residents do pay all federal taxes, such as income tax, as well as local taxes. The mayor and council adopt a budget of local money with Congress reserving the right to make any changes. Much of the valuable property in the District is federally owned and hence exempt from local property taxes; at the same time, the city is burdened with the extraordinary expenses related to its role as the capital, such as police overtime and street cleaning for D.C.'s frequent parades and festivals. These factors are often used to explain why the city's budget is frequently overstretched. However, the federal government also appropriates funds for the city. For instance, according to Public Law 108-7, the federal government provided, among other funds, an estimated 25% of the District's operating budget in 2003. Historically, the city's local government has earned somewhat of a reputation for mismanagement and waste, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry. A front page story in the July 21, 1997 Washington Post reported that Washington had some of the highest cost, lowest quality services in the region. Prosperity in the late 1990s and early 2000s has lessened public pressure on Mayor Williams, who still faces daunting urban renewal, public health, and public education challenges.

Representation in federal government

2000s The U.S. Constitution gives Congress direct jurisdiction for Washington, D.C. While Congress has delegated various amounts of this authority to local government, from time to time, Congress still intervenes in local affairs relating to schools, gun control policy, and other issues. Citizens of the District also lack voting representation in Congress, though they do have three electoral votes in the Presidential elections. Citizens of Washington are represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting delegate (currently Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large)) who sits on committees and participates in debate but cannot vote. D.C. does not have representation in the Senate. Citizens of Washington, D.C. are thus unique in the world, as citizens of the capital city of every other country have the same representation rights as other citizens. Attempts to change this situation, including the proposed District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, have been unsuccessful. The history of D.C.'s relationship with the federal government, as well as the arguments for and against increased representation, are covered in the article District of Columbia voting rights.

Education

Public schools

The public school system in the city is operated by District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and consists of 167 schools and learning centers, which breakdown into 101 elementary schools, 11 middle schools, 9 junior high schools, 20 senior high schools, 6 education centers, and 20 special schools. :See also: District of Columbia Public Schools

Private schools

Other schools in the city include the British School of Washington, Emerson Preparatory School, the Georgetown Day School, the Gonzaga Prepartory School, the Edmund Burke School, the Field School, the German School, the Maret School, the National Cathedral School, Our Lady of Victory, Reformed Theological Seminary, Sheridan School, the Sidwell Friends School, St. Albans School, St. Anselm's Abbey School, St. John's College High School, and the Washington Theological Union.

Colleges and universities

The city also is home to several universities, colleges, and other institutes of higher education, both public and private. The University of the District of Columbia is the city's public university; UDC is the nation's only urban land-grant university and is counted among the historically black colleges. The Department of Agriculture's Graduate School offers continuing-education and graduate-level classes. The Department of Defense maintains the National Defense University at Fort McNair. Among private institutions, Georgetown University is older than the District itself, dating to the late 18th century. It is also the nation's oldest Roman Catholic body of higher education. The two other Roman Catholic universities in the District are The Catholic University of America and Trinity University. The George Washington University, founded by an act of Congress in 1821, is the largest institution of higher education in the nation's capital with its main campus in Foggy Bottom and its Mount Vernon campus in the Foxhall neighborhood of Northwest Washington. GWU is also the second-largest landholder and employer in the District, second only to the Federal government. American University, chartered by act of Congress in 1893, is situated on a 72 acre campus in upper Northwest Washington and is well known for the Washington College of Law, the Kogod School of Business, the School of International Service, and the School of Communication. Also known for international affairs, The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), is dedicated to the graduate study of international relations and international economics and is located near Dupont Circle. Other notable private colleges in the District include Gallaudet University, the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing; Howard University, a historically black university dating to the 19th century; and Southeastern University. The Corcoran College of Art and Design has an arts program attatched to the Corcoran Museum of Art, adjacent to the White House Complex. Strayer University, a for-profit career school, has a campus in Washington, D.C.

Transportation

Aviation

Washington, D.C. is served by three major airports, two of them located in suburban Virginia and one located in Maryland. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is the closest — located in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada. VIA Rail operates trains in eight Canadian provinces (all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island) over a network spanning the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Great Lakes to Hudson Bay. VIA Rail reportedly carries 3.9 million passengers annually. VIA Rail’s corporate headquarters are in Montréal, Québec.

Canadian intercity passenger rail, pre-1978

The post-war era saw two developments which would eventually prove disastrous to previously profitable passenger rail transport offered by Canadian National Railways (CNR), Canadian Pacific Railways (CPR), and smaller lines. Taxpayer subsidized airports and nationalized and private airlines were detrimental to long-distance Canadian intercity passenger trains. Short-distance passenger trains also underwent dramatic restructuring with many being eliminated outright following increased use of personal automobiles and the creation of taxpayer subsidized highways such as the Trans-Canada Highway. By the 1960s it was obvious to both Canadian National (known as CN after 1960) and CPR that passenger trains were no longer viable. CPR sought to rid itself of the burden of operating passenger trains, but federal government regulators and politicians balked, forcing CPR to continue running a minimal service through the 1970s. CN on the other hand, being a Crown corporation, was encouraged by the federal government and political interests to invest in passenger trains. Innovative marketing schemes such as Red, White, and Blue fares, new equipment such as scenic dome cars and rail diesel cars, and services such as Rapido and Turbo trains saw substantial increases in ridership, reversing previous declines. By the 1970s even CN saw the writing on the wall and sought to rid itself of passenger trains. The decline of passenger rail became a federal election issue in 1974 when the government of Pierre Trudeau promised to implement a nation-wide carrier similar to Amtrak in the United States. The bilingual name VIA or VIA CN originated in 1976 as a marketing term for Canadian National’s passenger train services and the VIA logo began to appear on CN passenger locomotives and cars, while still carrying CN logos as well. That September, VIA published a single timetable with information on both CN and CP trains, marking the first time that Canadians could find all major passenger trains in one publication. In 1977, CN underwent a dramatic restructuring when it placed various non-core freight railway activities into separate subsidiaries such as ferries under CN Marine and passenger trains under VIA Rail which was subsequently renamed VIA Rail Canada.

Canadian intercity passenger rail, post-1978

On April 1, 1978 Canadian National’s passenger subsidiary VIA Rail became a separate Crown corporation, taking with it possession of former CN passenger cars and locomotives. Following several months of negotiation, on October 29, 1978 VIA took over operation of CP passenger train services, along with similar possession of cars and locomotives. Passenger train services which were not included in the creation of VIA Rail included those offered by BC Rail, Algoma Central Railway, Ontario Northland Railway, Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway, various urban commuter train services operated by CN and CP, and remaining CN passenger services in Newfoundland. At this time, VIA did not own any trackage and had to pay right-of-way fees to CN and CP, sometimes being the only user of rural branchlines. VIA initially had a tremendous variety of equipment and operated routes stretching from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia and north to Churchill, Manitoba. In excess of 150 scheduled trains per week were in operation, including transcontinental services, regional trains, and corridor services.

Intercity passenger rail rebirth

The national reach and new marketing schemes saw ridership spike in the late 1970s and early 1980s to previously unheard-of levels, brought on partially by unprecedented inflation and rising gas prices.

First round of cuts

However increased ridership would not be VIA’s saviour. In 1981, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s government endorsed Minister of Transport Jean-Luc Pépin’s plan which saw a budget cut to VIA Rail which slashed 40% of VIA’s operations. Gone in an instant were oft-sold out trains such as the Super Continental (which reduced VIA to operating only one transcontinental train, The Canadian) and the popular Atlantic, among others. VIA also sought to reduce its reliance on 30+ year old second-hand equipment and placed a significant order with Bombardier Transportation for new high-speed locomotives and cars which would be used in its corridor trains. The LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) locomotives and cars utilised advanced technology such as active tilt to increase speed, but proved troublesome and would take several years to work out problems.

Restoration of service

The election of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s government in 1984 brought a friend to VIA, initially, when several of Mulroney’s commitments included rescinding the VIA cuts of 1981 by restoring the Super Continental (under pressure from his western caucus), and the Atlantic (under pressure from his eastern caucus and the formidable then-Saint John mayor Elsie Wayne). Mulroney’s government gave VIA funding to refurbish some of its cars, and purchase new locomotives, this time a more reliable model from General Motors Diesel Division. It was during this time on February 8, 1986 that VIA’s eastbound Super Continental collided with a CN freight train near Hinton, Alberta as a result of operator error missing a signal light. The resulting derailment killed 23 people and remains the worst accident in modern Canadian railway history in terms of loss of life.

Second round of cuts

By the late 1980s, inflation and other rising costs were taking their toll on federal budgets and in the Mulroney administration’s infamous 1989 budget, VIA again saw its budget slashed, surpassing even the 1981 cuts under Trudeau. Minister of Transport Benoit Bouchard oversaw the reduction in service on January 15, 1990 when VIA’s operations were reduced by 55%. Services such as the Super Continental were cut again, along with numerous disparate rural services such as in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley and Cape Breton Island, western Canada, and in the corridor. The Canadian was also moved from its ‘home’ rails on CP to the northerly CN route (which the Super Continental had used). This was a less-populated (and less scenic) route between Toronto and Vancouver, severing major western cities such as Regina and Calgary from the passenger rail network and flaring deep-rooted western bitterness toward Ottawa. Officially, the move of the western transcontinental train from the CP to CN line was in order to serve more remote communities, however this move was seen as being politically-motivated. Coincidentally, several prominent members of the governing Progressive Conservatives were elected along the CN route. It was also notable that Harvie André, one of Alberta’s federal cabinet ministers who represented Calgary, was fairly public about the fact that he did not care if he never saw a passenger train again in his life. Emerging out of these disastrous cuts, VIA was a much smaller company and immediately took to rationalizing its fleet of cars and locomotives, resulting in a fleet of refurbished stainless steel (HEP-1 and HEP-2 rebuilds, defined as ‘Head End Power’) and LRC cars, as well as rationalizing its locomotive fleet with GM and Bombardier (LRC) units.

Third round of cuts

VIA was not spared from further cutbacks in Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s government elected in 1993. Minister of Finance Paul Martin’s first budget in 1994 saw further VIA cuts which saw the popular Atlantic dropped from the schedule, focusing the eastern transcontinental service on the Ocean. This move was seen as somewhat controversial and politically motivated as the principal cities benefiting from the Atlantic’s service were Sherbrooke, Quebec and Saint John, New Brunswick, where coincidentally the only two Progressive Conservative Party Members of Parliament in Canada were elected in the infamous 1993 federal election which saw Chrétien’s Liberal Party take power. The Ocean service which was preserved operates on trackage between Montreal and Halifax running through the lower St. Lawrence River valley and northern New Brunswick. The Minister of Transport in Chrétien’s government at the time, Douglas Young, was elected from a district that included Bathurst, New Brunswick, on the Ocean's route. Interestingly, a remote VIA service to Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, the Chaleur was also spared from being cut at this time, despite having less ridership than the Atlantic.

A renaissance?

By the late 1990s, rising environmental concerns focusing on reducing dependence on automobiles and airplanes (see Kyoto Accord), as well as rail-friendly Minister of Transport David Collenette, saw modest funding increases to VIA. Corridor services were improved with new and faster trains, a weekly tourist train The Bras d'Or returned VIA service to Cape Breton Island for the first time since the 1990 cuts, and a commitment was made to continue operating on Vancouver Island, however western Canada continued to languish with the only service provided by The Canadian. In a significant new funding program dubbed ‘Renaissance’, passenger cars were purchased second-hand from a cancelled Great Britain-France project which was to use the Channel Tunnel rail link for long distance journeys, and new diesel-electric locomotives were purchased from General Electric (to replace the retiring LRC units). This expansion to VIA’s fleet has permitted scheduling flexibility, particularly in the corridor. Additionally, many passenger stations have been remodelled into rider-friendly destinations, with several hosting co-located transit and regional bus hubs for various municipalities. On October 24, 2003, federal Minister of Transport David Collenette announced $700 million (CAD) in new funding over the next 5 years. This funding was far below the $3 billion (CAD) needed to implement a high-speed rail proposal in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor nicknamed VIA-Fast, however the funding was intended to ‘provide for faster, more frequent and more reliable passenger service across Canada.... [preserving] the option for higher speed rail, such as the Via Fast proposal’ said Collenette. This new project was to be called ‘Renaissance II’. [http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/10/24/train031024] Critics of ‘Renaissance II’ noted that the majority of spending would take place in the corridor services and not add new trains or improved scheduling to Atlantic and Western Canada. Plagued by problems, the Renaissance cars are nicknamed déplaisance ('displeasure') by French-speaking employees.

Fourth round of cuts

On December 18, 2003, Prime Minister Paul Martin announced a freeze in federal spending on all major capital projects, including VIA’s five-year $700 million capital investment ‘Renaissance II’ program announced just six weeks earlier by outgoing Prime Minister Chrétien’s administration. According to the company, the Transport Minister will be reviewing its plans in 2004 and will then decide whether or not the funding will be made available. Critics of Martin’s cuts noted that he was in a distinct conflict of interest where he and his family through Canada Steamship Lines and various subsidiary and affiliated companies, had a significant investment in the Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines, an intercity bus line in Quebec and eastern Ontario which was a key competitor with VIA Rail. Route cuts under the Martin government include the discontinuance of the seasonal The Bras d'Or tourist train, which ran for the last time in September 2004, and the Montreal-Toronto overnight Enterprise, which was discontinued in September 2005.

VIA’s role in the Sponsorship Scandal

The federal Auditor General’s report released publicly on February 10, 2004 showed what appeared to be a criminal misdirection of government funds intended for advertising to key Quebec-based supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada. (See Sponsorship scandal). Included in the Auditor General’s report was the fact that VIA Rail Canada was used as one of several federal government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations to funnel these illicit funds. Forced to act on the Auditor General’s report due to its political implications, Prime Minister Paul Martin’s government suspended VIA Rail President Marc LeFrançois on February 24, 2004, giving him an ultimatum of several days to defend himself against allegations in the report or face further disciplinary action. Several days later, during LeFrançois’s suspension, a former VIA Rail marketing department employee, Myriam Bédard, revealed she was fired several years earlier when she questioned company billing practices in dealing with advertising companies. She was publicly belittled by VIA Rail Chief Executive Officer Jean Pelletier in national media on February 27, 2004. Pelletier retracted his statements but on March 1, 2004, Pelletier was fired. On March 5, 2004, after failing to adequately defend himself against the allegations in the Auditor General’s report, Lefrançois was fired as well.

VIA Rail today

Despite its role as a political football in both the administration and operation of the company, VIA continues to operate transcontinental service, provided by The Canadian, running three times a week between Toronto and Vancouver in the west, and by the Ocean, operating six times a week between Montreal and Halifax in the east. International connections are provided by agreement with Amtrak and include the Maple Leaf, operating between New York’s Pennsylvania Station and Toronto’s Union Station via Albany and Buffalo. The Adirondack is an exclusive Amtrak train operating between Montreal’s Gare Centrale (Central Station) and New York City’s Penn Station. Amtrak Cascades offers service between Vancouver, BC and Seattle, Washington. There are numerous daily trains operated in the heavily populated Québec-Windsor Corridor which extends from Quebéc City through Montréal, Kingston, Toronto, and London to Windsor. Service between Toronto and Montreal to Ottawa is included in this grouping. While VIA Rail is an independent federal Crown corporation mandated to operate as a business, it is hindered by the fact that it was created by an Order-in-Council of the Privy Council, and not from an actual legislation passed by Parliament. If VIA were enabled by actual legislation, the company could be permitted to seek funding on the open money markets as other Crown corporations such as CN have done in the past. It is largely for this reason that VIA continues to answer first to its political masters, as opposed to the business decisions needed to ensure the viability of intercity passenger rail service.

Vehicles

Locomotives


- General Motors Diesel F40PH-2
- General Electric / GE Transportation Systems P42 Genesis
- General Motors Diesel FP9Au
- Montreal Locomotive Works SW1000
- United Aircraft Turbo
- Bombardier LRC-2 (Light, Rapid, Comfortable)
- Bombardier LRC-3
- Montreal Locomotive Works FPA-4
- Montreal Locomotive Works FPB-4
- Montreal Locomotive Works FPA-2
- Montreal Locomotive Works FPB-2
- Montreal Locomotive Works FPA-2u
- Montreal Locomotive Works FPB-2u
- General Motors Diesel FP9
- General Motors Diesel F9B
- General Motors Diesel FP7A
- Montreal Locomotive Works RS-10 - ex-CP Rail
- General Motors Electro-Motive Division E8A - ex-CP Rail

Passenger Carriages


- Alstom second-hand ‘Renaissance’ coaches, sleepers, and service cars (originally manufactured for ‘Nightstar’ sleeper services through the Channel Tunnel
- Bombardier LRC passenger carriages
- Budd Company Canada streamline coach car - ex-CP Rail
- Budd Company Canada streamline dome car - ex-CP Rail
- Budd Company Canada streamline dining room car - ex-CP Rail
- Budd Company Canada streamline baggage car - ex-CP Rail
- Budd Company Canada coach - ex-CP Rail
- Pullman Standard coach
- Pullman Standard observation car
- Pullman Standard RPO car
- Pullman Standard sleeper car
- Budd Company Canada 46-seat coach
- Budd Company Canada diesel multiple unit - retired / ex-CP
- Budd Company Canada grill and diner car
- Budd Company Canada 10-6 sleeper car
- Budd Company Canada 73' baggage car
- Budd Company Canada lounge car
- Budd Company Canada baggage and dormitory
- Budd Company Canada tavern observation car
- Budd Company Canada dome car
- Colorado Railcar low-level ‘glasstops’ passenger car

Demo units


- Colorado Railcar Aero DMU lead car - proposal only
- Colorado Railcar Single-level ADA DMU coach - proposal only
- United Aircraft/Sikorsky Turbo - ex-Amtrak (scrapped 1982)
- Montreal Locomotive Works/United Aircraft Canada Turbo - scrapped 1982 - ex-CN

See also

Railway companies that used to carry passengers include:
- Canadian National Railway - former Crown corporation
- Canadian Pacific Railway Other publicly-owned regional passenger carriers:
- Ontario Northland Railway
- British Columbia Railway
- GO Transit
- West Coast Express

References


- [http://www.tc.gc.ca/mediaroom/releases/nat/2003/03-h125e.htm Renaissance for passenger cars]
- [http://www.trainweb.com/domecars/via.html VIA Rail Dome cars]
- [http://www.geocities.com/lsisrail/viagif.htm VIA Rail GIFs]
- [http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locoList.aspx?id=Via VIA Rail locomotive roster]

External links


- [http://www.viarail.ca/ VIA Rail Corporate Web Site]
- [http://www.viacampus.ca/ VIA Rail Corporate Web Site targetted at students]
- [http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/via/ CBC News Indepth: Via Rail]

Further reading


- Allen, Tom. ‘Rolling Home: A Cross-Canada Railroad Memoir.’ Toronto: Penguin, 2001. ISBN 067088473-1. Category:Railway companies of Canada Category:Crown corporations of Canada Category:Transportation in Canada ja:VIA鉄道

Canadian National Railway

:CN redirects here. For other uses, see CN (disambiguation). CN (disambiguation) CN (disambiguation) The Canadian National Railway (CN; AAR reporting marks CN, CNA, CNIS), known as Canadian National Railways (CNR) between 1918 and 1960, and Canadian National/Canadien National (CN) from 1960 to present, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian National Railway Company. It is the largest railway in Canada, both in terms of the physical size of its rail network, and in revenue; it is currently Canada's only transcontinental railway company, spanning Canada from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. CN also has extensive trackage in the central United States running along the Mississippi River valley from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Its headquarters are in Montreal, Quebec. Canadian National Railways was created between 1918 and 1923, comprising several railways that had become bankrupt and fallen into federal government hands, along with some railways already owned by the government. In 1995, the federal government privatized CN. Over the next decade, the company expanded significantly in the United States, purchasing Illinois Central Railroad and Wisconsin Central Railway, among others. Now primarily a freight railway, CN also operated passenger services until 1978, when they were assumed by VIA Rail.

Creation of Canadian National Railways, 1918–1923

In response to public concerns fearing loss of key transportation links, the Government of Canada assumed majority ownership of the bankrupt Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) on September 6, 1918 and appointed a "Board of Management" to oversee the company. At the same time, CNoR was also directed to assume control of Canadian Government Railways (CGR), a system comprised of the Intercolonial Railway of Canada (IRC), National Transcontinental Railway (NTR), and the Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR), among others. On December 20, 1918 the federal government created the Canadian National Railways (CNR) through a Privy Council order as a means to simplify the funding and operation of the various railway companies. The absorption of the Intercolonial Railway would see CNR adopt that system's slogan The People's Railway. Another Canadian railway, National Transcontinental Railway, encountered financial difficulty on March 7, 1919 when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway's (GTPR) parent company Grand Trunk Railway (GTR), defaulted on repayment of construction loans to the federal government. The federal government's Department of Railways and Canals took over operation of the GTPR until July 12, 1920 when it too was placed under the CNR. Finally, the bankrupt GTR itself was placed under the care of a federal government "Board of Management" on May 21, 1920, while GTR management and shareholders opposed to nationalization took legal action. After several years of arbitration, the GTR was absorbed into CNR on January 30, 1923. In subsequent years, several smaller independent railways would be added to the CNR as they went bankrupt, or it became politically expedient to do so, however the system was more or less finalized following the addition of the GTR. Canadian National Railways was born out of both wartime and domestic urgency. Railways, until the rise of the personal automobile and creation of taxpayer-funded all-weather highways, were the only viable long-distance land transportation available in Canada for many years. As such, their operation consumed a great deal of public and political attention. Many countries regard railway networks as critical infrastructure (even to this day) and at the time of the creation of CNR during the continuing threat of the First World War, Canada was not the only country to engage in railway nationalization. In the early Twentieth Century many governments were taking a more interventionist role in the economy, foreshadowing the influence of economists like John Maynard Keynes. This political trend, combined with broader geo-political events, made nationalization an appealing choice for Canada. The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and allied involvement in the Russian Revolution seemed to validate the continuing process. The need for a viable rail system was paramount in a time of civil unrest and foreign military intervention.

Criticism of CNR

Regardless of the political and economic importance of railway transportation in Canada; there were many critics of the Canadian government's policies in maintaining CNR as a Crown corporation from its inception in 1918 until its privatization in 1995. Some of the most scathing criticism came from the railway industry itself, namely the commercially successful Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) which argued that its taxes should not be used to fund a competitor. Some argue that the CPR could afford to make this criticism, having been itself the child of government and recipient of untold wealth by virtue of land and resource grants, as well as its position as a monopoly from its completion in 1885 until the CNoR started operations on the Prairies at the turn of the century. As a result of history and geography, CPR served larger population centres in the southern prairies, while the CNR's merged system served as a de-facto government colonization railway to serve remote and undeveloped regions of Western Canada, northern Ontario and Quebec, and the economically-depressed Maritimes. The company also became a convenient instrument of federal government policy from the operation of ferries in Atlantic Canada, to assuming the operation of the narrow-gauge Newfoundland Railway following that province's entry into Confederation, and the partnership with CPR in purchasing and operating the Northern Alberta Railway. A company-driven decision to create a radio network across Canada for its passenger train customers led to the federal government assuming total control in 1932, naming the radio network the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, which was then renamed and organized into a separate Crown corporation in 1936 as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Politics and government priorities

It is generally accepted that government policy dictated CNR commercial decisions, whether such decisions were in the nation's interest, or in the political interest of the party in power. As such, CNR lost money for many years, except during the Second World War when its extensive network reaching into the resource hinterland proved beneficial, and during the late 1980s and early 1990s following deregulation of the Canadian railway industry. Where CNR failed to address costs was largely due to government interference, such as the requirement to purchase locomotives from all Canadian locomotive manufacturers, resulting in operational inefficiencies. CNR was considered to be competitive with CPR in several areas, notably in