Letter Decision No. LET-AT-R-128-2003

By letter dated May 26, 2003, VIA Rail Canada Inc. (VIA) responded to the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency)'s direction to show cause contained in Agency Decision No. 175-AT-R-2003 dated March 27, 2003. This submission continues to be under consideration by the Agency.

The Agency has, in the meantime, received a submission from the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) dated May 29, 2003, regarding both VIA's response to the show cause and information that CCD has received regarding VIA's response to the Transport Canada Rail Safety Directorate's Notice regarding the Renaissance cars, including the economy coach car washrooms. VIA is hereby required to provide its comments on CCD's submission of May 29, 2003 at or before 5 p.m. E.D.T., Monday, June 2, 2003.

Furthermore, the Agency notes CCD's submission that "[i]t makes no sense for VIA to be showing designs for an accessible washroom to Transport Canada but withholding them from CCD and the Agency." In this regard, the Agency refers to section (a) of its direction to show cause, located at page 145 of Decision No. 175-AT-R-2003, whereby VIA was required to identify the various methods of remedying each of the identified obstacles in the Renaissance Cars, and to section (b) of that same direction, whereby VIA was required to give consideration to those methods of remedying an obstacle that CCD specifically identified. VIA was also required to indicate whether those methods are structurally possible and, if so, as set out in sections (b), (c) and (d) of the direction, to provide further details, including the structural modifications required and an estimate of the cost of those modifications. The Agency identified six obstacles in the accessible area of the Renaissance economy coach cars, that being the wheelchair tie-down area and the route between the two washrooms leading to the accessible suite.

It appears that VIA has prepared, approved and submitted design proposals to Transport Canada that have implications on these accessible areas of the economy coach cars. As such, the Agency finds that these plans are relevant to the Agency's continuing investigation of this matter. In view of this and in light of the requirements of the direction to show cause, the Agency, pursuant to section 18 of the National Transportation Agency General Rules, hereby requires VIA to submit copies of all documentation submitted to Transport Canada regarding the four possible designs for modifications to the economy coach car washrooms and surrounding areas, as well as all supporting documentation, including the engineering reports and estimates for the costs of the four designs, regardless of whether they were submitted to Transport Canada. Given the apparent urgency of this issue, the impending Transport Canada process, and the fact that these documents appear to already be in existence, the Agency requires these documents to be filed at or before 5 p.m., Monday, June 2, 2003.