VIA's Ready?

I saw this VIA Rail ad pop up in my YouTube recommendations yesterday. In some respects it's charming, but in others it's ripe for satire. It comes at a time when VIA is experiencing considerable problems with its new train sets, the ones being promoted in the video. The most chronic being that travel times along the Québec-Windsor corridor are longer because the trains have to reduce speed on the approach to many level crossings in order to trigger the signals. According to VIA's website they say this translates into a 15 to 45 minute delay, although I have experienced longer ones because the problem with triggering crossing signals isn't the only event that can cause delays. Eric Gagnon has written extensively about VIA's woes and his posts are worth reading if you want all the details (see here and here for example; all his VIA related posts can be found here).

Into this troubled scene the federal government recently announced they want to introduce high-speed rail to Canada. Given the state of passenger rail travel in Canada, from VIA on down to numerous city rail systems, combined with the lack of seriousness in the elite classes, I'd be surprised if high-speed rail appeared in my lifetime, if ever. Believe me, I would very much like to see high-speed rail here for many reasons.

And I would very much like to see something like what's shown in this ad by Japan Rail that Galen forwarded to me not long ago.

I've enjoyed that video more times than I care to admit. Even though I don't understand Japanese the message is loud and clear. On the VIA side, this video is typical of its messaging:

People who know us know we take VIA a lot. Most think we're crazy to do so. The ones who are curious don't ask us how VIA is dealing with society's ills, but things like how much do tickets cost, how long does a trip take, have we ever been stuck in a remote area in a broken down train, is the Wi-Fi any good, and so on. Whether young or old the questions seem to be the same.

VIA usually emails me a post-trip survey, and I even recently received a questionnaire about services they should offer in the future (and how much extra I'd pay for them!). The questions always focus on amenities and social problems, never on the things I'm actually asked.

Well, I know all this is marketing and messaging on VIA's part to counteract the not wholly undeserved negative press it's getting. Is it working? I have no idea. 

My preference is for more subtle, positive, forward looking, or even sentimental ads instead of the bonk-you-on-the-head while proselytizing ones we're getting. Something with vision. Only slightly tongue-in-cheek might I suggest something based on either of these Aretha Franklin masterpieces:

Or if you're looking for maybe a more train-like rhythm, I suggest this instrumental by Thom Rotella. You could cut and mix sections from it to create a video called, 'VIA's Ready', but only if you are :-)