Thank, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to thank the witnesses for being with us today. It is very important for us to find out what is happening on the ground.
I will first turn to the representatives from Via Rail.
I adore your service and I think it is very important. I have often taken the train and I would like to do so even more. To be quite frank, I feel safe when I am riding one of your trains. I would like Via Rail to be in the position of providing even more services and I would like people to take the train even more often because, as you said, it is a humane way of travelling. As well, it is good for the environment.
You also talked about infrastructure. Given the fact that the rail sector is being privatized, you often realize that Via Rail does not own the tracks. So you depend on the companies which own the tracks. Sometimes these companies do their own inspections, but Via Rail tells them that the tracks are still not safe enough for passenger rail service, and so they would not travel along those tracks.
Take, for instance, the Miramichi-Bathurst line. As you know, part of that line is not in working order, so passenger rail service becomes a problem. There is also the Moncton-Edmundston line, which, for its part, would require investment in its infrastructure, since there is no train station, among other things.
What is the problem with those tracks? Why can they not be used for passenger rail service?