4 November 2004 Can't Add More Trains Without Capacity Upgrades If GO Transit chairman Gordon Chong is going to dabble in railway history to gain better access to the tracks of the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways, he ought to get it right. Instead, he has twisted history to suit his flaming rhetoric.   Contrary to Chong, the CPR did not bribe Sir John A. Macdonald to get tax dollars to build the transcontinental main line. It was another company. That discredited firm and Macdonald's own government fell as a result. The deal with today's 123-year-old CPR to build "the wedding band of Confederation" has often been assessed as perhaps the first and one of the most successful public-private partnerships in Canadian history.   Second, it is grossly unfair to use the sacrifices made by Chinese railway labourers - and other native-born workers and immigrants from other lands - to secure concessions from today's railways. The whole episode comes from a thankfully, bygone era with different national mores and values. Remember, lament and applaud the efforts of those labourers, but don't use their hardships to redress current commercial grievances.   Even more disturbing is Chong's apparent lack of understanding of the state of our railways. Every major North American line has been declared by regulatory agencies on both sides of the border to be revenue inadequate. As a result, much of the railway system is being stretched to the limit by increased traffic and inadequate capacity. Chong shouldn't expect to add commuter trains to this strained physical plant without investing in capacity upgrades that will keep passengers and freight flowing.   The way to resolve these problems and create a better lot for all users is through reasoned debate and negotiation. What Chong has offered up is the opposite.   That's bad for commuters, freight shippers, railroaders and the public in general. I would have expected better of someone representing a transit agency I have always admired and praised repeatedly in my work as a transportation writer and analyst.   Greg Gormick - Toronto