The federal government is making a major investment to improve the Via Rail fleet and the construction of a new facility.
Ottawa plans to spend $1.6 billion to replace 45 of Via Rail’s older locomotives, with another $357 million used to build a new assembly and maintenance facility in Montreal.
In a press release, Transport Canada noted that the investments will support the equivalent of 1,200 full-time jobs throughout the project, including skilled manufacturing, construction, engineering, and long-term maintenance.
The trains will be built by Swiss-based Stadler, with the majority of the locomotives manufactured in Canada. To be specific, the first nine will be built in Spain, while the remaining 36 will be built in Canada after Canadian workers learn to assemble them from the Spanish workers.
The new trains are expected to be the first hybrid trains in North America. The press release notes that the batteries will be supplied by ABB from its Saint-Laurent facility.
“An aging fleet comes with challenges. Today’s announcement gives us the tools we need to do better by our passengers,” said Mathieu Paquette, CEO, Via Rail, in a press statement. “The new hybrid locomotive offers us better performance, reliability, and will allow us to reduce our emissions and fuel use.”
The Federal Government says the new trains will replace the fleet across the country, except in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, where the Alto high-speed rail line is planned. The trains on that route were replaced in 2018.
Interestingly, Global News notes that Via’s fleet currently consists of 52 General Motors F40PH-2 locomotives, which entered service in the late 1980s and still haven’t reached the end of their life cycle. When asked why the trains are being replaced, Paquette pointed to “extreme weather.”
The first trains are expected to enter service by 2031.
Source: Transport Canada Via: Global News, CP24
Image credit: Via Rail
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