The Gaspésie train will once again run to Gaspé. The CAQ government announced on Tuesday an investment of more than half a billion dollars for “the complete rehabilitation” of the railway by 2026.
The CAQ thus confirms the upgrading of the railway line between Port-Daniel-Gascons and Gaspé, a 127 km project which represents a bill of 518 million dollars.
This section represents an engineering challenge. About ten kilometers once rested on sandbanks now swallowed by the sea. Several landslides have also damaged the route and on 24 major infrastructures, all but one require major work.
Before the train can run again, it will also be necessary to replace more than 120 culverts, redo a retaining wall and move the track in three places.
“Today, we are taking a crucial step with the announcement of the work for the third and final section,” applauded the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, in a press release. A first project of 54 million dollars had allowed freight trains to run again, in 2020, between Matapédia and Caplan.
The injection of 300 million additional dollars makes it possible to repair the section between Caplan and Port-Daniel-Gascons. The project is in progress and should be completed in 2024.
In all, the return of the train to the Gaspé Peninsula has an estimated cost of $871 million. “The railway is an essential economic development tool for the region,” said MNA for Gaspé, Stéphane Sainte-Croix. It is a strategic asset for Gaspésie. »
Passenger trains have not run on the south coast of the Gaspé Peninsula since 2013. The government hopes for their return once the repair of the track is completed up to Gaspé.