VIA Rail’s aging trains | Ottawa will invest “a lot of money”, assures Pablo Rodriguez

VIA Rail Canada will have “a lot of money” to replace its long-distance trains, which will reach the end of their useful life by 2035, promises Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez. However, he refuses for the moment to give details on the final bill, which could total several billion.

“We’re not going to tell the bidders how much money we have, but I can tell you […] “That’s a lot of money and you’ll see the impact,” Rodriguez cautiously promised Thursday at a news conference in Moncton, New Brunswick. “The money is there and will be there,” he insisted.

As early as February, the Crown corporation had warned that it would need billions of dollars from the federal government to replace its long-distance trains, which will reach the end of their useful life by 2035. There were fears at the time that major cuts to service would be required if nothing was done.

Although not quantified, the federal commitment to fund the replacement of long-distance vehicles, built between 1946 and 1955, is included in the last budget. These cars serve the entire exterior of the Quebec-Windsor corridor, in which VIA Rail has already invested $1.5 billion to equip itself with 32 new trains.

These run for about 1,500 kilometers, while the “long-distance” network is 10,000 kilometers. In short, the cost of the federal investment will be very high, possibly in the eight figures. Suppliers will be able to start bidding “in the coming weeks”, with a procurement process to be launched shortly.

“These will be much more reliable, more modern trains, with adapted characteristics in terms of accessibility and in all respects. All the wagons will be renewed,” maintained Mr. Rodriguez.

No Canadian obligation

Unless there is a change, the call for tenders will not impose obligations on Canadian materials, indicated VIA Rail’s chief service officer, Rita Toporowski. Foreign suppliers will therefore also be accepted. “We have an opportunity to examine the design of these future trains differently,” she noted.

In an interview earlier this week, VIA Rail’s senior manager, product and service planning, Dean Rockhead, argued that the design challenge behind the new long-distance trains will be enormous.

“If the 32 trains that we will operate in the Quebec-Windsor corridor between now and next year are considered a 2/10 difficulty, the long route would probably be a 10/10. We are completely elsewhere,” said Mr. Rockhead.

Unlike the trains that run between Ontario and Quebec, the long-distance cars “are a bit like a cruise,” he said. “The customer offering has a major impact on a four-day trip. It’s more than just seats, desks and bathrooms: we’re talking about lounges, bedrooms, small rooms and different types of services that need to be reviewed. It’s much more complex to reorganize,” Rockhead explained.

In the short term, the federal government also allocated $462.4 million over five years in its last budget for the daily operation of the VIA Rail network.

What about punctuality?

As for the punctuality problems of passenger trains, which still have to stop and give way to freight trains, Pablo Rodriguez says he “understands the discussions we need to have” with Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP), the owners of the tracks.

Earlier this week, VIA Rail said it wanted to take advantage of the momentum surrounding its development to accelerate discussions surrounding CN and CP. The latter, which mainly operate freight trains, have priority on the tracks, which delays passenger train routes, much to the chagrin of users.

“In the meantime, where we can intervene directly, we do so,” the minister persisted, while reiterating that CN and CP have an obligation to “take care of the security of their own infrastructure.” “They must do their job. We do ours with VIA Rail,” he said.

Mr. Rodriguez said he has discussions “on a daily basis” with the two major players in the rail industry regarding safety.