The federal government is investing $1.95 billion to renew VIA Rail Canada’s long-distance, regional and remote locomotive fleet while returning passenger locomotive assembly to Canada for the first time in decades.

The investment includes $1.6 billion for Swiss rail manufacturer Stadler to produce 45 new hybrid battery-diesel locomotives, with final assembly of up to 36 units to take place in Canada using Canadian suppliers. The remaining $357 million will fund construction of a new locomotive assembly and maintenance facility in Montreal, where Pomerleau will build the plant and VIA Rail will maintain the new fleet over the long term.

The project is expected to support the equivalent of 1,200 full-time jobs in manufacturing, construction, engineering and long-term maintenance, with economic benefits centred in Montreal and extending across Canada’s rail supply chain.

The hybrid-powered locomotives, which will use battery systems supplied by ABB’s Saint-Laurent facility, will replace VIA Rail’s aging fleet on routes outside the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Transport Canada said the locomotives will be North America’s first hybrid-powered passenger units, reducing fuel consumption while providing a platform for future zero-emission propulsion.

The funding builds on commitments announced in the 2024 federal budget to replace VIA Rail’s aging fleet serving long-distance, regional and remote routes. It follows earlier investments made through Budget 2018 to renew trains operating in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor.

Pictured: VIA Rail passenger train.

Photo: CNW Group/VIA Rail