The federal government says it plans to spend $1.6 billion to replace 45 of Via Rail’s aging locomotives.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon is making the announcement today in Montreal, where the federal government is spending another $357 million to build a new assembly plant and maintenance facility.
Ottawa says the trains will be built by Switzerland-based Stadler, with the first nine built in Spain and the remaining 36 built in Canada—after Canadian workers learn from the Spaniards how to build them.
The trains will replace Via Rail’s fleet across the country, except for the Windsor-Quebec City corridor, where the federal government is planning a new high-speed rail line….