Government of Canada and VIA Rail announce new station for Brockville
BROCKVILLE, ON,
"Investment in a new VIA station for Brockville will not only create new jobs and stimulate the economy, but also allow VIA to provide better service to its local customers," said MP Brown. "By investing in rail services and facilities such as those here in Brockville, our government is stimulating economic activity and job creation, contributing to environmental sustainability and improving Canada's passenger rail system for years to come."
VIA's
VIA's new Brockville station will be a fully-accessible and aesthetically-pleasing structure adjacent to the existing building. VIA is currently studying options for the design of the new station, with the final design to be selected early next year.
VIA estimates that it will invest as much as
"This rail service is as relevant today as it was decades ago, when the Grand Trunk's first train steamed into town," said Acting
VIA's Brockville Station Project is linked with other work now or soon to be underway throughout the Quebec-Windsor Corridor, which generates almost 90% of VIA's ridership and 75% of its revenue. In combination, these projects will allow for increases in safety, frequencies and on-time performance, as well as reductions in travel time.
Major upgrading work is also underway on key elements of VIA's locomotive and rolling stock fleets for corridor, transcontinental and remote service. Other infrastructure projects are aimed at improving service quality and cost efficiency at other points across VIA's coast-to-coast route network. These upgrades are part of an unprecedented
About VIA Rail
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective passenger transportation, both in Canada's business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Every week, VIA operates 503 intercity, transcontinental and regional trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network. The demand for VIA services is growing as travelers increasingly turn to train travel as a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible alternative to congested roads and airports. In 2008, VIA safely transported 4.6 million passengers - the most since 1989, when the network of services was much larger - and set an all-time record of
Backgrounders:
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VIA's CN Kingston Subdivision Project
Other Capital Investment Backgrounders
Backgrounder
Investing in passenger rail
This investment will help VIA to maintain and improve the reliability of
passenger service across the country, and ensure that the service remains both
cost-effective and sustainable in the future.
- A major investment to rebuild and modernize VIA's oldest equipment will
improve reliability and comfort for passengers and better respond to
the needs of today's travelers, while reducing maintenance costs.
- In the Quebec City - Windsor Corridor, improved track and signaling
will help to eliminate train delays caused by traffic congestion, and
increase capacity for faster, more frequent train service.
- VIA will modernize key passenger stations to better address customer
needs, and to meet changing operational and safety requirements.
- Investments will also upgrade VIA's maintenance facilities and
information systems that are critical to the efficient management of
the service.
Equipment
Modernizing locomotives
VIA's total fleet includes 53 F-40 locomotives, which are more than twenty years old. These locomotives are used in all parts of
The F-40s are nearing the end of their normal life cycle. As they age, more frequent mechanical problems result in more train delays, and escalating maintenance costs.
VIA will completely rebuild and modernize the F-40 locomotives, extending their service life by 15-20 years at less than half the cost of buying new equipment. Rebuilding will not only bring the F-40s back to their original, as-new condition, but upgrade the locomotives to meet current environmental, safety and operating standards. The rebuilt equipment will provide more reliable train service to travelers, and reduce maintenance costs by up to 15 percent once the project is complete.
Renewing the LRC passenger cars
VIA currently has 98 LRC ("light, rapid, comfortable") passenger cars used for both first-class and coach service in the
The LRCs have been in service for more than 25 years, and they no longer meet the expectations of travelers in terms of comfort and amenities. Obsolete parts are becoming increasingly expensive to maintain, and reliability is deteriorating.
VIA will rebuild the LRC cars to better-than-new condition, and extend their service life by another 15-20 years. This investment will reduce maintenance costs and improve reliability, while upgrading passenger comfort and amenities to meet current standards in the marketplace. New technologies will also make the operation of this equipment more environmentally sustainable.
Improved accessibility
In keeping with its commitment to provide accessible service, VIA is undertaking a number of equipment modifications to make rail service more convenient and comfortable for travelers with restricted mobility. These include enhanced sleeping accommodations on the eastern transcontinental service, along with larger washroom facilities, improved tie-down areas for those with wheel-chairs, and accommodation for service animals. Equipment used in the
Environmental benefits
VIA works continually to reduce the environmental impact of passenger rail operations. Since 1990, VIA has reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 15 percent, building on the inherent environmental benefits of train travel.
The investment in modernizing equipment will further enhance these benefits. New technologies included in rebuilding the F-40 locomotives will ensure that they meet current environmental standards for locomotive emissions. The rebuilt LRC cars will also incorporate environmental enhancements, including new, more efficient heating, cooling and ventilation systems. Together, these modifications will result in an additional 9 percent reduction in fuel consumption and GHG emissions.
Infrastructure
Most of the rail infrastructure used by passenger trains is owned by, and shared with, freight railways. In the
VIA will work with the freight railways to upgrade the infrastructure, with major projects on all Corridor routes. This will allow VIA to improve service between all major cities, including
This investment in infrastructure will include:
- Upgraded track, along with new sidings and "passing" track in key
locations;
- Improved rail/road crossings and crossing protection;
- New pedestrian over- and under-passes;
- Enhanced security;
- Improved signaling, with VIA's Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) system
extended to cover all Corridor infrastructure.
Improved infrastructure will enhance safety, while eliminating many delays caused by congestion, and allow passenger trains to operate at higher speeds. As a result, capacity will increase, allowing VIA to provide faster and more frequent service throughout the Corridor. VIA projects that it will accommodate more than one million additional passengers - an increase in ridership of 32 percent over 2006 - when the infrastructure improvements are complete.
Stations
Along with infrastructure improvements, VIA will upgrade and modernize key passenger stations to serve customers more efficiently, and to address operational and safety needs. Major station projects include improved platforms, lounges, lighting and boarding gates, interior and exterior renovations, and in some cases expansion or new facilities.
Investing for efficiencyThe Government of Canada's five-year investment plan also addresses the need to keep key facilities and business systems up to date, to support efficient operations. VIA will upgrade its maintenance facilities, including machinery and tools. In addition, VIA is upgrading information technology systems to improve the efficiency of functions such as ticketing and managing customer information.
Media Contacts:
Elizabeth Huart Ashley Doyle
Corporate Communications Corporate Communications
(514) 871-6119 (416) 956-7613
[email protected] [email protected]
Backgrounder
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THE CN KINGSTON SUBDIVISION
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Canada's Steel Speedway
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
VIA's two-year CN Kingston Subdivision Project, valued at more than
The Kingston Subdivision Project will build on the improvements underway or soon to begin on other segments of VIA's Quebec-Windsor Corridor, which generates about 90% of VIA's ridership and revenue. The project is also strategically linked with the current rebuilding of the locomotive and rolling stock fleets.
This work is all part of an unprecedented
Phase I of VIA's CN Kingston Subdivision Project includes:
- Additional main line track
Sections of third main line track will be added to the existing double-track line west of the Brockville station, between Mallorytown and east of Gananoque, from Napanee West to the Belleville station, between Grafton and the Cobourg station, and at Oshawa. With this additional track, three or more trains - VIA passenger and CN freight - will be able to safely and quickly overtake or pass each other without stopping. A fourth track will be built at Belleville to further expand capacity at this busy station.
As well, additional remotely-controlled crossovers and signalling that allow trains to move quickly from one main track to another will be installed at various locations. Warning systems will be modified and upgraded at all public road level crossings within these areas.
- Expanded freight siding and yard track
In the Greater
At Brockville, Belleville, Cobourg and Oshawa, new island platforms will be built between the tracks. These will eliminate the need for all trains to cross over to one side of the main line to board or disembark passengers at the current station platforms. The new platforms will be connected with the stations by fully-accessible bridges or tunnels, so passengers will not have to cross the tracks.
ABOUT THE PROJECT'S BENEFITS:
The main transportation benefit of the first phase of VIA's CN Kingston Subdivision Project will be the creation of enough capacity to safely and efficiently handle two additional daily roundtrips on the Montreal-Toronto and Ottawa-Toronto routes, as well as further additions to the Montreal-Ottawa service.
Additional departure and arrival times - as well as assured on-time performance - are key factors in encouraging more travellers to choose environmentally-beneficial passenger rail for journeys within and beyond VIA's Quebec-Windsor Corridor. Trains emit only one-third the greenhouse gases per passenger of intercity automobiles and planes.
The VIA Kingston Subdivision Project will also stimulate much new economic activity and job creation. To date, CN has hired 100 workers to undertake this project on behalf of VIA. Additional jobs will be created throughout the two-year span of the project. The project will also generate additional economic activity and employment for those private firms supplying track, signal and construction materials and services to VIA and CN.
ABOUT THE LINE:
The CN Kingston Subdivision - over which VIA operates its most frequent and fastest trains - was built by the pioneering Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) as part of a scheme with two major objectives. First, it would link the largest cities and towns of British
Equally important, it would be an international line providing the shortest and fastest route from the U.S. railway hub of
Incorporated on
Today, the CN Kingston Subdivision is a 539-kilometre double-track line linking
The CN Kingston Subdivision consists of track built with high-strength steel rails rolled in specialized mills in
The rail is positioned and held in place under the tremendous dynamic and lateral forces of the trains with steel tie plates and rail anchors, and then spiked to treated hardwood crossties. The ties are spaced 22" apart, requiring 3,110 ties per mile of single track. The track is laid to the standard gauge of 4' 8 1/2" between the railheads. This track structure is built on top of a three-part roadbed that consists of a layer of clean earth sub-grade, gravel sub-ballast and crushed rock ballast on top.
One mile of main line track on the CN Kingston Subdivision requires 240 tons of rails, six tons of spikes, 63 tons of tie plates and 2,730 tons of ballast. Building a single-track section without bridges or diverging track switches costs about
The mix and density of rail traffic that operates over this robust track structure is among the most complex in
In total, the various segments of the CN Kingston Subdivision are traversed on a typical weekday by as many as 130 trains, including:
- 36 VIA intercity passenger trains;
- 22 CN freight trains; and
- 72 GO Transit commuter trains.
Due to the speed, length and weight differences between intercity passenger and freight trains, the most complex section of the line is between Kingston and Pickering Junction, where the majority of CN trains diverge on to the freight bypass line that takes them north of
Operations on the Kingston Subdivision are directed by computer-assisted Centralized Traffic Control under the direction of rail traffic controllers (RTCs) at CN's Rail Traffic Control Centres in
ABOUT VIA'S QUEBEC-WINDSOR CORRIDOR:
VIA's 1,150-kilometre Quebec-Windsor Corridor serves the most densely populated and industrialized area of the country, which is home to more than half of Canada's population. The corridor is at the heart of VIA's 12,500-kilometre transcontinental route network, generating more than 3.5 million trips annually and accounting for nearly 90% of the corporation's ridership and revenue.
VIA's Quebec-Windsor Corridor services include five primary routes:
- Quebec-Montreal;
- Montreal-Ottawa;
- Montreal-Toronto;
- Ottawa-Toronto; and
- Toronto-Windsor.
Two additional connecting routes within this region extend VIA's reach to cities such as Kitchener-Waterloo, Stratford, Sarnia and Niagara Falls.
More than 400 of VIA's 503 weekly passenger trains operate on the five main corridor routes every week. The Montreal-Toronto route is the most frequent in the VIA network, offering travellers six weekday departures from its end terminals. Residents of the City of Kingston - who are also served by VIA's Ottawa-Toronto trains - have a choice of 11 convenient departure times for points west to
Three railways own the lines over which VIA's Quebec-Windsor Corridor trains operate. VIA owns, maintains and operates three key segments of the Quebec-Windsor Corridor: Coteau-Ottawa, Ottawa-Smiths Falls and Chatham-Windsor. The Smiths Falls-Brockville line is owned by Canadian Pacific and all the other lines belong to CN. VIA reimburses CN and CP for the use of their line segments, which are shared with those railways' freight trains.
ABOUT VIA RAIL CANADA:
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective passenger transportation, both in Canada's business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Every week, VIA operates 503 intercity, transcontinental and regional trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network.
The demand for VIA services is growing as travellers increasingly turn to train travel as a safe, hassle-free and environmentally responsible alternative to congested roads and airports. In 2008, VIA safely transported 4.6 million passengers - the most since 1989 - and set an all-time record of
ABOUT CN:
The Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries span
For further information: Media: Elizabeth Huart, VIA Rail Canada, (514) 887-6119; Chris Hilton, Office of the Minister of State (Transport), (613) 991-0700
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