VIA Rail awards $46 million contract to Cad Railway Industries for renovation of 25 train cars

MONTREAL, April 10, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) has awarded a contract valued at $46 million to Cad Railway Industries (Cad) to upgrade 25 train cars intended for use on the long-haul train, the Canadian. Built in the 1950s, these cars will be completely refurbished and transformed to better meet our clients' present and future needs. VIA Rail President and Chief Executive Officer Yves Desjardins-Siciliano announced the investment this morning at the company's Montreal site in the presence of the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport; Anju Dhillon, Member of Parliament for Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle; Françoise Bertrand, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, VIA Rail; and Fausto Levy, Cad Chairperson of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. This work will be undertaken by 100 Cad employees at their Montreal facilities.

As part of VIA Rail's commitment to sustainable mobility, the contract awarded to Cad to renovate these stainless steel cars will extend their useful life by a few decades and is in keeping with the Corporation's "reuse-recycle-upgrade" approach. The cars will be retrofitted with a view to enhancing the passenger experience and making the equipment more reliable.

The work will include:

• updating the interior design of the cars;
• improving seat comfort;
• installing devices to make the cars Wi-Fi ready for future deployment;
• carrying out a mechanical upgrading;
• renewing the heating systems;
• replacing various electronic/electrical components.

Providing safe, accessible and environmentally sound services
The renovations are part of VIA Rail's transformation plan for Canadian rail passenger service. This plan includes renovating a part of the rolling stock and acquiring a new fleet for the Quebec City – Windsor corridor. Funding for these undertakings was approved by the federal government in its 2017 and 2018 Budgets, respectively. As part of this program, a contract was awarded to Bombardier Transportation for the renovation of 17 train cars that will form a new fully accessible generation of cars. This work will significantly increase the number of refurbished 1950s-era cars to better serve our clients. The program is scheduled to be completed in 2020. The contracts with Cad and Bombardier are in addition to 33 cars currently under renovation, and the other cars that were converted over the past years by VIA Rail's Montreal Maintenance Centre experts.

Quotes
"VIA Rail plays an important role in the life of Canadians, who expect and are entitled to a safe, efficient, affordable and accessible passenger rail network. This is an essential service to meet their transportation needs, whether they are visiting friends and family, exploring Canada or simply commuting to work. The Government of Canada is proud to support VIA Rail in its fleet retrofit project, an undertaking that will enhance the passenger experience."

The Honourable Marc Garneau
Minister of Transport

"Today's announcement is excellent news for economic growth and job creation in the region. I am delighted that VIA Rail can look forward to a future that is safe, reliable, accessible and environmentally friendly for generations to come."

MPP Anju Dhillon (Dorval-Lachine-LaSalle)

"We would like to thank the Government of Canada for the confidence it has placed in us. Created more than 40 years ago, VIA Rail is more determined than ever to build a sustainable future for Canadians. These renovations will not only greatly enhance the passenger experience on our transcontinental routes, but they will also ensure the sustainability of our long-haul service between Toronto and Vancouver over a number of years. This investment is part of our transformation plan and is in addition to the federal funding for the acquisition of a new fleet in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, and the production of fully accessible cars. We are proud to have entered into this agreement with Cad Railway Industries, a well-known Canadian company, following a fair, open and transparent bidding process."

Yves Desjardins-Siciliano
VIA Rail President and Chief Executive Officer

"Cad Railway Industries, Canada's largest company in the field of rolling stock repair and refurbishing, together with our 500 employees at the Lachine, Toronto, Oshawa and Calgary plants, is honoured by the trust VIA Rail has shown in our firm with this major contract. The work will extend over the next two years and will create about 100 jobs at our Lachine plant. It will also result in large orders for components from our many Québec and Canadian suppliers. Cad Railway Industries has provided similar services to VIA Rail in the past – on time and on budget – for such work as retrofitting and upgrading 53 F40 locomotives and 40 LRC cars. We are proud to offer our expertise to VIA Rail and its employees, and for the benefit of all VIA Rail passengers."

Fausto Levy
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cad Railway Industries Inc.

About Cad Railway Industries
Established 45 years ago in Lachine, QC, Cad Railway Industries is Canada's largest rolling stock repair and refurbishment company. The refurbishment work of Cad Railway Industries adds approximately 20 years of useful life to railway vehicles and related components. The company also has a testing center — unique in Quebec and Canada — and one of only three in North America. It also works with its main customers on R&D projects aimed at optimizing the performance of new or refurbished diesel engines, reducing their energy consumption and their atmospheric emissions. The company has 500 employees at its strategically located facilities in Lachine, Toronto, Oshawa and Calgary.
Visit the website at www.cadrail.ca.

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail (viarail.ca) and all its employees are mandated to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country. VIA Rail operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking over 400 communities across Canada, and about 180 more communities through intermodal partnerships, and safely transports nearly four million passengers annually. The Corporation has been awarded five Safety Awards and three Environment Awards by the Railway Association of Canada since 2007. Visit the "About VIA Rail" section at: www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail.

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SOURCE VIA Rail Canada Inc.

For further information: Mariam Diaby, Media Relations, VIA Rail Canada, 514 871-6010 | 1 877 393-8787, [e-mail] | [e-mail]; Delphine Denis, Press Secretary, Office of the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, Ottawa, 613-991-0700, [e-mail]; Media Relations, Transport Canada, Ottawa, 613-993-0055, [e-mail]

Related Links

http://www.viarail.ca/