Year in Review - Canada's Railways Hope For Better Results in 2010
For VIA Rail and the country's commuter rail operators, 2009 brought needed financial injections from government that will help set them on the right track to meet the expectations of their growing number of customers. Inter-city, commuter and tourist traffic totaled 72.3 million passengers in 2008, and is still growing."
The federal government allocated about
It will take VIA a couple of years to complete all its renewal projects. When they're done, the company says it will be in top shape and ready to run more frequent trains in the busy Ontario-Quebec corridor and offer better accommodations on its eastern and western transcontinental services.
The federal and provincial governments announced major financial support for commuter rail projects such as a major renovation of Union Station in downtown
The New Year may finally bring some clarity to the hottest public transportation issue -- the prospects for high speed passenger trains linking
The freight carriers saw their traffic tumble by upwards of 25 per cent during the first half of 2009 as the recession cut into the overseas demand for coal, sulphur and other export commodities as well as the movement of containerized goods in and out of
Signs of improvement could be seen in the number of locomotives and freight cars brought out of storage toward the end of 2009 to handle an up-tick in business. Strong demand for Canadian grain and specialty crops was one of the bright lights for the carriers during 2009. Promising new business for the railways includes ethanol and wood pellets being used in electricity-generating plants.
One unknown for the rail industry is what commitments
The railways should also get a boost when the federal government's infrastructure expansion and economic stimulus programs hit full steam during 2010. They could bring more business to the railways hauling materials for construction projects across the country.
Canada's 53 railways transport 75 per cent of freight traffic in
For further information: Media Contact: Roger Cameron, Railway Association of Canada, (613) 564-8097, [email protected]
Share this article