Canada announces $4.7-billion deal for 313 new via rail passenger cars

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a $4.7-billion contract to build 313 new passenger rail cars for Via Rail, with the new fleet to be manufactured in Canada.

Carney made the announcement Thursday at the Alstom plant in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where the passenger cars will be produced.

The prime minister said many of Via Rail’s existing cars serving long-distance and remote routes are more than 70 years old and are overdue for replacement.

“Our rail cars on our long-distance and remote routes are more than 70 years old,” Carney said, adding that while the aging cars have served Canada well, “it’s time to build new ones, to build them here at home.”

Carney highlighted the domestic manufacturing component of the project, saying that for the first time in four decades, the passenger cars will be produced, assembled and maintained in Canada.

He said cars that were previously built in the United States will now be manufactured at Alstom’s Thunder Bay facility.

The investment is aimed at modernizing Via Rail’s aging fleet while supporting Canadian manufacturing and jobs in northern Ontario.