OTTAWA — Jean Pelletier, chairman of VIA Rail Canada and the Prime Minister’s former chief of staff, is seeking “substantial funding” from Ottawa for a new and faster $3-billion train service between Quebec City and Windsor, the National Post has learned.
The proposal was submitted to David Collenette, the Transport Minister, two weeks ago and is expected to go before Cabinet in time for a decision to be included in the February budget.
The service is to be called “VIAFast” and will require a significant infusion of public and private money to buy locomotives and passenger cars, improve the tracks and upgrade bridges and vehicle crossings, sources say.
An industry source said Canada’s two major railway companies are actively reviewing the proposal, which is expected to be a boon to Montreal-based Bombardier, which is set to unveil a high-speed locomotive next week.
Sources say the plan requires both Canadian Pacific Railways and Canadian National Railways to participate through a swap of track usage. The result would be one rail line in the corridor dedicated only to passenger service while the railway companies would share the other line for freight services.
Another key to the proposal would be changing the status of VIA, a Crown corporation, to allow it to operate as a commercial entity with the ability to raise capital from lenders and investors, sources say, but likely maintain its government funding.
Paul Raynor, a VIA spokesman, confirmed the report was given to Mr. Collenette “a couple weeks ago,” but declined to provide details.
“We were asked for suggestions on ways in which passenger rail service could be further improved and so we submitted a range of suggestions that might accomplish that objective for the minister,” Mr. Raynor said.
He would not comment on the VIAFast name that the train has been given or the amount of money VIA is seeking from the government.
In the recent Throne Speech, the government promised substantial new funds for public transit, aid to cities and investments in the environment to combat greenhouse gas emissions. The train proposal is being touted as a way of meeting Canada’s goal of implementing the Kyoto climate change accord.
The railways estimate it would allow them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by up to 15%.
The plan proposes to double the frequency of service along the corridor and reduce travel times by 40%. It would increase maximum speeds to 200 – 240 km/hr from the current 170 km/hr.
Industry sources confirm the plan is under consideration, but say the priority is to start with a train service between Montreal and Toronto and expand to Quebec City and Windsor at a later date.
However, smaller communities currently served by VIA would likely lose service because the new fast trains would stop only in the major centres of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto and possibly Kingston.
Bombardier has also identified the well-travelled Calgary-Edmonton corridor as a possible route for its new high-speed train, a company spokeswoman said.
“It’s certainly a corridor that has been identified as a potential market for that particular technology,” said Carol Sharp. “I don’t know if there are any talks going on right now … I don’t think we are at the proposal stage.”
Albertans have long sought such a rail link for business travellers making the 290-kilometre trip between the province’s business and political centres.
The Calgary-Edmonton route is also Canada’s fastest-growing urban corridor.
A high-speed line between the cities has been proposed before, but was rejected as too costly. The last estimate for such a project was $2-billion.
Anne McLellan, the federal Health Minister and an Edmonton MP, rekindled discussions last spring when she told reporters Edmonton had a better chance of securing federal funding for a high-speed rail link with Calgary than for expanding the city’s own light rail transit line.
Mr. Collenette, who is a self-described train buff, has been trying to improve passenger rail service in Canada. He successfully persuaded Cabinet in 2000 to provide VIA with a $400-million capital injection to upgrade equipment and refurbish rundown stations, on top of the $170-million annual subsidy it receives from taxpayers.
“He’s asked VIA to look into the matter and to come back to him with options to see if it’s feasible to have a faster service in the corridor,” said Anthony Polci, Mr. Collenette’s spokesman.