The end of the line is in sight for the aging fleet of VIA Rail trains across Canada, including the trains that currently serve B.C.,Alberta and other provinces in the Prairies and Maritimes — not just Ontario and Quebec.
Federal minister Pablo Rodriguez formally announced Thursdaythat the Government of Canada has set aside unspecified significant funding to enable VIA Rail to launch its procurement process for the forthcoming massive new fleet order, which will enable the retirement of existing trains.
"We are very pleased with this important commitment from the Government of Canada, which is the latest in a series of significant investments supporting VIA Rail's transformation,"said Mario Péloquin, the president and CEO of VIA Rail, in a statement.
"By renewing our fleet, we will be able to maintain our coast-to-coast services, continue to connect a multitude of communitiesand encourage more Canadians to choose rail. These new trains will support our vision of offering a modern, comfortable, accessibleand sustainable experience to our passengers in every region of Canada."
Siemens Venture train for VIA Rail. (VIA Rail)
Upon further inquiry, VIA Rail said that the federal Crown corporation will acquire over 40 new locomotives and more than 300 new passenger cars.
These new fleet numbers will replace the entirety of VIA Rail's Long-Distance, Regional and Remote (LDRR) fleet from coast to coast, serving over 400 communities across Canada.
It should be emphasized that this is in addition to the federal government's previous 2018 funding to VIA Rail to acquire new Siemens Venture trains dedicated to the Southern Ontario-Quebec corridor between Windsor and Quebec City via Toronto.
VIA Rail ordered 32 sets of five-car Siemens Venture trains (160 cars) for $1 billion, with the first new train entering service in late 2022.
As of this month, it is expected that 63 per centof the new Siemens Venture trains will enter service on the Southern Ontario-Quebec corridor by the end of 2024, and all new trains will be running by Summer 2025.
As for the future new nationwide fleet that has yet to be ordered, this will benefit every LDRR route, including the iconic cross-country "The Canadian"train running between Vancouver and Toronto.
Siemens Venture train for VIA Rail. (VIA Rail)
The full list of LDRR routes is:
- Toronto — Vancouver
- Winnipeg — Churchill
- Sudbury — White River
- Prince Rupert — Jasper
- Montréal — Senneterre
- Montréal — Jonquière
- Montréal — Halifax
VIA Rail saysthe current LDRR fleet is the oldest active train fleet in North America, with most of the cars built between 1947 and 1955 — right after the Second World War.
That means these existing VIA Rail cars are now between 69 and 77 years old.
In contrast, the average age of the United States'Amtrak passenger cars is about 34 years, and the average age of France's SNCF is around 16 years. A full replacement of the VIA Rail trains would greatly improve the passenger experience, serve to attract more passengers, and further improve service reliability and safety.
"Remarkable work is accomplished daily to maintain them, and while they are still safe to operate, these efforts have a limit, and the process to replace these trains needs to be launched as early as possible,"the Crown corporation says.
VIA Rail will launch the early stages of the procurement process "very shortly,"beginning with the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) step for interested manufacturers before launching the detailed bidding process of the Request for Proposals (RFP).
The federal government first indicated its support for VIA Rail's LDRR fleet renewal strategy earlier this year in the 2024 federal budget, which stated that "funding amounts are not being released to protect the government’s negotiating position for an upcoming procurement."
This upcoming order would be the single largest upgrade to VIA Rail services in generations.
In 2021, at a cost of $7.3 billion USD ($10 billion CAD), Amtrak made a similar historic strategic move by ordering 83 sets of Siemens Venture trains to replace aging 40-to-50-year-old trains across the U.S., with options for up to 130 additional train sets. With the first 83 sets of trains, Amtrak will replace nearly 40 per centof its entire rail car fleet by 2031.
The very first Amtrak service to benefit from the 2021 fleet order will be the Amtrak Cascades service linking Vancouver, Seattle and Portland.
A total ofeight new Siemens Venture train sets— totalling 48 passenger rail cars — as well as two new locomotives and one spare cab, willhit the tracks on the Amtrak Cascades route in 2026, potentiallyproviding the route with an all-new fleetjust in time for Vancouver and Seattle's roles in co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
