Via Rail unveils new fleet of trains for Windsor-Quebec City corridor
By the end of next year, your train ride to Toronto or Montreal could be a lot more comfortable.
Via Rail previewed the first of 32 new Siemens trains on Tuesday at their Tremblay Road station in Ottawa.
“Canadians' journeys will never be the same,” says Martin Landry, Chief Commercial Officer with Via Rail.
The trains will be used on the Windsor-Quebec City corridor, serving destinations such as Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. Some of the new enhanced features on the train include:
- wider aisles;
- adjustable tray tables;
- more comfortable headrests;
- automatic touchless interior doors; and
- high-speed reliable wifi.
Via Rail previewed its new corridor fleet on Nov. 30, 2021. The 32 trains are expected to be more comfortable, greener, and more efficient. They are expected to be ready for passengers by end of 2022. (Submitted/Via Rail)
Via Rail previewed its new corridor fleet on Nov. 30, 2021. The 32 trains are expected to be more comfortable, greener, and more efficient. They are expected to be ready for passengers by end of 2022. (Submitted/Via Rail)
Liberal MP for Ottawa Southn David McGuintyn was on hand at the preview and says, “I can tell you they are going to offer a new era of comfort and efficiency for the worker, the families, and the tourists, who travel on these tracks.”
Passengers are expected to board the new trains by the end of 2022.
Winter trials will begin overnight on the track in Ottawa. Crews will test out the new train and its advanced technology in harsh conditions like snow and extreme cold.
Landry says Canadian winter poses a challenge for the trains. “The train could start in Windsor with rain, come into Toronto with freezing rain and by the time it gets to Quebec City it is a snowstorm… those conditions are really taxing. We want to go through the full winter test through to the spring time.”
The trains are also fully accessible, and each includes onboard wheelchair elevators, large accessible washrooms, braille, and signage.
Via Rail says the trains are some of the most environmentally friendly intercity fleets in North America. They include diesel engines and are bidirectional.
Via Rail previewed its new corridor fleet on Nov. 30, 2021. The 32 trains are expected to be more comfortable, greener, and more efficient. They are expected to be ready for passengers by end of 2022. (Submitted/Via Rail)
McGuinty says “These bidirectional trains can operate in both directions, which will save time and reduce delays.”
Cynthia Garneau, VIA Rail President and CEO, says making sure the trains were environmentally friendly was a priority and they will continue to find ways to reduce the footprint.
“We will be in a position to reduce waste on our trains, so we will do pilot projects and put them in place throughout the corridor, ” she says.
Garneau adds the new fleet “marks a new era for passenger rail service in the corridor, where we served over 4.7 million passengers in 2019 and which represented 96% of our ridership pre-pandemic.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.