Canada Announces Nearly $2 Billion for New Via Rail Hybrid Locomotives

The federal government has announced nearly $2 billion to replace Via Rail’s aging passenger locomotives with 45 hybrid batterydiesel trains. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon made the announcement in Montreal on Wednesday. He said 36 of the locomotives will be assembled in Canada, while the first nine will be built and assembled in Spain by Swiss manufacturer Stadler. The government says the project includes $1.6 billion for construction of the locomotives and $357 million for a new assembly and maintenance facility in Montreal. Officials said the investment is expected to support about 1,200 fulltime jobs across manufacturing, construction, engineering, and maintenance. Transport Canada said the new locomotives will be North America’s first hybridpowered passenger trains and are intended to reduce emissions while preparing the network for future zeroemission technology. Conservative MP Dan Albas criticized the project for not fully matching the government’s buy Canada approach, pointing to the overseas build work.