VIA Rail and Pomerleau, on October 8th, celebrated the start of construction of VIA Rail’s new assembly and maintenance facility in Montréal, in the presence of approximately 60 employees from both companies and other local suppliers.

The new 100,000-square-foot facility will be built by Pomerleau through a $357 million investment from the Government of Canada. It will enable the final assembly in Canada of up to 36 of the 45 new battery-diesel hybrid locomotives ordered from Stadler, as well as testing ahead of their entry into service.

Once this phase is complete, the facility will be used for the long-term maintenance of VIA Rail’s entire new pan-Canadian fleet, including the locomotives and 313 passenger cars ordered from Alstom. Integrated into the Montréal Maintenance Centre, it will leverage existing infrastructure and the expertise of VIA Rail’s technical teams.

Site excavation is currently underway and will continue through January 2027. Foundation work is scheduled to begin in mid-January. At peak construction, up to 200 workers will be on site building the new facility, which is expected to become operational in the summer of 2029, in time for the assembly of the first locomotives in Canada.

Overall, VIA Rail’s pan-Canadian fleet renewal project and the construction of the new facility represent a $6.7 billion investment by the Government of Canada. The program is expected to generate 6,050 full-time equivalent jobs in Canada and more than $2 billion in economic benefits for the country.

-via Press Release