LOCATION: National
Issue/Source: Update on the long distance, regional and remote fleet procurement.
Date: June 2025
SUGGESTED RESPONSES
- The Government of Canada is committed to strengthening passenger rail across the country to keep all Canadians connected and to provide them with a safe and environmentally friendly way to travel.
- Outside of the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, VIA Rail Canada Inc. (VIA Rail) provides national services through long distance, regional, and remote (LDRR) routes, connecting eight (8) provinces, and providing essential transportation services to remote communities.
- Budget 2024 provided VIA Rail Canada with new funding to replace its aging LDRR fleet. This new funding will also allow VIA Rail to improve the passenger experience by providing new, comfortable, and accessible trains.
- In Fall 2024, VIA Rail launched the procurement process to replace its aging LDRR fleet. The Request for Qualifications for the locomotives was completed in February 2025, followed by the launched of the Request for Proposals (RFP). The Request for Qualifications for the cars was completed in March 2025, with the Request for Proposals scheduled for launch in June 2025.
IF PRESSED
- Funding amounts for the new LDRR fleet were not released to protect the Government’s negotiating position for the procurement process.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
- VIA Rail’s mandate is to operate Canada’s national passenger rail service on behalf of the Government of Canada.
- As an independent Crown corporation operating at arm’s length, VIA Rail is responsible for the procurement process to replace its aging fleet.
- In a typical year, VIA Rail operates over 450 trains per week in all regions of Canada over approximately 12,500 kilometers of rail. It served more than 4.1 million passengers in 2023 and over 400 communities.
- VIA Rail’s LDRR services link 272 stations and a further 317 “on-request stops” typically used seasonally. LDRR services are highly variable in terms of distance travelled, operating conditions and clientele served, impacting the nature and type of equipment required for each route.
- LDRR routes provide important passenger transportation services to Indigenous communities in Canada by serving 93 Indigenous communities without access to alternate public surface transportation options.
- Roughly 75% of the LDRR fleet is over 65 years old, which is well past its industry-standard lifespan of 35-40 years.
- In 2023, VIA Rail’s LDRR services transported approximately 183K passengers (approximately 4.5% of VIA’s total passenger volumes in 2023).
- VIA Rail’s LDRR services support regional economic development including through tourism, contracting with local companies for train resupply, and by connecting residents to services in other communities. Its LDRR services have a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) impact of $167M and support over 1,500 jobs.