The Canadian government will spend approximately $1.9 billion [1] to replace 45 VIA Rail locomotives and construct a new maintenance facility in Montreal.
This investment marks a significant shift toward sustainable transit by replacing aging long-haul equipment with hybrid battery-diesel technology. The move aims to modernize passenger service while stimulating the domestic manufacturing sector through a large-scale industrial project.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said the total investment includes $1.6 billion [3] for the new locomotives and $357 million [4] to build the assembly and maintenance plant in Montreal. The program is designed to modernize the fleet with hybrid units to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.
"This is a big day for Canada," MacKinnon said.
The project will create roughly 1,200 full-time jobs [5], with 36 of the locomotives to be built directly in Canada [6]. This domestic production component ensures that a significant portion of the federal spending supports local labor, and industrial growth.
MacKinnon said the transition to hybrid power will help update the aging locomotive fleet. He said that the timeline for the rollout extends several years into the future.
"The deal will create 1,200 new full-time jobs," MacKinnon said.
According to the minister, the first trains are expected to be delivered by 2031 [7]. The new Montreal facility will serve as the hub for the assembly and ongoing maintenance of these hybrid units, ensuring the fleet remains operational over the coming decades.
"The first trains are expected to be delivered by 2031," MacKinnon said.
“"This is a big day for Canada,"”
This investment represents a strategic effort by the Canadian government to decarbonize national rail transport by integrating hybrid technology into the long-haul fleet. By pairing the equipment purchase with the construction of a Montreal-based assembly plant, Canada is attempting to reduce reliance on foreign rail manufacturing and create a sustainable domestic infrastructure for maintaining next-generation locomotives.
