PORT-DANIEL-GASCONS, Quebec — The Canadian government will provide more than C$10 million in funding for a rail infrastructure project protecting a coastal railway on Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, according to a Tuesday announcement.
The project at Port-Daniel-Gascons will include installation of a retaining wall to prevent further erosion of cliffs along the coastline, repair of tracks of the Gaspésie Railway, installation of a drainage system beneath the tracks, and construction of a ditch between the tracks and an adjacent road.
It is the latest in 39 projects approved under the Climate Change and Adaptation to Extreme Weather Infrastructure component of the government’s Rail Safety Improvement Program, set to provide C$29 million in funding over the next three years.
“Through strategic partnerships and investments, we will continue to adapt rail infrastructure to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events, ensuring the safe movement of goods and people while safeguarding our communities,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a press release. “Together, we will build a stronger, safer and more resilient rail transportation system, setting the stage for a brighter future for all Canadians.”
The Gaspérie Railway is a 202-mile short line owned by four regional municipalities it serves. It was the final portion of the route of VIA Rail Canada’s triweekly Montreal-Gaspé passenger train until that service was suspended in 2013 because of washouts and other infrastructure issues.
Since the inception of the Rail Safety Improvement Program in 2016, about 800 projects have received more than CA$160 million in funding.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
What does correcting substandard drainage have to do “Climate Change and Adaptation to Extreme Weather”?
No, not everything has to do with so-called “climate change”. Seems Gaspe has more to do with an infrastructure failure that has festered for a decade and counting without being fixed.
If the money had come from the Save the Skeets slush fund it’s all the same. It’s just another way to spend public money.