OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government has announced new rules regarding rail air brake inspection and maintenance, to take effect Dec. 1, 2025. The new changes to the federal Railway Freight and Passenger Train Brake Inspection and Safety Rules, announced on Friday, Dec. 8, require railroads to: — Perform more robust brake inspections for heavy […]
MONTREAL — Canada’s largest private-sector union has blasted VIA Rail Canada’s new baggage policy, a complex set of fees which were set to take effect Nov. 18, saying they “inconvenience travelers and complicate [union members’] working conditions.” VIA, however, says it had elected to waive the fees a week prior to their implementation, and the […]
TORONTO — Canada’s VIA Historical Society has launched a major fundraising campaign to acquire its first locomotive, former VIA Rail Canada FP9A No. 6539, to be used as part of the organization’s touring exhibition train to celebrate VIA’s 50th anniversary in 2028. The organization is seeking to raise C$250,000 to purchase, move, restore, repaint and […]
TORONTO — Toronto will receive 70 new subway trains and up to $1.2 billion in operating support for subway, light-rail, and other transit projects, as part of a major deal between the city and the Province of Ontario announced on Monday. The largest financial aspect of the agreement will see oversight and costs of maintaining […]
MONTREAL — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has said it will investigate after an Exo commuter train and Canadian National freight train collided on Tuesday evening, sending three men to the hospital with minor injuries. The CBC reports the incident occurred about 6:30 p.m. at the Saint-Léonard-Montréal-Nord station on Exo’s Mascouche line. Four other […]
TORONTO — The first of an order of 60 new Alstom streetcars for the Toronto Transit Commission entered service last week, joining an existing fleet of 204 Alstom light rail vehicles in the TTC fleet. The C$568 million order, with funding from the federal, provincial, and Toronto governments, will be completed with deliveries through 2025. […]
DELTA, British Columbia — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating a collision and derailment involving two BNSF Railway trains that occurred early today (Sunday, Nov. 19) in Delta, the CBC reports. Railroad spokeswoman Lena Kent told the CBC two locomotives and five cars derailed in the incident at about 2:30 a.m. A small […]
WINDSOR, Ontario — The mayor of Windsor, Ontario, released a “fact sheet” to local media last week which outlines a $44 million plan to convert a daily Wolverine Corridor Amtrak round trip and a Southwest Ontario VIA Rail Canada round-trip from Toronto into a Chicago-Toronto train. First reported in an interview with radio station CKLW […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Five current members of the VIA Rail Canada board of directors, including chairperson Francoise Bertrand, have been reappointed to the board, Canada’s Transport Minister announced Thursday. “I am very happy to congratulate the accomplished individuals who have been reappointed to the Board of Directors,” Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement. […]
MONTREAL—Beginning Nov. 18, VIA Rail Canada is introducing long-promised improvements to its booking system by offering a calendar view of pricing on adjacent days and online seat selection for Quebec City-Windsor, Ont., corridor customers. Those are some of the changes VIA announced this week in a press release, which also outlines a revised — and […]
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Ballard Power Systems, which has provided the fuel cell engines for CPKC’s first hydrogen-powered locomotives, announced it has received an order for another 12 engines totaling 2.4 megawatts of power. The dozen 200-kilowatt engines, to be delivered this year, will support CPKC development of additional hydrogen fuel-cell locomotives for switching and […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government has launched new registration requirements for the transportation of dangerous goods, along with a new database for those who import, transport, or otherwise handle such goods. The regulations cover goods being moved by rail, road, or other means. The new regulations, which went into effect on Friday, Nov. 3, […]
