IRJ at InnoTrans 2016: CANADIAN inter-city passenger operator Via Rail is moving forward with preparations to procure a new fleet of bi-mode (diesel and electric) trains as part of its $C 4bn plan to upgrade the Toronto – Ottawa – Montreal corridor.

TORONTO and Hamilton transit authority Metrolinx has appointed CH2M as vehicle technology consultant for the Toronto Regional Express Rail (RER) project.

ALSTOM has been awarded a €125m contract by Rideau Transit Maintenance General Partnership, a consortium of SNC Lavalin O&M, ACS and EllisDon, to maintain Ottawa’s 12.5km light rail Confederation Line, which opens in 2018.

CANADIAN mining company KWG Resources announced on August 22 that it has signed a framework strategic cooperation agreement with China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group (FSDI) to carry out a bankable feasibility study for a multi-user railway linking mines in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire region to a junction with Canadian National’s (CN) Winnipeg - Nakina - Sudbury main line at Exton.

CONSTRUCTION of Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown light rail line reached a significant milestone on August 18 when tunnel boring machines Don and Humber broke through at Yonge Street, marking the completion of tunneling on the 10km underground section between Keele Street and Laird Drive.

Canadian pension fund Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) has a track record of successfully investing in rail projects, and it is now looking to bring this to Montreal. Jean-Marc Arbaud, deputy managing director of CDPQ Infra, reveals the company’s ambitions for the 67km Metropolitan Electric Network (REM) to Kevin Smith.

Montreal is set to profit from the Canadian federal government’s plans to invest heavily in public infrastructure projects, including rail, over the next five years. Kevin Smith assesses what this could mean for metro operator Montreal Transport’s (STM) long-held ambitions for expansion.

Canada’s aggressive economic and sustainability goals are set to be met by Via Rail’s Toronto - Ottawa - Montreal passenger rail corridor project which should be in place by 2020. David Thomas reports on the ambitious inter-city passenger railway venture.

ONTARIO’s premier Kathleen Wynne unveiled the first of 16 refurbished Polar Bear Express passenger coaches in North Bay on August 12.