July 16, 2009

VIA receives first environmentally enhanced F-40 locomotive from CAD Railway Industries

- Government of Canada and VIA Rail Canada launch major Montréal-Ottawa-Toronto passenger rail project -



MONTREAL, July 16, 2009 Today at VIA Rail Canada’s Montreal Maintenance Centre, Mr. Jacques Gourde, Member of Parliament for Lotbinière-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and VIA President and CEO Paul Côté announced the arrival of the first of 54 rebuilt F-40 locomotives from CAD Railway Industries (CAD) of Lachine, Québec.

“It gives me great pleasure to see VIA receive this impressive piece of precision railway equipment,” said Mr. Gourde. “By investing in these high-performance locomotives, this government is demonstrating its belief that money spent on VIA’s equipment renewal is a wise way to stimulate economic activity in Canada’s advanced industrial sector, contribute to environmental sustainability and improve Canada’s passenger rail system for years to come.”

The rebuild program will extend the life of VIA’s 54 F-40 diesel-electric locomotives by another 15 to 20 years at less than half the cost of buying new equipment. The rebuilt F-40 diesel locomotives – which constitute 70% of VIA’s motive power fleet – will incorporate many systems that were not available when they were built in London, Ontario, between 1986 and 1989. When the program is completed at the end of 2012, these new technologies will reduce the fleet’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 12% and will contribute significantly to the 16% system reduction in VIA’s GHGs since 1990.

The enhanced F-40 fleet will also produce fuel savings of five million litres per year and reduce maintenance costs by 8% annually. They will be recognizable by their new green, silver and gold paint scheme, and the timely slogan they will carry on their flanks: “A Green Choice.”

Funding for this capital rebuild program was announced in October 2007, as part of the Government of Canada’s $691.9 million investment in VIA Rail, of which $516 million will be invested in capital improvements.

 

About the F-40 Locomotives

“The arrival of the F-40s in 1986 was a milestone in VIA’s efforts to provide Canadians with better and more efficient passenger rail service from the Atlantic to the Pacific to Hudson Bay,” said VIA President and CEO Paul Côté. “Thanks to the innovation and team work of VIA and CAD, and the confidence shown in VIA by the Government of Canada, these Canadian-built, service-proven locomotives will do their job better and more sustainably for years to come – from coast to coast to coast.”

Awarded in December 2007, the $100 million F-40 rebuild contract is creating 90 new jobs and 450 person-years of employment at CAD, as well as generating spin-off economic benefits for its Canadian suppliers for a total of 1,200 person years of employment. The project is part of an unprecedented investment in passenger rail modernization and expansion by the Government of Canada that is stimulating job creation, skills development and private sector activity across the country.

Fausto Levy, President of CAD, said, “The VIA F-40 program marks a milestone in our development, too. It has enabled CAD to make significant capital investments of our own and positions us as a major competitor internationally. It gives us great pride to be able to do this by simultaneously contributing to the Canadian economy and assisting VIA in reaching its environmental, customer service and cost efficiency goals.”

VIA’s CN Kingston Subdivision Project

In Toronto today, the Government of Canada and VIA announced the largest-ever improvement and investment program in the 153-year history of passenger rail service between Montreal and Toronto: VIA’s CN Kingston Subdivision Project.

Totalling over $300 million, the project is a series of infrastructure improvements at eight locations along the 539-kilometre, double-track rail line. It will boost capacity by eliminating bottlenecks and greatly reducing delay-causing conflicts between VIA passenger and CN freight trains.

Made possible through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, this initiative will allow for the addition of two new daily round-trip frequencies on routes connecting Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto and improve the reliability of trains throughout the network.

Long-haul fleet and P-42 locomotive overhaul projects

VIA will also be investing $20M as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to overhaul a portion of its long-haul stainless steel passenger car fleet and P42 locomotives. This work will be done at VIA’s Montreal Maintenance Centre and will create some 56 new positions.


About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada’s national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective passenger transportation, both in Canada’s business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Every week, VIA operates 503 intercity, transcontinental and regional trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network. The demand for VIA services is growing as travellers increasingly turn to train travel as a safe, hassle-free and environmentally responsible alternative to congested roads and airports. In 2008, VIA safely transported 4.6 million passengers – the most since 1989 – and set an all-time record of $299 million in revenue.

About CAD Railway Industries Ltd.

Based in Lachine (Montreal), Quebec, CAD Railway Industries Ltd. is an international re-manufacturer of locomotives, rail cars, power generation units and components. CAD is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Railway Industries Ltd., an integrated rail product and service provider for the locomotive, railcar and track & signal railway markets in North America. Global Railway Industries shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol "GBI".



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Backgrounders:

VIA's CN Kingston subdivision project

Canada's Steel Speedway

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

VIA's two-year CN Kingston Subdivision Project, valued at more than $300 million, will greatly expand the capacity of what is one of North America's most heavily used and fastest rail lines. It will relieve congestion at key locations on this double-track line and smooth the flow of time-sensitive VIA passenger and CN freight traffic. This will allow for the addition of new passenger services and assure on-time performance by both railways.

The Kingston Subdivision Project will build on the improvements underway or soon to begin on other segments of VIA's Quebec-Windsor Corridor, which generates about 90% of VIA's ridership and revenue. The project is also strategically linked with the current rebuilding of the locomotive and rolling stock fleets.

This work is all part of an unprecedented $923 million capital investment by this government - including $407 million under the Economic Action Plan - to improve and expand VIA's safe, costeffective and environmentally-friendly passenger rail service. Phase I of VIA's CN Kingston Subdivision Project includes: -

Additional main line track

Sections of third main line track will be added to the existing double-track line west of the Brockville station, between Mallorytown and east of Gananoque, from Napanee West to the Belleville station, between Grafton and the Cobourg station, and at Oshawa. With this additional track, three or more trains - VIA passenger and CN freight - will be able to safely and quickly overtake or pass each other without stopping. A fourth track will be built at Belleville to further expand capacity at this busy station.

As well, additional remotely-controlled crossovers and signalling that allow trains to move quickly from one main track to another will be installed at various locations. Warning systems will be modified and upgraded at all public road level crossings within these areas. -

Expanded freight siding and yard track

In the Greater Montreal Area, sidings and yard tracks at Turcot, Les Cedres and Coteau will be extended and rearranged so CN freight trains may stop to perform work without blocking the main line.

At Brockville, Belleville, Cobourg and Oshawa, new island platforms will be built between the tracks. These will eliminate the need for all trains to cross over to one side of the main line to board or disembark passengers at the current station platforms. The new platforms will be connected with the stations by fully-accessible bridges or tunnels, so passengers will not have to cross the tracks.

ABOUT THE PROJECT'S BENEFITS:

The main transportation benefit of the first phase of VIA's CN Kingston Subdivision Project will be the creation of enough capacity to safely and efficiently handle two additional daily roundtrips on the Montreal-Toronto and Ottawa-Toronto routes, as well as further additions to the Montreal-Ottawa service.

Additional departure and arrival times - as well as assured on-time performance - are key factors in encouraging more travellers to choose environmentally-beneficial passenger rail for journeys within and beyond VIA's Quebec-Windsor Corridor. Trains emit only one-third the greenhouse gases per passenger of intercity automobiles and planes.

The VIA Kingston Subdivision Project will also stimulate much new economic activity and job creation. To date, CN has hired 100 workers to undertake this project on behalf of VIA. Additional jobs will be created throughout the two-year span of the project. The project will also generate additional economic activity and employment for those private firms supplying track, signal and construction materials and services to VIA and CN.

ABOUT THE LINE:

The CN Kingston Subdivision - over which VIA operates its most frequent and fastest trains - was built by the pioneering Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) as part of a scheme with two major objectives. First, it would link the largest cities and towns of British North America with a flat and direct route along the shores of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. The GTR's promoters accurately described it as "the Canadian Main Line."

Equally important, it would be an international line providing the shortest and fastest route from the U.S. railway hub of Chicago to the ice-free Atlantic seaport of Portland, Maine. The Toronto- Montreal section was at the heart of this system.

Incorporated on November 10, 1852, the GTR's Canadian and British investors aimed to create a railway that would exert the same nation-building influence as the Roman Empire's trunk roads - hence its name. Its construction was a combination of Canadian and British railway "know-how."

When the Toronto-Montreal section was opened on October 27, 1856, the inaugural train of one wood-burning steam locomotive and seven cars took 14 hours to traverse the route at an averagespeed of 50 km/hour - a far cry from the 160 km/hour service of today's VIA passenger trains.

Today, the CN Kingston Subdivision is a 539-kilometre double-track line linking Montreal Central Station with Toronto Union Station and numerous important intermediate stations. The Scarborough-Union Station section was triple-tracked in 2008 with federal and provincial funds for expanded GO Transit commuter rail service.

The CN Kingston Subdivision consists of track built with high-strength steel rails rolled in specialized mills in Canada, the U.S. and Germany, which weigh 132 to 136 pounds per yard (Canada's railways continue to use Imperial units of measure in order to match the standards employed continent-wide). The 78-foot rail sections are welded into continuous lengths - often referred to as "ribbon rail" - a quarter-mile or more in length. This continuous welded rail largely eliminates the romantic "clickety-clack" sound of old, but it is smoother and less maintenance intensive than jointed or bolted rail.

The rail is positioned and held in place under the tremendous dynamic and lateral forces of the trains with steel tie plates and rail anchors, and then spiked to treated hardwood crossties. The ties are spaced 22" apart, requiring 3,110 ties per mile of single track. The track is laid to the standard gauge of 4'8½" between the railheads. This track structure is built on top of a three-part roadbed that consists of a layer of clean earth sub-grade, gravel sub-ballast and crushed rock ballast on top.

One mile of main line track on the CN Kingston Subdivision requires 240 tons of rails, six tons of spikes, 63 tons of tie plates and 2,730 tons of ballast. Building a single-track section without bridges or diverging track switches costs about $3 million per mile.

The mix and density of rail traffic that operates over this robust track structure is among the most complex in North America. Over various segments of the route, it accommodates everything from VIA's 160-km/hour passenger trains to 100-km/hour CN trains carrying various types of freight to the 120-km/hour commuter trains of Toronto's GO Transit.

In total, the various segments of the CN Kingston Subdivision are traversed on a typical weekday by as many as 130 trains, including: - 36 VIA intercity passenger trains; - 22 CN freight trains; and - 72 GO Transit commuter trains.

Due to the speed, length and weight differences between intercity passenger and freight trains, the most complex section of the line is between Kingston and Pickering Junction, where the majority of CN trains diverge on to the freight bypass line that takes them north of Toronto to the city's main hump classification yard in Maple. GO's Oshawa-Toronto commuter trains enter the Kingston Subdivision here, using a parallel GO-exclusive line from Oshawa to this busy junction point. GO's Stouffville commuter trains enter the Kingston Subdivision farther west at Scarborough Junction.

Operations on the Kingston Subdivision are directed by computer-assisted Centralized Traffic Control under the direction of rail traffic controllers (RTCs) at CN's Rail Traffic Control Centres in Toronto and Montreal. Train movements are governed by signal indications and radio instructions from the RTCs.

ABOUT VIA'S QUEBEC-WINDSOR CORRIDOR:

VIA's 1,150-kilometre Quebec-Windsor Corridor serves the most densely populated and industrialized area of the country, which is home to more than half of Canada's population. The corridor is at the heart of VIA's 12,500-kilometre transcontinental route network, generating more than 3.5 million trips annually and accounting for nearly 90% of the corporation's ridership and revenue. VIA's Quebec-Windsor Corridor services include five primary routes: - Quebec-Montreal; - Montreal-Ottawa; - Montreal-Toronto; - Ottawa-Toronto; and - Toronto-Windsor.

Two additional connecting routes within this region extend VIA's reach to cities such as Kitchener-Waterloo, Stratford, Sarnia and Niagara Falls.

More than 400 of VIA's 503 weekly passenger trains operate on the five main corridor routes every week. The Montreal-Toronto route is the most frequent in the VIA network, offering travellers six weekday departures from its end terminals. Residents of the City of Kingston - who are also served by VIA's Ottawa-Toronto trains - have a choice of 11 convenient departure times for points west to Toronto.

Three railways own the lines over which VIA's Quebec-Windsor Corridor trains operate. VIA owns, maintains and operates three key segments of the Quebec-Windsor Corridor: Coteau-Ottawa, Ottawa-Smiths Falls and Chatham-Windsor. The Smiths Falls-Brockville line is owned by Canadian Pacific and all the other lines belong to CN. VIA reimburses CN and CP for the use of their line segments, which are shared with those railways' freight trains.

ABOUT VIA RAIL CANADA:

As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective passenger transportation, both in Canada's business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Every week, VIA operates 503 intercity, transcontinental and regional trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network.

The demand for VIA services is growing as travellers increasingly turn to train travel as a safe, hassle-free and environmentally responsible alternative to congested roads and airports. In 2008,

VIA safely transported 4.6 million passengers - the most since 1989 - and set an all-time record of $299 million in revenue.

ABOUT CN:

The Canadian National Railway Company and its operating railway subsidiaries span Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to the Gulf of Mexico. CN serves the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. CN shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CNR" and on the New York Stock Exchange under "CNI."


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VIA's F40 Locomotive Fleet

Thoroughbreds Reborn: VIA’s F-40 Fleet

ABOUT THE LOCOMOTIVES
In more than a century of diesel-powered railroading, only a select few locomotives have possessed that rare combination of speed, strength, stamina and reliability to earn them a reputation as “thoroughbreds of the rails.” The General Motors Electro- Motive Division (EMD) F-40 is a member of this elite stable of diesel-electric motive power.

Like many of the most successful innovations, the F-40 was born of adversity. Amtrak – the U.S. equivalent of VIA – desperately needed new locomotives for both its short- and long-haul passenger trains. Two previous attempts failed to deliver rugged, reliable and versatile locomotives to replace the life-expired motive power Amtrak acquired from the freight railways at its inception in 1971.

EMD rose to this challenge and produced the first F-40 in 1976 under a crash development program that built on the solid performance of its four-axle GP40 series of freight locomotives, adapting many of its prime systems for the specialized requirements of
passenger service. Amtrak’s first series of F-40s dramatically improved its service reliability and costs, leading the corporation to eventually purchase 216 of these robust machines. As well, the F-40 soon found a market among commuter rail operators, including Toronto’s GO Transit.

When VIA was in a position to acquire new and much-needed motive power in 1986, the updated F-40PH-2 won the competition. As on Amtrak, VIA’s F-40s replaced the 1950s vintage diesel-electric locomotives, which the Crown Corporation acquired when it took over the former Canadian National and Canadian Pacific passenger services in 1978.

The F-40’s continent-wide service record proved it would be up to the diverse demands of VIA’s far-flung transcontinental system. It became equally at home on the head end of everything from fast Quebec-Windsor Corridor trains to remote northern services to the lengthy eastern and western transcontinental runs. Impressed with the service delivered by the first 20 units, VIA placed two additional F-40 orders in 1987 and 1988. The final unit, 6458, was delivered in July 1989. The F-40 diesels constitute 70% of VIA’s motive power fleet.

Longevity is one of the hallmarks of the F-40. Although Amtrak has retired and replaced its fleet, most of these locomotives have gone on to second careers on a wide variety of railways, ranging from northern Canada to Panama. In addition to the nationwide service VIA’s units continue to provide, the F-40 is now found powering everything from the commuter trains of Montreal’s Agence Métropolitaine de Transport to Ontario’s Agawa Canyon tour train to the remote passenger services of Labrador’s Tshiuetin Rail Transportation. A few have even been modified for freight service.

ABOUT THE PROJECT
VIA’s fleet of 54 EMD F-40 diesel-electric locomotives is being completely rebuilt and technologically updated under a five-year contract valued at over $100 million with CAD Railway Industries Ltd. (CAD) of Lachine, Quebec. This project is a key component of the Government of Canada capital investment plan, announced in 2007, to improve the sustainability and reliability of Canada’s passenger rail system.

The VIA F-40 program will completely renew these locomotives literally from the wheels up, preparing them for another 15 to 20 years of even better performance at less than half the cost of buying new equipment. Only two passenger-specific diesel locomotives are currently available in North America and, under recent orders with commuter rail agencies, these units have cost up to $5.5 million each.

Under this rebuilding program, CAD will strip the locomotives down to the shells and fully renew the steel car bodies. The components of each system – such as the diesel engine, electric traction motors, trucks, couplers and brake gear – will be thoroughly inspected, tested and rebuilt. New systems will be installed to meet today’s environmental and safety standards. VIA expects to see a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of up to 12% once the work has been completed, which is in addition to a company-wide GHG reduction of 16% since 1990.

As well, the better-than-new F-40 fleet will produce fuel savings of five million litres per year and reduce maintenance costs by 8% annually. The increased use of advanced microprocessors will contribute significantly to the entire slate of economic, environmental, safety and crew comfort improvements to be gained from the program.

A major improvement to the F-40s is the addition of a separate diesel engine specifically for the generation of the head-end power (HEP) required to light and heat or air condition the trains they pull. Previously, this power was generated by the main diesel engine. This required that it continue running at high speed even when the trains were stationary.

Now, the main engine will be brought down to a low idling speed when stopped at stations, while the required 480-volt AC current is produced and fed from the separate HEP “genset” to each car of the train. This will not only reduce fuel consumption and emissions, but also engine noise.

The separate HEP gen-set will also enable the rebuilt F-40s to deliver all 3,000 hp from the main diesel engine for traction purposes. As a result, VIA will be able to reduce the number of units used on its longest and heaviest trains, such as the Montreal-Halifax Ocean and the Toronto-Vancouver Canadian. The F-40s released from these services will then be assigned to the additional trains VIA will be adding on its Quebec-Windsor Corridor routes.

This dispenses with the need to purchase additional locomotives for these new frequencies.

A layover heating system is being added to each F-40 and this will enable both diesel engines on each unit to be shut down when sitting for long periods in terminals and yards, providing major fuel, emissions and noise reductions.

Another major environmental benefit from rebuilding the F-40 fleet is that approximately 120 tonnes of steel from the basic structure and key components of each unit will not go for scrap, but will be fully recycled for another 15 to 20 years of productive service.

In addition to locomotive 6402, eight more locomotives will be received from CAD this year and then 15 per year. The program will be completed in December 2012. The fully renewed and improved F-40s will be recognizable by their new green, silver and gold paint scheme, and the timely slogan on their flanks: “A Green Choice.”

In combination with the 21 General Electric Genesis locomotives (designated P-42) acquired in 2001, the rebuilt F-40s will give VIA one of the most reliable and fuel-efficient motive power fleets of any passenger rail operator in North America.

ABOUT THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS
The F-40 project is part of an unprecedented investment in passenger rail modernization and expansion by the Government of Canada that is stimulating job creation, skills development and private sector activity across the country. The $100 million contract is creating 90 new jobs and 450 person years of employment at CAD, as well generating spin-off economic benefits for its Canadian suppliers.

As well, CAD has undertaken an infrastructure expansion program as a result of being awarded the F-40 remanufacturing contract. This expansion will position CAD as the largest remanufacturer of locomotives in Canada and as a major competitor in locomotive remanufacturing throughout North America.

ABOUT VIA RAIL CANADA
As Canada’s national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective passenger transportation, both in Canada’s business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Every week, VIA operates 503 intercity, transcontinental and regional trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network. The demand for VIA services is growing as travellers increasingly turn to train travel as a safe, hassle-free and environmentally responsible alternative to congested roads and airports. In 2008, VIA safely transported 4.6 million passengers – the most since 1989 – and set an all-time record of $299 million in revenue.

ABOUT CAD RAILWAY INDUSTRIES LTD
Based in Lachine (Montreal), Quebec, CAD Railway Industries Ltd. is an international remanufacturer of locomotives, rail cars, power generation units and components. CAD Railway is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Railway Industries Ltd., an integrated rail product and service provider for the locomotive, railcar and track & signal railway markets in North America. Global Railway Industries shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol "GBI".

VIA RAIL CANADA F-40 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Model: F40PH-2
Builder: General Motors Electro-Motive Division
Prime mover: 16-645E3C
Cylinders: V16
Power output: 3,000 hp (2.2 MW)
Head end power: 500 kW
Continuous tractive effort: 19,958 kg (44,000 lb)
Wheel arrangement: B + B (four axles)
Track gauge: 1,435 mm (4 feet 8½ inches)
Weight: 117,936 kg (260,000 lb)
Top speed: 153 km/h (95 mph)
Built: London, Ontario, November 1986-July 1989
Rebuilt: Lachine, Quebec, December 2007-December 2012
Total active fleet: 54
Fleet numbers: 6400-6421, 6424-6429, 6431-6446, 6448-6449, 6452-6458

IMPROVEMENTS

Description Benefit
-   Cleaner burning engine
-   Automatic engine stop/start system
-   Fuel heating
-   HEP diesel generator
-   Layover heating
Fuel saving
-   Odometer
-   De-misting air to windshield
-   Electronic fuel monitoring
-   Low speed system (max. 10 miles/hour)
Improved operation
-   All new copper air piping
-   All new receptacles and switches
-   All new relays (70% less due to microprocessor)
-   All new wiring
Improved reliability
-   Emergency horn
-   Higher intensity headlight (Xenon) added
-   Improved event recorder with crash hardened memory
Improved safety and security
-   Removal of corrosion and anti corrosion Locomotive life protection applied
-   Cooling fan sequencing
-   Independent dynamic braking
-   Microprocessor controls
-   LED indicator lights
-   Electronic braking system
Lower maintenance
-   Electronic engine governor Operation efficiency
-   Automatic horn sequencing
-   Cab air-conditioning
-   Ergonomic improvements in cab
-   Improved cab heating and ventilation
-   Improved third (jump) seat added
-   Microwave oven added
-   Anti-glare shield on windshield added
Operator comfort and convenience
-   New paint scheme VIA image

 


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