November 8, 2010

Government of Canada and VIA Rail Announce major Investment to Upgrade Vancouver Station


VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Today, the Honourable Rob Merrifield, Minister of State (Transport) and David Hoff, a member of VIA Rail’s Board of Directors announced an investment of $5.1 million in VIA Rail’s Heritage train station in Vancouver. They were joined at the city’s Pacific Central Station by Gregor Robertson, the Mayor of Vancouver.

“This major project to upgrade Vancouver Station underlines our Government’s continuing commitment to improving VIA facilities and infrastructure and revitalizing Canada’s rail service,” said Minister Merrifield. “These improvements will benefit the many passengers who use this fine Heritage station, whether to travel to Vancouver, the US or across the country.“

“The Vancouver VIA Rail Station is a crucial transportation hub for our city, and is where many people first set foot in our city.” said Mayor Robertson. “The station highlights both Vancouver’s architecture and its history, and it is great news that VIA Rail and the federal Government are investing in upgrades to the station."

VIA Rail will complete major renovations to the station’s masonry, roof and windows in 2011, paying strict attention to preserving features that mark the building as a Heritage site. Designs and specifications have been submitted to Parks Canada for review. VIA will issue a tender and intends to award the contract by the end of the year. The majority of the funding for the project will come from Canada’s Economic Action Plan. In 2009, VIA also completed a project for improvements to the platform canopy and lighting and repairs to the station columns from funding announced in 2007. These are part of an unprecedented $923 million capital investment by the federal government to improve comfort, service and safety for passengers.

“Thanks to the Government of Canada’s confidence in VIA Rail and its investments to improve our services, this important station will be able to even better serve the needs of Canadians and visitors to Canada,” said VIA’s David Hoff.

VIA’s western transcontinental services also make an important contribution to VIA’s success and Canada’s tourism industry. VIA is committed to improving its efficiency and its environmental footprint right across Canada and this initiative will go a long way toward helping to achieve those goals.
 
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 – in both official languages. 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 and reliable alternative to congested roads and airports. VIA safely transports over four million passengers annually.

-30-


Backgrounders:
To learn more about VIA’s Capital Investment Program please visit /en/about-via-rail/our-company/capital-investment

/sites/all/files/media/pdfs/About_VIA/our-company/media-room/backgrounders/BK20101108E - Capital Investment.pdf