Canada spends $300M for rail corridor upgrades

[marmar]

from CBC News:




Ottawa spends $300M for rail corridor upgrades
Last Updated: Thursday, July 16, 2009 | 12:17 PM ET

CBC News


Canada's busiest rail corridor is set to get much quicker with the help of $300 million in federal cash.

Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear was at Toronto's Union Station on Thursday to spell out the details of previously announced spending initiatives to improve the train network between Windsor, Ont., and Quebec City.

"It gives me great pleasure to unveil this investment," Goodyear said. "Three hundred million dollars is a big piece of the puzzle for one of the most heavily used rail networks in North America."

The money will go toward station upgrades to accommodate passengers with special needs, a rebuild of Via Rail's locomotives to make them more fuel-efficient, and a major track expansion in the Kingston area to allow trains to overtake each other and eliminate bottlenecks.

The two-year project will begin in the next few weeks and continue through 2011. It will create more than 2,600 person-years worth of employment, Goodyear said, and allow both Via and CN, the freight carrier that also uses the line, to move more trains and more quickly. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/07/16/cnrail-via-passenger-train.html