Canada to build 313 new VIA Rail passenger cars in Thunder Bay and La Pocatière

What happened

• The Government of Canada awarded Alstom Canada a contract worth more than $4.7 billion to acquire and maintain 313 VIA Rail passenger cars.

By the numbers

• 313 passenger cars to be built and maintained.
• More than $4.7 billion federal investment for the cars.
• Nearly 700 jobs supported and over $1.6 billion in economic benefits cited.
• The federal government’s combined investment in renewing VIA Rail’s long‑distance, regional, and remote fleet now exceeds $6.6 billion (includes earlier locomotive and facility funding).

Where the work will be done

• Manufacturing and assembly: Thunder Bay (Ontario) and La Pocatière (Québec).
• Design and engineering: Saint‑Bruno‑de‑Montarville (Québec).
• Earlier related work: 45 locomotives from Stadler (with up to 36 final assemblies in Canada) and a new Montréal assembly/maintenance facility built by Pomerleau.

Who and what it affects

• The new cars will serve VIA Rail’s eight long‑distance, regional, and remote routes outside the Québec City–Windsor Corridor, including routes relied on by Indigenous, rural, and remote communities.
• The 313‑car fleet will include dining cars, panorama (dome) cars, and sleepers, and will add modern amenities and improved accessibility.

Why it matters

• Replaces aging equipment to improve safety, reliability, and passenger experience.
• Keeps rail manufacturing and related jobs and supplier contracts in Canada under the Buy Canadian Policy.

Source grounding: Details are drawn from the Prime Minister’s Office news release and its attached quick facts/backgrounder.