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If you board a train in Montreal, you will ride on one of three types of equipment. The newest cars are Via’s Renaissance trains. These cars were purchased from the United Kingdom by the government of Jean Chrétien in late 2000. The fleet was built for proposed overnight Channel Tunnel services and was entirely unsuited to Canadian weather and track, but as the cars were surplus they were very affordable. Today, the Renaissance cars are the most expensive to operate: Each train requires an extra non-revenue car to provide controls to the coaches; the cars are not interchangeable with any other railcars in Canada; and the fleet has exhibited serious corrosion problems, with many cars stored unserviceable.

Via’s LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) fleet was built by Bombardier between 1981 and 1984. The LRCs are in the final phase of a major refurbishment program, but this does not alter the fact that these lightweight train cars were not designed to operate for 36 years and counting. Many are exhibiting structural problems and will need to be replaced soon for safety and reliability reasons.

The oldest trains in VIA’s fleet are HEP-2 (Head End Power) cars. These were built between 1947 and 1953 for American streamliners. They were purchased secondhand and refurbished by Via in the 1990s without any extra government capital funding. These antique trains are not used out on quiet remote services. They are used on fast intercity trains in southern Ontario and Quebec. Some of our nation’s busiest trains are 70 years old, and this is a disgrace.