The Government of Canada announced on July 29, 2026, a $1.9 billion investment to replace Via Rail’s entire fleet of 45 aging locomotives and build a new assembly and maintenance facility in Montreal. Of this, $1.6 billion is allocated for the locomotives and $357 million for the facility.
Switzerland-based Stadler will manufacture the new locomotives. The first nine locomotives will be built in Spain, with the remaining 36 assembled in Canada by workers trained by the Spanish team. These will be the first hybrid trains in North America, featuring Canadian-made batteries capable of operating in temperatures as low as -50
C, according to Stadler’s Industrial Vice President Miguel Cerdá.
Via Rail’s current fleet consists of 52 General Motors F40PH-2 locomotives introduced in the late 1980s. The aging fleet has reliability issues that resulted in on-time performance sinking to 30% in early 2025, causing delays and increased maintenance costs. Extreme weather further complicates maintenance, with routes experiencing temperature swings from 10 C in London, Ontario, to -35 C in Quebec City during winter.
Construction of the new Montreal facility and locomotive assembly will create 1,200 full-time jobs. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon emphasized, “Locomotive assembly is returning to Canada,” and highlighted reliability
as vital for attracting riders. Via Rail CEO Mathieu Paquette said the hybrid locomotives “offer better performance, reliability, and will allow us to reduce our emissions and fuel use.” Via Rail spokesperson Karl Helou noted the current fleet is safe but increasingly costly to maintain.
The replacement excludes the Windsor-Quebec City corridor, already served by Siemens Charger locomotives since 2022. This corridor is expected to be served by the future Alto high-speed rail line. MacKinnon acknowledged operational challenges where Via Rail shares tracks with cargo trains but expects overall service and reliability improvements from the investment.
