On September 3, 2026, Canada announced a C$4.7 billion investment to build 313 new VIA Rail passenger cars domestically. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Mark Carney at Alstom’s Thunder Bay, Ontario plant, where the final assembly of the railcars will take place. The design and engineering will be handled in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Québec, and the carbodies will be manufactured in La Pocatière, Québec.
Order Details and Fleet Replacement
The project allocates approximately C$4 billion to the construction of Alstom’s Adessia passenger cars and about C$700 million for a 15-year Technical Support and Spare Parts Supply Agreement (TSSSA). First deliveries are expected in 2031 with
completion scheduled by 2035. This procurement replaces equipment that is over 70 years old, including some cars that have been in service for 77 years.
Routes, Car Types and Features
The 313 new cars will serve long-distance, regional, and remote routes beyond the Québec City–Windsor Corridor, connecting nearly 400 communities across eight provinces. These routes include cities such as Montréal, Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver, Churchill, and Jasper. The cars will be produced in nine configurations: coach, sleeper, accessible, berth, prestige, panorama, dome, dining, and baggage. Sleeper cars will be the largest category, followed by coaches.
Designed for Canada’s extreme weather conditions, the cars will incorporate modern
amenities, including improved accessibility, brighter and more spacious interiors, digital connectivity, and cybersecurity protections for operational technology. Signature onboard offerings like dome cars and full-service dining will be maintained to preserve the passenger experience on remote and long-distance corridors.
Buy Canadian Policy, Jobs, and Government Support
The procurement project aligns with the federal Buy Canadian Policy, emphasizing domestic manufacturing and the use of Canadian steel and suppliers. Alstom anticipates the program will create or sustain up to 670 direct Canadian jobs and hundreds more indirectly. The investment also addresses challenges posed by trade tensions with the United States and aims to strengthen Canadian industrial capacity.
Steven MacKinnon,
Minister of Transport, stated, “Canadians deserve a passenger rail system that is modern, reliable and built to serve them for generations to come.” Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union representing 320,000 members including workers at Alstom’s Thunder Bay plant and VIA Rail employees, described the investment as a “tremendous victory for Canadian manufacturing.” VIA Rail’s Interim President and CEO Mathieu Paquette affirmed the new cars will modernize the fleet while supporting remote communities and enhancing the Canadian travel experience.
Traveler Impact and Service Continuity
The new railcars aim to improve reliability and modernize onboard amenities for passengers on long-distance, regional, and remote routes. Services to nearly
400 communities, including numerous Indigenous and remote areas, will continue to operate with enhanced equipment. VIA Rail does not announce immediate changes to service schedules or specific launch dates for the new vehicles at this time.
Complementary Federal Investments and Industry Context
This car order complements separate federal investments of C$1.6 billion allocated to 45 Stadler passenger locomotives and C$357 million for constructing an assembly and maintenance facility in Montréal. Up to 36 of these locomotives will receive their final assembly in Canada. Together, these commitments bring total federal funding for VIA Rail’s long-distance, regional, and remote fleet renewal to more than C$6.6 billion.
Alstom, Canada’s
sole passenger-train manufacturer with around 5,200 employees, collaborates with over 900 Canadian suppliers annually. The Adessia cars belong to an internationally used family of rolling stock operating at speeds between 120 and 200 km/h in nearly 20 countries. VIA Rail’s non-Corridor routes carried more than 216,000 passengers in 2025, an increase of 8.8% compared to 2024, underscoring growing demand for regional and remote rail service.
