A rendering of the new Stadler locomotives that will be built for VIA Rail. Image courtesy of Stadler.
On July 29, the federal government and VIA Rail announced a significant milestone in the renewal of the fleet that supports VIA Rail’s long distance, regional and remote (LDRR) services, with an order for 45 new locomotives. This order was awarded to Swiss manufacturer Stadler, a company with extensive experience in European and international locomotive production and a growing footprint in the North American market. The first locomotives will be assembled at a Stadler facility in Spain, and then a new assembly factory will be constructed in Montreal to allow for the final assembly of up to 36 of the locomotives. This means that some element of domestic passenger locomotive manufacturing will be returning to Canada for the first time in many years.
The new locomotives, set to replace the aging but venerable F40 locomotive fleet, will be a novel hybrid diesel and battery design, with batteries (recharged from the diesel engine and dynamic braking) allowing for more efficient operation, lower emissions, and less wear on the prime mover. Importantly, these batteries should also provide a backup power source in the case of emergency engine failures, something that will be welcome on many of the remote services where these locomotives will operate. Stadler has been producing a variety of hybrid locomotive designs for European customers, and will build on that experience with this new North American design.
Stadler has experience with manufacturing locomotives for cold climates and extreme environments, and these locomotives will need to be capable of dealing with the harsh and varying climate conditions that VIA operates through on their services across the country. The first locomotive is planned for delivery as early as 2028, with a testing period ahead of entry into service and the start of domestic assembly. It is imperative that this testing capture the full range of operating conditions to ensure that the continued production run addresses any issues early, and avoids the many headaches encountered with the new Siemens equipment in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor.
Transport Action Atlantic has been actively campaigning for years to secure government support for VIA’s badly needed LDRR fleet replacement, and we welcomed both the announcement of government funding in 2024 that allowed the procurement to begin and the launch of the formal Request for Qualifications in November of that year. We are thrilled to see this order come to fruition, and we are also pleased to see that the base order has increased from 42 to 45 units. We also welcome the return of Canadian manufacturing and the inclusion of a respected European equipment builder.
The next step will of course be the conclusion of the procurement for the even more badly needed LDRR passenger car fleet renewal. At Wednesday’s press conference, both the Transport Minister and the CEO of VIA Rail indicated that this announcement would follow “soon”, and we look forward to seeing the award of that contract. With the procurement deliberately split into two separate parts, we could well see a different manufacturer for the rolling stock. We will be particularly keen to see the order quantities of the various car types and how this compares to the existing fleet that covers today’s service levels. A key part of our advocacy for improved passenger service in Atlantic Canada is the ongoing need to restore a suitable daily level of service on the Ocean, and we hope that the new fleet order will provide sufficient equipment to allow VIA to remedy the short-sighted cuts of over a decade ago.
VIA 14 rests off the tracks after striking trucks at Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska QC, January 12, 2026 (Photo – From Northumberland Free Press)
In the early morning hours of January 12, 2026, the eastbound Ocean derailed after striking trucks on the track at Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska QC. It was a great relief to hear that there were no serious injuries to passengers or crew, and it seems that all parties involved did a commendable job of handling the situation. There will undoubtedly be a thorough investigation from the Transportation Safety Board, and ideally measures identified to prevent a similar incursion from happening at this location and others. The derailment took considerable time to clear, and four cars (a baggage car and three Chateau sleeping cars) derailed, with some damage reported to other cars in the train as well.
In the aftermath of this incident, VIA cancelled the next departures of the Ocean, and then proceeded to cancel alternating trains while running with only one train set. These alternating cancellations remained in place for two weeks following the incident, with eight departures cancelled with no alternate transportation. It is certainly understandable that an incident like this would cause disruptions, and we were glad to see at least partial service continuing, but it was concerning to see this number of affected trains, especially with short notice to passengers.
It was fortunate that this derailment happened at a quiet time of the year, but the disruption to travel still has real impacts on residents in the region, especially at a time of year when many would prefer not to drive due to potential inclement weather. It of course has impacts on staff as well, who face a shortage of work while trains are cancelled.
In the past, there were incidents that forced a train set out of operation. A derailment outside of Halifax in late 2018 is a good example. In these cases, VIA was able to assemble a set of spare HEP equipment to replace the Renaissance train that was damaged and removed from service, and this was done within days. Extended cancellations over a period of several weeks was unprecedented even in the relatively recent past.
TAA reached out to VIA with the following questions:
1) What is VIA doing to prioritize the speedy return of full service for the Ocean?
2) As this is the off-season, there is a considerable amount of equipment from the Canadian and other routes sitting idle. This should be more than enough to equip a full set of HEP equipment to operate on the Ocean. While this would not be the usual equipment, it would provide an alternative to outright cancellations. Is there some reason that this is not possible, and is VIA even evaluating this option?
3) What is VIA doing to restore the condition of the existing equipment fleet to ensure that these sort of cancellations are not required in the future after any unforeseen issues? To what extent has this derailment affected the plans for equipment refurbishment?
As of this time, we have still not received answers to any of these questions, though full service did resume by January 30 with a second trainset assembled from spare equipment.
Unfortunately, this derailment has not been the only issue facing VIA’s operations in Atlantic Canada so far this year. For the month from February 11 through March 18, VIA is removing all Renaissance sleeping cars from both of the Ocean trainsets. We’ve gathered that this was for planned maintenance that is badly needed, and we are of course pleased to see work being done on this equipment; however, the result of this is that for the next month, it appears that only two HEP (Chateau) sleeping cars will be in service on each train. This is a considerable reduction in sleeper capacity, and TAA has already heard of passengers who had their sleeping car reservations cancelled because of the reduced capacity.
Based on the VIA reservations system, you’d think that no trains were running until mid-March thanks to the forced inhibition of new bookings.
Following on from our questions after the derailment, it seems surprising that there would not be any other HEP sleeping cars available right now, given that the Canadian continues to operate on a shortened off-season consist. It was certainly common practice years ago to move some equipment from the Canadian to the Ocean for off-season HEP trains. Even one more sleeping car per train would avoid needing to make cancellations.
Even more concerning, VIA has taken the extraordinary step of temporarily blocking all reservations on the entire route of the Ocean from now through the middle of March. It makes sense that some temporary restriction on new sleeper bookings may be required while affected passengers are re-booked, but the full block of all segments, including in economy class, seems excessive.
As a specific example, Train #15 departed Halifax on February 15 with the full trainset that had not yet been shortened – so it still had all of its usual sleeping cars and economy class cars. But bookings were inhibited right up to departure, including for every segment on the route. So if a prospective passenger that day wanted to travel from Halifax to Truro, or Moncton to Miramichi, even that wasn’t allowed, despite the fact that there would most certainly have been available coach space. Even on trains with the shortened consist, there will definitely be short-haul coach space available, as end-to-end coach sellouts are a rarity. VIA’s booking system is capable of managing capacity by route segment, so why does this full block of every train need to be in place? Prospective passengers looking at the reservations system could well end up assuming that no trains are running for the next month.
This is a serious inconvenience to the travelling public, especially with both the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick March breaks approaching in the period covered by this time window. Once again, this would seem to be a reflection of the low priority that VIA places on the Ocean and the communities in Atlantic Canada that this train serves. Incidents happen and maintenance must be done, of course, but the way these events are being handled seems to suggest that VIA is not making any effort to minimize the disruptions to their passengers.
A variety of equipment is scattered around VIA’s Montreal Maintenance Centre in early January 2026. Some spare Renaissance coaches and a graffitied Chateau sleeper are visible amidst the ageing LRC cars and the new but problematic Siemens Venture trains. (Photo – Tim Hayman)
In another example of this same kind of decision making, VIA also made the decision a few weeks ago to reverse the orientation of the Ocean trainsets, putting the Renaissance equipment back on the east end of the train. This reverses a passenger-experience oriented change that was made in early 2024 under the direction of Mario Peloquin, which put the sleeper bedrooms on the more scenic side of the train. Back when that decision was made, VIA’s notices to passengers heralded this change as a positive one, stating that “We would like to inform our passengers of a recent decision to rearrange our train equipment in order to offer our Sleeper Plus class passengers a view of the ocean side throughout their trip. The orientation of the train has been modified to ensure that all bedroom windows face in the direction of the ocean.” Now, just over two years later and with no fanfare, VIA has gone back on this decision. We have been told this was done for operational convenience, and while that may be reasonable, it fits with the recent pattern of decision making that is focused on operational convenience first, and passenger experience second.
All of this points to worrying signs of VIA’s commitment to their service in Atlantic Canada. We can certainly appreciate that VIA is facing challenges with ageing equipment and poor availability, and we are still optimistic about the new long distance fleet, which will eventually remedy this situation; but we are increasingly concerned about what our passenger rail service will look like for the better part of the next decade before those trains arrive, and we need to see a concrete plan to ensure that reliable service can be provided until that time.
– Tim Hayman
*Update: As of the afternoon of February 17, half of the trains through Feb/March have been re-opened for booking, as it appears VIA continues to make changes to the consist plans. The rest, using the already shortened trainset, remain blocked entirely.
Passenger fares on Marine Atlantic are being reduced dramatically thanks to new federal investment in the service. PHOTO – Marine Atlantic
Transport Action Atlantic (TAA) is thrilled to see a major passenger-focused federal investment in ferry services in Atlantic Canada, as the federal government has swiftly followed through on a campaign promise that will benefit the travelling public in this region. TAA has long advocated for reductions to ferry rates, particularly on Marine Atlantic between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. This was part of our 2025 election agenda, and it was also one of the major advocacy priorities we identified at our AGM, so we consider this to be a major success of our advocacy.
TAA had expressed cautious optimism about the new government’s promises to reduce ferry rates in the region, after seeing the previous government take far too long to only partially follow through on their promises about reducing Marine Atlantic’s cost recovery targets. So we are particularly pleased to see quick and concrete action by the current federal government.
Thanks to the federal announcement last week and the swift implementation on August 1, 2025, it is now more affordable for passengers to travel on four major ferry services in the region, with passenger fares reduced by 50% on Marine Atlantic to Newfoundland, Bay Ferries between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Northumberland Ferries between Nova Scotia and PEI, and to the Magdalen Islands. Tolls on the Confederation Bridge have also been reduced, which further reduces another barrier to residents and visitors of Prince Edward Island.
While this is welcome news for passengers travelling in the region, this does not fully address the constitutional commitment to the people of Newfoundland. Beyond the passenger component, the recent federal announcement only freezes the commercial freight rates at their current level. To fully respect the spirit of the Terms of Union that made Newfoundland and Labrador a part of Canada, and to address ongoing cost of living challenges facing citizens across the country, reductions to the cost of moving freight to and from Newfoundland should also follow to make life in the province more affordable.
While we welcome the follow-through on this campaign promise, TAA will continue to advocate for:
Honouring the constitutional commitment to Newfoundland and Labrador by maintaining lower passenger fares and lowering commercial freight costs on Marine Atlantic; and
Improving public transport connections in the Maritimes to ensure that people can access these ferry services without the need to bring a personal vehicle, with schedules that connect effectively and cooperation between carriers to ensure convenient movement of passengers.
Ferry passengers to PEI will also see a break, as will those on the other federally funded ferry services in the region. PHOTO – Northumberland Ferries Limited
