Millions pledged to upgrade aging stations on Quebec City-Windsor rail corridor
CBC
The federal government is making another expensive budget pledge to bring a high-frequency rail line connecting Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City to fruition.
Thursday's 2022 draft budget sets out $396.8 million over two years to Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada for "planning and design steps" to run frequent trains between Toronto and Quebec City.
It also includes $42.8 million over four years to Via Rail, with $169.4 million in remaining amortization, to build and upgrade stations and maintenance centres along its Windsor-Quebec City corridor.
Many of the corridor's stations and maintenance centres are "decades-old" and "require significant investments," the budget says.
The rail plan has been in the works since before the COVID-19 pandemic, but was officially announced last year by Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra during a press conference held onboard a Via Rail train.
Via Rail has said a high frequency rail line operating on dedicated tracks would cut travel times by 25 per cent and improve on-time performance by 95 per cent.
Trains on the line are expected to travel at speeds of up to 177-200 km/h, faster than current Via Rail trains but well short of high-speed rail lines, which are capable of at least 250 km/h.
The federal government also pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in the 2021 budget for Via Rail to make infrastructure investments.
The line is expected to open sometime in the early 2030s.
A 17-year-old boy is dead after he was shot by an RCMP officer in Norway House Cree Nation on Friday.
Saskatchewan road crews and residents alike are getting ready for another icy blast of winter this weekend.
Student leaders at the University of Alberta are criticizing the school's plan to hike tuition — particularly for international students.
Environment Canada says a new fall storm will bring winds gusting up to 110 km/h to southwestern British Columbia on Friday, potentially causing more outages and travel disruption.
Environment Canada says strong winds could cause damage to roofs and windows in P.E.I.'s Kings County and Prince County this weekend, with power outages possible from fallen tree branches.
City council has approved a 3.6 per cent increase in municipal property taxes for next year. The decision follows five days of debate on adjustments to next year's civic budget.
Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish has resigned from the Peel Police Service Board.
Public health in Yellowknife is reducing some services over the holiday season due to staffing shortages.
Two premiers are asking Ottawa to cover the provincial cost of the Trudeau government's promised tax holiday.
Former Alberta MLA Derek Fildebrandt fist-pumped from the prisoner's box as a Calgary judge acquitted him on all four counts of uttering threats to a group of 13- and 14-year-old boys whom he chased in a truck through his southwest neighbourhood last spring.
Buddhist monks and nuns who live in eastern Prince Edward Island say they were disappointed to hear some of the concerns expressed at a planning meeting this past week in the Town of Three Rivers.