Canada’s national rail passenger service VIA Rail has awarded a contract to Cad Railway Industries to upgrade 25 train cars which are planned to be used on long-haul train the Canadian.

Under the $46m contract, Cad will completely refurbish the train cars, which were built in 1950s.

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The scope of work includes mechanical upgrades, renewing the heating systems, replacing electronic and electrical components, improving seat comfort and redesigning the interiors and installing devices to make the cars Wi-Fi ready for future deployment.

Expected to increase the life span of these rail cars by decades, the upgrade works will be carried out by 100 Cad employees at their Montreal facilities.

“These renovations will ensure the sustainability of our long-haul service between Toronto and Vancouver over a number of years.”

Cad Railway Industries chairman of the board, president and CEO Fausto Levy said: “The work will extend over the next two years and will create about 100 jobs at our Lachine plant. It will also result in large orders for components from our many Québec and Canadian suppliers.”

These renovations form a part of VIA Rail’s transformation programme that involves renovating a part of the rolling stock and acquiring a new fleet for the Quebec City to Windsor corridor.

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The necessary funding for these projects was approved by the federal government in its 2017 and 2018 budgets.

VIA Rail president and CEO Yves Desjardins-Siciliano said: “These renovations will not only greatly enhance the passenger experience on our transcontinental routes, but they will also ensure the sustainability of our long-haul service between Toronto and Vancouver over a number of years.”

The renovation project is expected to be completed in 2020.