Via Rail Canada announced it acquired the Brockville Subdivision, consisting of 45 kilometres (28 miles) of single track between Smiths Falls and Brockville, in Ontario.
"This acquisition will strengthen our rail network dedicated to passenger trains in the Ottawa region, where Via Rail owns more than 200 kilometres (140 miles) of track", said Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, Via Rail's president and chief executive officer. "With recent improvements in the region and ownership of the track from Ottawa to Brockville, we are well positioned to improve our reliability and our On-time performance going into and out of Ottawa".
Over the last few years, Via Rail has invested some $20 million in capital to improve safety on the Brockville Subdivision with the introduction of a Centralized Traffic Control system for train movements. This investment has also improved the reliability and flexibility of service with the addition of two new sidings for train meets. These infrastructure changes permitted the addition of two round trips to the daily schedule, allowed for higher speeds and improved trip times. In addition, curve alignments were adjusted to support increased speeds, public crossings were upgraded, and security fencing was installed for safety.
"Via Rail will have more agility to make work and infrastructure upgrades in the Brockville Subdivision to improve its service", added Yves Desjardins-Siciliano. "On the limited infrastructure owned by Via Rail, punctuality is in the mid-90 percent. Our customers will benefit greatly from this new asset."
