Canttuet 40GU96XQ ESTABLISHED • M-4/ 1975 VOLUME 42/NO 20/MAY 25. 2016 57.30 flZrx

Rail GD receives contract to refurbish 12 cars

______Gilles Gagne passenger service. Their con­ their structure is made of alu­ ception started in 1968 by a minum. They were expected CASCAPEDIA-ST-JULESr - consortium formed by Alcan, to last 20 years and they have VIA Rail recently awarded an Do fa sco, then known as Do­ far exceeded that life ex­ important contract to Rail minion Foundries and Steel; pectancy, as they have now GD, the New Richmond rail and up to 35 years of service car repair shop. The contract Works, later acquired by under their belt. Their current began the second week of Bombardier. refurbishment will lengthen May and will continue to the The idea was to develop that life expectancy. end of the year. 12 LRC pas­ the most profitable strategy in Seven years ago, the an­ senger cars will be sent to the order to adopt a maxi­ nouncement of an imminent Rail GD for sizeable repairs. mizing the potential of exist­ contract to refurbish the then The value of the contract ing railway facilities through 98 LRC cars still in service is undisclosed for now. The the introduction of new vehi­ prompted Gilles Babin and public transporter has im­ Pherto: G. Gagne cle technology. Joey Cyr to consider the pos­ posed a confidentiality agree­ Gaspesie Rai/vvav Society locomotive 7S56 puffed the 17.4 Rai/ After running tests on pro­ sibility of starting Rail GD ment with Rail GD. Company LRC car 3367 between Jtfatapedia and Aeu- Richmond on Afay totypes and leasing a few and obtain that contract. management refused to re­ 12. Here, /he /rain passes over one of "the two bridges spanning units to United States1 Am­ They didn’t win the call spond to an information re­ over rhe Grand Cascapedia River. trak, Bombardier built LRC for tenders, awarded to Indus­ quest filed by SPEC. cars for VIA Rail after receiv­ trial Rail Senices in Monc­ 4’The contract was ing a significant first order in ton. That company went awarded following a rigorous to Rail GD, other cars will be Belanger. 1978, and a second one in bankrupt four years ago with­ call for tender process. The repaired at CAD Railway In­ The number of jobs pre­ 1981 totalling 100 cars and 31 out completing the VIA Rail work will be spread between dustries in Lachine and at our served or created at Rail GD . The cars were contract. The shop May and December 2016. maintenance centre in Mon­ is not known. Between Octo­ built at the Bombardier fac­ was taken over by CAD Rail­ Following the attribution of treal. This will allow a faster ber 2015 and March 2016, the tory in La Pocatiere. The lo­ way Industries in 2012. that contract to Rail GD, completion of the refurbish­ New Richmond shop hired comotives were built by the It is the third contract some jobs will be created in ment and maintenance of our close to 40 people for the Bombardier factory in Mon­ awarded by VIA Rail to Rail the Gaspe Peninsula region,” 97 LRC passenger cars,” thorough refurbishment of treal. The success rate of GD. The first two contracts wrote VIA Rail spokesperson, states Ms. Belanger. two Rocky Mountaineer dou­ those locomotives was lower, were significantly smaller. A Mylene Belanger. VIA Rail is allotting $28.2 ble-decker passenger cars. as they are no longer in serv­ previously involved SPEC sent many messages million this year for the reno­ Those units are more sophis­ ice for VIA Rail. All but two in a crash was refurbished in to VIA Rail management be­ vation and maintenance of its ticated than the LRC cars. have been scrapped. 2010-2011, and a rail diesel fore receiving partial an­ rolling material. The contracts The LRC cars nevertheless The LRC cars weigh about car, also known as Budd car, swers. awarded from that amount are represent a success story in one third less than other stan­ was overhauled between Feb­ **On top of the 12 cars sent confidential, insists Ms. the history of Canada’s rail dard passenger cars. Part of ruary and April 2015.