Mayor Gregor Robertson welcomes funding, but says expanded and faster train service between city and U.S. is essential
Via Rail’s heritage rail terminal at Main and Terminal is getting a $5.1-million makeover, courtesy of the federal government.
“This renovation not only preserves its history, but enhances its functionality,” Transport Minister Rob Merrifield said in making the announcement Monday. “This will put a new shine on this facility.”
The money, part of a $923-million capital investment by the federal government since 2007 to improve comfort, service and safety for passengers, will be used to complete major renovations to the station’s masonry, roof and windows in 2011, with a focus on preserving features that make the building — built in 1919 — as a heritage site.
VIA will issue a tender and intends to award the contract by the end of the year, with most funding coming from Canada’s Economic Action Plan.
Merrifield, who said the work will help capitalize on tourism opportunities, was joined by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson at the announcement of the rail station’s facelift.
Robertson said the station is important to the city’s transportation hub and that the announced upgrades are good news to the city.
However, Merrifield refused to commit to an expansion of train service south from Vancouver to the U.S., including a permanent second Amtrak train to Seattle.
“All things are optional right now [and] we’ve only go so many dollars,” Merrifield said after Monday’s announcement. “We’re not ruling it out.
“We’ll deal with that in due course.”
The government announced in October that Amtrak will continue to run a second train between Vancouver and Seattle for another year without a proposed fee being imposed to pay for Canada Border Services Agency customs service.
The second Amtrak Cascades train was part of a pilot project for the 2010 Winter Olympics and was supported by millions of dollars from both the Washington state and B.C. governments.
But the CBSA, after agreeing to extend the service beyond its original March deadline, told Amtrak it planned to begin charging the company $1,500 a day starting Nov. 1.
The fee, to recover the cost of processing passengers on the second train, was expected to add $20 to a ticket, making the service uncompetitive.
Robertson said more and quicker train service to the U.S. is critical for the city’s economy.
“We need a long-term investment in train travel,” Robertson said after the announcement. “We need better connectivity to Seattle and California. I’d like to see more and faster trains, [but] that relies on the provincial and federal governments stepping up. There’s a cost to not doing it.
“It’s about investing in higher speeds. We need to catch up with Asia and Europe.”
Merrifield said: “Higher-speed rail is definitely where we’re going. It’s ‘How fast can we get there?’”
Hoff said that since 1992, the station has offered full intermodal service, allowing bus and SkyTrain connections for train travellers.
He also noted that Monday’s announcement came a day after the 125th anniversary of the last spike being driven into the ground in Craigellachie that connected Canada’s west with its east.
Plans for $6.3M Windsor Via station unveiled
WINDSOR, Ont. — Windsor's new train station will boast more parking, more seats -- and a striking similarity to the downtown bus terminal.
There's no denying the resemblance. Whether it's the long, curved roof or the airy main floor, there's something familiar about the plans unveiled by Via Rail Canada and the federal government on Monday.
But the two buildings have different designers. The bus station was designed in 2006 by Glos Associates, while the new train station is the work of London architect Myk Wasylko.
"I'm not sure where he got his inspiration from, but it does look similar to the bus station," agreed Christian LeFave, president of Loaring Construction, the Windsorbased firm contracted to build the train station.
According to LeFave, construction of the $6.3 million facility will begin next week -- just next door to the old train station at Walker Road off Riverside Drive East.
About 12,000 square feet in size, the new building will feature in-floor geothermal heating, solar panels, a translucent roof and a "living wall."
There will be a passenger lounge with seating for 125 people and uninterrupted views of arriving and departing trains.
Outside the building, the site will have 110 parking spots, including long-term parking and an area reserved for taxis.
There will be a 12-metre tall Via sign and room for a future parkette.
Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, general counsel and secretary of Via Rail, noted that Windsor's old station dates back to the 1960s -- "and it shows," he said.
"The current station is just too small, too awkward, and does not represent the potential of the city of Windsor and the region as a whole."
Windsor's train station is the sixth busiest across the country in terms of passengers. An estimated 210,000 people boarded or disembarked at the Windsor station in 2009.
"I think it's probably safe to say that it's about time we did something," said Dave Van Kesteren, MP for Chatham-Kent-Essex.
When the project was announced in March, construction was hoped to begin by June.
But Desjardins-Siciliano said he's not aware of any delay. "I'm not sure what the expectation was," he said.
"Projects of this magnitude, if there is a delay of three or four months -- it's not that significant, it seems to me."
Mayor Eddie Francis said he's glad that Via Rail and the federal government took the extra time. "I'm very pleased," he said. "We will now have a facility that is not just a normal facility. This is a facility that goes above and beyond the standard that you'd expect to see in stations across the Via network."
Asked how the new station figures into the city's plan for rail consolidation -- given that the location of the station won't change -- Francis replied that rail consolidation is a "long-term vision" that will take time to bring to fruition. "Until then, we certainly welcome investments of this nature in our community."
WINDSOR, Ont. — Windsor's new train station will boast more parking, more seats -- and a striking similarity to the downtown bus terminal.
There's no denying the resemblance. Whether it's the long, curved roof or the airy main floor, there's something familiar about the plans unveiled by Via Rail Canada and the federal government on Monday.
But the two buildings have different designers. The bus station was designed in 2006 by Glos Associates, while the new train station is the work of London architect Myk Wasylko.
"I'm not sure where he got his inspiration from, but it does look similar to the bus station," agreed Christian LeFave, president of Loaring Construction, the Windsorbased firm contracted to build the train station.
According to LeFave, construction of the $6.3 million facility will begin next week -- just next door to the old train station at Walker Road off Riverside Drive East.
About 12,000 square feet in size, the new building will feature in-floor geothermal heating, solar panels, a translucent roof and a "living wall."
There will be a passenger lounge with seating for 125 people and uninterrupted views of arriving and departing trains.
Outside the building, the site will have 110 parking spots, including long-term parking and an area reserved for taxis.
There will be a 12-metre tall Via sign and room for a future parkette.
Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, general counsel and secretary of Via Rail, noted that Windsor's old station dates back to the 1960s -- "and it shows," he said.
"The current station is just too small, too awkward, and does not represent the potential of the city of Windsor and the region as a whole."
Windsor's train station is the sixth busiest across the country in terms of passengers. An estimated 210,000 people boarded or disembarked at the Windsor station in 2009.
"I think it's probably safe to say that it's about time we did something," said Dave Van Kesteren, MP for Chatham-Kent-Essex.
When the project was announced in March, construction was hoped to begin by June.
But Desjardins-Siciliano said he's not aware of any delay. "I'm not sure what the expectation was," he said.
"Projects of this magnitude, if there is a delay of three or four months -- it's not that significant, it seems to me."
Mayor Eddie Francis said he's glad that Via Rail and the federal government took the extra time. "I'm very pleased," he said. "We will now have a facility that is not just a normal facility. This is a facility that goes above and beyond the standard that you'd expect to see in stations across the Via network."
Asked how the new station figures into the city's plan for rail consolidation -- given that the location of the station won't change -- Francis replied that rail consolidation is a "long-term vision" that will take time to bring to fruition. "Until then, we certainly welcome investments of this nature in our community."
