OTTAWA — It’s full-steam ahead for Alstom to continue operating Ontario’s heavy rail commuter trains.
On Friday, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced that the province was going ahead with renewing its maintenance and operation contracts for GO Transit trains and the UP Express airport rail service with Alstom, the France-based transportation giant that’s held the contract since 2021.
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“This investment will help protect Ontario workers by supporting more than 11,000 good-paying jobs across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area over the next five years, while continuing to deliver safe and reliable service for more than 120,000 daily riders,” Sarkaria told reporters at GO’s Willowbrook maintenance yard in Etobicoke.
“By extending this contract with Alstom, we’re making sure GO and UP Express riders continue to receive the dependable service that they rely on everyday.”
The contract will see Alstom operating GO and UP Express trains through 2031.
Alstom has operated and maintained GO trains and the UP Express service since 2021, after Alstom acquired Bombardier’s rail division.
Bombardier began operating and maintaining GO trains in 2008 — prior to that, GO trains were operated by either CN or Canadian Pacific railway crews, depending on which railway the trains ran on.
Lingering questions answered
Friday’s announcement answers lingering questions hanging over Queen’s Park about the future of GO Transit train and UP Express management.
Operation of GO trains was supposed to be taken over by ONxpress — a consortium of Aecon and Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s state-owned national railway company — but that 25-year deal collapsed last year.
The Ontario government is in the midst of multibillion-dollar efforts to expand public transit and commuter rail in southern Ontario, including expanded service on the Kitchener line, new stations on the Lakeshore West and Barrie lines, as well as the recently opened Toronto LRT lines and the under-construction Ontario Line subway.
Michael Keroulle, president and CEO of Alstom Americas, said the extension will build on what’s already been established.
“With this extension, we will continue developing our presence in Ontario, where we already employ close to 3,000 skilled professionals here in the GTA, in Thunder Bay and in Kingston,” he said. “Today is a proud day for our team.”