Government of Canada, and VIA Rail unveil new Cobourg Station design
Written by jrood
Northumberland-Quinte West Member of Parliament Rick Norlock, Peter Delanty, Mayor of Cobourg, and Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, General Counsel and Secretary of VIA Rail Canada, unveiled the design for VIA's enhanced and expanded Cobourg, Ont., passenger rail station. Representing an estimated investment of C$9 million, the project will receive C$1 million in funding from the Government of Canada's Economic Action Plan. This investment will provide modern, attractive facilities for passengers, with capacity to meet potential future growth.
The design for the
enhanced passenger station, developed in consultation with the community, will
preserve the existing heritage station, while upgrading facilities and adding a
new "island" boarding platform, connected by an overhead footbridge complex
serviced by elevators and stairs. The new facilities will harmonize with the
current heritage architecture.
Desjardins-Siciliano said, "VIA
is proud to work with Cobourg to build on that heritage. We are ensuring that
Cobourg will enjoy the best possible quality of service as passenger volumes
grow in the future, and VIA continues to add faster, more efficient, more
reliable and frequent train services throughout the Ontario-Quebec corridor."
With construction scheduled
to begin this year, the enhanced station is designed to integrate with current
and planned infrastructure improvements, including a C$300 million project to
expand and improve track between Montreal and Toronto.
As a result of the
capital investment by the Government of Canada, VIA is revamping services while
becoming more efficient and improving its environmental footprint and
operational performance.
Station and infrastructure improvements have
been made possible by an unprecedented C$923 million capital investment in
passenger rail by the Government of Canada. This is stimulating job creation,
skills development and private sector activity. Additional infrastructure
projects are aimed at improving service quality and cost efficiency at points
across VIA’s network.
Station design highlights
include: A fully-accessible and welcoming environment with comfortable,
relaxing waiting areas; restoration of the existing Heritage building, based on
concepts from local professionals, with the approval of Parks Canada; a new
island boarding platform to accommodate expanded track lines, with a connecting
footbridge in keeping with the heritage architecture; a convenient passenger
drop-off and pick-up area; and landscaping that preserves and reinforces the
natural environment.
