By Canadian Press

Infrastructure agency to pitch in to help move along Via Rail project: sources

Jun 24, 2019 | 10:47 AM

OTTAWA — A federal infrastructure financing agency is going to put some money behind a few final, financially risky steps in Via Rail’s high-frequency rail project, sources say.

Two sources speaking on condition of anonymity because the details are not yet public say the Canada Infrastructure Bank will cover the financial risk for the last few studies and other requirements.

The sources didn’t say how much money will be provided or what would specifically be funded, but the agency’s backing could help Via more easily find a private partner to cover the cost of the proposal.

Announcements are promised Tuesday in Trois-Rivieres, Que., with Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Infrastructure Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, and also in Peterborough, Ont., with Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef, the local MP.

The rail company wants to build a multibillion-dollar new network of dedicated passenger-rail lines in Ontario and Quebec, so its trains will no longer have to yield to freight trains on borrowed tracks.

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Transport Canada has been looking over the Via proposal for more than a year.

The Canadian Press