Via Rail buys Brockville-area track

The sign for the Via Rail station on Perth Street in Brockville, Ont. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston, File)

BROCKVILLE – Via Rail has added 45 kilometers of railway track near Brockville to its portfolio.

The passenger rail service announced Monday it has bought the single track from Brockville to Smiths Falls, adding to its 200 kilometers (140 miles) of track.

Terms of the deal with Canadian Pacific Railway were not disclosed.

With Via already owning the section of track from Ottawa to Brockville, CEO Yves Desjardins-Siciliano said the acquisition means they are “well positioned to improve our reliability and our on-time performance going into and out of Ottawa.”

The piece of rail line has been leased and then owned by CP Rail since 1881. The line was part of the first railway tunnel (the Brockville tunnel) in Canada West.

In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, this section of railroad track, as seen from Parkedale Avenue in Brockville, Ont., has been sold to Via Rail. (Newswatch Group/Phillip Blancher)
In this Nov. 24, 2015 photo, this section of railroad track, as seen from Parkedale Avenue in Brockville, Ont., has been sold to Via Rail. (Newswatch Group/Phillip Blancher)

This deal comes on the heels of a $20 million investment in the Brockville corridor and improvements to the train schedule.

Via also took the wraps off a $1 million modernization project at the Brockville station on Perth Street in July.

Roughly 53,000 people either come to or head out of Brockville on the train every year.

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