$106 million for the rehabilitation of the Québec Central railway
The commissioning of the section located between Vallée-Jonction and Thetford Mines is scheduled for 2025.
The section that Quebec wishes to rehabilitate totals 58 km of rail . (File photo)
The Legault government announced on Monday an investment of $106 million for the rehabilitation of the Québec Central railway between Vallée-Jonction and Thetford Mines. He sees it as a way to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transporting goods by truck.
We know that road transport not only puts pressure on our arteries, the deterioration of roads and all that, but it emits more GHGs. [Rail transport] is much more convenient and efficient from an environmental and economic point of view, declared the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, during a press conference in Thetford Mines.
Several local elected officials were at his side, including the MP for Lotbinière-Frontenac, Isabelle Lecours, and the mayor of Thetford Mines, Marc-Alexandre Brousseau.
From left to right: the Mayor of Thetford Mines, Marc-Alexandre Brousseau, the MNA for Lotbinière-Frontenac, Isabelle Lecours, the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault, the Mayor of Vallée-Jonction, Patricia Drouin, and the MP for Beauce-Nord, Luc Provençal.
The rehabilitation project for the section totaling 58 km of rail includes the reconstruction of 17 railway bridges and the replacement of 102 culverts.
The centerpiece consists of the reconstruction of a railway bridge over the Chaudière River in Vallée-Jonction for which a call for tenders will be launched on Thursday.
“Rail transport is a sustainable and very environmentally friendly alternative to road transport. »
— Geneviève Guilbault, Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility
The provincial government acquired the Québec Central railway in 2007. Only one of the four sections of the network, that located between Charny and Sainte-Marie (section 1), is currently in operation.
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Work is underway on section no. 2, which connects Scott and Vallée-Jonction. The 106 million invested by Quebec target sections 3 (Vallée-Jonction to Tring-Jonction) and 4 (Tring-Jonction to Thetford Mines).
In 2019, Quebec had expressed its desire to rehabilitate the network as far as Thetford Mines in order to offer an alternative solution to the transport of goods by heavy vehicles.
Geneviève Guilbault indicated on Monday that she was aiming for a return of trains to the mining town of Chaudière-Appalaches in 2025.
