'Welcome home Metrolinx'

‘Welcome home Metrolinx’.

Those words from Ontario Northland CEO Corina Moore as both the ONTC and Metrolinx announced a refurbishment contract involving 15 GO Train bi-level passenger coaches.

The first coach has arrived at the Remanufacturing and Repair Centre in North Bay.

It’ll be used as a prototype to ramp up the refurbishment program, which is expected to be in full swing next year.

Moore says this will help develop the strategic alliance with Metrolinx.

“This will mean not just 15 cars, we’re going to prove that we can do lots and lots of work for Metrolinx, the same way we’re doing lots of work for other railways. It means long-term security and really great career-jobs here in North Bay,” she says.

Metrolinx President and CEO Phil Verster says the ONTC has a great track record with other companies and they’re looking to see that continue with their vehicles, which could bode well for the ONTC down the road.

“We’ve got around 970 high level vehicles in GO, a significant part of our fleet needs refurbishment every now and again, so if this contract goes well, there could be further work in the future,” he says.

MPP Vic Fedeli is hopeful more work is secured through this contract.

“It’s important these cars are done well, and I fully expect they will be, they’ll be done superbly in North Bay and I think the sales message that will come from that is ‘look, you’re a sister company’ the government owns Metrolinx, the government owns the ONTC, this should be just an automatic transformation of the work,” he says.

The last Metrolinx-related contract wrapped up in 2011.

ONTC officials say this project provides security for the current workforce and they’ll see if additional employees are needed as they go forward.

Meantime, Fedeli was asked about the prospects of passenger rail.

“The goal for passenger rail is something we fully intend to honour in our first term, we have been working on it very diligently, we have been working on this (refurbishment) diligently, we’ve been working on other issues for Ontario Northland. It’s a big file for me, an important file,” he says.

(Photo by station staff)