Minister of Transport announces funding to relieve congestion in supply chains and enhance infrastructure at the Port of Montréal

MONTRÉAL, March 25, 2024 /CNW/ - An efficient and reliable transportation system is essential to making life more affordable for Canadians. Investing in more efficient and resilient supply chains will ensure that Canadian consumers have access to the affordable goods they need, when they need them.

Today, the Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant, Pablo Rodriguez, announced an investment of up to $16.75 million for a project at the Port of Montréal under the National Trade Corridors Fund. This project consists of adding a fourth track on the Pie-IX railway bridge and building a storage area. The rehabilitation of the railway bridge, including the fourth track, involves adding 500 metres into the railway network of the bridge.

The project will:

• preserve the long-term viability of the port's container terminals;
• increase rail capacity to boost the port's commercial value by more than $1 billion annually;
• reduce freight costs;
• generate labour savings and strengthen modal interconnectivity at the port site;
• ensure the safety of rail operations on the site; and
• help to reduce environmental impacts by using rail freight over trucking.

The Government of Canada continues to make investments to strengthen the country's supply chains, promote economic growth and enhance the opportunities for our businesses to expand into global markets. This investment is another long-term commitment to work with stakeholders on strategic infrastructure projects to address transportation bottlenecks, vulnerabilities, and congestion along Canada's trade corridors.

"This investment at the Port of Montréal will strengthen supply chains and make life more affordable for Canadians. This initiative will enhance safety, increase rail capacity, and reduce environmental impacts, underscoring our commitment to strategic infrastructure development and economic growth."

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez
Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant

"The support of the federal government enables us to consolidate the intermodal platform that is the Port of Montreal, and to strengthen the resilience and rail connectivity of our facilities, to the benefit of all our users. This effort is in addition to those already undertaken by our teams and partners to optimize the rail network."

Julie Gascon
CEO of the Port of Montreal

"We are delighted with this investment by the Port of Montreal, which will support our plans to expand our sugar production capacity. This fourth lane will provide additional fluidity to enable us to serve our customers. Lantic Sugar favors rail transport for its operations, and this investment will enable it to continue to do so."

Mike Walton
President and CEO of Rogers Sugar and Lantic

• An efficient and reliable transportation network is key to Canada's economic growth. The Government of Canada, through the National Trade Corridors Fund, is making investments that will support the flow of goods across Canada's supply chains.
• The National Trade Corridors Fund is a competitive, merit-based program designed to help infrastructure owners and users invest in the critical transportation assets that support economic activity in Canada. A total of $4.1 billion has been committed to meritorious projects since the program's inception.
• Through the National Trade Corridors Fund, Transport Canada is supporting improvements to Canada's roads, rail, air, and marine shipping routes to foster domestic and international trade.

National Trade Corridors Fund Backgrounder 

This news release can be made available in alternative formats. 

SOURCE Transport Canada - Ottawa