VIA Rail issues contracts for Winnipeg Union Station, rail-car components

VIA Rail Canada Inc. has signed agreements worth $4.5 million (in Canadian dollars) with local companies for the Winnipeg Union Station renovation project and for components to improve the "light-rapid-comfortable" (LRC) business class cars used in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor.

VIA Rail plans more than $6.5 million worth of renovations for the station, with $3.5 million in awarded contracts confirmed to date with Winnipeg-based companies, railroad officials said in a press release.

The contracted firms include ABCO Supply & Service, Security Decorating, Bockstael Construction, Westwood Mechanical Inc. and Bridgman Collaborative Architecture.

The project was developed to improve the station's waiting areas, electrical and security systems, accessibility, washrooms, and the building's rotunda and exterior.

VIA Rail also awarded a $1 million contract to Enduron Custom Inc. to deliver washroom modules as part of a project to modernize 25 LRC business class cars. Enduron will work with Carlson Engineered Composites and Argus Industries, which will provide fiberglass reinforced plastic components, seals and rubber components.