VIA Rail subsidiary to support high-frequency rail service

The Canadian government has created a VIA Rail Canada Inc. subsidiary to help support the development of high-frequency rail service in Quebec City, Trois-Rivieres and Montreal, Quebec; and Ottawa, Peterborough and Toronto, Ontario.

The VIA HFR – VIA TGF Inc. subsidiary will manage the development of the high-frequency rail project, said Canadian Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra in a press release.

VIA Rail has incorporated the subsidiary and appointed three founding directors to its board: Robert Prichard (as chair), Marie-Jose Nadeau (as vice chair) and Robert Fonberg. The three directors "bring a formidable combination of strategic leadership skills and experience from the private and public sectors," Transport Canada officials said.

The directors will start by recruiting and hiring a CEO for VIA HFR and search for four more directors to round out a seven-person board.

"VIA HFR will operate at arms-length from VIA Rail and will act as a dedicated project office for the high-frequency rail project," Transport Canada officials said. "In the near term, the government of Canada is leading a procurement process to select a private developer-partner for the project."