Transportation

Rocher-Percé Airport completes its facelift 

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GRANDE-RIVIÈRE – The upgrade of Rocher-Percé Airport in Grande-Rivière is officially completed, with the inauguration of the new terminal on October 16. The building was renovated and expanded at a cost of $2.5 million. 

“This is the last step. We have efficient, safe and up-to-date facilities that are adapted for our employees, welcoming passengers with adapted facilities with a reception counter, and a beautiful waiting room. The controller now has a complete view of our runway,” notes Samuel Parisé, Prefect of the Rocher-Percé MRC. 

The airport ranks ninth in the province for the number of government planes. 

“The plane that lands the most is the ambulance plane. For us, it was a priority. We wanted our population to have access to a fast and efficient service and to leave quickly when they need urgent health services. This is an important aspect,” says the prefect. 

When the work to extend the runway was launched, the MRC mentioned the development of cargo and tourist planes.

“What we wanted before sitting down with certain developers was to have efficient and completed facilities. The runway is done, the terminal is done, the equipment has been modernized. We are now ready. When I propose a project, I want it to be complete in order to make the right decision based on what is offered,” says Mr. Parisé. 

The airport was originally built in 1986. Diane Lebouthillier, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gaspésie- Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine recalls that, at one point, elected officials considered abandoning the runway. This reflection occurred when she was the MRC prefect from 2010 to 2015. 

“We had major discussions about whether we should keep or close the airport. It was part of the discussions at the time, and the decisions made by the council of mayors were to set aside $1 million for an airport development project. I am happy to see the culmination of the work,” notes Ms. Lebouthillier. 

The Canadian government is contributing $1.5 million to modernize the terminal. 

“The building we had before had holes, and letters were missing on the Rocher-Percé airport (sign). It was sad,” says Ms. Lebouthillier. 

The Québec government advanced $407,000 for this part of the project. 

In 2020, the airport saw its runway extended, and both the weather station and runway lighting were upgraded at a cost of $10.4 million. At the time, the Québec government provided $8.3 million in assistance for the work. 

With the completion of this project at the Rocher-Percé airport, all airports in Gaspésie – Bonaventure, Gaspé and Sainte-Anne-des-Monts – will have been upgraded. 

“It’s strategic. It’s an essential component of air positioning in our region. The Québec government has a clear vision, a vision that leverages infrastructure. We have just reached an important milestone in our territory,” says Gaspé MNA Stéphane Sainte-Croix. 

Now, the focus is on attracting more planes. 

“The big challenge is to make air transportation accessible to our community, to ensure that carriers have an interest. There is incredible potential here in terms of tourism, with the proximity of Percé Rock and the Pointe sector. There are opportunities to work on to restore air transportation to its full potential. We will soon be providing details for our upcoming programs,” says Mr. Sainte-Croix. 

“We are working on our support measures that encourage customers to turn more often to air transportation. We should be able to announce all of that soon,” he adds. 

Timeline: 

1986: The first runway was built at 1,600 feet. 

1991: Runway extended to 4,000 feet and asphalted; and construction of the first terminal. 

2020: Extension of the runway. 

2021: A Boeing 737 lands at the airport for the first time. 

2022: Start of work to expand the terminal. 

2024: Inauguration of the new terminal. 

Rocher-Percé Airport completes its facelift  Read More »

TRAM TRACKER: CAQ mandates Caisse Infra to build tramway Phase 1; RTC to run it

TRAM TRACKER: CAQ mandates Caisse Infra to build tramway Phase 1; RTC to run it

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Coalition Avenir Québec government, under political and time pressure, has given the green light to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra (CDPQ Infra) to kickstart Quebec City’s paused tramway project.

The decision came after a regular cabinet meeting on Oct. 9, communicated officially via a carefully worded CDPQ Infra news release, saying the pension plan agency “today accepted a new mandate from the government of Quebec to plan the first phase of the CITÉ plan and set up the organization required to ensure the proper development of the next stages of the tramway project.”

CITÉ stands for Circuit intégré de transport express, the name CDPQ Infra gave to the three-phase project it recommended in a study, released in June, of transportation needs in the Quebec City region the CAQ government ordered last fall.

The release notes: “CDPQ Infra will soon confirm the composition of the project team, which will include all the expertise needed for the mandate to move forward.”

The first phase would be a 15-kilometre tramway line linking Cap-Rouge and Boul. Laurier in the west with Saint- Roch and Charlesbourg in the east. An expansion of the South Shore (Lévis) bus service is also in the plan.

Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault told reporters after the cabinet meeting that CDPQ Infra is “being given the keys to planning Phase 1 of the tramway, so this is a very important step. This is confirmation that we are moving forward and taking the next step.”

While CDPQ Infra will be in charge of building the tram- way, its actual operation will be the responsibility of the Réseau de Transport de la Capitale (RTC), which manages the city’s existing transit network.

Coun. Maude Mercier Larouche, city executive committee member and RTC president, said in a statement, “We are pleased to see that the tramway project is progressing. … Our teams have all the experience and expertise needed to bring this crucial transportation project for Quebec City to life.”

The government mandate to CDPQ Infra contains a Dec. 15 deadline to file a final draft agreement containing more details on the roles of various players as well as the financial structure for the project.

Some political commentators see the deadline as hard to meet and a potential escape hatch for the CAQ government to delay and abandon the project with the prospect of a Conservative federal government on the horizon.

Québec Solidaire MNA Étienne Grandmont, who represents the Quebec City riding of Taschereau, said via an Oct. 9 news release, “Confirming partners is one thing, but I’m still waiting for the funding to be secured. The Dec. 15 deadline worries me; it’s the minister’s hand on the plug, and I fear she’s ready to pull the trigger.”

Limoilou Coun. and Transition Québec Leader Jackie Smith said, “We must immediately get the teams back to work by resuming the work that was interrupted a year ago. We want to see the funding promised for our city translate into new infrastructure as soon as possible.”

Nora Loreto, co-founder of Québec désire son tramway, told the QCT, “We’re very happy to see movement on the tramway file and look forward to this project being managed by the RTC.”

Mayor Bruno Marchand, whose revised higher budget for the tramway triggered the CAQ’s intervention, made a brief statement applauding the project restart. “I am delighted that the Quebec government is confirming with this gesture the implementation of the CITÉ plan. This is an essential project for the Quebec City region in the context of very strong population growth. We cannot wage an effective war on congestion without investing in the development of public transportation,” he said.

TRAM TRACKER: CAQ mandates Caisse Infra to build tramway Phase 1; RTC to run it Read More »

CAQ commits to ‘third link’ with call for ‘international interest’

CAQ commits to ‘third link’ with call for ‘international interest’

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The Coalition Avenir Québec government is moving ahead with its off-again, on-again pledge to build a third link between Quebec City and the South Shore.

Transport Minister and Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault made the announcement on Oct. 11 of an “international call for interest” to parties to be considered as a partner in the development of the project.

Vowing that whatever option is decided will be “the best project at the best price,” Guilbault said if all goes according to plan a contract would be signed to build the link in early 2027.

Addressing a news conference in Complexe G following a technical briefing by transport ministry officials, Guilbault said the call for interest “marks an important step in the third link project, which will allow us to confirm the market’s interest in our project. I am convinced that we will arrive at the best solution to meet the fluidity needs of our citizens on both shores.”

The minister said the two principal objectives of the third link would be to ensure economic security for commercial transport in the event of the Pierre Laporte Bridge being closed and to reduce traffic congestion in the region.

Guilbault said the choice of which corridor the link would take would be decided by next summer, based on options identified in the report by the Caisse de depôt et placement Infra presented in June.

In a previous announcement of a third link proposal, the CAQ government had envisioned a bridge between the eastern ends of Lévis and Quebec City. A proposal prior to that envisioned a tunnel between the downtowns of the two cities.

Asked by the QCT how much influence politicians would have on the ultimate choice of a corridor, Guilbault said, “It’s too early to determine a specific corridor,” pending the submission of recommenda- tions from interested parties.

She also said having a bridge with enough clearance to allow for cruise ships to enter port in Quebec City or Lévis “would be taken into consideration.”

Transport officials and the minister did not exclude a tunnel as a preferred option, nor would they commit to the third link being used for public transit such as the tramway system.

Guilbault said in two years, after the next scheduled pro- vincial election, “we will be at a level of the evolution of the process [where] it will be irreversible.”

She said since all the op- position parties are opposed to the third link idea, the CAQ is the only one that is pursuing it. “People will realize we are actually doing it for real.”

Guilbault acknowledged the CAQ’s “credibility is at stake” with the third link project. “We have to demonstrate we are resolutely committed to the realization” of the project.

Opposition critics were quick to denounce this latest move by the CAQ. Liberal transport critic Monsef Derraji said in a statement, “It’s clear that this announcement is more about diverting attention from other issues than it is about genuinely advancing mobility in the greater Quebec City area. Should the CAQ lose power after 2026, this commitment could easily crumble. It all appears more like a campaign promise than a real solution.”

Québec Solidaire MNA for Jean-Lesage Sol Zanetti told reporters, “We will talk about it [the third link] for decades as the symbol of the promise of the electoral bauble that will never happen, that is irresponsible, that costs a lot, and that is useless.”

Parti Québécois MNA for Jean-Talon Pascal Paradis said, “There will be no project. It won’t happen. What we are being presented with today is a fabrication, a smokescreen.”

Guilbault would not commit to a price tag for the potential bridge or tunnel, saying it would be determined as the planning process proceeds. She highlighted the new collaborative approach the government is taking, saying, “[T]he government will work closely with the designer and the builder from the first stages of the project design.”

A series of calls for tenders will be launched in the spring “to obtain the professional services and support required throughout the project. A first call for tenders aimed at ob- taining consulting services in insurance and financial guarantees will be published in the coming weeks.”

The building of a third link was a CAQ promise in the 2018 election that brought the party to power. At the time, the party vowed that the project would be underway by the end of its first mandate.

CAQ commits to ‘third link’ with call for ‘international interest’ Read More »

The arrival of the first train in Gaspé might only happen in early 2027

Nelson Sergerie, LJI journalist

 GASPÉ – The Gaspé riding Member of the National Assembly (MNA), Stéphane Sainte-Croix, makes no secret of the fact that the first train may not arrive at the Gaspé station in December 2026, as previously announced in June 2023. 

The last of the four major calls for tenders for the railway refurbishment between Port Daniel-Gascons and Gaspé, which were launched in March, opened on September 18. The announcement for that stretch was first made in November 2023, by Premier François Legault during his visit to the Gaspé Peninsula. 

However, according to the Quebec government’s electronic tendering site the contract has not yet been awarded, 

The estimate indicates that the expected duration of the contract without options is 28 months, which means the deadline is February 2027. 

“Following the opening, we are faced with the possibility that we will push back the agreed schedule. We will see with the selected bidders the state of play along the way but, indeed, we may have a challenge in terms of the schedule for the rest of things,” says Stéphane Sainte-Croix. “It is hasty to agree on the schedule, considering the discussions that will take place with the selected company, but it (a delay) is a possibility,” he adds. 

The commitment to refurbish the railroad to Gaspé remains strong. “Our objective has not changed: ensuring the complete connection of the Gaspé Peninsula railway to Gaspé remains a priority for all elected officials in the region and for mobilizing the government. That has not changed,” assures the MNA. 

His colleague from Bonaventure is a little more optimistic. “When I ask questions (to the Ministry of Transport), they tell me it’s possible,” affirms Catherine Blouin. 

After nine deadlines for the opening of bids for the call for tenders launched on March 21, the envelopes for two proposals received by the Ministry of Transport were opened on September 18. Pomerleau is requesting $258 million, while Partenariat Ferroviaire Gaspésie is proposing $286 million to carry out the projects in the plans and specifications. 

The work involves repairing two bridges in Gascons, the long bridge between Gascons and Newport, and another such structure in Newport, as well as the one in Douglastown at the mouth of the Saint-Jean River. Additionally, one of the two bridges between Grande-Rivière and Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé must be replaced and a retaining wall in Pabos Mills is part of the bid. 

Quebec announced $872 million to rehabilitate the rail between Matapedia and Gaspé on June 27, 2023. The section between Caplan and Port-Daniel-Gascons must be fun  tional at the end of the current year. 

Exploramer’s expansion still assessed by the Quebec government 

Meanwhile, despite comments on social media to the effect that the additional aid requested to build the shark pool at the Exploramer museum in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts had been rejected, the MNA for Gaspé says that is not the case. 

“The file remains at the same level. We are still waiting for the update of the reviewed and corrected project in terms of the business plan and new financial assistance to be received,” mentions Mr. Sainte-Croix. 

According to him, communications are still happening, and the documents are pending. 

The MNA hopes that this matter will be resolved quickly in order to not compromise the 2025 tourist season. 

“Haute-Gaspésie cannot afford to lose its economic assets. This is an important one for the tourism industry. We hope to reach an agreement soon on the revision or maintenance of the assistance already granted. That is our wish,” he adds. 

Quebec had already granted $11 million of the initial $18 million for the renovation and construction of a pavilion dedicated to the museum’s St. Lawrence sharks. 

In March, after a meeting with stakeholders from Haute-Gaspésie, Stéphane Sainte-Croix mentioned that the project had changed significantly, as the aquarium expanded substantially without having previously notified the ministerial authorities, increasing the cost of the aquarium from $2.7 million to $12.7 million, “an increase of 370%, this is not normal,” adds the MNA. 

In this context, the MNA added that the Quebec government could not assume the new project alone. 

Exploramer is facing cost overruns of around $6.8 million. The museum has indicated it is prepared to make an additional effort by borrowing an extra $1 million. 

The arrival of the first train in Gaspé might only happen in early 2027 Read More »

Bids for the last of the four major tenders have finally opened

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

deadlines for the opening of bids for the last of four major calls for tenders launched on March 21 for the refurbishment of the railway between Port-Daniel-Gascons and Gaspé, the two proposals received by the Ministry of Transport were opened on September 18. 

Pomerleau is asking for $258 million and Partenariat Ferroviaire Gaspésie is suggesting $286 million to carry out the work in the call for bids. 

The work consists of repairing two bridges in Gascons, a third one between Gascons and Newport, another in Newport and one between Douglastown and Haldimand over the Saint John River. In addition, one of the two bridges between Grande-Rivière and Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé must be replaced. A retaining wall at Pabos Mills is also part of the bid. 

The section between Caplan and Port-Daniel-Gascons is supposed to be functional by the end of 2024, with the section between Port-Daniel-Gascons and Gaspé ready for use in 2026. 

The contract duration is estimated at 28 months, according to the call for tenders, which suggests that the time frame to reach Gaspé by the end of 2026 is extremely tight. 

In June, the ministry indicated that questions submitted by contractors explained the postponements. Analysis is underway to validate the bids and award the contract if necessary. 

Another call for tender 

result remains unknown 

Meanwhile, the contract for the other revised call for tenders to repair various railway structures has still not been awarded. 

The public call for bids initially provided for the repair or construction of nine infrastructures, but the request for quotes now only covers bridges. 

The sites targeted are a small bridge in Pabos Mills, the Grand Pabos River bridge, the Pabos River bridge, the Barachois bridge, and bridge on Highway 132 in Barachois. 

The Ministry of Transport has removed the four retaining walls at Anse-à-Beaufils and Sandy Beach from the project. 

The ministry indicates that the revised contract is estimated at more than $50 million. 

Pomerleau submitted the lowest proposal of $79 million on August 28. Hamel Construction, the only other bidder, is asking for $83.8 million instead. 

For the first contract involving nine structures, only Pomerleau had submitted a bid of $104 million. 

The ministry had indicated in early June that it was analyzing several possibilities, while only one bidder submitted a proposal. 

The option of splitting the contract was ultimately retained, as indicated by our sources. Two of the four major contracts in the calls for tenders promised by Premier François Legault in November 2023 have been awarded so far. 

The first was with the Séma group from Sainte-Flavie for the rehabilitation of the bridges over Grande-Rivière and Anse-à-Brillant, and those over the Émile-Couture stream in Grande-Rivière and the beach in Gaspé will be rebuilt for $74.9 million. 

Stellaire Construction from Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures was awarded a $37 million contract for six bridges to be repaired in Pabos Mills, Pabos and Anse-à-Beaufils. Quebec announced $872 million to rehabilitate the rail line between Matapedia and Gaspé 

Bids for the last of the four major tenders have finally opened Read More »

City to jack tax on vehicle fee by $60 to boost transit service

City to jack tax on vehicle fee by $60 to boost transit service

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Vehicle owners in Quebec City will be paying $60 more when they renew their registrations, a move by the city to raise money to expand urban transit service.

Mayor Bruno Marchand announced at a Sept. 11 news conference that the hike will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, when the public transit contribution of vehicle registration will jump from $30 to $90, on top of the regular fee.

The $30 fee has been in effect since 1992; motorists in the Montreal region have been paying a special transit fee since 2011.

The measure, which the Quebec government made available to all municipalities in the province earlier this year, will affect some 300,000 vehicle owners in the Quebec City region. It is expected to raise $18.4 million in the first year, all of which, the mayor said, will be targeted to public transit improvements.

“We are waging a war on congestion,” Marchand said. “The longer we wait to develop the public transport network, the more congestion increases.”

Saying he was not happy to announce a fee increase, the mayor argued, “There is a cost associated with conges- tion. The family that has to buy a second or third car for their child who has to go to CEGEP represents an annual expense of thousands of dollars. The hours lost in traffic are time that people don’t have with their families and for themselves. Congestion has an economic cost and an impact on quality of life.”

The trade-off for the fee hike is an expansion of the Réseau de Transport de la Capitale (RTC) network with a plan rolled out over the next three years.

Each year, according to a press release, the RTC plans to add a new fast, high-frequency Metrobus-type route to serve the northern suburbs, a new peripheral sector served by Flexibus with local routes revised accordingly, extension of the àVélo bike-sharing network, and a new Parc-O- Bus lot.

Coun. Maude Mercier Larouche, RTC president and executive committee member, said, “Year after year, the same problem arises: the RTC wants to develop and improve its services, but the funding is not there. Today, we are taking steps to remedy this and are presenting you with an ambitious development plan that meets the needs of our citizens and users.”

Opposition councillors had a variety of reactions to the fee hike, a step dozens of other municipalities have already taken, with fees higher than Quebec City’s $60. Opposition Leader and Québec d’Abord Coun. Claude Villeneuve, whose party is the successor to former mayor Régis Labeaume’s Équipe Labeaume slate, convened a press conference to show plans for RTC network expansion that the Labeaume administration had drawn up – which he said were very similar to the plan Marchand unveiled.

Villeneuve told reporters, “We clearly have a mayor who is waving this plan around with his left hand and who, with his right hand, is going into the pockets of families to get more money – money that will not deliver more mobility and fluidity.”

Transition Québec Leader and Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith, meanwhile, while sup- portive of the increased fee, offered other suggestions. In a news release, she proposed “the city offer the Opus card [transit pass] free of charge to residents of the neighbourhoods on the northern out- skirts of Quebec City who will pay the registration tax.

“The city is presenting us with an interesting project for what it will do with the money collected for the development of the public transit network in Quebec City, but I’m increasingly wary of these plans that are being dangled before us. As long as the CAQ is in power, I’m afraid that all mobility projects in Quebec City will remain imaginary projects,” said Smith.

To encourage drivers to try RTC services, the city plans to offer eight free bus tickets, a $30 value, upon request as of Jan. 1.

City to jack tax on vehicle fee by $60 to boost transit service Read More »

Switch error caused Godmanchester train derailment

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has concluded its investigation into the 2022 derailment of a Canadian National Railway Company train, just outside Huntingdon in the municipality of Godmanchester. A report on the investigation, which was released on February 8, attributes the accident to an incorrectly positioned switch.

The conclusion is the result of an in-depth analysis of the incident which took place just after 7 p.m. on December 11, 2022, when two head-end locomotives and six intermodal platforms left the track while travelling over a “switch point derail” linked to a radio-controlled switch system.

The train was being operated by a CSX crew in the Carr siding of the CSX Transportation Montreal Subdivision when it left the track. There were no injuries, and no cars carrying dangerous goods were involved in the incident; however, around 400 litres of diesel fuel were spilled from the locomotives. There was some damage to part of the siding and the main track at the derailment point.

A statement issued by the TSB clarifies that a “derail” switch prevents unauthorized movements or movements of unattended rolling stock from entering the main track. Once in position, the device is designed to derail any equipment that rolls over it.

The investigation determined that the locomotive engineer was distracted when he entered the code for the radio-controlled switch. As a result, the power-operated derail was not set in the correct position to allow the train to enter the main track.

The report alleges that the crew then misinterpreted visual and radio signals confirming the switch position, stating: “The train crew concluded that the auditory and visual confirmations issued by the power-assisted switch system corresponded to the required route for the train to leave the siding.”

The report notes that “Most radio-controlled, power-assisted derail switches linked to railway signals in Canada are equipped with a separate position indicator light and a reflectorized sign,” before pointing out the Carr siding was not equipped with either of these. The report also alleges the crew was unable to visually confirm the switch’s position due to the time of day and their distance from its position.

Data recorded by locomotive voice and video recorders (LVVRs) suggests the train was travelling at 22 miles per hour and accelerating before it left the track. There was no recorded effort on the part of the locomotive engineer to engage the emergency brakes. Train-initiated emergency brakes were engaged after the lead locomotive derailed.

In this case, the investigation discovered that data recorded by the lead locomotives voice and video recorders (LVVRs) did not include any voice recording from inside the cab, making it impossible to determine the verbal communications between the train crew members before the accident.

The lack of audio was related to the georeferencing system, which deactivates cab voice recording while the train is operating in the United States in compliance with U.S. regulations. The accident occurred so close to the Canada-U.S. border that the system prevented the activation of the cab’s microphones.

Patrick Sirois, a senior regional investigator with the TSB Rail/Pipeline Investigations Branch, was responsible for the investigation into the incident, which included work in the field to examine the derailment site and the wreckage, as well as interviews with witnesses.

The TSB does not assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability; the objective of the report is to advance transportation safety. As a result of the investigation, the TSB sent a letter to Transport Canada suggesting the functionality of voice and video recorders used by railway companies be verified to ensure they meet regulatory requirements.

The Gleaner reached out to CSX for a comment on the investigation findings but did not receive a response by press time.  According to the report, CSX confirmed to the TSB that as a result of the 2022 incident, the precise location of derail switches have been added to its Montreal Subdivision timetable, while also specifying the normal position of each one. 

Switch error caused Godmanchester train derailment Read More »

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