While the new station openings and train overhauls have been basking in the limelight, work continues on many sections of our tracks, which could be dubbed the “strong, silent” types. Is it just a coincidence that the track ties are called “dormants” or sleepers, in French? Tracks never get enough glory for all the hard work they do!

Well, at VIA, our infrastructure is a vital part of the family, so let’s check-in and give a little acknowledgement to our hard-working rails.

The first piece of exciting news was the opening of the Grafton passing track this summer. This portion of third track, which can be found between Grafton and Cobourg, runs along north side of the existing two mainlines and is close to 8 miles long.

This new third track, similar to all the triple-tracking work, was added in order to increase capacity. This means fewer delays for our passengers. The Grafton passing track runs into Cobourg station, which also increases station capacity.

Next up is the continuation of our tie-replacement program. On the Alexandria, Smiths Falls and Chatham subdivisions, a whopping 45,000 ties will be changed when all is said and done. You can watch a video of a “tie-gang” replacing ties here: URL

And finally, also on these subdivisions, more crossing “rehabs” will be taking place. Have a look at our Crossing Rehab image gallery for a start-to-finish story in pictures of how this work is done.

Check back soon for a new article and image gallery all about some “undercutting” work that will be taking place in October.  Not sure what undercutting is? We’ll explain it all!

This work is being done thanks to the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. To learn more about our awesome track work, like how to build a new track or the “Metal Muscle” machines we use to help us do the work, check out our Tracks project page here.