The federal government is investing $5.1 million in renovations to Vancouver’s iconic Pacific Central Station.
The money, which comes from Canada’s Economic Action Plan, will be spent on repairing the station’s masonry, roof, and windows next year. The project will preserve features that mark the VIA Rail station as a heritage site.
“We’re here to make sure this station is restored to its original lustre,” said Rob Merrifield, Minister of State for Transport.
However, not everyone believes this investment is good for the Lower Mainland.
“It’s ludicrous,” said Troy Lanigan, president of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “It’s just another example of a reckless-spending federal government that has no sense of fiscal responsibility.”
The investment comes less than two months after a lack of investment by the federal government threatened to shutdown a second Amtrak line between Portland and Vancouver. The Amtrak Cascades train brings at least $11 million to B.C.’s economy.
“There’s a limited amount of resources that are available,” said Merrifield, “so we’ll deal with (Amtrak) in due course.”
“It’s good to see the federal government stepping up and putting infrastructure dollars on the ground,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.
But “it would be good to see a longer-term commitment to train service to the south (because) the West Coast Corridor is compelling, economically and for tourism,” he added.
