Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member for Lévis will be elated with this answer. The station at Lévis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River is currently used by VIA for its eastern transcontinental and Gaspé trains.
The intercity service between Montreal and Quebec City crosses the river at Ste. Foy and uses the Gare du Palais station in downtown Quebec City. This service does not use the Lévis station.
After the normal public hearings process the National Transportation Agency authorized CN to abandon its Montmagny subdivision, the south shore line used by VIA to serve Lévis. The abandonment was originally set to take place February 18, 1997. However, the line has remained open so that VIA and the government could look at options for the eastern transcontinental and Gaspé trains that would continue service to the south shore area near Quebec City.
In light of CN's decision to abandon the Montmagny rail line VIA would either have to purchase and upgrade the line or else use another site to service the south shore. After carefully considering the options, the Minister of Transport concluded that temporarily keeping the station open and building a new station is the most economic way to serve the travelling public.
The minister announced the decision on February 20. VIA has been asked to conduct a study to ensure that there are no significant disruptions to customers who will need to travel between the new station and Quebec City.
In response to the minister's concerns VIA was instructed to negotiate temporary arrangements with CN to keep the trains operating to the Lévis station. The line has been officially abandoned, but VIA has temporarily leased the tracks from CN.
The decision to relocate the station has the support of the local municipalities—and I cannot stress that enough—which want to convert the CN line into a park and bicycle path.
This decision balances the needs of the travelling public and VIA Rail, as well as the wishes of the local municipalities to make better use of the existing rail line.