Opened in 1090, the existing freight tunnel carries approximately 350,000 rail cars each year. While it remains in excellent condition, it cannot handle double-stacked, 9' 6" containers and some new generations of multilevel rail cars used by shippers and auto manufacturers. The tunnel clearance was enlarged once in 1994 and cannot be expanded further.
Replacing the 100-year-old train tunnel is a key step towards making the strategically located region of Windsor/Essex County/Detroit/Wayne County more competitive as a logistics hub.
The high-clearance replacement rail tunnel will allow double-stacked container trains out of the Port of Montreal to use the Montreal/Windsor/ Detroit/Chicago corridor. This is important to the region because the Port of Montreal plans to double its container-handling capacity over the next ten years.
Environmental reviews began in 2009, and the project is expected to be completed within three years following environmental approvals.
