The station itself will be 400 square feet and has a budget of $750,000, which includes land acquisitions and engineering costs, said VIA spokesperson Elizabeth Huart.
She was unable to provide any details about project contracting or procurement timelines, except that construction was expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Located just north of downtown, the new station location is expected to reduce scheduling conflicts between passenger and freight trains at the old site, which is in the middle of a junction between four Canadian Pacific lines.
Work began recently on upgrading CP’s Brockville-area rail lines that are also used by VIA’s Toronto-Ottawa trains.
That project is expected to be completed by the end of the year and involves two new passing sidings between Smiths Falls and Brockville, a new signal system, safety fencing and improved protection at road crossings.
The Quebec-Windsor corridor, which includes the Toronto-to-Ottawa route that stops at Smiths Falls, generates 90 per cent of VIA’s ridership and revenue, according to the Crown corporation.
