Thursday, February 26, 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ontario Northland Secures the GO Transit Contract

NORTH BAY - - Ontario Northland is pleased to announce it has been chosen as the successful bidder for the GO Transit contract to refurbish up to 121 commuter cars. Work will commence once the contract is finalized.

The contract involves the complete refurbishment of GO Transit cars and is worth about 81 million dollars over the life of the contract. The contract will require infrastructure upgrades and will result in approximately 30 new positions at Ontario Northland's North Bay shop complex.

The community of Cochrane will also realize economic benefits from this contract, as passenger coach work previously performed in North Bay will be reassigned to Cochrane. This will result in the creation of approximately 10 new positions and significant upgrades to the existing shop facilities.

Local suppliers and retailers should also realize some spin-off economic benefits from this new business opportunity.

“ Ontario Northland's team worked long and hard to put a competitive bid together and they are to be congratulated. This is a significant step forward for Ontario Northland in ensuring long term stability and viability for our workforce”, stated Royal Poulin, Board Chair and CEO”.

“We also want to recognize the tremendous support shown by the City of North Bay, and the members of the City's SWOT team who took time out of their busy schedules to provide valuable input to our final bid submission”, added Roy Hains, Executive Vice-President Service Improvement and Operations.

Ontario Northland thanks everyone for the tremendous support shown for this initiative.

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Contact: Judy Cardoni 1-800-363-7512 or (705) 472-4500, ext. 265

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