More public LNG stations to open in Quebec and Ontario

by Carroll McCormick

MONTREAL, Que. — The chicken and egg question of which must come first, liquefied natural gas (LNG) filling stations or LNG trucks, can be declared solved along the 1,050-kilometre route between Riviere-du-Loup and Toronto, Ont.

On July 18 Gaz Metro Transport Solutions, LP (GMTS) and La Coop federee announced a partnership that will see a total of five filling stations open by 2015 along Quebec’s Autoroute 20 and Ontario’s Hwy. 20 – what GMTS calls the Blue Road.

A station in Cornwall, Ont., off Hwy. 401’s Exit 796, and another one off Autoroute 20’s Exit 305 in Levis, just east of Quebec City, will open early this fall. Truckers will draw off of mobile LNG tanks at first, but permanent tanks and other fuels and amenities will be in place by next spring.

The target completion date for a station in Riviere-du-Loup is June or July 2014. Its location is still being finalized. There is currently no plan to have mobile fuelling while the station is being built, but that could change if a fleet comes forward with the appropriate need for LNG.

The fourth and fifth stations – to be on Montreal’s South Shore and just east of Toronto – will be in operation by 2015. GMTS is still in the process of selecting these sites.

In addition to LNG, the five stations will sell diesel, gasoline, propane, biofuel, and recharging for electric vehicles. Too, emphasizes Martin Blanchet, business development manager, GMTS, “Every site we selected will be able to receive long combination vehicles. We’ve made sure that LCVs can circulate on the sites.”

In the short term, truckers will be able to get some food at the stations, probably at a convenience store. However, La Coop federee is tasked with attracting national and international brands, which could mean restaurants and fast food outlets, depending on how the business cases shape up. “La Coop is good at attracting these brands,” Blanchet says. Truckers can also look forward to having their own lounges and showers.

There are currently 128 LNG trucks in Quebec plying the Autoroute 20 and the 401 between Quebec City and Toronto. This number is steadily increasing as Robert Transports rolls toward its goal of having 180 LNG tractors on the road by the end of 2014.


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