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Overview

VIA Rail Canada operates the national passenger rail service on behalf of the Government of Canada. An independent Crown Corporation established in 1977, the company provides Canadians with safe, efficient and environmentally responsible public transportation. VIA consistently ranks as one of the most trusted transportation companies in Canada. In Leger Marketing’s 2007 Top 100 Companies in Canada survey, VIA ranked 2nd among transportation companies and enjoyed the largest increase in reputation score.

VIA operates up to 503 trains weekly on 12,500 kilometres of track, and serves 450 communities across the country, from coast to coast and north to Hudson Bay. VIA carried close to 4.2 million customers in 2007.

VIA’s fleet includes 396 passenger cars and 78 active locomotives. In addition to 159 railway stations, VIA operates four modern maintenance facilities, and employs some 3,000 people. While VIA owns 223 kilometres of track, most of the infrastructure used by the passenger service is owned and managed by the freight railways, including ten different national and short-line operators.

Passenger Services

VIA provides passenger services mandated by the Government of Canada. These include rapid intercity services, cross-Canada services, and services to remote communities.

In Western Canada, VIA provides year-round, all-weather services, including the legendary Canadian train operating between Toronto and Vancouver three times per week. VIA also operates regional services in the West, between Jasper, Alberta and Prince Rupert, British Columbia; between Winnipeg and Churchill, Manitoba; and between Victoria and Courtenay on Vancouver Island. In 2006 VIA introduced a new winter season service between Edmonton and Jasper, Alberta.

In the Quebec City - Windsor Corridor, VIA provides intercity passengers with fast, convenient and affordable service, downtown-to-downtown between Canada’s largest business centres. More than 355 Corridor trains run per week, carrying 80 percent of VIA’s total ridership.

VIA also operates trains to remote communities in northern Quebec and Ontario, on routes designated by the Government to meet regional transportation needs.

In Eastern Canada VIA provides train service three times per week between Montreal and Gaspé on board the Chaleur, and six times per week between Montreal and Halifax on board the Ocean. The Ocean is a full-service overnight train recently equipped with new, state-of-the-art passenger cars.

Corporate Performance

Since 1990, VIA has focused on reducing overhead, administrative and operating costs, while improving the quality of service to attract more customers and increase revenues.

As a result, the level and quality of passenger rail service across the country have improved, while costs to the public for operating the service have fallen. Between 1990 and 2006:

VIA reduced total operating funding by 59% ($241 million) annually, while absorbing approximately 30% of inflation.

  • Total operating expenses dropped by 14% ($78 million) annually.
  • Total revenues increased by 108% ($154 million) annually.
  • Passenger miles increased by 14%.
  • Cost recovery increased by 117%, from 29 cents to 63 cents of revenue earned per dollar of operating expenses.

Customer Focus

In recent years, VIA’s performance has been challenged by shifting market conditions, including a drop in tourist travel from the US and overseas. In addition, aging equipment and increased rail traffic congestion has affected the reliability and overall performance of passenger trains.

To address these challenges, VIA refined its business strategy in 2005 to focus more precisely on customer needs and expectations, and to enhance the features of the train travel experience most valued by customers.

This customer focus brought immediate results. In 2005 VIA achieved its highest ever annual revenue growth, and carried a record number of passengers. VIA maintained those gains in 2006. At 98 percent, customer satisfaction ratings are among the highest in the industry today. Some 40 percent of customers say that VIA’s service not only meets, but exceeds their expectations -- a 10 percent increase over the past five years.