November 22, 2013

VIA Rail Canada publishes its 2013 Third Quarter Financial Report

Montréal, November 22, 2013 – Today, VIA Rail Canada’s (viarail.ca) Board of Directors released the Corporation’s 2013 third quarter financial report. During the three months covered by the report, VIA Rail transported 912,000 passengers within the Québec City – Windsor corridor, and passenger-miles (the total number of miles travelled by all passengers) increased by 6% compared to the same quarter in 2012.

“We would like to believe that these positive results are an early indication that a “train culture” is emerging in the Corridor,” stated Marc Laliberté, President and CEO of VIA Rail. “This means that more people may be starting to consider the train as their first travel option, for longer journeys, over their car.”

Ridership on the total network saw a slight decrease of 2% – reaching 1 million passengers compared to 1.03 million in 2012. The train occupancy rate, however, increased by 2 percentage points, from 58% to 60%, compared to the same quarter of 2012. Trains achieved on time performance of 83%. Passenger revenues totaled $72.2 million for the quarter, decreasing by 6.5% compared to the third quarter of 2012. Operating Expenses before amortization of deferred capital funding and corporate taxes rose by $6.7 million, an increase due primarily to higher depreciation costs related to capital investments completed in 2012, as well as an increase in the cost of employee benefits. As a result, government funding increased by $9.8 million for the quarter.

To read VIA Rail’s quarterly financial results, go to: viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail/governance-and-reports/quarterly-reports .

Highlights of the third quarter of 2013 include:

Trains

Introduction of a new service and new cars in Business Class
Safety revisions and enhancements, including modifications to the infrastructure and revisions to VIA Rail’s Train Securement Policy
Temporary service interruption between Matapédia and New Carlisle due to problems associated with the Société du chemin de fer de la Gaspésie’s rail infrastructure

Technology

The Train Status Information (TSI+) phase 3 release delivered an automated way of conducting train trip analysis to rapidly measure our on-time performance on any route segment in the Québec City – Windsor corridor
Installation of a remote telemetry system in VIA Rail’s locomotives allowing for the precise capture of train fuel consumption in real time, aiming to decrease both fuel consumption and environmental impact
Ongoing installation of self-serve kiosks in select stations that will enable customers to consult, book and pay for new trips as well as print boarding passes

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country. VIA Rail operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network, and safely transports nearly four million passengers annually. The Corporation was awarded seven Safety Awards by the Railway Association of Canada over the last eight years, and is recipient of the 2012 Agent's Choice Award voted by Canadian travel agents and presented by Baxter Travel Media. Since 2007, the Government of Canada has invested almost a billion dollars in VIA Rail. Follow the progress of our transformation at viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail/capital-investment.