April 10, 2014

VIA Rail puts additional measures into place at crossings located in the Fallowfield area

Montréal, April 10, 2014 - Until further notice, VIA Rail Canada (viarail.ca) is continuing its risk analysis and is putting temporary measures into place at the following crossings in the Fallowfield area: Woodroffe Avenue, the OC Transpo Transitway, Fallowfield Road, Greenbank Road, Jockvale Road and Strandherd Road.

Temporary measures include the following:

· First of all, trains will be operating at reduced speed at each of the six crossings listed above. As a result, longer traffic stops and longer activation of automatic warning devices at these crossings can be expected. This temporary measure will also cause some train delays.

· Second, in order to oversee this procedure, personnel will be stationed at these locations in order to provide supplementary support to automatic warning devices including ensuring that motorists and pedestrians stop at each crossing.

· Third, in collaboration with the City of Ottawa, VIA Rail will consider the possibility of installing cameras at crossings in order to minimize technician response time.

· Finally, VIA Rail will ask the Ottawa Police to open an inquiry on these recent incidents.

VIA Rail continues to work with RailTerm and two other independent engineering consulting firms in order to determine the origin of the incidents that have occurred over the past few weeks. All recommendations put forth by these companies will be implemented as quickly as possible.RailTerm continues to direct rail traffic, and do regular maintenance and upkeep of the infrastructure owned by VIA Rail. The two other firms will provide additional expertise and do a comprehensive review of the signalling system.

To date, the firms have completed initial inspections, made some minor repairs and preventative maintenance was done. These initial reviews have not identified all root causes of these incidents and, as a result, investigations will continue.

The corporation reaffirms that at no time was public safety compromised. VIA Rail reminds people that crossing signals must be respected at all times. One should never attempt to cross a railway line when warning devices have been activated regardless of the inconvenience it may cause.

About VIA Rail Canada

As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide safe, efficient and economical travel, in both official languages of our country. VIA Rail operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500 km network. Recipient of the Railway Association of Canada's Safety Award in 2012 for the 11th time in 12 years, and of Baxter Travel Media’s 2013 Agent's Choice Award (voted on by Canadian travel agents), VIA Rail safely transports nearly four million passengers annually. Since 2007, the Government of Canada has invested more than a billion dollars in VIA Rail. Follow the progress of our transformation at viarail.ca/transformingvia.