May 23, 2014

44,200 Passengers Boarded VIA Rail Canada’s Trains During May Long Weekend

 

HIGHLIGHTS
From Friday, May 16th to Monday, May 19th:

Québec City – Windsor corridor |
41,000 passengers
Increase in passenger revenues of 4.7% compared to 2013

Long-Haul Trains |
2,400 passengers
Increase of average revenues of 9.1% compared to 2013

Coast-to-coast VIA Rail Network |
44,200 passengers
Increase of average revenues of 2% compared to 2013

 

Montréal, May 23, 2014 – Canadians continue to choose VIA Rail Canada (viarail.ca) as a preferred travel option. 44,200 passengers boarded the Corporation's 225 trains travelling across Canada over the long weekend, from May 16th to May 19th. Global average revenues rose by 2% compared to the same period in 2013; as a result of a 4.7% increase in revenues from tickets sold for the Québec City - Windsor corridor and a 9.1% increase in average revenues from long-haul services.

In total, 41,000 passengers travelling in the Québec City – Windsor corridor opted for the train. Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Windsor were among the most popular destinations. Friday, May 16th, and Monday, May 19th, were the busiest days with 13,500 and 11,700 passengers respectively, travelling on board.

On the long-haul routes, 11 trains welcomed 2,400 passengers travelling across the country while admiring the marvelous landscapes from East to West. Travellers had the privilege to hear musician Amy Carson Hunter, as well as Paul Reddick & Greg Cockerill on the Canadian between Toronto and Vancouver and, on the Ocean service between Montréal and Halifax, Jesse Ropper, Caitlin Connely & Brandon Johnas, as well as Skye Wallace. These musicians were invited by VIA Rail to showcase their repertoires as part of the Corporation’s Artists on board Program.

On social media, VIA Rail customers continued to share their photos and comments about the quality of customer service in Business Class and VIA Rail’s affiliation with the Montréal Canadians. A total of 330 messages were posted on VIA Rail’s Twitter and Facebook pages over the long weekend. Moreover, a great number of customers on board comfortably connected to VIA Rail’s Wi-Fi. In the Corridor, they transferred some 1.34 terabytes of data, the equivalent of 1.4 million websites. Also available on the Ocean route, the Wi-Fi service was used by a few hundred passengers who transferred 21 gigabytes of data, the equivalent of 21,500 websites.

 

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's (viarail.ca) mandate is to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country. VIA 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.

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