September 8, 2017

VIA RAIL EXPERIENCES DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH OVER LABOUR DAY WEEKEND

HIGHLIGHTS

From Thursday, August 31, to Tuesday, September 5, 2017:
 

VIA Rail Cross-Canada Services

- 78,000 passengers | 15.2% increase compared to 2016

- More than 29 million kilometers travelled | 13% increase compared to 2016

- 14.7% increase in passenger revenue compared to 2016

- Busiest day: Friday, September 1st

- Most popular destinations: Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa
 

Quebec City – Windsor Corridor

- 72,700 passengers | 16.9% increase compared to 2016

- 20.5% increase in passenger revenue compared to 2016
 

Toronto – Vancouver (the Canadian)

- 2,700 passengers | -5.7%decrease compared to 2016

- 5.3% increase in passenger revenue compared to 2016
 

MONTREAL – HALIFAX(the OCEAN)

- 1,430 passengers | 12.2%increase compared to 2016

- 22.2% increase in passenger revenue compared to 2016

Montreal, September 8, 2017 –Revenue derived from the sale of tickets by VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) over the Labor day long weekend hit their highest level. With ticket sales up by 14.7% compared to the same period in 2016, this was the second most successful long weekend of 2017. In total, 78,000 travellers decided to board one of the VIA Rail trains that were touring the country from August 31st to September 5th – an increase of 15.2% over 2016. Passengers covered more than 29 million kilometers. Friday, September 1st was the busiest day of the weekend, with 16,780 people travelling. The Québec City-Windsor Corridor saw 72,700 people on the move – primarily between Toronto, Montréal and Ottawa; these three cities accounted for nearly 60% of the traffic during this period.

“ We are happy to report on another successful long weekend for VIA Rail. The primary explanation of this positive trend is the dedication of our employees and the efforts they make every day to offer our customers a stellar service. We are glad to see that more Canadians decided to offer themselves a stress-free and environmentally friendly weekend aboard our trains,” said VIA Rail President and CEO, Yves Desjardins-Siciliano."Moreover, for the month of August, we will be posting record revenues of close to $37 million.The highest revenue month on record. We are most grateful to our passengers who in growing numbers are showing renewed confidence in the relevance and sustainability of passenger rail services."

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail (viarail.ca) and its 2,700 employees are mandated 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 over 400 communities across Canada, and about 180 more communities through intermodal partnerships, 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. For more information, visit: /en/about-via-rail.