A press release from VIA Rail Canada; February 21, 2019:
HIGHLIGHTS
From Thursday, February 14 to Tuesday, February 19, 2019
TOTAL NUMBER OF TRAVELLERS
89,400 passengers (5% increase)
MOST POPULAR ROUTE
Ottawa – Toronto (13,800 passengers)
MOST NOTABLE PASSENGER INCREASES
Ottawa – Québec | 31% increase compared to 2018
London – Windsor | 20% increase compared to 2018
Ottawa – Kingston |15% increase compared to 2018
MONTRÉAL, Feb. 21, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ – New records were set by VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) over the Family Day long weekend and, once again, thousands of Canadians chose an easy, safe, sustainable and enjoyable travel experience to visit friends and family. Between February 14 and 19, VIA Rail welcomed a total of 89,400 people onto its trains, a 5% ridership increase compared to 2018.
The most popular segment was Ottawa – Toronto with 13,800 passengers and where VIA Rail offers 20 weekday departures. The most notable increases of the weekend were seen on trips between Ottawa – Québec (31% increase), London – Windsor (20% increase) and Ottawa – Kingston (15% increase).
In addition, 23,500 passengers travelled from Ontario to a destination in Quebec and vice versa, reflecting a 4.9% increase from the previous year.
“The upward trend in the number of travellers choosing the train is continuing and, clearly, more Canadians find the value in taking the train and believe in the quality of the services we provide,” said VIA Rail President and Chief Executive Officer Yves Desjardins-Siciliano. “The fact that Family Day long weekend ridership has increased for the third year in a row combined with the best financial results in 11 years attest to our growing popularity in Ontario and across the country.”
About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada’s national rail passenger service, VIA Rail (viarail.ca)
and all its 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 4.8 million passengers annually. The
Corporation has been awarded five Safety Awards and three Environment
Awards by the Railway Association of Canada since 2007. Visit the “About VIA Rail” section at https://www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail.
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SOURCE VIA Rail Canada Inc.