VIA Rail, the Crown corporation responsible for passenger rail services in Canada, is set to increase its service in Ontario, marking a return to passenger railway levels not seen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The expansion plan includes the reintroduction of two round trips between Toronto and Ottawa, as well as one round trip between London and Toronto. These services are scheduled to resume in late October. This move comes after a hiatus of three and a half years, during which the pandemic led to the suspension of certain VIA Rail operations and temporary layoffs of over 1,000 employees.
VIA Rail’s Chief Executive, Mario Peloquin, explained that the railway is striving to strike a balance between fulfilling passengers’ travel requirements and efficiently allocating its limited resources.
In the last quarter, VIA Rail reported operating losses of $120 million before accounting for government funding. Furthermore, the organization has not recorded a full-year profit since 2017.
Greg Gormick, the head of On Track Consulting, noted that the expanded service announced signifies a return to VIA Rail’s pre-pandemic timetable. This expansion is made possible through crew training and the addition of new trains from Siemens.