Summer weekend memories, and records

Summer weekend memories for VIA Rail Canada: record numbers.

For Canada’s last holiday weekend, from Thursday, July 28 to Tuesday, August 2, 2016, VIA Rail reports it transported 77,000 passengers on 353 trains, a 4.3% increase in ridership compared to the same period in 2015. Also, revenues increased 13.4% across the network compared to 2015.

The greatest number of passengers traveled from Montréal to Toronto on Train 63 on August 1. In response to this high demand, VIA Rail lengthened the train from the usual six cars to ten and used two locomotives, allowing the train to carry 570 passengers.

In total, 69,859 people traveled by train in the Québec City-Windsor corridor. This marks a 4.9 % increase in ridership compared to 2015, and an 11% increase in revenues compared to 2015

5,300 passengers traveled on VIA longhaul trains between Montreal and Halifax, and Vancouver and Toronto.

Friday, July 29 had the highest ridership across the network, with  16,364 passengers on board. Several trains had occupancy rates of more than 85%, and some were even sold out.

“We are proud of our performance,” said Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, VIA Rail’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We knew how to adapt our offer for the long weekend, and our employees, both in station and on-board, once again demonstrated the excellent service that they are known for. This allowed more Canadians to choose an efficient and carefree way to travel, all while reducing their carbon footprint. Our strong performance can also be attributed to the employees who work in our four maintenance centres across the country. I want to thank them all for their excellent work.”