24 more reasons to ride VIA Rail's Ocean train during the holidays

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 14, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - During the holiday season this year, travellers who use VIA Rail Canada's Ocean service will have 24 more reasons to enjoy the comfort of the train as well as the welcoming on board service, a Wi-Fi connectivity and the beautiful scenery that Eastern Canada has to offer. VIA Rail will offer 24 departures of its Ocean service between Montréal and Halifax from December 17, 2014 to January 4, 2015. A total of 4,400 seats and 2,500 sleepers will be available on this stretch, giving more people the opportunity to travel by train to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones.

"Six additional departures have been added to the 18 which are already offered by VIA Rail and are intended to improve our offering and meet the needs of Eastern Canada residents more effectively. This initiative is in accordance with the $10.2 million investments announced last May for the renovation of the Newcastle line," declared Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, President and CEO of VIA Rail. "If we examine traffic since the beginning of the year up until October 31, we observe a 3.1% decrease in ridership compared to the same date last year. We hope that all of our efforts will bear fruit and encourage more people to hop onboard our trains."

VIA Rail also announces that, starting December 14, 2014, its Sleeper Plus class will be available on the Ocean year-round. For travellers booking this class, the ticket price includes priority boarding and Dining car reservation, full meals and access to the panoramic section of the train.

On November 11, an advertising campaign announcing "a wave of new holiday departures" was launched in several cities, including Halifax, Truro, Amherst, Sackville, Moncton, Bathurst, Campbellton, Mont-Joli, Rimouski and Montréal.

Departures for the Ocean during the holidays are scheduled as follows:
From Montréal to Halifax – train No. 14
Wednesday, December 17	Friday, December 26
Thursday, December 18*	Sunday, December 28
Friday, December 19	Monday, December 29*
Sunday, December 21	Tuesday, December 30
Monday, December 22*	Friday, January 2
Tuesday, December 23	Sunday, January 4
From Halifax to Montréal – train No. 15
Wednesday, December 17	Saturday, December 27*
Friday, December 19	Sunday, December 28
Saturday, December 20*	Tuesday, December 30
Sunday, December 21	Friday, January 2
Tuesday, December 23	Saturday, January 3*
Friday, December 26	Sunday, January 4
*Additional departures

Since 1904, the Ocean travels on 1,346 kilometers of tracks along the St. Lawrence, through the Matapedia valley, linking the cities of Campbellton, Moncton, Truro and Halifax, with central and western Canada. Every year, this service - with its 28 stops - offers tens of thousands of passengers from across Canada and the world the opportunity to discover the Eastern Canadian provinces. A Wi-Fi connection is available in the service cars. The Ocean service celebrated its 110^th anniversary in 2014.

For more information regarding the holiday schedule and VIA Rail's Sleeper Plus class or to book a journey anywhere on the network, visit viarail.ca or call 1 888 VIA RAIL (1 888 842 7245) or 1 800 268 9503 (ATS for the hearing impaired).

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada (viarail.ca) and its 2,500 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 450 communities across Canada, 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 was the 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. Read more about our transformation at www.viarail.ca/transformingVIA.

Follow us on our Evolution Blog at viaevolution.ca - On Twitter @VIA_rail and @VIARailPrez - On Facebook.

SOURCE: VIA Rail Canada Inc.

For further information: Mylène Bélanger, Senior Advisor, Media Relations, VIA Rail Canada, 514 871-6137 | 1 877 393-8787, [e-mail] | [e-mail]