From VIA Rail to the AMT: One simple and efficient transaction to purchase tickets

VIA Rail Canada and the Agence métropolitaine de transport announce an intermodal partnership

MONTREAL, April 26, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada and the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) have announced that AMT commuter train tickets will now be sold by VIA Rail, thus enabling customers to purchase VIA - AMT tickets through a single transaction.

The aim of this agreement is to promote public transportation, as well as the benefits of intermodality. VIA Rail and the AMT are working together to make travel planning easier for their users.

"By establishing partnerships with other carriers to promote ecologically sound transportation and offer greater efficiency and ease of use to its users, VIA Rail is committed to updating train travel as a mode of transportation. I am pleased to announce today this agreement with our partner, the AMT, who obviously share this vision," said Marc Laliberté, President and CEO of VIA Rail Canada.

"Through its constant search for innovation aimed at providing the best possible service to its customers, the AMT is working to make public transportation attractive by developing new ticket collection systems. This partnership with VIA Rail enables us to offer even more flexibility and convenience and is in line with our desire to develop an integrated, simplified and accessible pricing strategy," said Paul Côté, the acting President and CEO of the AMT.

This service applies to the AMT's Deux-Montagnes and Mont-Saint-Hilaire commuter train lines.

About VIA Rail Canada

As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's (www.viarail.ca) mandate is to provide Canadian travellers with safe, efficient, cost-effective and environmentally responsible passenger transportation services in the country's two official languages. Every week, VIA operates 503 intercity, transcontinental and regional trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500 kilometres route network. VIA transports over four million passengers annually.

About the AMT

The Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) is a government agency whose urban-oriented mission is to increase and plan public transportation services in order to improve the efficiency of travel for residents of Montreal's metropolitan area. The AMT currently operates five train lines, 51 stations, one metropolitan express bus line, 61 park-and-ride facilities, 16 metropolitan terminals, and 85.2 km of reserved lanes. With an annual ridership of over 16 million passengers, the metropolitan area's commuter train network is the sixth largest in North America. For more information, visit www.amt.qc.ca.

For complete information regarding this new service, or to book your tickets, visit: www.viarail.ca

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Image with caption: "FROM VIA RAIL TO THE AMT: ONE SIMPLE AND EFFICIENT TRANSACTION TO PURCHASE TICKETS. Marc Laliberté, President and CEO of VIA Rail Canada and Paul Côté, the acting President and CEO of the AMT. (CNW Group/VIA RAIL CANADA INC.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120426_C9291_PHOTO_EN_12723.jpg

For further information:

Media contact:

Michelle Lamarche
Media and Community Relations
VIA Rail Canada
514 871-6137
[email protected] 

Brigitte Léonard
Advisor, Media Relations
Agence métropolitaine de transport
514 287-2464, ext. 4084
[email protected]