More people taking train to get back to school and work

HIGHLIGHTS
From August 26^th to September 8^th:

Québec City – Windsor corridor  
141,500 passengers
13% increase in passenger revenues compared to 2014

Long-Haul Eastern (The Ocean)
4,200 passengers
13% increase in passenger revenues compared to 2014

Long-Haul Western (The Canadian)
5,700 passengers
8% increase in passenger revenues compared to 2014

Coast-to-coast VIA Rail Network
155,000 passengers
11% increase in passenger revenues compared to 2014

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 11, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Close to 13,000 more people took the train to get back to school and work, attesting the popularity of VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail). VIA Rail's trains welcomed 155,000 passengers between August 26^th and September 8^th, a 9% increase compared to the same period last year. This growth trend shows that people are trusting VIA Rail more and more when it comes to their mobility.

"Again this year, more Canadians recognized the value of travelling on VIA Rail: more train frequencies, better schedules, world-class mobile Wi-Fi, refurbished comfortable and spacious cars and excellent customer service explain this growth. We can be optimistic that more Canadians will continue to make the environmentally-conscious decision and choose "the human way to travel", said VIA Rail's President and CEO, Yves Desjardins-Siciliano. "With more trains running, our teams were able to meet the demand of this peak period and provide the exceptional service for which VIA Rail is known and recognized."

Passenger revenues rose by 11% compared to the same period in 2014. The Québec City – Windsor corridor (the Corridor) and long-haul services saw both revenues and ridership grow. Most notably is the increase of passengers in the Corridor, up by 9%, and on the Ocean service, between Montréal and Halifax, up by 18% compared to last year.

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail (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 over 400 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. VIA Rail information at a glance: www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail  

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SOURCE VIA Rail Canada Inc.

Image with caption: "Students taking train to get back to school (CNW Group/VIA Rail Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150911_C5936_PHOTO_EN_495211.jpg

For further information: Maxime Dupont-Demers, Senior Advisor, Corporate Communications, VIA Rail Canada, 514 871-6137, 1 877 393-8787, [email protected], [email protected]