Sep 06, 2019, 15:15 ET
HIGHLIGHTS
Thursday, August 29 to Tuesday, September 3, 2019
VIA Rail network
- Busiest day : Friday, August 30, 2019
- Most popular destinations: Toronto, Montréal and Ottawa
- Ridership increase of 3.8% compared to the same long weekend last year
Québec City - Windsor corridor
- 83,579 passengers: increase of 4.4% over 2018
MONTRÉAL, Sept. 6, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) records its busiest Labour Day long weekend in ten years, with 88,567 passengers travelling across the network. Ridership has increased by 3.8% compared to the same period last year and by 31% compared to the same long weekend five years ago.
Over this six-day period, VIA Rail's trains covered a total distance of 32 million kilometres. Friday, August 30 was the busiest day, with 18,952 passengers travelling throughout the country.
"What better way to end the summer than by reporting great ridership results for this Labour Day long weekend," notes VIA Rail President and Chief Executive Officer, Cynthia Garneau. "Being the last before the beginning of the new school year, this long weekend was a great opportunity for all our passengers to visit family and friends and to discover new sceneries, without the headache brought on by traffic. Our customers' continued trust in the safe, sustainable, easy and enjoyable experience we offer demonstrates once again that we are on the right track. As we look to the future, their needs and expectations continue to drive our daily operations and key modernization projects. At the heart of these positive results are our employees, whose professionalism and dedication are the reason why more and more Canadians choose to love the way."
As summer comes to a close, families are continuing to take advantage of the not-to-be missed "Kids @ $15" promotion, as VIA Rail records an increase of 14.8% over 2018 in the number of kids travelling for this Labour Day long weekend. It's not too late to book one last summer trip, as this great offer – allowing children to travel for $15 across the network* – ends on September 15th.
*Certain conditions may apply. For more details, visit our website.
About VIA Rail
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail (viarail.ca) and all its 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 about 180 more communities through intermodal partnerships, and safely transports nearly 4.8 million passengers annually. The Corporation has been awarded five Safety Awards and three Environment Awards by the Railway Association of Canada since 2007. Visit the "About VIA Rail" section at https://www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail.
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SOURCE VIA Rail Canada Inc.
For further information: Marie-Anna Murat, Media Relations, VIA Rail Canada, 1 877 393-8787, medias@viarail.ca
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