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|
No. H073/01
For release June 11, 2001 |
| COMMUTER
STRATEGY FOR VIA RAIL TO INCREASE SERVICE |
| TORONTO -
Transport Minister David Collenette today announced at the Smog Summit in
Toronto that VIA Rail is preparing to implement a commuter strategy to
increase services from outer-urban communities and within the Greater
Toronto Area, to establish partnerships with commuter rail agencies in
Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, and to examine the extension of commuter
links to Barrie and Peterborough. |
| “With
the availability of modern technology, the definition of commuter is
changing as people choose to live in smaller outer-urban communities and
travel longer distances to major cities. At last year’s summit, I asked
VIA Rail to expand the frequency of its existing services and they have
responded by supplementing commuter services during peak hours and
improving connections,” said Mr. Collenette. “Arrangements will be
finalized over the summer in time for the new fall schedules.” |
| VIA is
prepared to expand the frequency of its existing services to improve
connections to and within the Greater Toronto Area including Kitchener-Waterloo,
Oakville, Hamilton, Burlington, Malton, Brampton, Georgetown, Guelph and
Oshawa. |
| VIA Rail and
GO Transit will sign an interline agreement whereby VIA and GO will carry
each other’s passengers between shared stations at Oakville, Malton,
Brampton, Georgetown, Aldershot, Hamilton, Toronto, Guildwood and Oshawa.
This means that commuters will have additional choices of trains on the
Lakeshore and Georgetown lines, including evenings and weekends. |
| VIA is also
in discussions with the Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) in
Montreal to look at opportunities for shared facilities. As with GO
Transit, VIA is discussing the possibility of an interline agreement with
AMT and opportunities to increase capacity in the Montreal region, as
demand warrants. VIA is also working with the City of Ottawa and OC
Transpo to add a new VIA stop in west Ottawa and, by 2002, VIA will offer
an additional morning service between Ottawa and Montreal to serve both
intercity and commuter passengers. |
| Over the next
five years, with the benefit of major engineering works now in progress,
VIA will be offering even more trains in the London-Toronto,
Montreal-Toronto, Ottawa-Toronto and Montreal-Ottawa corridors, which will
also benefit commuters. |
| On top of
these initiatives, VIA is examining passenger demand and operational and
capital requirements for restoring VIA rail services to Barrie. VIA is
also exploring opportunities to introduce weekend excursion trains to
Collingwood during the ski season, as an extension of the Barrie service. |
| Finally, VIA
is in discussions with community groups in the Peterborough area, GO
Transit and Kawartha Lakes Rail - a CP Rail subsidiary - to examine the
operational requirements and partnership opportunities for restoring VIA
service to Peterborough. |
| “All of
these initiatives increase the attractiveness of rail service to
commuters, get more people into public transport, and take more cars off
the highways,” added Mr. Collenette. |
| VIA Rail
Canada Inc., a Crown corporation, was created in 1977 to operate
Canada’s national passenger rail service and has a board of directors
responsible for the management of the business, activities and other
affairs of the corporation. |
| Contact:
Anthony Polci, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister, Ottawa,
(613) 991-0700 |
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