VIA Rail Announces New Daily Frequencies in the Québec-Windsor Corridor

MONTRÉAL, Aug. 20, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Due to the increase in demand for intercity travel and the progressive deconfinement between the provinces of Québec and Ontario, VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) announces the increase in daily frequencies in the Corridor as of September 1^st, 2020, restoring the services to close to 50% of the usual offering.

"We are very pleased to announce today an important milestone in our efforts to resume our services," said Cynthia Garneau, President and CEO. "This represents our biggest addition of frequencies in the Corridor since the start of the pandemic. This initiative prioritizes the health and safety of our employees and passengers, balancing the possible service offerings and the recommendations issued by public health authorities in the context of the ongoing situation."

VIA Rail is still working towards a return to service in November for the Ocean and the Canadian, its Eastern and Western long-distance services, taking into account the most recent health developments.

Regional services will maintain their current service for the time being.

Passengers are encouraged to consult our site or contact Customer Relations for the most up-to-date service schedules.

SERVICES STARTING SEPTEMBER 1^st

VIA Rail will contact all passengers whose reservations are affected by this new schedule.

Alternatively, customers may contact the VIA Customer Centre by email at service@viarail.ca or by phone at 1-888-VIA-RAIL (1-888-842-7245), TTY 1-800-268-9503 (hearing impaired). Due to the current situation related to COVID-19, the VIA Customer Centre is open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and it may take some time to speak with an agent due to a reduction in staff.

REMINDER 

Wearing a mask is required at all times in our stations and on-board VIA Rail trains. For the health and safety of all passengers and employees, passengers who do not wear a mask during their trip will be required to disembark the train, or will be refused entry upon boarding.

Wearing a mask over the nose and mouth is one more way we can protect one another and will help us safeguard the travel experience of our customers and employees. As we start to ramp up service levels in response to the growth in demand, all enhanced health safety measures introduced during the pandemic will be maintained, including enhanced cleaning, pre-boarding screening of travellers, modified onboard services, and reduced capacity in each car to allow for greater physical distancing and minimize the risks.

VIA Rail continues to adjust its operations and deploys a strict protocol of sanitary measures on board its trains, in its stations, maintenance centres and call centres in response to the pandemic and in order to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

Furthermore, we constantly remind our passengers and employees of the importance of following the recommendations of public health authorities, to avoid non-essential travel, practice physical distancing as much as possible, and to rigorously follow good hygiene practices (wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, cough or sneeze into a tissue or the bend of their arm, avoid touching their eyes, nose or mouth without first washing their hands).

Passengers will be denied boarding our trains if they are experiencing symptoms similar to a cold or flu (fever, cough, difficulty breathing) or if they have been denied boarding for travel in the last 14 days due to medical reasons related to COVID-19.

We continue to monitor the developments of COVID-19 and we remain in close contact with public health agencies and the federal and provincial governments.

The most recent updates are available on 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 transported over 5 million passengers in 2019. 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.

VIA RAIL CANADA WILL BE PUBLISHING REGULAR MEDIA UPDATES TO KEEP ITS CUSTOMERS AS WELL AS THE GENERAL PUBLIC INFORMED ABOUT ITS RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. PLEASE VISIT OUR MEDIA CENTRE TO GET THE LATEST INFORMATION.

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SOURCE VIA Rail Canada Inc.