MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada is still on track to resume service in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, with the addition of 63 weekly frequencies starting July 12.

This brings service levels up from 38% to 54% on the route. VIA Rail also started to increase its onboard capacity in June to coincide with provincial reopening plans. Available seats, however, are still being limited and in the event of major changes related to the pandemic, VIA Rail will revise its service offering. 

Frequencies on the Quebec City-Windsor corridor is as follows:

• Toronto-Kingston-Montreal: Trains 62 and 65, daily as of July 12
• Toronto-Kingston-Ottawa: Trains 47, 52, 54 and 59, daily as of July 12
• Quebec City-Montreal-Ottawa: Trains 22, 29 and 633, daily as of July 12

“The increase of frequencies in the Corridor marks another crucial step in our service resumption plan,” said Cynthia Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. “While we continue to closely follow the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and to collaborate with public health authorities and federal and provincial governments, we are encouraged by the progress made regarding the reopening plans and by the increasing demand for our services. We look forward to fully resuming all our operations throughout our network when conditions will allow it.”

VIA Rail continues to deploy strict protocols of sanitary measures on board its trains, in its stations, maintenance centres, call centres and offices to deal with the pandemic and minimize the spread of COVID-19. Teams across the organization also continue to apply the latest health and safety guidelines and are evaluating VIA Rail’s overall service offering in the context of the pandemic.

Wearing a mask is required at all times in VIA Rail’s 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.

Passengers will be denied boarding 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.

For questions 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).

The most recent updates are available on VIA Rail’s website.