VIA Rail Welcomes the Federal Government's Renewed Support for its High Frequency Rail Project

MONTRÉAL, Dec. 13, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) is delighted that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has renewed the support of his government for the corporation's High Frequency Rail (HFR) project as outlined in the Minister of Transport, Marc Garneau's mandate letter to pursue the implementation of its Transportation 2030 strategic plan.

"VIA Rail's HFR project is one of the government's priorities within the Minister of Transport's new mandate.  Minister Garneau has always demonstrated a profound interest in our proposal and over the years has used the train on a regular basis for his inter-city transportation, along with an increasing number of Canadians," said Cynthia Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer of VIA Rail. "HFR is a complex and ambitious collective project that aims to make VIA Rail a greater contributor to a more sustainable and prosperous Canada."

HFR would expand VIA Rail services to more communities between Québec City and Toronto including Peterborough, ON and Trois-Rivières, QC. HFR would operate on a new rail line north of the current service corridor thus enabling VIA Rail to adapt the services to markets we currently serve in order to be even more relevant for these communities.

"Our modernization is well underway," added Ms. Garneau. "The VIA Rail team will continue to work with energy and enthusiasm, as we have over the last years, to complete this project efficiently and successfully. In collaboration with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), we are combining our respective expertise to advance the work of the Joint Project Office, which is required for a final investment decision on HFR," noted Cynthia Garneau.

Every day, more and more Canadians are demonstrating their commitment to taking the train. Since 2014, VIA Rail has seen 32% growth in ridership across Canada, and 34% growth within the Québec-Windsor corridor thanks to the dedication of all VIA Rail's employees in our stations, on-board our trains, our call and maintenance centers and offices. Building on these results, VIA Rail will also be looking for ways to improve accessibility for all Canadians and provide more options for families to explore our national parks, as was also highlighted in the Minister of Transport's mandate letter.

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.