August 22, 2013

VIA Rail service between Matapédia, New Carlisle and Gaspé suspended

Montréal, August 22, 2013 – VIA Rail Canada announced that as a result of Société du chemin de fer de la Gaspésie (SCFG)’s rail infrastructure problems, service between Matapédia, New Carlisle and Gaspé will be suspended. SCFG has not yet confirmed when the necessary upgrades will be completed. Until such time, in order to ensure the safety of passengers, VIA Rail will cease selling tickets for service between Matapédia, New Carlisle and Gaspé and remove the temporary bus service after September 17.

"This decision follows Société du chemin de fer de la Gaspésie’s announcement to suspend traffic due to rail corrosion and malfunctioning crossing signals", explained Marc Laliberté, President and CEO of VIA Rail Canada. VIA Rail trains will only run between Montréal and Matapédia until SCFG has completed the necessary work.

Ticket holders for travel on Montréal-Gaspé trains after September 17 will have two options: obtain a full refund, or modify their reservation (under the applicable fare plan conditions) for travel to or from Matapédia. For assistance, please contact our sales office at 1-888 VIA RAIL (1-888-842-7245) to modify your booking.

Ticketing service for municipalities served by VIA Rail will resume as soon as it receives the assurance that safety standards are met once again on the tracks to these destinations.

VIA Rail thanks you for your understanding, and apologizes for any inconvenience that may be caused by the suspension of service. We will communicate any further developments in a timely manner.

About VIA Rail Canada

As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country. VIA operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network. Recipient of the Railway Association of Canada's Safety Award in 2011 for the 11^th time in 12 years, and of the 2013 Agent's Choice Award voted by Canadian travel agents and presented by Baxter Travel Media, VIA safely transports nearly four million passengers annually. Since 2007, the Government of Canada has invested almost a billion dollars in VIA Rail. Follow the progress of our transformation at viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail/capital-investment.