November 30, 2020

Q3 RESULTS: VIA RAIL CONTINUES TO MANAGE THE IMPACTS OF THE PANDEMIC

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Continued implementation of prevention measures in response to the pandemic
  • Reintroduction of Business Class in the Québec City-Windsor corridor with an adapted service offering
  • Corridor service levels increased up to 46% during the third quarter

Montréal, November 30, 2020 – Like others in the transportation industry, VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) continues to be severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting a significant decrease in ridership and passenger revenues compared to the same period last year. During this year’s third quarter, VIA Rail recorded an 86% drop in passenger revenues as well as a decrease of 82% in ridership compared to the same quarter last year.

The safe way to travel
VIA Rail follows the guidance and recommendations of public health authorities in order to support the national effort against the pandemic. Preventive measures implemented in response to COVID-19 to protect the health and safety of passengers and employees include, amongst others, enhanced cleaning, pre-boarding screening of passengers, modified onboard services as well as the mandatory wearing of masks in stations and on board trains at all times.

“We understand that travelling during the pandemic can be challenging. I would like to reiterate that the VIA Rail team has been hard at work to ensure that we continue to offer our passengers a safe, comfortable and enjoyable travel experience,” said Cynthia Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. “That is why we have deployed a strict protocol of sanitary measures on board our trains, in our stations, maintenance centres and call centres so that our customers can travel with confidence. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our passengers for their continued trust in our service.”

Adapting our operations in response to the pandemic
The Corporation continues to adjust its operations according to the evolution of the pandemic. To better reflect the lower market demand, VIA Rail reduced its available capacity for the services in operation.

“As the national passenger rail service, we have a responsibility to continue to provide our public service, despite the circumstances, while safeguarding the travel experience. We are very much aware that transportation is more limited in some provinces and we remain focused on relaunching services in Eastern and Western Canada,” stated Cynthia Garneau.

VIA Rail remains committed to serving communities across Canada and announced in October the gradual return to service in Western Canada by providing intercity transportation exclusively between Vancouver and Winnipeg as of December 11.

Managing the financial impacts of the pandemic
“As the pandemic has brought various challenges and forced VIA Rail to reduce its operations, a series of measures have been implemented in response to the crisis and to responsibly manage the funds allocated by the Government of Canada. We have had to make tough decisions over the past few months, and we recognize that these are difficult times for our employees, but our objective remains to reintegrate them as soon as customer demand allows it,” said Patricia Jasmin, Chief Financial Officer.

During the third quarter, total operating expenses decreased by 27.5%. Measures to manage the financial impacts of the pandemic include, amongst others:

  • The reduction of certain of its operating expenses in proportion to the level of operations, 
  • Temporary layoffs of unionized, management and professional employees,  
  • Reduction of publicity and advertising activities, 
  • Reduction of services in stations,  
  • Reduction of administrative costs and the postponement of non-essential initiatives.

Continued focus on VIA Rail’s modernization
“Our mission to put our passengers first remains. While we continue to navigate this global health crisis, it is now more important than ever to look ahead. During this third quarter, we continued to advance on our modernization, including our flagship project: High Frequency Rail (HFR), a large-scale and environmentally friendly endeavour, for which we are hopeful to receive a favourable response by the end of the year. However, this vision that we have for sustainable travel in Canada would not be whole without the building blocks of the HFR project, namely the Corridor Fleet Replacement Program and the Heritage Program. By providing state-of-the-art trains, improved comfort and interior design, along with tracks dedicated to the transport of our passengers, VIA Rail will transform passenger rail service in Canada. The way we are moving forward is changing, and we hope that you will join us on our journey,” concluded Cynthia Garneau.

VIA Rail’s 2020 third quarter report is available in our Media Centre: https://media.viarail.ca/sites/default/files/publications/Q3%20Report%202020_VIA%20Rail_EN.pdf

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.

Source: Ben Marc Diendéré, Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer, VIA Rail Canada

Information:
Media Relations
VIA Rail Canada
1 877 393-8787:
medias@viarail.ca

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