Via Rail has halted a pilot initiative to provide direct service between Montreal and Toronto because of “operational constraints” with CN, the rail service says.
Via Rail was gearing up to launch a three-month nonstop service test on Sept. 29 on four trains travelling between the two cities. The purpose of the pilot project was to determine demand for expedited travel between Montreal and Toronto.
The Via Rail trains chosen to be part of the pilot initiative—trains 60, 61, 68, and 69—would bypass their usual stops in Cornwall, Brockville, Kingston, and Belleville while travelling between the two urban hubs.
The Crown corporation has since announced that the direct service test has been paused and trains will continue to make their usual stops in eastern Ontario.
“VIA Rail Canada regrets to announce that the planned pilot project for a direct Montréal–Toronto service, scheduled to launch on September 29, has been postponed due to operational constraints with our rail partner, CN,” a Via Rail spokesperson said in a statement to The Epoch Times. “In the meantime, we sincerely apologize to passengers who were unnecessarily re-accommodated.”
Via hasn’t commented on what the “operational constraints” are or how they might be fixed, and CN did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
Via’s spokesperson indicated plans could be in the works to reimplement the pilot in the future, but there has been some opposition to the plan, which will eliminate Eastern Ontario stops on some of its trains.
Brockville Mayor Matt Wren said the plan to bypass his city is bad news for those wishing to travel to and from Brockville, emphasizing that there would be only a few limited stops within his city.
He said in a Facebook post there would be one train daily to transport passengers from Brockville to Montreal, and likewise, only one train each day would depart from Montreal to Brockville.
“They call it a pilot project. We should be concerned it could get worse and need to speak up about these cuts,” he said “We’re getting bypassed by the high speed project while we Canadian taxpayers have invested $1.4 Billion in new VIA trains. The return on investment for those who don’t live in Montreal or Toronto just plummeted! Aren’t we supposed to be trying to get less cars on the 401?”
Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands-Rideau Lakes MP Michael Barrett has also spoken out about the proposed decrease in eastern Ontario stops. The Tory MP, whose riding includes Brockville, has said it is “unacceptable” that four cities will be skipped.
“Residents in our community, as well as those in other rural regions and along a major corridor in Eastern Ontario, will be underserved,” he said in a media statement.
Bay of Quinte MP Chris Malette said in a Facebook post he was pleased to hear the pilot project had been postponed. The Liberal MP said his office is continuing to express its concerns about the pilot project bypassing Belleville, and noted that impacted communities should be consulted.
Via Rail’s spokesperson said the non-stop service would benefit the majority of Via passengers, as well as the broader rail network, including CN.
“We remain confident that this downtown-to-downtown service, requested by 70 percent of our passengers, represents an important step toward delivering more efficient passenger rail in Canada,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson did not indicate if the project would resume this year, but said Via it would “continue to work closely with CN to explore solutions that would allow us to test and implement this service in the future.”
