VIA Rail announced on June 21, 2016, that it is entering a new partnership with Maritime Bus that will allow passengers to book Maritime Bus tickets through VIA Rail. Starting July 14, passengers will be able to see bus options and purchase Maritime Bus tickets through VIA’s website.
This partnership will allow passengers to book connections between VIA and Maritime Bus to access destinations not served by VIA, or to book bus tickets on days and times when VIA’s trains are not running. This would, for example, make it easier for people to plan a trip where one direction is on the train, and the other is on a bus due to the days of operation of the Ocean.
Here is an excerpt from the press release announcing the new agreement:
VIA Rail has released its latest Corporate Plan for the years 2016-2020. The document summarizes VIA’s current and most recent operations, costs, successes, and challenges. It also lays out the vision that VIA’s management has moving forward, which will of course be subject to the approval of funding from the federal government.
This Corporate Plan focuses heavily on the need for fleet renewal and dedicated track projects in the Corridor, but also discusses VIA’s services across the country, including those in the Maritimes.
The report is very clearly structured, so it’s relatively easy to find those sections pertaining to The Ocean.
One of the most pertinent comments is found on page 25:
“In 2012, the Ocean’s frequencies were cut from six to three, which deteriorated the financial performance of this service. The Ocean does not adequately serve local communities and VIA Rail is looking at options to introduce additional local, intercity service, while potentially cutting back on under-utilized long-haul trains in the off-peak.
Eastern Intercity
Management of VIA Rail’s Eastern Region is currently investigating the possibility of initiating an eastern intercity corridor service within New Brunswick, which could coincide with a possible reduction of the Ocean to two frequencies a week during off-peak periods.”
The Maritimes could soon have increased VIA Rail train services in the form of new regional trains (Photo by Tim Hayman)
VIA Rail is talking about making changes to its Atlantic Canadian passenger services, and for the first time in many years, they’re not talking about cuts. VIA president Yves Desjardins-Siciliano was in the Maritimes this week and took part in a call-in show on CBC Radio’s Maritime Noon program on Monday. During that program he mentioned that VIA is seriously looking at adding new regional train services in the Maritimes, potentially as early as next year.
The proposed services would include a Campbellton-Moncton train and a Moncton-Halifax train, both of which would make eastbound trips in the morning and return trips west in the evening. These trains would operate in addition to the thrice weekly Ocean and would be focused on providing a regular, useful service to local travellers within the region. Details about the days of operation and the type of equipment that may be used for the service are unknown, but it seems clear that these trains would run a more frequent schedule than the Ocean, and would offer more basic coach accommodations.
The potential for regional train services in the Maritimes has been on the radar since Susan Williams was appointed as General Manager for VIA’s eastern region earlier this year. At Transport Action Atlantic’s Annual General Meeting in Moncton this past spring, Ms. Williams mentioned that developing a business case for regional services was part of the mandate of her new position, along with exploring ways to increase ridership on the Ocean. A press release at the time of her appointment stated that “Ms. Williams will be working to bring VIA Rail’s service offering in line with this part of the country’s needs and demands. This is one of the first steps of a larger strategy to better serve Eastern Canada”.
The comments this week from Desjardins-Siciliano provide the first real look at what sort of a strategy VIA has been working on behind the scenes, and also offer a potential timeline – in an interview with CTV news, Desjardins-Siciliano said that VIA is “hoping to have the service in place no later than the school year start which is August and September of next year for university students and maybe as early as next summer”.
VIA Rail announced on June 21, 2016, that it is entering a new partnership with Maritime Bus that will allow passengers to book Maritime Bus tickets through VIA Rail. Starting July 14, passengers will be able to see bus options and purchase Maritime Bus tickets through VIA’s website.
