Via Rail grows ridership, still falls short of pre-pandemic numbers

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Two years after travel came roaring back after COVID, Via Rail’s ridership numbers are still substantially below where they were before the pandemic, and the Crown corporation is bleeding money even as it faces an urgent need to replace its trains.

In its newly released annual report, Via Rail said its total revenues reached a five-year high in 2023 to $430.7 million, but operating expenses increase over the same period to $812.5 million, resulting in a $381.8 million operating loss.

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Via’s on-time performance, which saw a modest increase during the pandemic, sat at just 59 per cent in 2023, up two per cent from 2022 but a nine per cent drop from 2019’s performance.

The railway last year began a fleet replacement program to phase out aging locomotives and rolling stock on their Windsor to Quebec City “corridor” trains with brand new Siemens Venture trainsets, Via’s first new locomotives since 2001, and the railroad’s newest railcars in decades.

Much of Via’s rolling stock is well beyond the projected lifespan, with many of the stainless steel cars used daily on long-haul journeys dating back to the 1950s or earlier. 

“Simply put, our existing trains need to be replaced as they are past their prime and will be forced into retirement in the coming years,” said Via’s President and CEO Mario Péloquin.

Péloquin said replacing trains on more routes will enhance accessibility, increase access and decrease environmental impact.

Via Rail Board Chair Françoise Bertrand said that improving service on long-distance and regional routes is still a key goal.

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“We are well aware that we provide an essential service to remote and regional areas, many of which are Indigenous communities,” she said, adding that Via’s trains serve over 400 communities across Canada.

“Our continued success, however, requires the renewal of our long-distance, remote, and regional fleet which are now more than 70 years old.”

The streamlined stainless steel passenger, observation, dining and sleeper cars used on Via’s long-haul routes were constructed by the now-defunct Budd railcar company in the early 1950s, and undergo regular rehabilitation and restoration work to keep them on the rails.

Via welcomed 4.1 million passengers in 2023, a nearly 25-per-cent increase from the 3.3-million passengers in 2022, but still below the railway’s record high of 5.01 million riders in 2019. 

Those 2019 ridership numbers plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, falling to just 1.1 million and 1.5 million passengers in 2020 and 2021. 

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Ninety-six per cent of Via’s passenger trips took place in the busy Windsor to Quebec City commuter corridor, with only three per cent taking rides on their long-haul routes — specifically their Toronto-to-Vancouver and Montreal-to-Halifax routes — and the remaining one per cent on Via’s regional lines. 

Corridor trips also amounted for 82 per cent of Via’s revenue, with fares for long-distance routes representing 17 per cent, and one per cent for regional routes. 

The 2024 federal budget set aside $462.4 million over five years for Via, along with an undisclosed amount of money to fund fleet replacement on non-corridor routes, and $63.1 million over three years to support increased Indigenous railway access and services.

National Post

bpassifiume@postmedia.com

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