(The Canadian Press circulated the following on January 11.)
MONTREAL — Via Rail Canada got an unexpected Christmas present when record snowfalls in Ontario and Quebec created a significant spike in its ridership.
Via says 21,000 more passengers took the train in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor compared to the same time last year — a 10.2 per cent increase.
Routes between Toronto and Ottawa and between Montreal and Ottawa saw the sharpest increases at 17 per cent.
The statement says the snowfalls had a similar impact on national ridership, which rose by 9.4 per cent between Dec. 19, 2007 and Jan. 6, 2008.
The release of the figures comes as Ontario and Quebec are to launch a joint feasibility study into development of a high speed rail corridor between Windsor and Quebec City.
Via Rail attributes its success to reliable service in the popular central-Canada corridor, adding that no trains were cancelled despite a series of snow storms.