(The Toronto Star posted the following story by Kevin McGran on its website on April 3.)
TORONTO — Via Rail drew more passengers, increased revenue and lowered its funding requirements in 2002, according to its annual report posted yesterday on its Web site.
Via carried almost 4 million passengers, 116,000 more than in 2001, and passenger-miles reached 948 million 27 million more than in 2001. Via said demand was especially strong for first-class business travel in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor.
With more passengers, and an improving yield per customer, total revenues increased by $17 million to $270.8 million in 2002. Total revenues are now almost 90 per cent higher than in 1990.
Although higher passenger-miles incur higher total operating costs, Via said its operating funding requirements dropped $9 million in 2002. Its total operating funding requirement is now 63 per cent lower than in 1990.
“Via is in better shape than ever before,” chairman Jean Pelletier said in a statement.
Via, a crown corporation that runs Canada’s national passenger rail service, employs about 3,000 people. It operates more than 480 trains weekly on 14,000 kilometres of track, connecting more than 450 Canadian communities.