(VIA Rail issued the following news release on October 26.)
MONTREAL — Tomorrow marks a major milestone in the history of passenger rail in Canada – the 150th anniversary of what is now known as VIA Rail’s “Quebec City-Windsor Corridor”. On October 27, 1856, at 7:00 AM, the first passenger train left Toronto and traveled to Montreal in 14 hours. That same day, the first train left Montreal at 7:30 AM and traveled to Toronto in the same amount of time. This was the first stretch of track linking the two largest cities in Canada.
The Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada was formed in 1852 as a consolidation of several railways, some under construction, others only projected. It became one large system stretching from Levis, Quebec (already connected to Montreal) all the way to Sarnia, Ontario (and extending to Windsor). Just three years after the amalgamation of the railway, the line from Montreal to Toronto was complete and open for service. The Kingston Advertiser, on October 28, 1856, wrote that “the Grand Trunk Railroad will henceforth be the great commercial artery of Canada”. Grand Trunk Railroad was eventually fully merged into Canadian National, which later spun off passenger rail with the creation of VIA Rail Canada in 1978.
Today, the 1150-km Quebec City-Windsor Corridor in central Canada is a spine traveling through the most densely populated and heavily industrialized area of the country. This region contains over half of Canada’s population – 16 million – and some of its largest cities.
VIA’s busiest route
The corridor is VIA’s busiest route, running more than 400 of Canada’s intercity passenger trains on tracks throughout the corridor every week, using CN’s former Grand Trunk Railway network. Traffic in the corridor represents close to 90% of VIA’s volume or more than 3.5 million trips, which means that VIA derives the majority of its revenues from this route.
Earlier this year, VIA was the first passenger rail operator in North America to provide wireless access to Internet on board trains traveling in the corridor. This allows passengers, many of whom are business people and students who commute frequently, to make more productive use of their busy time.
“Passenger rail in the corridor is still going strong after 150 years. The long-lasting popularity of this service illustrates the on-going need for passenger rail in Canada. Last year alone, VIA carried a record 4 million passengers,” said Paul Côté, President and Chief Executive Officer. “It is clear that more and more people are turning to passenger rail as a safe and environment-friendly travel alternative, something we at VIA are very proud of.”
How it started
In 1852 the Canadian government officially announced its plan to build a railway between Montreal and Toronto. The following year it purchased existing railway companies in Quebec and Ontario, and the Grand Trunk Railway Company began the construction of the proposed railway.
A major commercial link
On July 22, 1854, the first stone was laid in building the Victoria Bridge, by far the biggest construction project of the entire Grand Trunk network. It took 5 years to build the bridge, named in honor of Queen Victoria. When completed, it was the longest bridge in the world, and remains a major contributor to Montreal’s role as a continental hub in the North American rail system. The bridge was inaugurated by the Prince of Wales on August 25, 1860. This was the first visit of a royal prince to a British colony in Canada.
As Canada’s national passenger rail service, VIA Rail Canada’s mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally responsible and cost effective passenger transport services, both in Canada’s business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Serving more than 450 communities with a network of inter-city, transcontinental and regional trains, demand for rail services continues to grow as more Canadians turn to train travel as a safe and convenient travel choice.