Be safe: keep clear of the tracks! - VIA Rail's word of advice for the 2015 Rail Safety Week

MONTRÉAL, April 27, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) is actively participating in Operation Lifesaver's 13^th Annual Safety Week, taking place from April 27 to May 3, 2015. Under the key message "See Tracks, Think Train", this year's week is devoted to educating and reminding the public about the importance of acting with extreme caution around railways. Throughout the week, volunteers will be hosting many local events and activities across Canada.

"VIA Rail's involvement in Operation Lifesaver helps educate Canadians about the dangers of trespassing on or around railways," explains Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, President and CEO of VIA Rail, "At VIA, security is in our DNA. It is at the core of every decision we make. I am proud to work with a highly qualified team of experts at VIA Rail, who take safety and security to heart every day, and who help maintain our excellent safety track record."

VIA Rail will be supporting #SeeTracksThinkTrain campaign through various means with customers and employees, culminating with a major event held on May 2 at its Halifax train station. Everyone is invited to take part of "All Aboard for Safety", a free Family Day event open to the general public to promote rail safety and general safety for all, including Operation Lifesaver presentations, model train set displays, local emergency services, and complimentary train rides. VIA Rail also invites everyone to read Yves Desjardins-Siciliano's blog entry on this.

In 2014 there were 180 crossing accidents and 58 trespassing accidents in Canada, a 30% decrease since the first Rail Safety Week in 2003. "That's still too many preventable accidents" according to Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, "which is why VIA Rail continues to collaborate closely with Operation Lifesaver, the Railway Association of Canada, Transport Canada, CN, CP, Go Transit and other industry partners to improve safety and help spread the word about railway safety every day."

VIA Rail operates some 500 trains weekly on 12,500 kilometers of track, and strictly adheres to its safety procedures to ensure that passengers arrive at their destinations safely.

About Operation Lifesaver
Established in Canada in 1981, Operation Lifesaver is a national public-rail safety program sponsored by Transport Canada and the Railway Association of Canada. Through partnerships with provincial safety councils, police, railways, the trucking industry and community groups, Operation Lifesaver is dedicated to saving lives by educating Canadians about the hazards surrounding highway/railway crossings and trespassing on railway property.

www.operationlifesaver.ca

Learn more by following the hashtags #RSW2015 and #SeeTracksThink and by joining the discussion on * Facebook.com/oplifesaver  * Twitter.com/oplifesaver and Instagram.com/oplifesaver

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada (viarail.ca) and its 2,500 employees are mandated to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country. VIA Rail operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking 450 communities across Canada, and safely transports nearly four million passengers annually. The Corporation was awarded seven Safety Awards by the Railway Association of Canada over the last eight years, and was the recipient of the 2012 Agent's Choice Award voted by Canadian travel agents and presented by Baxter Travel Media. Since 2007, the Government of Canada has invested almost a billion dollars in VIA Rail. Read more about our transformation at viarail.ca/transformingvia.

Follow us on our Evolution Blog at viaevolution.ca - On Twitter @VIA_rail and @VIARailPrez - On Facebook - On Instagram.

SOURCE Operation Lifesaver

Maxime Dupont-Demers, Senior Advisor, Corporate Communications, VIA Rail Canada, 514 871-6137, 1 877 393-8787, [email protected], [email protected]