HALIFAX, Oct. 8, 2015 /CNW/ - Thanks to the notable increase of 13% in ridership over the summer compared to last year on VIA Rail's Ocean service, 6 additional departures will be added over the holiday season. The added trains will allow VIA Rail to serve more Canadians, more often on its eastern Canadian long-distance train.
Linking Halifax to Montréal, Ocean train passengers will have 24 departures to choose from over the holidays, between December 16 - January 3. These additional trains are a great opportunity for travellers to visit loved ones while enjoying the relaxing benefits of this iconic train. All departures are now available to reserve online. Also, until October 16, get 25% off our Sleeper Plus class.
"We are very happy to have welcomed 5,000 more passengers onboard the Ocean between May and September compared to last year", stated Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, President and CEO of VIA Rail, "It's thanks to the improvements we made to the eastern service along with the efforts made by the community representatives with whom we worked that the Ocean saw this increase in popularity."
"We are improving the Ocean's service in order to offer the eastern population more options for holiday travel," added Susan Williams, General Manager, Eastern Canada of VIA Rail, "This year, we are pleased to have an additional 1,750 seats and 930 beds available for travel between Halifax and Montréal, so that more people can experience VIA Rail's exceptional service."
Ocean train departures over the holidays are scheduled on the following dates:
| From Montréal to Halifax – Train #14 |
|
| Wednesday, December 16 |
Sunday, December 27 |
| From Halifax to Montréal – Train #15 |
|
| Wednesday, December 16 |
Monday, December 28 * |
*Additional Departures
Please note that the departures scheduled for Friday, December 25 have been cancelled.
Visit www.viarail.ca to reserve your tickets, or call 1 888 VIA RAIL (1 888 842-7245) or 1 800 268 9503 (TTY for the hearing impaired).
About VIA Rail's Ocean service
Since 1904, the Ocean has been travelling along a 1,346 kilometer railway network, following the St. Lawrence River, through the Matapedia valley. The train links the cities of Campbellton, Moncton, Truro and Halifax with central and western Canada. Every year, this service - with its 28 stops - offers tens of thousands of passengers from across Canada and the world the opportunity to discover the eastern Canadian provinces. A free Wi-Fi connection is available in the service cars. The Ocean service celebrated its 111th anniversary in 2015.
About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail (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 over 400 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. VIA Rail information at a glance: www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail
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SOURCE VIA Rail Canada Inc.
Image with caption: "The Ocean (CNW Group/VIA Rail Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20151008_C8557_PHOTO_EN_516157.jpg
Maxime Dupont-Demers, Senior Advisor, Corporate Communications, VIA Rail Canada, 514 871-6137, 1 877 393-8787, [email protected], [email protected]
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