VIA Rail renews its lease at Place Ville Marie and consolidates its activities on two floors

MONTREAL, Jan. 18, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada (www.viarail.ca) announced today that it has renewed its lease for its headquarter offices at Place Ville Marie in Montréal. The Corporation, which has been located in the building since the early 1980s, will take advantage of this agreement to consolidate its activities on two floors by 2016. This decision results from the reduction of its management workforce (15 % since 2009) and a redesign of individual workspaces in line with current market standards. The owners of the building, AIMCo and Ivanhoé Cambridge, who also acts as the building manager, will modernise the space in 2013 in order to provide a more efficient configuration. The new lease will take effect in April 2014.

"The first priority in negotiating this lease was to contain costs while enhancing the working environment of our employees," said Marc Laliberté, President and CEO. "This announcement reflects VIA Rail's continuing commitment to exercising strict cost controls and sound management of public funds in all facets of our operations."

"We are very pleased that after nearly 33 years in the building, VIA Rail chose to continue its journey in Place Ville Marie, one of our most iconic properties", commented Jean Laramée, Senior Vice President, Eastern North American Portfolio, Ivanhoé Cambridge. "Place Ville Marie continues to be a center of activity and abounding main focal point of the city " .

Place Ville Marie has received significant investment over the last ten years for maintenance, renovation and modernization that rank it among the most sought after buildings in Montréal.

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide safe, efficient, cost-effective passenger transportation in the country's two official languages. VIA operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometer route network. Recipient of the RAC's Safety Award in 2012 for the 11^th time in 12 years, and of the 2012 Agent's Choice Award voted on by Canadian travel agents and presented by Baxter Travel Media, VIA safely transports over four million passengers annually. Since 2007, the Government of Canada has provided VIA Rail with nearly one billion dollars in capital investment funding. Follow the evolution of current projects at viarail.ca/TransformerVIA.

About Ivanhoé Cambridge
Ivanhoé Cambridge is one of the 10 largest real estate companies in the world. Through its multiple subsidiaries, it holds assets in 24 countries valued at over Cdn$30 billion as at December 31, 2011. Ivanhoé Cambridge is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (lacaisse.com), one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers. For more information, visit ivanhoecambridge.com.

SOURCE: VIA RAIL CANADA INC.

Mylène Bélanger
Senior Advisor, Media Relations
VIA Rail Canada
514 871-6137 | 1 877 393-8787
[email protected]

Sébastien Théberge
Senior Director, Public Affairs and Communications
[email protected]
Media line: 1 866-456-3342
Global: [phone]