As the economy recovers from the COVID-19 shutdown, Canada's national rail service is increasing offerings to meet rising demand.
VIA Rail announced Thursday that the frequency of train service in many corridors, including Windsor-London-Toronto, will be bumped up to half of its usual total starting September 1.
VIA Rail President and CEO Cynthia Garneau said the restoration of service is due to a spike in demand for inter-city travel, along with the reopening of the economies in Ontario and Quebec after the pandemic shut most services down this spring.
"We are very pleased to announce today an important milestone in our efforts to resume our services," said Garneau in a media release. "This represents our biggest addition of frequencies in the corridor since the start of the pandemic. This initiative prioritizes the health and safety of our employees and passengers, balancing the possible service offerings and the recommendations issued by public health authorities in the context of the ongoing situation."
Currently, there is only one train per day going in each direction for the Windsor-London-Toronto corridor. Train number 72 runs from Windsor to Toronto, and number 75 from Toronto to Windsor.
Come September 1, there will be two trains running the route with the restoration of train number 71 from Toronto to Windsor, and number 78 from Windsor to Toronto.
VIA Rail will contact passengers who have been affected by this change in the schedule.
COVID-19 prevention guidelines remain in effect on all trains. Masks or face coverings must be on at all times, and passengers can be denied boarding for refusing to wear one. Passengers who are experiencing a fever, new cough, or trouble breathing will also be denied boarding, or if they have been denied passage on any transportation system in the past 14 days due to COVID-19 symptoms.
All VIA Rail trains, stations, and facilities are under a strict, aggressive protocol for cleaning and disinfecting.
Complete information about the increased scheduling, as well as COVID-19 preventative measures, is available on VIA Rail's official website.
