VIA Rail Canada will introduce non-stop Montreal-to-Toronto train service on Monday as part of a pilot project. (Photo: VIA Rail Canada X)
Starting Monday, passengers can ride Via Rail trains directly between Toronto and Montreal with no stops in between Canada’s two biggest cities.
Via Rail Canada, the country’s passenger train operator, is launching the non-stop service on Sept. 29 as a pilot project that will continue for the next three months.
Citizen transportation advocacy group Transport Action Canada said in an online update “all intermediate stops (between Montreal and Toronto) will be eliminated for trains 60 and 61, the first services in the morning, and for trains 68 and 69 in the late afternoon.”
The organization also noted that Train 50 from Toronto to Ottawa will operate non-stop for the Toronto-to-Brockville part of the journey, including on Sundays.
“This is intended to offer faster downtown-to-downtown travel, with journey times expected to be about 30 minutes faster than the existing schedule, although advertised arrival times are not being changed,” the transportation advocacy group said.
However, during the pilot project, Via Rail train service to other cities along the lakeshore route will be reduced.
According to Transport Action Canada, the first eastbound departures from stations between Toronto and Brockville will be two hours later, with the first trains from Kingston leaving at 11 a.m. and not arriving in Montreal or Ottawa before 1 p.m., making same-day trips much less feasible.
The first departures from Cornwall in each direction will also be two hours later, the advocacy group said, with mid-afternoon arrivals in Toronto or Montreal. In addition, service between Brockville and Montreal is being reduced to one trip daily.
Transport Action Canada expressed concern that while it welcomes faster train service, “we are concerned by the very short notice given for this schedule change, which is disruptive to passengers who had already made plans and reservations based on the existing schedule, and by the absence of adjustments to rest of the schedule to maintain adequate service to intermediate towns and cities between Toronto and Montreal.”
The advocacy group quoted a Via Rail spokesperson as saying “although this pilot project is an exciting opportunity, we recognize this change may inconvenience some customers who rely on intermediate stops.”
As such, Via Rail continued, it will “carefully evaluate the pilot based on ridership, on-time performance, customer feedback and community impacts.”
Via Rail Canada said in an online travel advisory bulletin this past week that passengers boarding or detraining at stations that have been removed from the schedule will be transferred to the next available train, space permitting and depending on their departure and arrival station.