{"id":910969,"date":"2026-09-27T00:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T00:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/910969\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T00:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T00:10:13","slug":"via-rail-reverses-decision-to-cut-service-at-guildwood-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/910969\/","title":{"rendered":"VIA Rail reverses decision to cut service at Guildwood Station"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Following backlash from residents and local leaders, VIA Rail has reversed its decision to stop servicing its only Scarborough stop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/media.viarail.ca\/en\/news\/2026\/rails-guildwood-notice\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/media.viarail.ca\/en\/news\/2026\/rails-guildwood-notice\">In a statement on its website on Friday<\/a>, VIA said it will serve Guildwood Station when it transitions to its winter schedule starting Oct. 25.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cVIA Rail recognizes the importance of reliable rail transportation that connects communities and serves passengers across Canada, including in the Scarborough community,\u201d the operator said in a notice on its website.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cAs part of this commitment, VIA Rail will remain in touch with community leaders to discuss the situation and assess feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Earlier this month, the passenger rail service operator <a href=\"https:\/\/media.viarail.ca\/en\/press-releases\/2026\/rail-announces-schedule-adjustments-corridor-effective-october-25\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/media.viarail.ca\/en\/press-releases\/2026\/rail-announces-schedule-adjustments-corridor-effective-october-25\">announced service changes<\/a> in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, including cancelling its early morning train from Ottawa to Toronto starting Oct. 25.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">VIA Rail also said that it would stop serving Guildwood and Malton stations \u201cto improve overall travel times, given their proximity to Toronto Union Station and easy access to GO Transit and other local transit services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Scarborough residents and officials criticized the announcement. Many who spoke to CP24 expressed shock, frustration and disappointment that VIA\u2019s lone Scarborough stop would be cut.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Coun. Paul Ainslie called on VIA Rail to reverse its plan, saying it would negatively impact residents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cGuildwood Station is not simply a train stop. It is an essential transportation asset that connects Scarborough residents to communities across Ontario and Canada,\u201d Ainslie <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paulainslie.com\/FILES\/2026\/2026_09_16_VIARail_GuildwoodStation.pdf\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.paulainslie.com\/FILES\/2026\/2026_09_16_VIARail_GuildwoodStation.pdf\">said in a statement on Sept. 16.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cRemoving service would make travel less convenient, increase travel times, and reduce transportation options for thousands of residents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Liberal MPs representing Scarborough ridings sent out a news release on Friday calling on VIA Rail to restore full service at Guildwood Station.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">While the rail service initially planned to cut all service at the station, the MPs said they intervened and restored partial service.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cBut this is not good enough,\u201d the MPs said, asking for a meeting with VIA Rail\u2019s interim president and CEO Mathieu Paquette.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">They added that the decision was \u201cdisconnected from reality,\u201d given that many stop at Guildwood Station. The MPs said that VIA\u2019s data show nearly 60,000 passengers departed and arrived at the station last year. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cScarborough residents deserve to know why a station used for tens of thousands of passenger trips each year is being removed from VIA Rail\u2019s network,\u201d the MPs said in Friday\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">During her campaign rally in Scarborough on Saturday, Olivia Chow welcomed VIA\u2019s reversal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ll keep fighting to make sure they don\u2019t even try it again,\u201d Chow said.<\/p>\n<p>Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following backlash from residents and local leaders, VIA Rail has reversed its decision to stop servicing its only&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":910970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[712,45,49,48],"class_list":["post-910969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-apple-news","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}