VIA Rail Canada, Unifor announce tentative agreement on new contract

Small tractor pulling luggage cart next to passenger train

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada and Canadian union Unifor have reached tentative agreement on a new three-year contract, averting a strike that could have begun as soon as this Sunday, June 22. If ratified, the agreement will be retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year and run through Dec. 31, 2027. VIA said terms would […]

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VIA reports increased ridership, revenue in 2024

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada saw a 6.6% gain in ridership and an 11% increase in total revenues during 2024, according to the company’s annual fiscal-year report. Revenues for the calendar year were Ca$480.2 million (U.S. $353.8 million), while ridership reached 4.4 million. The company recorded an operating loss of Ca $385.2 million (U.S. $283.7 […]

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VIA Rail Canada on-time performance plummets, ridership slips

Cab car leads train into station

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada’s on-time performance plummeted in the first quarter of 2025, falling to 30% from 72% in the same period last year, the company said in a quarterly financial report issued on Tuesday, June 3. The company also said ridership also dropped by 2.7% compared to the first quarter of 2024, the […]

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Talks break off between VIA Rail Canada, Unifor

New passenger equipment in shop building

MONTREAL — Talks have broken off between VIA Rail Canada and Unifor, the union representing 2,500 workers including onboard attendants and mechanical workers, the union said today (June 2, 2025). The end of negotiations comes with a potential strike as little as three weeks away. Employees could walk out as soon as June 22 following […]

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Opposition to high-frequency concept led to VIA affiliate’s shift to high speed rail

Logo of Canadian high speed company Alto

MONTREAL — A VIA Rail Canada subsidiary paid more than Ca$330,000 to a marketing firm to rebrand itself as part of the effort to shift its high-frequency rail project to high speed rail after discovering little support for the original concept, the Canadian Press reports. Documents obtained by the news service show that the VIA […]

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Unifor members authorize strike against VIA Rail Canada

Logo of Canadian union Unifor

MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada workers represented by Canadian union Unifor have authorized a strike that could come as soon as June 22, the union announced Monday, May 26. Some 97.5% of workers represented by Unifor Council 4000 and Local 100 voted in favor of strike authorization. “This strike vote is not just a number […]

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Riding the railroad

Interested in riding the railroad? One of the best windows on the railroad world are passenger trains, and you have plenty of options. Amtrak, a government corporation that took over nearly all U.S. intercity passenger trains from private railroads in 1971, today operates a 21,000-mile network that includes 500 stations in 46 states served by […]

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Trains.com Insider Interview | NMRA President Gordy Robinson talks Trainfest 2025

Hear directly from National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) President Gordy Robinson, just how enthused the organization is to now host the world-renowned Trainfest 2025 event in downtown Milwaukee, Wisc., November 1 & 2! When Trains.com staff writer Lucas Iverson recently chatted with Gordy, the conversation revealed numerous insights into the NMRA’s immediate and long-term objectives […]

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VIA’s Canadian turns 70, operating with equipment from when it began

TORONTO — April 24,1955, was what Canadian Pacific publicity mavens characterized as a “Red Letter Day,” because that was when its new silver flagship, the Canadian, debuted with daily departures from Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Seventy years later, VIA Rail Canada commemorated the occasion with a high-profile sendoff of its version of the train — […]

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As Canadian election nears, Liberals’ platform renews support for high-speed rail

Via Rail Canada locomotive no. 6433

OTTAWA, Ontario — Expansion of high-speed rail in Ontario and Quebec, infrastructure projects to support trade, and efforts to simplify approval for major construction are part of the party platform released Saturday (April 20) by Canada’s Liberal Party and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Saying Canadian sovereignty is “under threat,” the platform calls for nearly Ca$130 […]

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Trains.com Insider Interview | Rapido Trains Inc CEO Jason Shron Talks Tariffs

Trains.com Insider Interview | Rapido Trains Inc. Founder and CEO Jason Shron visits with Trains.com Director David Popp to discuss the impact U.S.-Canada tariffs have on Rapido operations, along with the loyal customers who have helped sustain the business for more than 20 years. In the simplest terms, Jason shares how the model train manufacturer (of […]

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Canadian government adds to funding for Hudson Bay Railway

Train passing through wilderness area with fall colors

OTTAWA, Ontario — The Canadian government has added to its financial commitment to the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill, Manitoba, increasing its funding to Ca$175 million over the next five years. The funding announced Friday, March 21, will provide $125 million for operation and maintenance of the 627-mile railway, with a main […]

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