VIA Rail will Temporarily Reduce Service as of 19JAN due to Omicron

VIA Rail Canada has announced it will temporarily reduce service in the Québec City-Windsor corridor beginning on 19JAN, due to tightening COVID-19 restrictions resulting from the Omicron variant.

"These decisions, while difficult, are consistent with the balanced approach we have maintained throughout the pandemic in order to fulfill our important public service mandate while proactively managing the financial impacts on our operations," said Cynthia Garneau, President and CEO of VIA Rail.

"Every change we have made to our services has been, and continues to be, closely linked to the evolving health crisis and following market demand."

VIA Rail notes, "some stops have been added on some trains," and the revised schedule (below) may change without notice.

The temporary service reduction in the Corridor has been "carefully planned" in order to continue to provide essential intercity service on all routes, VIA Rail said in a statement.

Currently, there are no plans to reduce frequencies on any other routes, but some on-board services have been modified across VIA trains.

VIA Rail Business class will be temporarily suspended, and Business lounges are closed until further notice. For a full list of changes to services, visit VIA Rail's web site.

The rail line notes that it remains focused on implementing the final phase of its gradual resumption plan for spring 2022, and it is "hopeful that the situation will have improved in time for us to deploy it as planned."

Corridor Schedule Beginning 19JAN:

For more information, visit VIA Rail's web site.