Restore Lower St. Lawrence Rail

AI summary

Petitioners say VIA Rail is a federal Crown corporation and that the federal government invested $1.337 billion in 2025 for its long‑distance fleet. They state the Montreal–Halifax service serving the Lower St. Lawrence was reduced in 2012 from six to three weekly round trips, and that this change coincided with declines in revenue and ridership; they also say trains now pass the region overnight and that freight‑owned tracks constrain passenger service. The petitioners ask the Government of Canada to secure commitments from VIA Rail to restore daily service in the Lower St. Lawrence, adjust station schedules to reasonable hours, and improve punctuality and reliability; no government response is recorded with the petition.

AI summaries describe petitioners’ requests and claims. Consult the official record for the full text.

Official petition

Petition to the Government of Canada VIA Rail is a federal Crown corporation funded by the Government of Canada and mandated to provide passenger rail service across the country; The federal government invested $1.337 billion in VIA Rail in 2025 for its long-distance fleet; There was daily passenger service for many years between Montreal and Halifax, serving several communities in the Lower St. Lawrence; In 2012, the frequency of this rail service was reduced from six round trips per week to three; Between 2012 and 2016, service revenues declined by 27.2% and ridership by 40.8%, demonstrating the negative impact of reduced service frequency on usage; Passenger trains currently pass through the Lower St. Lawrence overnight, limiting access to rail transportation for many residents; Passenger rail service operates primarily on tracks owned by freight railway companies, such as the Canadian National Railway (CN), which constrains the ability to provide frequent, reliable and punctual passenger rail service; and The shift of passengers to automobiles runs counter to Canada’s objectives of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable public transit. We, the undersigned, citizens of Quebec, call upon the Government of Canada to take the necessary steps to ensure that VIA Rail commits to: 1. Restoring daily, reliable and accessible passenger rail service in the Lower St. Lawrence; 2. Adjusting the schedules at stations in the Lower St. Lawrence so that stops occur at reasonable hours for the public; and 3. Implementing measures to improve the punctuality and reliability of passenger rail service.

Government response

No government response is available yet.