On March 13, 2020 VIA Rail Canada announced the suspension of its twice-weekly Canadian train between Vancouver and Toronto due to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. This suspension was repeatedly extended over the summer of 2020 and well into the fall.
For nine months, the Prairie provinces had no east-west passenger train, drastically limiting public transportation opportunities. With motorcoach services in the region decimated by the loss of Greyhound in 2018, this meant there was no rail or bus service whatsoever between Winnipeg and Saskatoon or Regina.
On October 20, 2020 VIA announced that a weekly train would resume service on December 11, but only between Winnipeg and Vancouver. This train provided basic service on the foreshortened route, with the Skyline domes and Park cars off-limits and passengers required to wear a mask and stay in their assigned seats or rooms unless they were dining or showering.
Several months later, VIA resumed operation over the full Toronto-Vancouver route, starting on May 17, 2021, continuing to operate only once weekly in each direction, and with limited onboard amenities for essential travel. This once-weekly schedule will continue until at least September 15, 2021.
The current Canadian is a bare-bones service which does not provide a useful intercity option for Prairie residents. Even before the pandemic, the Canadian was routinely late and could not be relied upon to arrive on time. Once or even twice weekly service and the increase in freight-train related delays since 2011 severely limits the train’s usefulness for travel within the Prairie region and its competitiveness as a long distance alternative to air travel.
Transport Action calls upon the Government of Canada to restore the passenger rail network in western Canada, including a daily, on-time VIA Rail passenger train between Toronto and Vancouver. This train must reliably arrive and depart on time at cities along its route, in order to become the backbone of an integrated public transit network in central and western Canada. Working together with regional motorcoach operators, a daily “Canadian” would be the spine that the bus networks would connect with to provide frequent, seamless public transit for many Canadians.