VIA Rail Canada operates the national passenger rail service on behalf of the Government of Canada. An independent Crown Corporation established in 1977, the company provides Canadians with safe, efficient and environmentally responsible public transportation. VIA consistently ranks as one of the most trusted transportation companies in Canada. In Leger Marketing’s 2007 Top 100 Companies in Canada survey, VIA ranked 2nd among transportation companies and enjoyed the largest increase in reputation score.

VIA operates up to 503 trains weekly on 12,500 kilometres of track, and serves 450 communities across the country, from coast to coast and north to Hudson Bay. VIA carried close to 4.2 million customers in 2007.

VIA’s fleet includes 396 passenger cars and 78 active locomotives. In addition to 159 railway stations, VIA operates four modern maintenance facilities, and employs some 3,000 people. While VIA owns 223 kilometres of track, most of the infrastructure used by the passenger service is owned and managed by the freight railways, including ten different national and short-line operators.