VIA Rail Canada Inc. | The Canadian Encyclopedia

Article

VIA Rail Canada Inc.

Published Online February 7, 2006

Last Edited May 11, 2015

In 1981 VIA cancelled or reduced numerous routes in an attempt to make passenger service more efficient. Services in parts of the country were seriously affected and the Liberal government was widely criticized. A nonconfidence vote over the issue in October 1981 was won by the government.
LRC Train
Morley Smith, who was senior designer of this vehicle for VIA rail, is one of many industrial designers who infuence the design of everyday products (photo by Jacques Giard).
VIA Rail Logo
VIA Rail Canada Inc. was established as a crown corporation in 1978 (courtesy Canapress).
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VIA Rail Canada Inc

VIA Rail Canada Inc was established as a Crown Corporation in 1978 after a brief history as a CN subsidiary. Financed by the federal government, it operates all intercity passenger railway services in Canada. The corporation's board of directors reports to Transport Canada.

In 1981 VIA cancelled or reduced numerous routes in an attempt to make passenger service more efficient. Services in parts of the country were seriously affected and the Liberal government was widely criticized. A nonconfidence vote over the issue in October 1981 was won by the government. Many of the services were reinstated by the new Conservative government elected in 1984. With head offices in Montréal, in 1999 VIA Rail operated some 14 000 km of track running over 400 trains weekly and carried over 3.8 million passengers.

See also Railways, Contemporary.