Via Rail Canada - statistics & facts
Via Rail Canada is an Canadian state-owned corporation which operates passenger rail services throughout Canada. In 2022, their number of employees reached 3,668. The company recorded an overall ridership of over 4.1 million passengers on a total of 910 million passenger-miles, with corridor travel, being their most popular service. Their most traveled route was Montréal-Ottawa-Toronto, accounting for over 2.1 million passengers during that year. The overall performance of the company had slumped in 2020 due to the economic impact of the railway blockades at the beginning of the year and of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was followed by a recovery between 2021 and 2023, although continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that passenger performance indicators remained below 2019 figures.
From the 7th of February 2020, pipeline and railway protests impacted passenger traffic on Via Rail’s services. The blockades, which took place throughout the month, were followed by government-mandated national lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These lockdowns led to a slump in demand from regular commuters, tourists and long-haul passengers alike. Via Rail’s Toronto-Niagara inter-city route was particularly affected, ridership dipping to just over 4,000 passengers that year. The company’s revenue returned to nearly 82 percent of pre-pandemic levels by 2022and exceeded 2019 revenue in 2023 by 4.8 percent. This development was to some extent driven by the return of many services during 2022 and 2023. Services, which had been cut during the pandemic, were largely reinstated in the summer of 2023, with seat capacity for the whole year rising to close to 84 percent of 2019 figures.
Prior to the establishment of Via Rail, national passenger in Canada rail was serviced by two companies – the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. From around the 1960’s both companies wanted to cease passenger services to instead focus on freight. Since the government considered passenger rail an essential service, it established Via Rail Canada as Canada’s first national passenger rail company in early 1977, after which they took over operation of the passenger services, cars and locomotives of the earlier two companies.
As of 2020, Via Rail held total assets of over 2.9 billion Canadian dollars. This represented a 10.7 percent year-on-year assets growth for the company.
Post-pandemic economic recovery
The company had seen significant growth between 2013 and 2019, with its total revenue increasing from 270 million Canadian dollars to 411.1 million Canadian dollars in 2019. After a drop of around 77.6 percent between 2019 and 2020, revenues stood at around 92 million Canadian dollars, impacted by the global pandemic as well as factors specific to Canada.From the 7th of February 2020, pipeline and railway protests impacted passenger traffic on Via Rail’s services. The blockades, which took place throughout the month, were followed by government-mandated national lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These lockdowns led to a slump in demand from regular commuters, tourists and long-haul passengers alike. Via Rail’s Toronto-Niagara inter-city route was particularly affected, ridership dipping to just over 4,000 passengers that year. The company’s revenue returned to nearly 82 percent of pre-pandemic levels by 2022and exceeded 2019 revenue in 2023 by 4.8 percent. This development was to some extent driven by the return of many services during 2022 and 2023. Services, which had been cut during the pandemic, were largely reinstated in the summer of 2023, with seat capacity for the whole year rising to close to 84 percent of 2019 figures.
A high operating ratio
Revenue streams were not sufficient to cover the company’s operating expenses, which totaled 812.5 million Canadian dollars in 2023. While the 2023 revenues exceeded those recorded in 2019, operating expenses also rose above pre-pandemic levels. Via Rail’s expenses have consistently been greater than the company’s revenues for years, generating high operating ratios. The shortfall has been funded by the Canadian government, which also provided additional funding for capital expenditure.Prior to the establishment of Via Rail, national passenger in Canada rail was serviced by two companies – the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. From around the 1960’s both companies wanted to cease passenger services to instead focus on freight. Since the government considered passenger rail an essential service, it established Via Rail Canada as Canada’s first national passenger rail company in early 1977, after which they took over operation of the passenger services, cars and locomotives of the earlier two companies.
As of 2020, Via Rail held total assets of over 2.9 billion Canadian dollars. This represented a 10.7 percent year-on-year assets growth for the company.
