File photo - protesting the cancellation of train 651 at Cobourg VIA station, Sept. 26, 2022
Starting May 27 VIA Rail will introduce Train 641, running between Ottawa and Toronto every Monday to Thursday.
Departing Ottawa at 4:19 a.m. and reaching Toronto at 8:48 a.m., it will make stops in Kingston and Belleville and more locally in Cobourg at 7:35 a.m. and Port Hope at 7:44 a.m.
“In recent months, stakeholders and frequent passengers from Eastern Ontario have emphasized the significance of early-morning VIA Rail services for their communities, and we took great care to listen and act on this feedback,” said Mario Péloquin, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“This is why we are looking forward to offering this option for passengers who wish to travel to Toronto before 9 a.m., whether for business or leisure. We hope, and are confident, that they will answer the call and help us make this new frequency a success.”
In addition, train 644, which previously operated from Friday to Sunday, will now run every day, also as of May 27.
Northumberland-Peterborough South MP Philip Lawrence, in a press release stated, “I am delighted to hear VIA Rail’s announcement today on the introduction of train 641. This train is very similar to the long awaited and much needed train 651.”
“I would like to thank VIA CEO Mario Péloquin and his team for listening to our concerns. I would also like to thank my various government counterparts, including local mayors and Minister David Piccini, for their tireless commitment to this issue as well. But most of all, I would like to thank the constituents who emailed and phoned my office regularly to advocate for the return of this service to our community. It was the advocacy of Northumberland—Peterborough South commuters that helped us make our case to VIA about the importance of this train and its value to our community.”
(Written by: Joseph Goden)
