Corridor (Via Rail)

Map of the Corridor

The Corridor is a Via Rail passenger train service area in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

Corridor is used by Via to refer to all Via inter-city passenger trains which start and end within the geographic region known as the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Other inter-city trains from outside the Corridor may have their terminus at stations in the Corridor, such as the Canadian and the Ocean, but are marketed by their respective train names and are not considered to be Corridor service.

The Corridor service area has the heaviest passenger train frequency in Canada, with 36 Via trains traversing the route daily. About 67% of Via's revenue comes from Corridor routes.

Via runs a mix of local-service and express trains in the Corridor. The majority of the trackage is owned by CN, although Via also operates Corridor services on two former freight lines that it owns which originate in Ottawa and run to Smiths Falls, Ontario and Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec and one between Chatham, Ontario and Tecumseh, Ontario. It also runs on Canadian Pacific rails between Smiths Falls and Brockville, Ontario. .

Prior to Via's formation in 1978, CN Rail operated trains on the same tracks and CP Rail also offered limited service.

All trains are identified by number; however, in previous schedules these trains were named as well.

High speed proposal

During the 1970s and early 1980s, CN and later Via Rail operated the Turbo Train on existing freight rail trackage. This equipment was later replaced by the Bombardier LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) train sets. Beginning in the 1980s and through the 1990s, Via Rail, Bombardier and the provincial and federal governments studied the feasibility of establishing a dedicated high speed passenger rail network linking Quebec City-Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto-Windsor similar to the French TGV as a means of reducing domestic air and highway travel between these destinations.

After a hiatus of ten years, a feasibility study on launching a high-speed rail service in the Corridor will be updated at the joint cost of the federal government, Ontario and Quebec. On November 14, 2011, the three governments have officially released the final report of a high-speed rail study for this corridor.

Improvements to corridor

Beginning during the summer of 2009, and planned to continue through the summer of 2010, Via is using C$300 million of government stimulus money to upgrade segments of the Corridor. Notable track improvements are planned to include an additional 44 miles of third main track in four segments, and a short segment of fourth main track, as well as additional yard tracks at three locations. Improvements will also be made to several stations along the line, with new station buildings being constructed at Belleville and Cobourg, and an additional platform being added to existing stations at Brockville and Oshawa. The improvements are planned to both reduce delays along the route and allow for a reduction in travel time of up to 30 minutes from end to end. They will also allow for Via to introduce two new round-trip trains from Toronto to both Montreal and Ottawa without requiring the acquisition of new equipment.

Primary inter-city Corridor routes

Via Routes in "The Corridor"

Legend 0km Windsor 69km Chatham 0km Sarnia 22km Wyoming 124km Glencoe 63km Strathroy 174km 95km London 185km 195km to  205km Ingersoll 130km St. Marys 147km Stratford 219km Woodstock 189km Kitchener 262km Brantford 211km Guelph 74km end 303km Aldershot GO 240km Georgetown GO 256km Brampton GO Highway 401 325km Oakville GO 44km Grimsby 19km St. Catharines GO Highway 406 Queen Elizabeth Way 1km Niagara Falls GO 0 km Niagara River 290km end 359km 0km Toronto GO TTC 254km to  21km Guildwood GO 51km Oshawa GO 101km Port Hope 113km Cobourg 163km Trenton Junction 182km Belleville 217km Napanee 254km Kingston 285km to  290km Gananoque 335km Brockville 380km Smiths Falls 430km Fallowfield OCT 446km Ottawa OCT 493km Casselman 428km Cornwall 533km Alexandria Ontario-Quebec border 476km Coteau Ottawa River West Channel Ottawa River East Channel 520km Dorval AMT 539km Montreal 272km to  St Lawrence River 545km St Lambert AMT Richelieu River 592km St-Hyacinthe 639km Drummondville 785km Charny St Lawrence River 790km Ste-Foy 811km Quebec City

• Montreal-Ottawa (6 per weekday, 4 Saturday/Sunday)
• Montreal-Quebec City (5 per weekday, 3 Saturday/Sunday)
• Toronto-Montreal via Kingston (6 per weekday, 4 per Saturday, 5 per Sunday)
• Toronto-Niagara Falls (2 times daily)
• Toronto-Ottawa via Kingston (5 per weekday, 3 per Saturday, 4 per Sunday)
• Toronto-Sarnia via London (2 times daily)
• Toronto-Windsor via London(4 times daily)

Commuter rail

Two commuter rail agencies, provincially-funded and independent of Via, offer services focused on Toronto and Montreal using some of the same railway tracks as Via's Corridor Trains

A GO Transit train on its way out of Toronto

• GO Transit operates its Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, and Georgetown lines on the same tracks as Via Corridor trains. The Lakeshore line connects Hamilton GO Centre in the west to Oshawa GO Station in the east, via Toronto's Union Station. Tracks are shared from Bayview Junction (located west of Aldershot station) through Oakville, Toronto and Guildwood as far east as Durham Junction, where GO trains switch to a separate parallel line immediately north of the CN/Via tracks. The Georgetown line connects Georgetown to Toronto's Union Station, and shares tracks with Via for its entire length.

• Agence métropolitaine de transport operates its Vaudreuil-Hudson and Mont-St-Hilaire lines, reaching out to Hudson in the west and Mont-St-Hilaire in the east, respectively. A single physical right-of-way stretching from Dorion to Lachine contains parallel sets of CN and CP tracks; Via Corridor trains operate on the former while AMT Dorion–Rigaud trains operate on the latter. Tracks are actually shared with AMT trains from Central Station east to Mont-Saint-Hilaire.

See also

• Northeast Corridor
• Quebec City-Windsor Corridor
• Maple Leaf (Amtrak)
• High-speed rail in Canada