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.[1] 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. [2].
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.
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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.[3] On November 14, 2011, the three governments have officially released the final report of a high-speed rail study for this corridor.[4]
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.[1]
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
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