Northumberland County says it welcomes the news of VIA Rail reinstating morning commuter rail service between Ottawa and Toronto.
VIA Rail Train 641 leaves Ottawa at 4:19 a.m. and arrives in Toronto just before 9:00 a.m with stops along the way in Kingston, Belleville, Cobourg and Port Hope.
The train will run four days a week.
“VIA Rail Canada’s introduction of Train 641 gets morning rail service back on track for Northumberland and Eastern Ontario,” says Northumberland County Warden Brian Ostrander in a press release.
“For the past 18 months, Northumberland County and our municipal partners have been calling for the reinstatement of morning rail service – depended on by thousands and suspended during the pandemic. In announcing the new train, VIA President and CEO Mario Peloquin acknowledged this advocacy, noting that VIA had taken care to ‘listen and act on this feedback’. This action, although delayed, is good news for Northumberland residents. Northumberland County looks forward to opportunities for additional service improvements so the workforce in Eastern Ontario can continue to help power Ontario’s economic engine.”
The previous train, Train 651, was suspended during the pandemic and didn’t return when VIA resumed its other routes.
