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Predicting that only the corridor services will survive is too pessimistic. Significantly no remote services were cut, a point that was made in the media release. Via also stated that the Canadian's traffic is growing during the peak season, but falling during the off season. Highly seasonal traffic patterns are nothing new on Canadian transcontinental trains; that was the case 50 years ago when I started riding. The difference is that then the trains were the mode of choice for a majority of travellers. Today with hourly flights from Toronto to Vancovuer that is no longer the case, hence the tour train personna. Still the Canadian fulfills a remote service mandate in Northern Ontario, even though it is not classified as such by Via.Canada will not end up "like Mexico, with no passenger trains whatsoever." The Windsor-Toronto-(Ottawa)-Montreal-Quebec corridor will survive, as will the various commuter lines that exist.
The cutback to the Ocean is more worrisome, but the declining traffic pattern is clear, the result of improved road and air services in what a low population, economically challenged region.
As far as trimming the corridor services are concrned, the cuts will be to low usage evening or weekend services, or to trains which duplicate commuter services available on Go Transit. Some connections will be lost, but in the overall scheme of things the reductions were quite minor, notwithstanding what the railfan community has been saying.
Via says that it wishes to redeploy assets and is promising new services in the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto triangle once the track improvments are finished later this year. Canadian railfans are noting, correctly, that the prospect of additional frequences has been more talk than action so far. In the end getting additional trains will depend on the economy, as Via will be held to its budget, and it faces intense competition in the eastern triangle with the entry of regional carrier Porter Airlines.