VIA Rail is backtracking plans to launch a Toronto-Montreal direct route pilot project this fall that would skip several eastern Ontario communities.
“VIA Rail Canada regrets to announce that the planned pilot project for a direct Montréal–Toronto service, scheduled to launch on September 29, has been postponed due to operational constraints with our rail partner, CN,” said a statement from the rail company.
The decision to postpone the pilot project, announced barely two weeks ago, was met with relief from Kingston and the Islands Member of Parliament (MP) Mark Gerretsen.
“I am obviously happy to hear about that and relieved by the fact they’ve changed their decision,” Gerretsen said in a Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, interview with Kingstonist.
The MP said while he accepts VIA’s reasons for reversing course over “operational constraints” with CN Rail, VIA was also made fully aware of the backlash from the pilot project.
“I believe their reasons. Having said that, I certainly let them know how I felt about it,” Gerretsen stated.
The non-stop direct route service was postponed on the same day it was supposed to launch in a bid to shave 30 to 40 minutes from downtown Montreal to downtown Toronto.
However, the daily express service on Trains 60/50, 61, 68, and 69 would have bypassed a number of train stations in eastern Ontario, including Kingston, Brockville, and Belleville.
Mayors and MPs along the rail corridor complained that the direct service was done without any consultation or consideration for passengers in smaller communities who also rely on VIA service.
“If you want to add more trains that’s one thing, but to actually start cutting the service is ludicrous,” Gerretsen told Kingstonist in a Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025 interview.
Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson also criticized the planned service reduction to Kingston passengers as short-sighted.
“There’s a strong potential market for train travel in Kingston and I feel this is going in the wrong direction,” he said, also in an interview on September 18.
VIA has now changed course, but wouldn’t rule out launching a similar direct route service in the future.
The train company said the “downtown-to-downtown” express service was requested by 70 per cent of its passengers.
“VIA Rail will continue to work closely with CN to explore solutions that would allow us to test and implement this service in the future. In the meantime, we sincerely apologize to passengers who were unnecessarily re-accommodated. Impacted customers may modify their booking at no cost by contacting our customer service team,” the company stated.
Gerretsen called on VIA to consult with passengers and its partner communities, including those with train stations in eastern Ontario, before going down the same track again.
“I certainly hope if they choose to go down that road in the future, they’ll take the time to properly consult with the public,” the Kingston and the Islands MP said.