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VIA Rail Canada (also referred to as VIA Rail and VIA; pronounced "vee-ah") is an independent Crown corporation offering intercity passenger rail services in Canada.
VIA Rail operates trains in 8 Canadian provinces (all except Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island) over a network spanning the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Great Lakes to Hudson Bay. VIA Rail reportedly carries 3.9 million passengers annually.
VIA Rail's corporate headquarters are in Montreal, Quebec.
The post- war era saw two developments which would eventually prove disastrous to previously profitable passenger rail transport offered by Canadian National Railways (CNR), Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), and smaller lines. Taxpayer subsidized airports and nationalized and private airlines were detrimental to long-distance Canadian intercity passenger trains. Short-distance passenger trains also underwent dramatic restructuring with many being eliminated outright following increased use of personal automobiles and the creation of taxpayer subsidized highways such as the Trans-Canada HighwayThe Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins all ten provinces of Canada. The system (not a single roadway--the Yellowhead Highway is also part of the system, for example) was approved by the Trans-Canada Highway Act of 1948,.
In the 1960sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around it was obvious to both Canadian National (CN - post 1960) and CPR that passenger trains were no longer viable. CPR sought to rid itself of the burden of operating passenger trains, but federal government regulators and politicians balked, forcing CPR to continue running a minimal service through the 1970sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Events and trends. CN on the other hand, being a Crown corporation, was encouraged by the federal government and political interests to invest in passenger trains. Innovative marketing schemes such as Red, White, and Blue fares, new equipment such as scenic dome cars, and services such as Rapido and Turbo trains saw substantial increases in ridership, reversing previous declines.
By the 1970sMillennia: 1st millennium 2nd millennium 3rd millennium Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Years: 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Events and trends even CN saw the writing on the wall and sought to rid itself of passenger trains. The decline of passenger rail became a federal election issue in 19741974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). Events January-February January 5 Dungeons & Dragons officially released. February 4 Patricia Hearst, the 19 year old granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped when the government of Pierre TrudeauJoseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( October 18, 1919— September 28, 2000) was the fifteenth Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968, to June 3, 1979, and from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Pierre Trudeau was a f promised to implement a nation-wide carrier similar to AmtrakAmtrak is the name of an intercity passenger train system created on May 1, 1971 in the United States. Amtrak is an independent for-profit corporation, however its board is entirely controlled by the United States government through presidential appointme in the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in. The name VIA Rail originated in 1976 as a marketing term for Canadian National's passenger train services. In 1977, CN underwent a dramatic restructuring when it placed various non-core freight railway activities into separate subsidiaries such as ferries under CN Marine and passenger trains under VIA Rail.