‘VIA Rail is never on time’: Nater presses rail service over chronic Stratford, St. Marys delays

By Galen Simmons

For passengers relying on VIA Rail to travel between Stratford, St. Marys and Toronto this summer, arriving late wasn’t the exception. It was essentially the rule.

Perth-Wellington MP John Nater is calling on VIA Rail Canada to address what he describes as an “unacceptable” level of service on the Toronto-Sarnia route after data showed trains serving Stratford and St. Marys were consistently delayed throughout the summer.

In a Sept. 10 letter to VIA Rail interim president and CEO Mathieu Paquette, Nater said he began looking into the issue after a constituent told him, “VIA Rail is never on time.”

“While I had assumed this was an exaggeration, when I looked at the facts, it was true: VIA Rail is quite literally never on time,” Nater wrote.

Historical train data provided to the Independent and Times for trains 84 and 87 between July 1 and Sept. 7 paints a similar picture. Of the 134 journeys listed during that period, only one was recorded as on time, and that was a bus replacement for Train 84 on Aug. 16 rather than regular rail service.

Across the other 133 trips, the average recorded delay was approximately 67 minutes. Train 84, travelling from Sarnia to Toronto through St. Marys and Stratford, averaged a delay of roughly 69 minutes, while Toronto-to-Sarnia Train 87 averaged approximately 65 minutes.

Some delays stretched well beyond that. Train 84 was recorded 234 minutes late July 2, while Train 87 was 213 minutes late Sept. 2.

Nater said those delays have consequences beyond simply leaving passengers waiting at a station.

“The consistently late trains are more than just an inconvenience for travellers; they have real impacts on the lives of residents and visitors,” Nater told Grant Haven Media. “The delays have caused missed appointments, missed connections for both rail and air travel, and missed events for both business and pleasure.”

He said unreliable rail service can also have an economic impact locally, particularly given Stratford’s reliance on tourism.

“With tourism playing a major role in our local economy, the unreliability of these trains poses yet another impediment to bringing tourists to our community,” Nater said.

In his letter, Nater acknowledged VIA does not own the tracks and freight traffic is beyond the passenger rail service’s day-to-day control. However, he argued the persistent delays demonstrate an unacceptable lack of transparency for passengers and questioned whether VIA is committed to maintaining service along the North Main Line.

Nater asked VIA for written confirmation trains 84 and 87 will continue operating, an explanation of what action will be taken to address the delays and a response to his previous invitation for Paquette to travel by rail from Montreal to Stratford to experience the challenges firsthand.

In the short term, Nater said he wants VIA to better coordinate departure times to avoid freight traffic. Longer term, he would like to see agreements with the companies that own the tracks guaranteeing VIA access during the relatively short periods when its trains use the North Main Line.

“At the very least, I would expect VIA Rail to immediately display a greater degree of transparency for consumers and post the actual expected arrival and departure times rather than some idealized time that is never met,” Nater said. “This would at least provide some reassurance of timing for a consumer.”

In a statement provided to the Independent and Times, VIA Rail acknowledged the ongoing reliability issues.

“VIA Rail recognizes the ongoing on-time performance challenges affecting trains between Toronto and Sarnia and understands the impact these delays have on passengers and the communities we serve,” a spokesperson said.

According to VIA, much of the problem stems from circumstances beyond its control because it does not own the tracks used by the trains.

“Contributing factors include freight traffic, track conditions and associated speed limitations, as well as maintenance and improvement work on the rail infrastructure,” the spokesperson said.

VIA said it remains committed to serving communities along the route and is working with the infrastructure owners to identify ways to reduce delays and improve reliability while focusing on those parts of its operation it can control.

Asked whether VIA could do more to warn passengers travelling between Stratford, St. Marys and Toronto about potential delays so they can adjust their plans, the rail service encouraged passengers to check its real-time train-status tracker at tsimobile.viarail.ca before travelling.

For Nater, however, improving the underlying reliability of the service remains the priority.

“I am hopeful that VIA Rail will take action to improve its on-time performance,” he said.