The next time you take a train, I invite you to try a mind exercise. Count the people sitting around you. Then consider that every single one of them could have chosen to drive alone to their destination, but instead they are travelling collectively, far more comfortably and with a smaller environmental impact.

In the face of an existential climate crisis, the train offers a sustainable path forward to the future. As Canada’s national passenger rail service, we at VIA Rail pledge to lead by both example and action. While sustainability has long been part of our DNA, we are determined to be part of the solution in building a more sustainable future for all Canadians.

That is why we have given ourselves the means to match our ambitions with our five-year sustainability plan that spans environmental, social and governance pillars and embeds our commitment to sustainability in all aspects of our operations.

As part of this plan, VIA Rail is the first land transportation company in Canada to join the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. It means not only doing the right thing for the planet, for Canada, but for our communities, employees, and future generations.

We start from a strong base. Rail transportation represented 3.5% of Canada’s transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2019. We are determined to drive those numbers even lower. Our plan commits to reducing VIA Rail’s GHG emissions by 30% or more by 2030. We are attacking the challenge in many ways, including innovation. We recently completed a pilot project testing artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions for our locomotives.

Conscious of our collective obligation to reduce our total impact on the environment, we are aiming to offer a zero-waste travel experience on trains in the Québec City-Windsor corridor by 2025. It is a challenging task, but we are determined to achieve it by reviewing our service products and their packaging, by offering more reusable options and by significantly improving recycling on board our new trains.

Sustainability is undoubtedly the foundation of the future we are all building together and with this plan, we are now, more than ever, on board for good.

But our vision of being the smarter way to travel is based on other crucial elements.

VIA Rail is in the midst of a far-reaching modernization program that will transform passenger rail service. One example is our new fleet which, in addition to being one of the most environmentally friendly fleets in North America, will offer an unparalleled, barrier-free and fully accessible travel experience, and whose first train is scheduled to start running in the Québec City-Windsor corridor later this year.

We were proud to be the first federal organisation to submit our multi-year accessibility plan under the Accessible Canada Act. Building on work we’ve already accomplished, this plan charts the course to a more inclusive and accessible travel experience, because everyone deserves barrier-free travel.

All these ambitious and forward-looking projects are in line with VIA Rail’s reach: we serve over 400 communities across eight provinces and saw a ridership growth pre-pandemic ultimately reaching more than five million passengers in 2019, a record in thirty years.

Through our commitment to modernization, sustainability, and accessibility we are shaping the future of passenger rail and transforming VIA Rail into a vehicle for change in Canada.

We are excited about the future, and you will be hearing more from us on how we are keeping our promises. It’s time to create the train of tomorrow.

(Cynthia Garneau is the President and CEO of VIA Rail)