Via Rail recognized by Quebec's Business Community

MONTREAL, May 17, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - VIA Rail Canada (VIA Rail) was named the winner of a Mercuriades award – the Prix Accroissement de la productivité, Grande entreprise (Prize for Increased productivity, Large corporations) – at a gala marking the 36^th edition of this event, held at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal. The award recognized an innovative strategy that helped increase the company's productivity, reflected in particular by improved organizational efficiency. The winning project presented optimized train handling methods that resulted in VIA Rail locomotives using less fuel. This initiative, which was made possible by the installation of the telemetry system Wi-Tronix (among other tools) on board our locomotives in 2012, allowed us to achieve a fuel reduction of more than 3%.

"This award demonstrates that productivity and safety go together at VIA Rail. I commend the work of our locomotive engineers, as well as those who have contributed to us being recognized by the Fédération des Chambres de commerce du Québec," said Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, President and CEO of VIA Rail.

Les Mercuriades, a competition launched in 1981 and organized by the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, recognized yesterday the accomplishments of winners in 29 companies and entrepreneurs in 16 distinct categories. These awards are intended to highlight the innovation, ambition, entrepreneurialism and performance of Quebec businesses. VIA Rail was named a Mercuriades winner for the first time last night.

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail (viarail.ca) and its 2,600 employees are mandated to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country. VIA Rail operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking over 400 communities across Canada, and safely transports nearly four million passengers annually. The Corporation was awarded seven Safety Awards by the Railway Association of Canada over the last eight years. For more information, visit: www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail.

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SOURCE VIA Rail Canada Inc.