Environment

 
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The smarter way to travel for the environment

Passenger rail is one of the most environmentally friendly modes of transportation which helps reduce the transportation sector’s contribution to climate change.

Switching to trains as a means of travel is better for the environment.

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1.8X

more efficient than road transport

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3.2X

more efficient than air transport

Climate action

 
VIA Rail train with sunset in the background
Bold climate action is a priority for Canada and VIA Rail has an important role to play to drive the transition towards a low carbon economy.
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Upgrade GHG reduction targets to support 2050 net-zero emissions ambition.

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Improve fuel and energy efficiency in all operations.

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Complete review of climate change risks and implement action plan.

Testing artificial intelligence to reduce emission

Reduce GHG by -30% by 2030
Compared to its 2005 baseline, VIA Rail achieved its objective to reduce GHG emissions by 20% by 2020. We are now progressing towards our objective to reduce GHG emissions by 30% by 2030. To do so, we plan to upgrade this target as part of our commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and are deploying supporting initiatives right now.

We are deploying a pilot project to test artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in our rail operations. In collaboration with Transport Canada and Innovative Solutions Canada Testing Stream, VIA Rail was matched with start-up company RailVision to test an AI-driven app that can provide better driving ​​recommendations to locomotive engineers to improve fuel consumption. This project is expected to demonstrate a new way to reduce costs while improving environmental performance.

Waste reduction

Part of our commitment to delivering a more modern and sustainable transportation network to Canadians also involves reducing our environmental footprint every step of the journey.

Our focus is on minimizing the generation of waste, re-using and recycling.

 
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Reduce waste generated in our operations.

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Increase reuse, recycling and organic waste collection.

Offering a zero-waste train

VIA Rail has committed to the ambitious goal of offering a zero-waste experience on board its new Corridor fleet by 2025. While we don’t yet have all the answers, we are using this objective to drive our entire teams to reduce our environmental footprint to the maximum. And our passengers and our planet will benefit.

We already conducted a thorough assessment of our current situation and developed a comprehensive go-forward strategy. We are focused on our three-front approach:

1) Reduce materials sourced on trains.

2) Set up effective waste sorting and organic waste collection on board.

3) Optimize waste collection and processing outside trains.