The Ocean, which links Montréal to Halifax, now offers Wi-Fi on board - and it's popular!

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Jul 11, 2013, 09:59 ET

MONTREAL, July 11, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - As of June 15, VIA Rail's long-haul train the Ocean has been equipped with the same Wi-Fi available to passengers on the Québec City - Windsor corridor.

Available across more than 98% of the route between Montréal and Halifax, the new Wi-Fi connection allows passengers to remain virtually linked to work, friends and family throughout the trip. Using the Ocean's new Wi-Fi access, travellers may even choose to use their online travel-time to find tourist information and plan their trip before reaching their destination.

"The installation of Wi-Fi on the Ocean is part of our modernisation strategy for Canada's national passenger rail service. VIA Rail is responding to a very tangible need in an era where virtual communication and Web research are at the forefront of people's daily activities. For VIA Rail, responding to the demands of the travelling public is a concrete way to stand out and earn the loyalty of our clients", declared Marc Laliberté, President and CEO of VIA Rail.

Throughout the first three weeks of availability, nearly 20% of travellers aboard the Ocean used the Wi-Fi service. Passengers transferred 58 gigabytes of data - the equivalent of 100,000 web pages or 58,000 e-mails - without any additional costs.

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national rail passenger service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide safe, efficient and economical passenger transportation service, in both official languages of our country. VIA operates intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking 450 communities across its 12,500-kilometre route network. Recipient of the Railway Association of Canada's Safety Award in 2011 for the 11^th time in 12 years, and of the 2013 Agent's Choice Award voted by Canadian travel agents and presented by Baxter Travel Media, VIA safely transports nearly four million passengers annually. Since 2007, the Government of Canada has invested almost a billion dollars in VIA Rail. Follow the progress of our transformation at viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail/capital-investment.

SOURCE: VIA Rail Canada Inc.