VIA Rail Canada recognised World Water Day 2011, supporting the UN General Assembly’s goal of raising public awareness of the urgency for better water management and conservation worldwide.

As the country’s national passenger rail service, VIA’s trains serve communities large and small from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and north to Hudson Bay.  Much of that network is built along waterways, and VIA takes its responsibility to respect and protect this valuable resource seriously.

VIA has embraced the environment, making it one of its key corporate goals, and is investing in real solutions for more sustainable, water-sensitive public transportation options for Canadians today, and for years to come.

Examples of actions VIA is taking now include investing millions of dollars for new potable water systems in stations, fewer water tanks on the 100-car LRC fleet, toilets that use less water per flush on all refurbished cars, and a system to recycle rinse water in its train “car wash” operations. In total, these initiatives alone will conserve hundreds of thousands of liters of water annually.