Via Rail CEO stepping down as Crown corporation faces increasing scrutiny

President and CEO of Via Rail Mario Péloquin will be stepping down next month as the Crown corporation has faced heightened scrutiny in recent years.

Péloquin will be retiring in mid-January, according to a news release from Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon's office.

"I would like to thank Mario for his dedication and commitment to VIA Rail over the past two-and-a-half years, and I wish him continued success in his future endeavours," MacKinnon's statement said.

Péloquin has worked for 41 years in the transport industry, according to the release. According to his biography on Via's website, Péloquin started out as an operator and then a rail-traffic controller before taking office roles with both the civil service and the private sector.

But his retirement comes as travellers have become increasingly critical of the rail line.

Commuters have argued that ticket prices have become too costly while delays are costing the company millions.

Via Rail has offered $31 million in travel vouchers to hundreds of thousands of passengers whose trains were more than one hour late in the past year, as new speed limits at rail crossings on CN tracks came into effect.

Just last week, nearly 300 passengers on three Via Rail trains were stranded for as long as 13 hours after one of the trains broke down near Brockville, Ont.

Via's on-time performance for 2023 was 23 percentage points lower than in 2013, when it was 82 per cent, according to numbers the company provided to CBC News last year.

Péloquin's retirement also comes as the federal government is moving ahead with plans for Canada’s first high-speed rail network.

MacKinnon announced last week that the first leg of the project between Ottawa and Montreal is slated to begin construction in 2029.