Photo by Emily Chatwood / MBC News
VIA Rail will end its early-morning train service from Kingston and Belleville next month, just two years after the service was restored following local pressure.
Train 641, which runs Monday to Thursday from Ottawa to Toronto, will be cancelled effective Oct. 25. The train currently leaves Kingston at 6:19am and Belleville at 6:59am arriving in Toronto before 9 a.m.
VIA says the revised schedule is intended to better match passenger demand and improve reliability.
A later train will continue to serve the Kingston/Belleville area, but it departs at Kingston 7:04am, Napanee at 7:25am, and Belleville at 7:45, arriving in Toronto after 9:30am.
The early service was restored in 2024 after being cut during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, VIA said eastern Ontario passengers had stressed the importance of an early Toronto connection for work and other purposes.
Written by Richard Evans with files from Emily Chatwood
