Via Rail accedes to order, allows more mobility aids
TORONTO — Via Rail says it will no longer resist an order from the Canadian Transportation Agency and will double its capacity to accommodate wheelchairs on all its trains across the country.
The national rail provider had been embroiled in a lengthy fight with the agency, which ruled that the company needed to make its trains more accessible for physically disabled passengers travelling with mobility aids.
Via’s previous policy allowed for only one such aid to come aboard the train, forcing any other devices to be dismantled and kept in the baggage car.
A married couple who contended the policy made it nearly impossible to travel together filed a complaint that prompted the CTA ruling.
Via challenged the February order for months, but announced Wednesday that it would now comply. The company says all trains coast to coast will be able to accommodate two mobility aids effective Jan. 3.
“Via Rail is committed to providing sustainable, reliable and accessible intercity travel for all Canadians,” company president Yves Desjardins-Siciliano said in a statement. “Thanks to our revised policy, more people with mobility restrictions will be able to travel together.”
For the couple at the heart of the CTA complaint, the news was a most welcome surprise.
Marie Murphy, who filed the complaint with her husband Martin Anderson, nearly burst into tears upon hearing of Via’s decision.
However, she said she is reserving full judgment until the policy is implemented, but for now she says she is optimistic.
“I’m ecstatic,” she said in an interview. “This is years in the making or longer.”
The complaint from Murphy and Anderson, both of whom have cerebral palsy and travel with motorized scooters, contended that Via’s previous policy was discriminatory toward people who rely on mobility aids.