MONTREAL - VIA Rail Canada relaunched its Easterly Class: A Maritime Learning Experience service aboard its Montreal-Moncton-Halifax Ocean train on May 3, 2006. Following a very successful first season with a customer satisfaction level of 8.4 out of 10, the overnight service enters Year #2 of immersing travellers into the romance of Canada's Maritime Provinces. Educational and engaging, Easterly Class: A Maritime Learning Experience celebrates this history-rich region while pampering passengers with the amenities they'd expect from a premier class sleeper service.

"Our aim was to create a unique learning experience on rails that would give passengers the pleasure of discovering Canada's Maritime Provinces while learning a little more about the history, culture and cuisine from that part of the country," said Keith Moulton, Regional Director, Eastern Services. "It's not about simply getting there, it's about offering a unique traveling experience to our customers," he added.

Easterly Class is a seasonal upgrade to the Ocean's already existing Comfort Sleeper class. The Ocean operates year-round, six times per week in each direction between Montreal and Halifax. The learning component upgrade concludes October 31, 2006.

Easterly Class includes on-board learning coordinators schooled in the history of the Maritimes and familiar with everything from regional wines to lobster trapping. The learning coordinators give brief demonstrations and presentations covering a wide range of topics related to this storied region. Maritime décor is on display throughout the train, including in sleeping compartments. Several new historic and geographic information vignettes added for 2006, compliment an exciting list of on-board activities that are an integral part of the Maritime Learning Experience.

All meals on board - three in total from Montreal to Halifax - are included in the ticket price for Easterly Class passengers. Dinner, served in the train's elegant yet unpretentious dining cars, features impressive cuisine inspired by local specialties and products. The dining car experience has also been enhanced through some subtle physical changes that exemplify the warmth of Eastern hospitality. And a new partnership with wine producers of Nova Scotia makes available a variety of fine Maritime wines for purchase. Menus also include information about the century-long history of the Ocean service and a thought-provoking Maritime puzzle is served along with the mornings' cup of coffee. The Ocean's cozy sleeping accommodations include amenities such as comfortable duvet bedding, plump pillows, towels and a shower kit, bottled water, and chocolates.

Booking: Customers can visit VIA's secure Web site at http://www.viarail.ca to book their complete trip with one-stop shopping for trains, cars, hotels and activities. Passengers also can book their tickets by calling 1-888-VIA-RAIL (1-888-842-7254) or through their travel agent. For complete tour programs that showcase Easterly Class: A Maritime Learning Experience, please visit the package section of VIA Rail's Web site at http://www.viarail.ca/packages, and select "The Ocean" from the drop-down menu in the "VIA Rail Trains Featured" section.

As Canada's national passenger rail service, VIA Rail Canada's mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally responsible and cost effective passenger transportation services, both in Canada's business corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. VIA serves more than 450 communities with a network of inter-city, transcontinental and regional trains. Demand continues to grow as more Canadians turn to train travel as a safe and convenient travel choice.