I am very pleased to be here with you this afternoon. I was honoured to accept your kind invitation, Marlene, to address the members of the Brantford Rotary Club.

I am aware, as I know you all are, that it was one hundred years ago today, on September 30^th 1905, when a major event took place - one that as citizens of Brantford you must truly be proud of. As you might suspect, I am referring to the official opening of the original Grand Trunk Railway station.

From all accounts it was a very exciting and important day for the citizens of Brantford. And it is a special honor for me to be with you on this anniversary. Rail service was an essential component of Brantford's prosperity then, it remains so today and as I will discuss a bit later on, has great potential for the future.

As you know, Marlene served as a member of VIA's Board of Directors for several years. Her contributions were much appreciated, and continue to be appreciated. Marlene's insights into the specific transportation needs of Southwestern Ontario have been especially valuable, as the corporation pursues a vision for passenger rail in Canada that responds to the needs of people and communities across the country.

Southwestern Ontario is a key part of that vision. It is no coincidence that Brantford's train station ranks 13^th out of the 450 communities VIA serves, in terms of traffic volumes. This region is an economic powerhouse for the country, and we want to be part of the exciting growth that is taking place here. Passenger rail offers unique benefits to travellers and commuters which will be especially important to Canadians here in the years ahead.

As always, the extent to which this potential is realized depends to a considerable degree on the resource allocation and policy directions taken by all levels of government.

At VIA we believe, nonetheless, that we can accomplish a great deal with the resources and mandate already entrusted to us by our shareholder.

Canada's transportation system is made up of many different modes : the private automobile, intercity bus lines, air and marine services, and urban transit systems. Each mode has its own unique strengths, and offers unique benefits for users.

But many people will tell you that, as a whole, transportation today is not working as well as it should.

In many parts of the country - especially in this part of the country - highways are nearing, or passing, capacity. The costs of traffic congestion are high, in terms of personal aggravation, stress, and lost time. The economic cost to businesses, which depend on efficient transportation, is high. The safety costs - in terms of injury and loss of life on our highways - are rising.

Airlines provide an alternative between some cities, but too often there is a big trade-off between the quality of travel and economics. We struggle to reach airports and boarding gates. We endure the interminable boredom of waiting in crowded boarding areas. Then we get the claustrophobic experience offered by discount air service. Many of these simply can't afford to treat us like human beings instead of "units" for delivery, if they want to stay viable.

And neither highway nor air travel can sustain increasing traffic, without serious consequences for our environment. Canadians are waking up to the need to protect that environment. A full one-third of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada come from transportation. That has to change.

Passenger rail offers a more human travel alternative - and a safer, more sustainable one.

For more and more people, it is simply a smarter alternative - a better way to use time spent travelling. The demand for rail service is growing, and it has been, year after year, for more than a decade. The reason is simple.

Passenger rail offers a real solution, not just more of the same. It delivers a better, safer, more efficient travel solution for people today.

It is the perfect solution for fast, comfortable intercity travel. In heavily travelled corridors between major cities, trains can get people to where they are going quickly, and safely - in many cases downtown-to-downtown - as fast or faster than airlines, and without the hassle of congested highway traffic.

Train stations are easily accessible, with suburban stations and terminals shared with urban transit systems. Efficient, direct links with taxi services and urban transportation systems provide exceptional convenience.

Trains are better suited than any other mode to deliver a relaxed, comfortable travel experience for intercity passengers, especially those travelling on business. By their very nature, passenger rail cars offer more room to stretch out, to move around, to relax or get some work done.

And by its very nature, passenger rail is the safest, and the most environmentally sustainable, mode of public transportation available. Per passenger-mile, passenger rail is simply better for Canada's environment than air or highway travel. It generates less pollution and greenhouse gases. It encroaches less on land use than airports or highways. It has less harmful impact on the communities it serves, and the air we breathe.

The spiralling cost of gasoline is directing even more attention to the train as a timely option for travel. There is no question that people are thinking about public transportation as an alternative to their cars, and the train is making more sense than ever. We are monitoring this rising interest in the train alternative, to ensure that we can respond effectively to growing demand in the marketplace.

No matter how you look at it, passenger rail makes sense. The potential to build on these strengths, to build and expand the role of passenger rail in meeting today's needs, is significant. It may take time. We may not be able to do everything we would like to do. But everyone at VIA is passionate about realizing this potential.

That passion has already changed the face of passenger rail in Canada. Over the past 15 years, the level and quality of passenger rail service right across the country has steadily improved. And costs to the taxpayer for maintaining this service have dropped dramatically.

In fact, since 1990 we have cut total operating funding requirements for passenger rail by more than 60 percent, and increased revenues by 90 percent. As a result, our cost recovery has improved a full 123 percent.

Even today, while the Canadian travel industry is struggling to pull itself out of the worst market depression on record, passenger rail is performing well. Last year, we generated more revenue per passenger-mile than at any time in VIA's history. We cut direct operating costs below those of 2003. And results this year indicate that we are on track to achieve even better results.

Our five-year capital investment program is now nearing completion, has tackled some of our most urgent needs to replace outdated equipment and facilities. New high-efficiency locomotives and high-comfort passenger cars are delivering the safest travel possible. New and renovated passenger stations are providing better facilities, more efficient boarding and baggage handling, a more comfortable and secure environment for travelers.

For example, we completed a $350,000 renovation of our Brantford train station in 2002 - with new interior and exterior lighting, more accessible washrooms and ticket counters, and better waiting room facilities. While completing major exterior restorations and structural repairs, we worked hard to preserve the architectural details that make this a heritage landmark for your city. The result is more comfort, convenience and efficient service for the growing number of customers here in Brantford.

Speaking of heritage and investment, I think we can all agree that then Mayor Wood and Brantford taxpayers made a very wise investment when, in 1905, they contributed some $57,000 - no small amount in those days - to put Brantford on the main line. Your ancestors were clearly people of vision who saw the potential of what Brantford could become. We, at VIA, are honoured to be able to work with today's generation of community leaders to continue in that proud tradition.

In fact, I was just at our station earlier today, and the VIA personnel there told me how much our customers here in Brantford appreciate our services and the improvements we are making.

For example, to make it easier than ever to customers to access our services, we have recently introduced a more efficient telephone booking service, award-winning online services, and convenient self-service ticket kiosks, throughout the Corridor. People are getting better access to connecting services with other transportation, through integrated ticketing and station facilities that provide seamless links to GO transit in Toronto, to municipal transit systems in Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City, and to regional bus services and airports.

So passenger rail is serving Canadians better today than it was 15, 10, or even five years ago. And we want to serve Canadians better still next year, five years, and 10 years from now.

Our strategic plan targets six key goals to keep passenger rail moving forward.

The first goal is safety. We are committed, without fail, to provide a safe and secure environment for our customers, our employees, and the general public.

This is especially important in an age where security concerns are at the top of everyone's mind. We have consulted experts from across Canada and around the world to make sure we have the best security procedures and systems in place to protect travellers. We are vigilant about making those systems work, and improving them whenever possible.

The second goal is to make ourselves better - as a corporation, and as people committed to service. We are doing everything we can to create an environment at VIA where everyone shares a passionate commitment to realizing our vision for passenger rail.

The third goal is service. Our ability to provide quality service - to provide a human service that attends to human needs and comfort, and turns travel into a great experience - is the single most important competitive advantage for passenger rail.

We will make that advantage stronger than ever. We will consistently provide our customers with excellent travel experiences that exceed their expectations.

Our fourth goal is growth. To realize the potential of passenger rail in Canada, we will seize every opportunity to offer innovative products and services in every market we serve. We will listen to our customers, to our partners, to communities across the country. We will find new, creative ways to meet their needs.

Our fifth goal is entrepreneurship. We have been great entrepreneurs in the past. And we will continue to be entrepreneurs in the future - continually improving productivity, increasing both revenues and return on investment for all train services.

Our sixth goal is environmental sustainability. Passenger rail is already the best environmental choice for passenger transportation. We are making it a better choice.

We have already reduced locomotive fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in recent years. We now have a comprehensive environmental management system to help structure everything we do in an environmentally sustainable and responsible manner, and are helping Canada meet its commitment to the Kyoto accord.

These six goals all focus on achieving our vision : to be the Canadian leader of service excellence in passenger transportation. And that vision comes with a promise : when you board our trains, you will get a travel experience that anticipates - and exceeds - your expectations.

We want to amaze you. And we know that to do that, we have to listen to you. Our fundamental commitment as a corporation is to respect, listen to, and respond to the people and communities we serve.

Let me give you some examples of what that means here in Southwestern Ontario.

Several years ago we reorganized our management and service groups at VIA, creating regionally-centered teams empowered to connect with the communities we serve - and make our products and services more responsive to their needs. We have kept refining this organizational focus. And it has made a real difference in how we operate and partner with communities throughout this region.

Our Southwestern Ontario team has been meeting and talking with our customers, with communities, with MPs, mayors and other officials throughout the region. We are asking you - what do you like about our service? What don't you like? How can we make the service better, more in tune with what you need and expect from passenger transportation?

We have been meeting with employers - with General Motors in Oshawa, with Ford in Oakville, with Chrysler in Windsor, with Bell in Kingston. We've been asking them how can we make our service work better with the way your people work and travel. What kind of fare plans, incentives, schedules work best with your corporate travel programs?

We have been working closely with consumer groups - like the commuter association that started here in Brantford several years ago - not just to listen to complaints, but to work out real, practical solutions together, and make a better train service together.

That talking and listening gets results. Based on what customers and communities said, our Southwestern Ontario team recently reviewed the entire schedule of train services here, and we introduced a significantly improved schedule last May.

For example, we adjusted schedules from Sarnia to Toronto. Both the morning and evening trains now leave slightly later, at 6:45 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. In addition to better meeting customer needs, these changes provide better connections to and from other VIA trains at both London and Toronto.

We extended the late evening Toronto-Kitchener train through to London. And recognizing this region's importance as a seasonal tourist destination, VIA offered a new evening train from Stratford to Toronto on weekends from June through to September, giving people attending the Stratford Festival a new option for a late-day return to Toronto.

Based on numerous requests from Western and Fanshawe students, we have also launched a new Friday-night only train from London to Toronto via Brantford.

Working with the tourism industry, we developed an earlier departure from Toronto to Niagara Falls, and launched a new mid-afternoon departure from Niagara Falls to Toronto. The new services operate during the busy summer season when highway congestion to and in the region is at its highest.

And on selected departures between Toronto and Niagara Falls, we treated customers to an exceptional experience in the Glen Fraser lounge car. The lounge car - with the look and feel of a private club - offered a variety of activities that have made the Niagara region so popular with visitors from Canada and around the world. In partnership with Casino Fallsview Resort, Pellar Estates and Dairy Farmers of Canada, VIA passengers could participate in wine sampling, cheese tasting and get close to a gaming table for some casino tips, enroute, and at no additional cost.

These kinds of partnerships - with partners in the industry, with communities, with consumer groups and our customers - make a real difference. The demand for train services in Southwestern Ontario is growing as a result. In fact, one service has achieved 30 percent growth, with revenues vastly exceeding expected results over the last three months.

That is good news for VIA, of course. But it is also good news for people who live and work here and travel in Southwestern Ontario.

As we attract more people out of their cars onto our trains, it will also make a difference on our highways. A recent study found that diverting even a small number of road users to rail can have a significant impact on congestion in high-traffic areas.

The benefits of this kind of shift in travel modes are well documented.

• There are safety benefits. Traffic accidents drop as more users are diverted to passenger rail.
• There are cost benefits. With less stress on highways, costs for road maintenance and expansion drop.
• Our environment benefits. Every trip diverted from cars to more fuel-efficient trains means another drop in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Perhaps most importantly, people benefit. Travellers enjoy the direct benefit of higher quality, safer, more productive travel - a more human travel experience, delivered by people dedicated to making it the best experience possible.

That is something worth working for.

It will take work. We know that there is a lot of room for improvement in train service. We know that it will take time, and patience, and a long-term commitment to make these improvements.

But in the long run, passenger rail simply makes sense - here in the heart of southwestern Ontario, and across Canada. It offers, more than any other mode of transportation, the best possible solution to so many of the challenges facing Canadians on the move today.

We at VIA Rail are committed to making that solution work for Canada's future.

Thank you.