VIA Rail
PressReader has announced an expansion of its partnership with VIA Rail to extend complimentary access for eligible passengers beyond business lounges.
Passengers in business classes on VIA Rails’ The Ocean, The Canadian and The Corridor routes can now access PressReader 20 hours before departure and up to four hours after arrival, offering uninterrupted access to digital newspapers, magazines and more throughout the entirety of the travel experience.
PressReader’s catalog includes more than 8,400 premium newspapers and magazines from around the world, along with thousands of eBooks and a selection of games. Passengers can enjoy the latest editions of leading titles like The Wall Street Journal, The Toronto Star, The Guardian, Le Journal de Montreal and Canadian Geographic.
“Iconic journeys call for exceptional experiences,” said Ruairí Doyle, CEO of PressReader. “By offering PressReader before, during and after the trip, PressReader and VIA Rail are making those journeys even more exceptional.”
Eligible passengers can access PressReader by downloading the VIA Rail app, selecting “View trip details,” and choosing “Newspapers and magazines.” Content can be read online or downloaded for offline access, supporting a more convenient, entertaining and sustainable travel experience.
“The train is one of the few places where you can genuinely sit, let go, and enjoy the ride,” said Philippe Normand, Vice-President, Marketing and Communications at VIA Rail. “This expanded partnership builds on that by giving our passengers access to premium content that enriches every part of the journey, from before they board to after they arrive.”
MDOT MTA
The MDOT MTA on May 5 announced the launch of a new focus group program, the Rider Experience Lab, to gather direct feedback from riders and strengthen the overall transit experience. “The Rider Experience Lab complements the agency’s ongoing engagement efforts and is the next step in building a more customer-centered transit system,” MDOT MTA noted.
“Riders are at the center of everything we do,” said Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold. “This program creates another way for us to incorporate the voice of our riders as we continue to build a transit system that is responsive to the communities we serve.”
Led by the Office of Customer Experience, this program, MDOT MTA says, seeks to bring together a diverse set of active transit riders from across the state. “By creating a forum that enables the agency to test and refine ideas the Rider Experience Lab will provide a more in-depth alternative to traditional surveys and comment forms,” according to the agency. Feedback gathered during these small-group sessions will be shared with staff across departments to help inform agency priorities and guide development.
Individuals interested in sharing feedback and testing ideas to help shape improvements across Local Bus, Light Rail, Metro Subway, MARC Train and Commuter Bus can learn more and complete the Rider Engagement Form here. Focus groups are expected to begin this summer and participants will be contacted as sessions aligned with their profiles and topics of interest are scheduled.
The launch of a rider focus group is a key initiative in the agency’s Customer Experience Action Plan which was launched in July 2025. Other recent accomplishments of the Plan include the launch of the Rider Code of Conduct in August 2025, the SeeSay App which allows for discrete reporting of safety concerns in October 2025 and the MARC Student Saver program in January 2026.
The Office of Customer Experience was created in 2024 to improve how riders experience transit services at each stage of their trip. The office integrates performance management data, rider experience studies and real-time information with the goal of creating impactful improvements for riders.
NACCA/Alto
NACCA and Alto have signed an MOU establishing a collaborative framework to connect Indigenous businesses, entrepreneurs, and workers to opportunities emerging from one of Canada’s most ambitious infrastructure projects: the high-speed rail network along the Toronto to Québec City corridor.
The MOU, NACCA says, “reflects a shared commitment to advancing Indigenous leadership, economic participation, and reconciliation in Canada’s future economy through involvement in major projects.”
“Canada’s largest infrastructure project in modern history must also be one of its most inclusive,” said NACCA Board Chair Keith Matthew. “This MOU with Alto signals a meaningful step toward ensuring that Indigenous peoples, as business owners, workers, and community leaders, are at the table from the very beginning. NACCA’s network of Indigenous Financial Institutions has helped build over 54,000 businesses coast to coast to coast, and we are ready to bring that capacity, those relationships, and that vision to help shape a high-speed rail project that reflects the full economic potential of Indigenous Canada.”
The MOU brings together NACCA’s national Indigenous finance and business development network, which spans more than 50 Indigenous Financial Institutions (IFIs) across Canada, and Alto’s work developing Canada’s high‑speed rail network to support Indigenous participation in economic opportunities connected to the project.
Through this partnership, both organizations intend to actively connect Indigenous-owned businesses, entrepreneurs, and workers to procurement, contracting, and employment opportunities as the project advances. The high-speed rail network corridor, stretching from Toronto to Québec City with stops in Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, and Trois-Rivières, is expected to generate approximately 50,000 jobs over its construction period and deliver economic benefits worth approximatively $24.5 billion, which is equivalent to 1.1% of Canada’s GDP, according to Alto.
“Indigenous‑led organizations play an important role in informing how we approach Indigenous business participation and economic opportunity as an essential part of the project,” said Alto Vice-President, Indigenous Relations Danielle Belanger. “This MOU provides a structured way to advance that work together. Our partnership with NACCA is intended to help ensure Indigenous communities along and beyond the corridor are positioned to both benefit from and help shape how economic opportunities associated with the project take shape. Reconciliation is a commitment we are building into every stage of this project, shaping how economic participation is approached over the project lifecycle and aligned with Indigenous priorities and aspirations.”
NACCA and Alto say they are committed to “ensuring that Canada’s first high-speed rail project reflects the values of inclusion, partnership, and economic self-determination by engaging with Indigenous communities and through continued collaboration throughout every phase of the project.”
SEPTA
SEPTA is launching its multi-rider feature for contactless payments starting on Friday, May 8. This, the agency says, means customers on all modes can easily tap their credit/debit card or mobile wallet at a validator to pay the fares for up to five riders.
Up until now, this feature was only available when using a SEPTA Key card. Expanding it to contactless payments, the agency says, offers more convenience for groups who may not want to plan their trips in advance, purchase a physical Key card, or use cash to pay their fares.
In addition to the added convenience for regular riders, the launch comes in time for SEPTA to welcome visitors from across the country and the world for the PGA Championship, FIFA World Cup, MLB All Star Game, and exciting events this summer to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.
“Rolling out this technology is another way we are making SEPTA easier to navigate for both first-time visitors and regular riders,” said SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer. “With the influx of people expected to flood the system this summer, the multi-rider feature will make travel more efficient and seamless for groups heading to the sports complex and other destinations across the city and region.”
SEPTA launched contactless payment technology on Buses and Metro in September 2023, expanding it to Regional Rail last April.
Contactless payment usage is up 20% from last year, representing more than 50% of Bus and Metro, and 23% of Regional Rail single trip purchases, according to the agency. During large events, contactless usage spikes by as much as 25%.
Contactless fares cost the same as Travel Wallet with two free transfers for Bus and Metro trips.
The post Transit Briefs: VIA Rail, MDOT MTA, NACCA/Alto, SEPTA appeared first on Railway Age.