By Kojo

VIA Rail will continue serving Guildwood Station after strong opposition from Scarborough MPs and residents to plans that would have eliminated the community’s direct connection to Canada’s intercity passenger rail network.

The Crown corporation announced earlier this month that it planned to stop serving Guildwood and Malton stations beginning Oct. 25 as part of changes to its Quebec City-Windsor corridor schedule. VIA said eliminating the stops would improve overall travel times, citing their proximity to Toronto’s Union Station and access to GO Transit and other local transportation.

But following growing opposition, VIA said it will continue serving Guildwood under its winter schedule while consulting community leaders and assessing feedback.

The development came as Scarborough MPs Salma Zahid, Doly Begum, Michael Coteau and Jean Yip issued a joint statement calling for full service to be maintained and criticizing what they described as a lack of consultation.

The MPs said VIA had initially planned to eliminate approximately 100 stops at Guildwood before some service was restored following intervention by Scarborough representatives and the federal transport minister.

They also cited VIA boarding information obtained through access-to-information records showing 30,421 passengers boarded trains at Guildwood in 2025, while 28,829 passengers arrived there a combined 59,250 passenger arrivals and departures.

Scarborough caucus chair Salma Zahid said VIA should consult residents before making further changes.

“VIA needs to apologize to Scarborough residents, restore full service, and consult with the public before any further service changes are considered,” Zahid said.

Scarborough Southwest MP Doly Begum said the reduction would particularly affect residents who depend on the station for direct access to intercity rail.

Michael Coteau, MP for Scarborough-Woburn, described the original decision as a setback for a community that has long sought better transportation connections.

Jean Yip, MP for Scarborough Agincourt, warned that requiring some northern Scarborough residents to travel to Union Station or Oshawa could add more than an hour to their journeys.

For now, Guildwood remains on VIA Rail’s network. The company says it will stay in contact with community leaders while considering the station’s future, leaving the longer-term level of service still to be determined.

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