Stone said he has scheduled phone calls with Via president Marc Laliberte and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt to discuss the holdup in restarting passenger rail service on the E&N line.
The provincial and federal transportation ministries have millions in funding on the table for track upgrades, but the money is contingent on Via agreeing to a new service contract with the Island Corridor Foundation.
The foundation has accused Via of bargaining in bad faith for not responding to a proposal it made in April.
Stone’s intervention comes at the request of Premier Christy Clark, who campaigned on restarting the E&N rail service and who directed Stone to make the issue a priority when she appointed him as transportation minister.
