Last year was the first time the program was initiated, and its success was really quite striking. It was only for the month of July, and allowed our veterans and active Canadian service people to ride on the rail free of charge. I believe they could bring up to three other family members at a 50% rate.
Sixty thousand of our Canadian Forces people accessed this service. I've been around the country talking to some of these servicemen, and they are thrilled by the opportunity to see this country in July--it's a great time to travel. This is an extraordinary thing that VIA Rail has offered, and they are repeating it this year.
We're also extending it to Marine Atlantic, which will allow free access for servicemen's vehicles carrying up to five family members each. This will not only contribute to the families, but will allow them to travel across to Newfoundland and back to Sydney. This is extraordinary, because it applies not only for July, but from May 1 to October 31. So this is a phenomenal opportunity for our veterans and our Canadian Forces individuals to see Newfoundland and enhance tourism. It's just one of the tangible ways that we as Canadians can say thank you very much for the great work our men and women do.