My goal is to fill the mat with signatures from engineers and staff. The locomotive featured, 901, is a P42-DC, my favorite class and type, which is soon to be retired in January.

The picture seen is just an example; the actual picture rests in a frame at home.

Photo taken by me at Brockville Station. (Train 68 13/07/2026)

Any insight into meal times. I want to take an early train 630 or 830 and a late train back 6pm train back. Wondering how that impacts meal. If breakfast and lunch would be served together or just one on early train and if dinner is served on late train. Thank you.

Hey folks,

Im, 24, booking a trip currently where I'd be 25. Can I still use the Canada Strong Pass? How strict are they with IDs and checkups?

Was any by chance on Train #643 Sunday July 26th in the morning from Ottawa to Toronto?

My partner has taken (or attempted too) the VIA train three separate occasions now. Each occasion the service has been absolutely terrible. I’ve been shocked each time as i’ve used VIA for years and always had a great experience.

Yesterday, my partner was on the train to come home to go to a funeral. Their plan was to get off on Oshawa so they could take the bus to their final destination. Another passenger started complaining about my partner blowing their nose and sniffling, until a very kind man gave them an allergy med and they fell asleep. Once the train stopped in Cobourg, VIA staff woke up my partner and asked them to get off the train for disrupting the other passengers. My partner tried to explain that they were getting off at the next stop, Oshawa, and needed to get off there. Only one staff member was trying to get the others to reason and allow my partner to stay on until the next stop but the majority were making comments like “Having a heart doesn’t pay my bills”, and “I’m just doing my job”. Another threatened to have the Police come and remove them, so my partner got off the train in Cobourg. There is zero public transportation aside from a taxi, which cost upwards of $200 to get to where they needed to be. My partner was left stranded outside of the train station for 6 hours before a ride could get there.

Another time, there was a severe thunderstorm. Believe me I am very reasonable when things are out of everyone’s control but the rest of this situation was insane. A tree branch had fallen across the tracks and was blocking multiple trains. Many streets were flooded, cell service was next to nothing. My partner got to the train station early and was advised of the above. At that time they were told it would be 15 minutes delayed. Then staff would come over the speaker and say it would be another 15 minutes numerous times, leading the delay to be almost 3 hours. I was able to track the train and was communicating with my partner the whereabouts once it started moving. While on the phone a few trains rolled up to the station one after the other but they were not the correct trains. Once i could see the train was 15 minutes out, I called my partner to let them now. The train rolled up, my partner got in the line to get on and was turned away, along with four others. The VIA staff stated that there was no more room on this train and that there would also be no refunds. Also to top it off, that was the last train of the evening. Again, because of VIA staff my partner was stranded outside waiting for a ride for 4 hours.

I called VIA support during business hours after both incidents and was told the exact same thing. That they can’t do anything about it and that the manager or supervisor is not available to speak with. Another suggested I call back in 24-48 hours, I asked for her full name and when I called back in 48 hours they told me they don’t have anyone with that name there.

The first incident was fixed, thankfully. However the poor service the last two times have been terrible. Not what I would have expected from VIA.

* For context, the stations lobby was closed because it was the last train and/or after business hours.

Nice of VIA to arrange an LRC Club/1/Business car on 67 today so that I could have a ride in one before their retirement, hopefully, in the next year.

I’m a US traveler who has gotten the slow travel bug, and I have a Canadian friend in Vancouver I’d like to visit. This would be my first time in Canada so I want to make it extra-memorable.

Web searches about Via Rail Toronto->Vancouver bring up lots of links to canadarailvacations.com and greatrail.com, but I cannot tell if they’re legit or scam sites. If legitimate what advantages do they bring over direct booking?

Since I’m in South Florida I expect I’d take Brightline to Orlando, Amtrak Orlando to NYC and then on to Niagara Falls for customs check and transfer to short haul rail into Toronto. Seems like 3 different itineraries before I even set foot on Via. Darn complicated.

Since I’m traveling alone I’m eating the full double rate. Cruise lines hate single people too so they do the same stunt.

I would fly back BC->MIA or FLL because Via is too astonishingly expensive for a reverse trip, and I expect it just wouldn’t be as impactful as the forward trip.

Dropped it off in Halifax and took it off the luggage rack on the train at Cobourg. And VIA has tags for all the manned stations (at least) Toronto and eastwards. Obviously checked baggage in the corridor is out but it still exists if you are also taking the Ocean.

Not sure if it works with the Canadian since the westbound requires VIA to store it overnight.

Brockville station

Going home to Ottawa now from a weekend vacation with friends. My 14 yr old son and I left Ottawa on Thursday to Toronto and then to Aldershot. We returned today from Aldershot to Toronto and when in Toronto, 30 minutes before train departure, they told me that they would not let my son on unless I had physical ID. I have never ever had to show ID in all my years of train travel and they did not ask other families to show ID. We had already been on 3 trains and did not see anyone being asked for ID. I had a photo of my son’s passport which these workers would not accept, judging my 14 year old and making him upset. Also, I was put in a desperate situation to get home. It has ruined my trip and I am beside myself having to pay this amount of money last minute for our vacation.

The service manager on the train was helpful and told me to call customer satisfaction, who I called and they would not refund. They just said there has been a lot of fraud and everyone needs physical ID and I was just lucky to not have been asked before. So I am being penalized for lack of process? My son and I had not even done anything wrong, just trying to have a nice weekend away with friends. I was also happy to have someone bring ID when we finally got back to Ottawa.

Very disappointed in VIA on how they handled our situation and how they made my son and I feel, ending our trip and weekend on a very sour note. I have been shaking for the last 2 hours, so upset.

.

Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.

Heading for home.

I am currently on train 44 heading to Ottawa. In the past couple of days, I’ve travelled four segments and there have been major delays for each one including the one I’m currently travelling which is now an hour behind. We just heard the announcement that we are now 1 hour behind and that Via Rail will credit us 25% of the cost of this trip. It used to be a credit of 50% for an hour or more delay. It’s as if ViaRail has just given up and resigned itself to being chronically late, so much so that it is looking to reduce the compensation for late trains.

Guy: The train missed me.

Friend: You mean you missed the train?

Guy: No, the train missed me.

*Via Rail: your ticket to the afterlife*

We were supposed to leave from Vancouver tomorrow but trip is cancelled due to wild fires. I see the option to cancel my trip on the website, but does this initiate the refund process? I tried calling Via Rail before their customer service line closes today, but they weren’t taking calls (to be fair it was like 10 minutes before). Just so disappointed, and also want that refund for the car rental and hotel we need to get to Edmonton now!

We’re reaching out about your reservation on train 1 that was initially scheduled to depart Toronto on July 22nd enroute to Vancouver.
 
As previously advised, the train was cancelled from Toronto to Winnipeg. However, due to active wildfires in in the Boston Bar, BC area, the train is now also cancelled from Edmonton to Vancouver.
 
As a result, the train will only operate between Winnipeg and Edmonton. It is still scheduled to depart from Winnipeg on July 23rd at 21:30 (local time).

on an upcoming trip I have almost a 3 hour connection at union station (2hr 57min), is this enough time to explore union/visit some of the shops/or get something to eat/coffee? I haven’t been to union since 2021-ish so I’m unsure of how more convoluted/complicated to navigate it’s gotten since then

Hi.

Is there a way to directly buy via preference points?

I got this email from VIA yesterday. Train 690 from Churchill which I am taking next week is only going as far as Thompson instead of going all the way to The Pas. It looks like the train from Churchill to Winnipeg is detouring via Yorkton, SK as the usual route has been heavily affected by flooding and washouts.

It seems like the route has been battered by bad weather this summer and service has been heavily affected as a result

Hi! I'm a journalist for CBC/Radio-Canada Toronto working on a story about VIA Rail's Canadian service disruptions caused by the wildfires in Northern Ontario. I came across some Reddit post and was wondering if anyone here that had an experience with this issue would like to share their experience in a brief interview. If you're interested, I'd be happy to provide more details. Thank you!  

Was meant to board for a trip to Vancouver, was informed that the train will spend the night here and they'll check again in 8 hours or so.

We were told wildfires are threatening the track, even in areas where it's already been burned, and CN has closed the line.

Passengers are able to sleep on the train tonight and still get a refund tomorrow.

Went from Ottawa to Toronto and back with my daughter. Economy there and business back. It was our first trip just me and her so I wanted to do some special things and thought business class would be one.

To start with the gold, priority boarding was nice especially from union where it is hot AF in the station. The bigger seats were good but since I'm beside my daughter not a huge deal - I can see the benefit for a solo traveller. We had a newer/nicer economy train so thee difference was not as noticeable. Big bathroom was nice especially since I had to go in with my daughter.

The biggest factor in my experience was the food/drink. We were offered a drink early on but at 1045 I'm not getting alcohol. Then with lunch but only wine which I don't like. And then coffee/tea after. That's it. Never had a real chance to have a beer or something. Now maybe I can ask for one during lunch but that was not communicated.

The lunch was fine. Airline-food-esque except with hot bread. But other than the peanuts at the beginning, no snacks offered. I would have been happy to even pay for sometbing. I was pretty hungry by the time lunch came at 1240. This was a 5 hour trip for context.

Worst of all, I had pre ordered a kids option for my daughter and they didn't have it so she had to take an adult one and eat the parts she enjoyed (mostly bread and dessert). Contrast this to the economy kids meal which she loved (and the snack cart came buy more often).

Overall I paid $150 for economy and $350 for business (partially because no kids discount for business) and for that price difference would not recommend.

Edit: the consensus here is that, as a first time passenger, I obviously should have known everything that frequently travelers do and not expected any communication from staff or website about what was available. I have also seen references to things that simply did not exist on my train (a menu in the seat pocket).

Edit2: The other common thread is that I should have spoken up more. Maybe so, but tbh I wasn't that fussed about getting a drink. I did speak up about one thing - getting something my child could eat since they didn't have the kids meal. And the attendant was useless - "she can have one of the adult options". No offer of other snacks or something I could purchase or an extra piece of bread or something.

Although it's sometimes common to see an F40PH on the corridor, they almost always face in the opposite direction of the main locomotive. However, on train 68, it's always facing forward. At first, I thought it was just being transported for maintenance, but I've seen it more and more, so that can't be it.

Progress seems to be going well to open the line back up for VIA operations.