Why Passenger Trains Suck in Canada - VIA Rail

I love taking the train, but taking the train in Canada is difficult. This video explains what it's like to take the train in Ontario, Canada, and some of the history behind why it's so painful.

NJB Live (my bicycle livestream channel):

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Credits:

Spoorwegen | Afl.17 | Koplopers
Spoorwegen TV

Episode 10: Roads for Rails - the Newfoundland Railway
Well There's Your Problem Podcast

VIA rail passenger train #76, Komoka ON, VIA 916 [drone] (13-May-2017)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

VIA Rail passenger train #73 & #76 meet, Glencoe ON [drone,4k] (2017-Oct-18)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

VIA Rail Timelapse 4K: Toronto to Parry Sound
InfiNorth (YouTube/CC BY)

Map of the Quebec-Windsor Corridor
Awmcphee (Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 4.0)

VIA rail passenger train #73, London ON [drone,4k] (2017-Oct-16)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

Canada blank map
Wikipedia (Public Domain)

VIA Rail train #84 arriving London ON (2019-Aug-24)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

VIA Rail Review (Part One)
Nigel Hay (YouTube/CC BY)

VIA Rail train #72 (Windsor-Toronto) arrives at London ON (2020-May-31)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

Rail Fanning at Brandon N. - VIA Rail Canadian at 75 MPH!
ManitobaTransitVids (YouTube/CC BY)

VIA Rail train #85 at Stratford ON, from Toronto to London (2019-Aug-20)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

VIA Rail RDCs in Windsor, ON. for the First Time in 30 Years Plus VIA 72
CPWindsorsub (YouTube/CC BY)

Map of the Great Western Railway of Canada
City of Hamilton Archives (Public Domain)

Maps of the 401
Ministry of Transportation (Ontario)

Canadian Pacific Railway Co., Passenger Train.
Ingenium digital archives

VIA Rail Canada Inc., Diesel locomotive, passenger train
Ingenium digital archives

Map of VIA Rail Routes
VIA Rail (website)

CP mixed freight train & VIA train 73 (2017-Oct-19)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

VIA Rail train #75 arrives & departs London ON (2020-May-20)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

VIA Rail schedule, Toronto to London
VIA Rail (booking website)

Driving map from Toronto Union Station to London VIA Rail
Map Data © 2020 Google

Map of the proposed Ontario high-speed rail
Government of Ontario (website)

High speed train between Toronto and Windsor has been cancelled
BlogTO.com

VIA HFR proposal
VIA Rail Canada Inc (YouTube)

VIA Rail train #72 (Windsor-Toronto) arrives at London ON (2020-May-31)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

VIA Rail passenger train #73 & #76 meet, Glencoe ON [drone,4k] (2017-Oct-18)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

Via Rail Canada's on time performance from FY 2011 to FY 2019
Statista 2020

Meet the new fleet
VIA Rail Canada Inc (YouTube)

High speed train between Toronto and Windsor has been cancelled (BlogTO):

'Tienminutentrein' moet elke 7,5 minuten gaan rijden (rtl nieuws):

VIA Rail train #85 at St. Mary's ON, from Toronto to London (2019-Jul-27)
Train Spotted (YouTube/CC BY)

Meet the new fleet
VIA Rail Canada Inc (YouTube)

[NotJustBikes]

TRAINS PART 2!!







... will be released later this summer.

[Tomwithnonumbers]

Me: "How bad could it really be?"
Not Just Bikes: "They weigh your bags 30 minutes before departure"
Me: ...

[Alix]

"I watch videos about trains"
Me: haha, such a nerd
Also me: watching this video about trains

[DanOCan]

I remember when my cousin from the Netherlands was preparing to visit Canada and he asked how long the cab ride from Calgary to Lethbridge would be. When I explained it would be two-and-a-half hours he said "Ah, OK, I'll just take the train."

Oh how we laughed and laughed about that one. :)

[jcouasnon]

"High Frequency Rail" by Via Rail is the "Train" everywhere else in the world. Meanwhile in France you can travel 800km in 3 hours for 18€.

[brodietaym]

Btw...I'm a student who commutes often between Ottawa & Montreal. Besides the 7 trains/day limitation, I found VIA rail's fares to be ridiculously expensive. The student fare is about $100 roundtrip for the train, whereas the greyhound bus costs $40-50 rountrip. Travel time is similar & the bus has departures every 1-2 hours.

[KhAnubis]

As an American living in Germany, the parallels were... painful

[Cloudberry]

I'm from Sweden and I did take it for granted until my friend from the US came over for 3 months. He was stunned on how good the public transport is here. He was really worried that I don't have a car but I'm a student and have never felt the need for a car so I was fine with doing all of the trips with public transport. Every time we went out he got amazed at how easy everything is. I have a store like 500m away so we just walked to get the shopping and when we did a trip to my family in a different part of the country we just took the train. His constant amazement was an eye-opener for me.

[nickp.]

I've always wanted to take the train somewhere, thinking oh we can just take a train across the country. Then I look at the insane cost, the stupid amount of time it takes, and realize I'll just raise a pony from young, and then ride it to where I want to go for less and quicker.

[otanakugaming]

An efficient inter-city passenger rail service is far more efficient than a 16 lane 401

[dansugardude]

You could replace every mention of “Via Rail” with “Amtrak” and you’d have almost the same story!

[MickKerr]

Gotta say it, the train trip from Toronto to Montreal we took 10 years ago was a really nice way to make our way across the country for two tourists who weren’t in a hurry!

[NoahPurdyFR]

A country that discontinues electric trains... I can't even

[DonKangolJones]

"Hold old is this train?"
Me: I'm going wild - 1950s."
"Wrong! It was built in 1947."
WTF?!

[MaxArceus]

"How old do you think this car is?"
"Hm.. from the 40s?"
"WRONG. It's from 1947"
..but.

[drew]

It's like everything in Canada: dysfunctional, inefficient and so bogged down with rules and regulations that you're thoroughly exhausted by the endless ordeal of doing anything.

[anieckengelen]

I'm Dutch, been to Canada many times, my fiancé is Canadian and I was pretty shocked to see how difficult it is to get around there without a car. I'm used to taking the train everywhere which was definitely not an option in Canada.

[carlhaluss]

Totally agree with you. The passenger train service in Canada is pathetic. The argument that Canada is sparsely populated holds no water at all. For example, Finland, which is very sparsely populated and has a population of roughly the same as BC, has an incredible train network, connecting all large cities and most small towns. Yes, the train service here sucks and it really is damned embarrassing!

[Thomas_TdK]

Love my job as a train driver for the NS. Things we do:
- Complain about our company
- brag about how good our company is
- complain about Passenger’s
- and blame ProRail 🤣

[rodefshalom]

When I was a teen living in Hamilton in the early-mid nineties, I regularly took the GO bus to the Toronto VIA platform and caught a train to Montreal to visit my grandparents. It was an amazing feeling of independence and autonomy, which I lost completely when my family moved to Dallas, TX when I was 17, and I’ve never really regained.