Routes and Travel Times
The Canadian takes you between Vancouver and Toronto with stops in Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and others. The western stops provide access to activities and sightseeing in Canada’s spectacular Rocky Mountains and its vast and friendly Prairies, while the eastern portion between Winnipeg and Sudbury brings you through lake country.
Departure Days:
Departs year round.
Ex Vancouver: Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays.
Ex Toronto: Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Travel Times:
Toronto-Vancouver: 3days 11h
Vancouver-Toronto: 3days 13h
Schedule and Key Stops:
Departs Toronto 10pm (ET), Arrives Vancouver 9.42am (PT) +3 days
Departs Vancouver 8.30pm (PT), Arrives Toronto 9.30am (ET) +3 days
Stops:
• Capreol
• Hornepayne
• Sioux Lookout
• Winnipeg
• Saskatoon
• Edmonton
• Jasper
• Kamloops North
(ET): Eastern Time
(PT): Pacific Time
Times are indicative, accurate schedules will be confirmed at time of booking.
Onboard Services
The Canadian offers several forms of accommodation:
Economy Class: Economy class offers competitive rates to suit every traveller.
Sleeper Touring Class: offers cozy accommodations, cuisine prepared on board by our chef and impeccable service. Let yourself be gently rocked by the peaceful rhythm of the train in a berth, a cabin for one, two, three or four people, or a suite.
Sleeper Touring Class accommodation is located in 3 sleeping cars; Manor Car, Chateau Car and the Park Car. All sleeping accommodations are currently undergoing a refurbishment program. At present the Manor Car and Park Car accommodation has been renovated.
Click on the Download Additional Information for travel tip for passengers in Sleeper Touring Class
Economy Class:
• Spacious seat and space to stretch and relax
• Full-course meals, snacks, hot and cold drinks and alcoholic beverages available at affordable prices in the Skyline Car
• Children’s menu
• Checked baggage service
• Electrical outlets on all the seats
• Blanket and pillow set including polar fleece cover, neck pillow, eyeshades and earplugs, available for purchase.
Sleeper Touring Class:
• Spacious seat
• Children’s menu
• Checked baggage service
• All meals included in the price of your ticket and served in the dining car (excluding alcoholic beverages)
• Cozy accommodations, in a berth, a cabin for one, two, three or four people, or a suite
• Activities for children
• Access to a shower
• Exclusive access to the Park car
• Complimentary coffee, tea, fruit and cookies available in the Park and Skyline cars
• Exclusive access to the pre-boarding lounge
• Priority boarding
Upper and Lower Berths:
A berth is suitable for one person.
• Mattress size: approximately 178cm x 109cm
• Room from mattress to partition is 152cm
• Foot end of mattress has 12.7cm radius
• Public washroom facilities in same car
• Access to shower facilities
• Day time: one wide couch-style seat facing another seat (other berth's seat)
• Night time: folds out into bed at night, with heavy curtains for privacy
• Use of a ladder at night to reach the bed
• Other: pillows, sheets and blankets, table available from on-board personnel
Cabin for one:
A cabin for one is designed for one person.
• Room size: 196cm x 110cm
• Mattress size: 152cm x 61cm
• Room from mattress to partition when bed is down is 5cm
• Bed narrows down to 58cm wide to 36 cm at the foot of bed
• Private toilet (bed covers toilet at night)
• Sink over toilet and full mirror
• Access to shower at the end of the car
• Day time: sofa chair
• Night time: lower bed pulls out from wall and upper bed pulls down from wall
• Door locks from inside only (no individual keys)
• Baggage space is a small area
• Window with blind
• Other: fan, shoe closet, air conditioning, drinking water, paper and towels, pillows, sheets and blankets supplied, 110v ac outlet
There are two types of cabins for one:
Upper: requires the passenger to step up into the sleeping compartment from the main floor of the car
Lower: on the same level as the rest of the sleeping car
Cabin for two:
A cabin for two is designed for two people.
• Room size: 214cm x 152cm, excluding 84cm x 64cm for private washroom
• Mattress size: approximately 180cm x 79cm on Chateau and Manor cars
• Private washroom available inside each double bedroom
• Mirror over sink with electrical razor outlet (110 vac.)
• Individual control for heating, ventilation and air conditioning system
• Storage for one carry-on baggage
• Day time: two folding chairs
• Night time: upper and lower beds replace chairs
• Large window with blind
• Exclusive access to a shower room (one shower room per car)
• Shower towels and amenity bag for toiletries
• Door locks on the inside only (no individual key)
• Other: small closet, drinking water, paper and towels, pillows, sheets and blankets supplied.
Cabin for two with shower:
A cabin for two is designed for two people.
• Room size: 200cm X 137cm
• Private toilet room size: 100cmm X 120cm
• Private washroom with shower, also equipped with a hair dryer
• Bed size is approximately 184cm x 70cm
• Mirror over sink and outlet for electric razor
• Day time: large sofa
• Night time: upper and lower beds
• Individual control for heating, ventilation and air conditioning system
• Storage for one carry-on baggage
• Large window with blind
• A room service call phone
• Door can be locked from outside or inside (individual key)
• Peep-hole mounted on door, smoke and fire detector
• Emergency push-button alarm located in washroom
• Shower towels and toiletries
• Other: small closet, drinking water, paper & towels, pillows, sheets and blankets supplied.
• Passengers may use all services on train.
This cabin type is only available on Montréal-Halifax (or v.v) route.
Cabin for three:
A cabin for three is designed for three people.
• Room size: 275cm x 214cm
• Mattress size: 153cm x 91cm
• Room from mattress to partition is 10cm
• Foot end of mattress has 25cm radius
• Day time: one sofa and two chairs during the day
• Night time: three beds (one upper and two lower)
• Private washroom
• Mirror over sink
• Access to shower at the end of the car (except in Park car)
• Air conditioning
• Baggage space is a small area (approx. one suitcase, one overnight bag)
• Large window with blind
• Door locks from inside only (no individual keys)
• Other: small coat closet, shoe closet, fan, drinking water, paper and towels, pillows, sheets and blankets, 110v ac outlet, table available from on-board personnel
Deluxe Sleeper Class (Summer 2012):
A new class of service for travellers in search of a more luxurious experience, the Deluxe Sleeper Class will offer entirely reconfigured cars, each with 6 cabins and 50% more space than those of Sleeper Touring Class. You will find an abundance of little extras worthy of the most luxurious trains in the world, including:
• Dedicated service attendant and turn-down service
• All-day room service (breakfast, morning and afternoon tea)
• Priority luggage service and priority boarding
• A tour in Winnipeg
• And much more
• And with its entirely renovated Park car, VIA Rail will become the only passenger rail service to offer an entirely wheelchair-accessible cabin with private washroom.
Skyline Car:
Admire the landscapes in the panoramic dome section upstairs and get acquainted with other travellers in the café or in the lounge, the Skyline Car is available to all passengers onboard.
Park Car:
From the moment you set foot in the Park Car, you’ll fall in love with its subtle blend of style and coziness. Sip an aperitif in the Mural Lounge or the Bullet Lounge, or delight in the view of the surrounding countryside from the superb 360 scenic dome on the car’s upper deck. The Park Car is exclusively available to Sleeper Touring Class passengers.
Dining Car:
Enjoy the best of Canadian cuisine, freshly prepared and served in the stylish dining car with china, silverware and linen, as well as a selection of Canadian wines. Meals in the Dining Car are included in the price of Sleeper Touring Class and Deluxe Sleeper Class tickets.
Shower Facilities:
Each sleeping car offers a shower unit with change room. A shower kit, containing soap, shampoo and towels is available in the cabin. Guest may want to bring a lightweight robe and appropriate footwear for stepping out of the shower.
Luggage:
Each piece of baggage must be labeled with traveller’s full name, complete home address and telephone number.
A maximum weight of 32kg applies onboard ViaRail trains.
Check-in is open from 1 hour to 15 minutes before departure.
If the train does not have a baggage car, suitcases, backpacks, boxes and other baggage must be stored in the train car as carry-on baggage.
Carry-on baggage allowance per person (other bags must be checked through to destination) Max. 2 pieces under 23kg
Complimentary checked baggage allowance (fees apply for extra baggage) Max. 3 pieces under 32kg
Disabled customers:
VIA accepts wheelchairs as checked baggage free of charge provided that the owner travels aboard the same train.
Acceptable wheelchairs may be folding or rigid, manual or electric, and must be no wider than 81cm when fully open. Electric wheelchairs must weigh no more than 68kg, however VIA will accept heavier wheelchairs provided that the departure and destination stations are equipped with lifts to load and unload them.
This policy also applies to other vehicles (modified, customized or otherwise) designed for increasing traveller mobility
Meals preference:
It is possible on night trains to request meals based on dietary requirements. Below is a list of the special meal request options available:
Asiatic vegetarian meal (AMVL)
Bland/Ulcer meal (BLML)
Children’s meal (CHML)
Diabetic meal (DBML)
Gluten-free meal (GFML)
Hindu meal (HNML)
Kosher meal (KSML)
Low-calorie meal (LCML)
Low-fat/Low-cholesterol meal (LFML)
Low-sodium meal (LSML)
Muslim meal (MOML)
Non-lactose meal (NLML)
Strict vegetarian meal (VGML)
Vegetarian meal: dairy and egg products acceptable (VLML)
Wireless Internet:
• Travellers in all classes of service may use Wi-Fi in many of our Québec City-Windsor corridor stations: Dorval, Fallowfield, Kingston, London, Montréal, Ottawa, Québec, City Sainte-Foy, Toronto and Windsor.
• Wireless access is also available in our exclusive pre-boarding Panorama lounges (open to Business class, Sleeper class and Sleeper Touring class travellers) in the following stations: Kingston, London, Fallowfield, Ottawa, Montréal, Dorval, Québec, Sainte-Foy, Toronto, Windsor, Oakville and Oshawa.
• Complimentary Wi-Fi access is also available in the following stations: Edmonton, Halifax, Jasper, Moncton, Vancouver and Winnipeg.
• The pay-per-use wireless Internet access is offered in both Economy class and Business class on virtually all trains in the Québec City-Windsor corridor 30 days of unlimited wireless Internet for only CAD$29.95. Passengers can also access this service in pre-boarding Panorama lounges at major stations such as those in Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa and Québec City.
• Service exceptions: Wireless Internet is not available on the following trains: Trains 85 and 88 (Toronto-Sarnia), Trains 97 and 98 (Toronto-Niagara Falls-New York), Wireless Internet access is available on train 650 (Kingston-Toronto) every day except Fridays.
Smoking Policy:
VIA Rail offers a completely smoke-free environment in all our trains — as well as in all our stations. Via Rail personnel are bound by law to strictly enforce smoking regulations.
Toronto-Vancouver (the Canadian):
You may get off the train to smoke during stops at Capreol, Hornepayne, Sioux Lookout, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper and Kamloops.
Travelling with Children:
Kid’s Activity Book:Your children will delight in our activity book, which contains a variety of cut-and-paste and colouring activities. Children love it — and it's guaranteed to set their imagination free!
Special activities in the Skyline Car: Exclusively for Sleeper Touring class travellers aboard the Toronto-Vancouver train (the Canadian): Games, activities and video showings for children are organized in the Skyline car every morning from 7:30-10:00 a.m. It’s a start to the day which kids and their parents greatly appreciate.
And any time of the day (or night, if the moon is visible), visit the panoramic dome in the Skyline or Park car to experience scenery that will fascinate young and old alike.
Fares
Via Rail Fares require seat reservations and cannot be issued as an open ticket.
A Via e-booking confirmation is issued and this will need to be exchanged for a ticket at a Via Rail Station.
Once confirmation has been issued changes are possible but will incur an amendment fee.
Fees do apply to changes and cancellations
Exchange/Refund
Exchange and refund policies vary depending on the type of fare purchased.
Fees do apply to changes and cancellations.
Any Via Rail ticket/s requiring refunds will only be considered for processing when the following is provided the original ticket/s and a submission of a refund must be made within 12 months of the date of issue as shown on the ticket unless otherwise indicated.
Lost or stolen tickets are non-refundable. Tickets will only be re-issued when repaid in full.
Check-in Procedures
It is strongly recommended that travellers checking-in luggage arrive at least 30 minutes before the departure time.
To Book
This product is not currently available to book through our online booking system.
To book, please contact one of our Rail Specialists on 1300 360 823 or email details of your requirements to
info@railtickets.com.au
Photo credit: Images courtesy of Via Rail. Photographer Matthew Wheeler
