VIA Rail Canada Reviews 297

I had the most amazing customer service experience this afternoon. I didn't catch her name but she served me at about 2:50PM EST this afternoon 9/16. She was helpful, kind, and cherry. I can't remember the last time I had good customer service. What a breath of fresh air. I am in the customer service space and it was an absolute pleasure this afternoon. Thanks to her and Via. She deserves a raise!

I'm sorry to say that travelling on Via Rail (from the US Border to Toronto, and then Toronto to Montreal, in business class) left me with a rather negative view of Via Rail Canada and indeed of Canada itself. They have a completely ludicrous rule about how much your case can weigh - and yes, they do weigh it and demand you repack if if it's a kg or two over. A nastiness that would make RyanAir blush.
The staff in the business lounge are officious, unhelpful and rude.
The on-board train manager was similarly rude and officious, with the personality of a rattlesnake and a voice to rival the Wicked Witch of the West. She seemed to spend most of the trip unhelpfully inserting herself into proceedings, complicating and obstructing them both physically and procedurally while barking instructions to her team and berating one of them to the point of tears.
(I asked our stewardess, who was lovely, whether her boss was always like that - she declined to comment).
The train and seats are comfortable, comparable to Eurostar and other operators in the UK and Europe. The food was good, similar to what you might get in premium economy or short-haul business on an airline and including some very drinkable Canadian wine.
The train was around 30 - 45 minutes late and I got the impression this is considered normal / unremarkable.
Staff on arrival at Montreal were equally unhelpful with onward directions (the same train manager was on the platform bellowing instructions again, causing more problems than she might ever solve, but we ignored her at that point).
A real shame, as this service has so much potential and all the ingredients are there to make it a great headline part of visiting Canada. Sadly, bureaucratic processes and rude officious staff ruined it and I'm afraid I would not consider using VIA rail again.

My wife and I recently traveled from Toronto to Montreal (via Ottawa). We rode business class, so we paid a bit more $ than economy. The staff on the train were very friendly. The seats had a lot of legroom and a small table surface in between. The food was good, the drinks were nice, the train really clipped along and we were on-time to both stops. The return trip, Montreal to Toronto direct, was also excellent. I would highly recommend traveling by train. We will definitely travel with Via again.

Montreal-Toronto round trip. Outbound: old train. 2 hours late. Mechanical issues and slowdown due to CN requirement. Return Aug 17. XL ed reservation on Air Canada due to strike.Train arrived 1 hour late. Made last-minute reservation on Via Rail. Price gouging takes on a whole new meaning. Got the last seat in biz class.New train this time. No window at my seat. Seat did not recline. Meal was edible but service was spotty. Hard to believe Canada can't do better than this.

I wouldnt recommend using VIA rail. Delay upon delay upon delay. A small delay is fine, but these delays are just to big and way to often.
You cant plan your trip this way.

As a tourist from Europe I would go for any other services. Or maybe go for a car rental.
But please dont use VIA rail anymore.
Look at all the reveiws about the delays and they are all true.
2 trips for us, and both times the trip took almost twice as long.

Horrible system especially for trying to contact an agent!

Absolutely horrible experience, so disappointed!!! Booked big trip to Halifax and ending with a via rail train all the way back to Toronto (was very excited and looking forward to experiencing). First train from Halifax to Montreal broke down within the first 1/2 hour. They got to 1st stop, we waited over 4 hours, just to be crammed on a bus; 11+ hours later.... Get to Montreal and via rail reschedule time and seats. Instead of the seats facing eachother on the earlier train, got moved to standard front facing with one apart from others.... In a car full of kids!!!! I'm already annoyed and I sure the heck don't need this. Will NOT recommend! Hated the whole experience! Yes, they're giving a 50% refund but not worth it.

I travelled on The Ocean June 27 as well as July 2. I went from Montreal to Halifax and from Halifax to Montreal. I cannot say enough about the staff and how wonderful they were. I loved my experience on the train and met so many wonderful people. I would actually do it again as I loved the train so much.

I do have a complaint though, about the food. The staff in the dining car were fabulous both directions. The food was a 3/10. I hate saying negative things, but it's true. I've been on The Canadian train and I'm going to be on it again in August and the food on that has been phenomenal. I travel in the corridor very regularly between Oshawa and Montreal and the food is more than decent and the service has been almost always fabulous. I would love to know why the food is so terrible on The Ocean? On the Friday night there was brisket. This was some beef that seemed to have barbeque sauce smothered on it. I've had brisket many times and this didn't taste even remotely like brisket. I left most meals after just a few bites. It was so bad.

I had read that the food was bad on The Ocean and now I have experienced it for myself.

I absolutely love VIA rail and think we are so lucky to have it. I hope they can improve the food on The Ocean.

Delays plus the food tastes like it was from a prison cafeteria.

I use VIA at least once per week. It is consistently late (significantly late). We are talking about half and hour (or more) with regularity. It is shameful but make no mistake they armed and dangerous with all sorts of excuses. Any wonder why so many people are clustered in the GTA and have at least 2 cars? For a developed nation this is dismal infrastructure and really makes it clear why our economic development and housing prices in the GTA have been out of control for too long. Ridiculous. Thank you VIA for making me 1 hour late for my birthday dinner with family.

Worst stupid thinking for the night they need to use the hotn, near from home and camping 🏕 they can pass at least 4 to 7 time by night so they make noise in the night called for security, in day no matters
That is so stupid,why the others king of train don't have to do that

There are a lot of really nice people working on the trains, trying their best to provide a good service. However their efforts are rather scuppered by the railway failing in its primary objective, which is getting passengers where they need to be, on time. It strikes me that their timetable is a work of fiction. We made 3 journeys with ViaRail during our Canadian holiday. All were substantially delayed, one by such an extent (8 hours) that we missed a hire car and hotel booking and had to stay in a location not on our itinerary. Essentially one day of our much anticipated and highly planned family holiday was lost as a result of a train driver not being in the right place at the right time. The knock-on effect of this kind of delay is significant for many passengers, and from talking to staff on the train it is a very common occurrence.
Must do better.

If I could rate you 0 starts, I would. 4 hours delay in total (one hour on the way to Montreal and 3 hours on the way back). Sitting on the train for 8.5 HOURS in total of what should be a 5 hour ride. No refreshments offered, wifi and aircon down. This is absolutely not the first time. Every time travelling I am delayed, which has in the past caused cancelled work meetings and incredibly unhappy bosses and clients. Via rail takes absolutely no accountability. $800 RETURN ECONOMY for 2 travellers for a 16 hour trip? It’s disgusting. And the audacity for customer service to tell me a 50% credit can be used. Told her I was moving back to Australia in two weeks and she said - well give the credit to your friends. Excuse me ??????

I loved every minute. If you are in a rush, you should fly, but if you want to see scenery, it’s a fantastic experience. We took the overnight from Vancouver to Jasper, and I may not have gotten the more restful sleep of my life, but it was a trip I’ve dreamed of for a long time.
The service crew was fantastic, and I want to give a special shout out to Erin, Edgar and Xavier. You three made the trip so great with your pleasant personalities and knowledge.

The ocean was 2 hrs late to start, took 3 hrs to drive 100km.. now have to get off halfway cause will not arrive in time for flight. Should of got there 4.5 hr ahead of time... nope. Now might miss my flight.. horrible online and phone customer service.

- 0 stars!

This was my first time booking with this company. when I bought my tickets on my phone the dates were set a day ahead of when I wanted to take the train. I didn't realize the dates I clicked wasn't correct until after I made the payment. I clicked for 27 -30 instead of 28-31 not sure how that happened but my phone saves the info that I input as I was looking for good dates to book my hotel. long story short I tried calling the following day and waited long on the phone and figured thy were closed after 9pm so hung up. called the next day and was told I missed the 24 hours ... such bullshit $400 lost to a greedy company that has the nerve to call " escape fare" Budget-conscious but wont allow you to get a refund let alone exchange the ticket date by error!!.. I'm beyond pissed off and I hope these thieves are happy they ruined my trip with my kids to visit six flags. POS POLICY. not reasonable at all , disgusting way to treat people

Canada Post on rails.

Dishonest.
Yesterday we received an email about some delays due to the heat but that we'd be contacted if there was anything major.

So I trusted them.

Now, I took the train instead of a flight because I thought they'd be more reliable.

Instead, they lied, lied, lied.

They knew the speed they'd have to go. Speed times distance = travel time .

They never were Frank about it. Kept changing it until it was too late to figure out another plan by renting a car.

I wouldn't go if I WON a ride on their trains.

Avoid at all cost.. Or it'll cost you.

I thought 6 hours of delay before my flight would be okay. I was wrong. They managed to have a travel time of more than 50% more than the initial time...I don't even f up this bad driving as a solo driver

Avoid

Leaving this review because I had the best experience with the customer service agent, Sophie. She was incredibly kind, patient, and went above and beyond to help me with my issue. It’s rare to come across someone so genuinely helpful and attentive—she made a stressful situation so much easier. Sophie, thank you for your outstanding service!

Horrible experience ! Took 3 train journey with them all 3 massively delayed!