VIA Rail Canada Reviews 297

Ride from Vancouver to Jasper almost 4 hrs delay, from Jasper to Edmonton 1 hrs delay and from Ottawa to Quebec more then 5 hrs delay. Never ever had sich un unreliable train service.

Most reviewers give terrible reviews. I don’t think I will ever use Via Rail. I wanted to go from Edmonton to Vancouver and see the mountains etc along the way. WTF. These idiots schedule to leave at midnight travelling all night long. I would see absolutely nothing. And for this they want $1000.00 per person round trip. Are they nuts? Yes they are.

Trip Toronto to Montreal
When buying the tickets there was a warning that the train might have a delay between 15 and 45 minutes taking longer than the bus but we usually prefer trains even if they are more expensive. Writing from the train, we are now delayed 1 hour and a half and it is increasing. Our plan was to have dinner upon the scheduled arrival. Even though I don't want to give them more money, I wanted to buy something to eat but guess what, the cherry on top is that they ran out of food. We should have at least gotten a complimentary water and a sandwich. I will use their service again only if there are no alternatives. The ride is also very rocky. THE WHOLE POINT OF A TRAIN IS TO NOT HAVE DELAYS.

Easily the worst rail service in the developed world. Tickets are extremely expensive (about the cost or more than flights to comparable destinations), cramped cars, expensive extras, half the things the advertise don't work half the time, but worst of all, they seem to ALWAYS be late. I don't mean 15 minutes late. I mean regularly 50% to double the estimated trip time. I don't care about their excuses. It's absolutely abysmal. Don't fall for this scam.

I purchased a one way ticket Montreal to Toronto for May 28, 2025 months in advance ! a death accrued two week before my departure date , requested a credit for future travel was refused however offered to change dates for a fee and double the cost of the original ticket ! after 45 years of using via rail i will no longer

Consistently 1-hour late or more between Toronto and Montrea. Expensive and slow. You get a discount when the train is more than 1 hour late that applies towards your next purchase…
Terrible train service.
I will be avoiding VIA Rail from now on until the lateness issue is resolved. Not worth it.

Train 75 from Toronto to London stops were jerky and staff bad at communicating. They were only letting passengers off from car 3 from a 6 car train. People were told to hurry up, Let’s go get moving, announcements were unclear if they happened at all.

I wish I could give a zero. Made me pay for business class because of an extra bag. Bloody rude. There was no food in the lounge. They said since it’s short notice we will not serve meals. Staff was rude. Believe me. Who ever reads it DO NOT BOOK BUSINESS OR VIA RAIL.

If you are in a hurry, don't use the Canadian or Ocean trains. There are lots of other ways to get you where you want to go, within the time you have.

HOWEVER if you want to experience the scenery & vastness of Canada this is a great way to travel & experience this in relative comfort & luxury.

Plan & view it for the experience & it needs to be viewed as such, as delays are inevitable for a variety of reasons, all valid.

The food is fabulous, the staff are really helpful & great.

It's a great way to see Canada & make new friends. Highly recommended as 'a once in a lifetime' experience ✨️ 👌

Via rail... They will always force you to pay double what you had planned for. Their service is SHITTY and they will always be late by at least an hour. That is the promise of via rail. Just get the bus. Any day.

My recent experiences with Via Rail have been nothing short of disastrous. As someone who relies on efficient and dependable transportation to make critical connections like flights, I entrusted Via Rail — a decision I now deeply regret. The service has deteriorated to an unacceptable level.

The staff at the Kingston station are consistently rude, dismissive, and unprofessional, showing little regard for basic customer service. Their passive-aggressive and condescending behavior makes an already stressful situation far worse.

To make matters worse, the trains have been plagued by extreme delays with no clear communication or accountability. Passengers are left completely in the dark about speed reductions and disruptions, as even the staff seem uninformed or unwilling to provide answers.

If you must travel with Via Rail, I strongly advise booking a trip that arrives several hours ahead of any important event — and even then, prepare for uncertainty. In contrast, buses — despite traffic — have proven far more reliable and predictable.

After these repeated failures, I will not be using Via Rail again. They have lost my trust.

I wish I could give a zero. What a completely lousy service. I’ve taken two trains this week. The first one arrived two hours late, the second one, which I am sitting on right now, has been sitting on the tracks for two hours with no word of when we’re going to be moving again. I’ve missed a job interview and am going to have to spend $200 for a hotel room. I’m never using VIA again and YOU spoils consider spending double to fly so you actually get to your destination.

Montreal Toronto first class is worth the money. Better food than what they serve on a flight. Great choice of menu. Healthy and tasty, friendly service, good wine but despite having a brand new wagon that is beautiful and practical the seats are hard as a rock and very uncomfortable. The seats in economy are better. Also even in economy the food choice is better then in a flight even has Mandys salad! Sadly the train was 1:30 minutes late really not cool for people waiting for you at Union station which is a nightmare for parking.

Train to and from Ottawa to Oshawa was delayed first, 3 hours, to which I got a 50% discount towards my NEXT ticket. Then coming back another hour long delay, with no communication towards travel credits or the situation.

Train from Montreal to Toronto over an hour late. 50% offer off future train journeys. I am one off tourist who won't be able to use their trains again. They won't give me any compensation. Took them nearly 2 wwwks yo reply to mh email. My taxi had to charge over an hour waiting time. Feel they are racist against tourists.

Only one of five trips was less than 30 min late. Over hour late again from toronto to london.

This is the worst company with the worst policies ever. I traveled for many years with my trained service animal without issue. After the service animal policy changes in 2024 I was denied access with my dog. My options were to retain the animal or provide proof of his abilities. I paid a trainer for an evaluation and he confirmed his abilities. But this was not enough. They failed to provide a trainer they wanted me to use and because of a wording error by my physc Dr. I'm still refused. He clearly states that I have ptsd and my dog is trained for me but because he put that he is also for emotional support I'm denied. I put up for years with there delays and awful service and this is what you get. Boycott! I will never give them my money again. Trains are junk and the people are rude and entitled.

One of the worst train systems I’ve ever been on. Never get anywhere on time, waiting for nearly 40 mins in between stations every ride I have been on so far. Honestly the worst system ever, I have been on atleast 30 rides or more on this train and not once has it been on time.

Travelled Toronto to Montreal in Business Class. Onboard crew had a cold and impersonal manner about them. I asked for help with seat power not working and they gave couldn’t care less and incorrect solutions. Never offered a seat change. The train arrived just over 4 hours late. Their customer relations department refused my claim for late arrival compensation despite their published policy. It really means nothing as they can simply decide due to weather they will deny and claims for that date. We paid $500 for two one way tickets. We feel we did not receive our moneys worth.

The trains are always late, I’ve never had a train that was on time and it’s so disorganized when it comes to time management