Canadian Railroads > Canadian arrival into Toronto

As my wife and I get ready for our Vancouver to Toronto ride next Tuesday, can someone tell me how timely the train has been arriving Toronto the last couple of weeks?

Too bad VIA doesn't provide status for this train on their web site. Anyway, according to another TO post, all three Canadians on the road were running over 10 hours late last week. Most of the issues are do to freight congestion and crappy CN dispatching (in other words, they basically don't care what happens to this train). That said, you could be right on time. But under no circumstances should you plan a flight out on the day of arrival. But you can plan a train connection. Because if missed, VIA will put you on the next train out or put you up in a nice hotel in Toronto at their cost. Also, if you are over 6 hours late you get a late credit for the transportation portion of your fare only...good for 12 months. So just relax and enjoy the trip. It s a very long and slow one but most enjoyable with great equipment, generally good crews and varying scenery.

Fred Frailey recently wrote blogs for TRAINS magazine noting the same things -- many hours late, freight congestion, apathetic-if-not-hostile CN dispatching. Don't plan same-day connections in Toronto.

VIA only provides time information for the Quebec-Windsor corridor.

"Arrival and departure status information is available online for the Québec City - Windsor corridor only, in southern Ontario and southern Québec.

For all other trains, in case of important delay, a message will be added to this train status information. For more information, please contact us at 1 888 VIA-RAIL (1 888 842-7245), TTY 1 800 268-9503 (hearing impaired)."

You can find this on the VIA web site, http://reservia.viarail.ca/tsi/tsiresult.aspx?l=en&from=iframe

Dave Burroughs
Hamilton, ON

This winter has been worse than usual for arrivals of the Canadian. I don't have many notes, but the following is based on my observations and meeting friends and my own trip. As I said in my posting a few days ago, #2 due into Toronto on Tuesday the 25th of March arrived at 12:30 a.m. on the 26th - 15 hours late. On Tuesday the 4th of Feb. I met friends coming in and #2 arrived at 9:25 a.m. - yes, five minutes early. On Tuesday the 18th of March it arrived just before 9:00 p.m. One other time when I was at the station (I can't recall the date) it was also 12 hours late. I was at Union Station on Tuesday the 1st of April and the train arrived at 2:30 p.m. - just five hours late.

So definitely make no plans for the day of arrival unless you can change them without penalty. If the train is four or more hours late there is a 50% credit on the coach fare paid or the coach fare you would have paid had you gone coach and not sleeper. If 12 hours or more late it is a 100% credit.

Here's a perfect example of a schedule change that took place - to establish a four night Canadian - only to see the schedule erode even further or stay the same, not improve, as it was supposed to with such a lengthier and new schedule of four nights three full days.

Likewise, ridership eroded on the Canadian over the years - or so they say - so that during off season it is a twice a week train. I would think this makes scheduling a train even more difficult for CN to schedule than a train that operated three days a week - or even daily!!!

jp1822 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here's a perfect example of a schedule change that
> took place - to establish a four night Canadian -
> only to see the schedule erode even further or
> stay the same, not improve, as it was supposed to
> with such a lengthier and new schedule of four
> nights three full days.
>
> Likewise, ridership eroded on the Canadian over
> the years - or so they say - so that during off
> season it is a twice a week train. I would think
> this makes scheduling a train even more difficult
> for CN to schedule than a train that operated
> three days a week - or even daily!!!

Indeed, the added fourth night on the run was supposed to improve on-time running. If they added a fifth-night to the run I think the Canadian would still run late.

According to VIA reports at the time, the reduction to twice a week service was part of CEO Marc Laliberte's "modernization" i.e.to save money in operating costs. On one of VIA's updates it was reported last year that the off-peak Canadian carried approximately the same number of passengers with twice a week service as it did when running three times a week. Laliberte had said the Ocean would carry the same or more passengers running three times a week as it did operating six days a week. That turned out to be wishful thinking.

Saturday's arrival of #2 in Toronto was 17:30 - eight hours late.

The Toronto arrival is getting better. Today #2 is posted as expected at 12:00 - and that's noon, not midnight. I don't know what the actual arrival time was. VIA is still replacing the consist at Toronto, even if they don't need to. They won't be able to do that as of the end of this month when the consists traditionally increase by more than double and tri-weekly service is restored.

Last Saturday the eastbound Canadian arrived about 6 p.m. I was on the westbound Canadian that evening and we left about 43 minutes late, were five hours late out of Sioux Lookout, one hour late out of Winnipeg, and an hour early into Vancouver. In general it was a good trip with the usual high standards of equipment and service, but boy the CN track east of Winnipeg is getting rough. The first two nights I got very little sleep.

JBWX.