One thing that hasn't been discussed, and would cost practically nothing but change virtually everything is the customer service one receives on passenger rail in North America. I know people tire of hearing examples of how great European rail service is, but generally "service" is implied to mean how great their infrastructure is, rather than how great their actual customer service is, which is just as important and often overlooked. To compare:
Europe:
- train sits on platform with open doors, you walk onto train yourself and find a seat
- you are free to walk up and down the length of the train and sit anywhere as long as the seat is in the same class and is not reserved. Meals can be bought at a dining car, subcontracted to a private catering operator.
- only one or two conductors are on board a train, walking up and down the length and they generally don't care if you are not in your seat
- you can disembark at a station along the way, as long as it is en route and doesn't exceed the trip length you paid for. For example, if I was traveling between Toronto and Montreal, I could get off at Kingston and wander around that city for a few hours and then catch a later train to Montreal without paying for two tickets.
Canada:
- you have to line up to gain access to the train. Five or ten minutes before departure, they open the doors and you go to a car that is designated for your destination. You then search for a seat in that car only while others are frantically doing the same.
- you are confined to your car for the duration of the trip. Meals can only be purchased by a VIA conductor who pushes a cart through the aisles according to his/her schedule.
- There is a conductor for more or less every car. Their job is similar to the cabin crew of an airline: they serve food, collect tickets and make announcements.
- Your ticket is only valid for your final destination city. Even if you wanted to get out and forfeit your ticket, you couldn't because the conductor will only open the door at its designated stop.
Basically, passenger rail in Canada is like flying, only you trade more legroom and the lack of a security check for a much longer travel time and less flexible schedules. If VIA ever wants to be competitive with air travel - especially given the rise of niche operators like Porter - it not only has to improve its speed and reliability but it has to completely rethink the way customers are treated.