News   Apr 02, 2026
Early Work Commencing on St Clair-Old Weston Station
 1.3K     1 
News   Apr 02, 2026
Cranes Up, Foundations Underway at Peter Gilgan Mississauga Hospital
 795     0 
News   Apr 02, 2026
City Council March, 2026 Settlements: Negotiations Advance Projects Across Toronto
 2K     2 

VIA Rail

cplchanb said:
this was a complete blindside by CN. Via has run shorter LRC trains before and the ventures were tested with no issues long before the directive was given. this is purely bad faith bullying by CN.
Click to expand...
Do they have it in writing though? If not than it is as worthless as any ideas I have..
 
Sorry for the dumb question I could probably Google myself. But does anyone have a link to an actual PDF timetable for Ottawa and Montreal.

I couldn't find anything on VIA's website except the ticket buying thing, and it's of little use if the destination is a function of the timetable.

I'm dealing with a family health crisis, and trying to ship one child to his grandparents while the other is in Sick Kids. Hence the lack of research.

BTW, SIck Kids is outstanding. If you are in central Toronto take your kids to the ER there and not local. Local is good, but if the condition deteriorates quickly then you are already in the right place.
 
nfitz said:
Sorry for the dumb question I could probably Google myself. But does anyone have a link to an actual PDF timetable for Ottawa and Montreal.

I couldn't find anything on VIA's website except the ticket buying thing, and it's of little use if the destination is a function of the timetable.

I'm dealing with a family health crisis, and trying to ship one child to his grandparents while the other is in Sick Kids. Hence the lack of research.

BTW, SIck Kids is outstanding. If you are in central Toronto take your kids to the ER there and not local. Local is good, but if the condition deteriorates quickly then you are already in the right place.
Click to expand...

Not a dumb question - I find it annoying that both VIA and Amtrak have done everything possible to hide their old-style timetables and want you to use their search engine. They now call these "accessible versions" which is a bit misleading. I can't believe that we enthusiasts are the only ones who find a tabular view of the available trains to be helpful.

The printable versions can be found at https://www.viarail.ca/en/plan/train-schedules#accessible-version

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
Not a dumb question - I find it annoying that both VIA and Amtrak have done everything possible to hide their old-style timetables and want you to use their search engine. They now call these "accessible versions" which is a bit misleading. I can't believe that we enthusiasts are the only ones who find a tabular view of the available trains to be helpful.

The printable versions can be found at https://www.viarail.ca/en/plan/train-schedules#accessible-version
Click to expand...
Brilliant! I knew I'd seen them somewhere.

They aren't particularly accessible for many types of disabilities, at least on a mobile ... they seem to focus on visual issues.

Does anyone know which trains to Ottawa and Montreal are on the speed-limited new equipment? They have to drive a couple of hours north of Montreal, so it's going to be a late night.
 
Urban Sky said:
You can look up the equipment for any departure here:

VIA Car Info

A tool to identify train cars used on a particular VIA Rail trip.
www.traincar.info www.traincar.info

Also from me, best of luck to your family!
Click to expand...
Perfect!

Much thanks. Long-term prognosis is good. And nothing but good news and best-case scenarios since the initial sudden emergency.
 
VENTURE FLEET WEEKLY UPDATE:
The second week of July saw 20 sets observed in Corridor service based on 85 planned and/or observed Venture-equipped trains, with Sets 11, 16, 18, 21, 27 and 29 reported making one trip only. Not observed were sets 1, 2, 7, 12, 14, 15, 19, 25 and 28. (Sets 7 and 12 were used for the augmented 7-car test set and have not operated since.) Set 30 is not yet in service and second-last Set 31 was delivered today.
 
Trackside_Treasure said:
VENTURE FLEET WEEKLY UPDATE:
The second week of July saw 20 sets observed in Corridor service based on 85 planned and/or observed Venture-equipped trains, with Sets 11, 16, 18, 21, 27 and 29 reported making one trip only. Not observed were sets 1, 2, 7, 12, 14, 15, 19, 25 and 28. (Sets 7 and 12 were used for the augmented 7-car test set and have not operated since.) Set 30 is not yet in service and second-last Set 31 was delivered today.
Click to expand...
Have we not had them long enough to get them reliable enough for more than one run per day? What a waste of money.
 
Bordercollie said:
Have we not had them long enough to get them reliable enough for more than one run per day? What a waste of money.
Click to expand...
Well, admittedly my methodology has 'some' holes in it. I don't see every single train nor see observations of them all. I can only report the observations I can amass, which are still numerous and I began this process to at least find out information that VIA won't supply - that is just what is the serviceability of their most recent acquisitions! Some of these one-off trips may be repositioning moves, i.e. circulating sets between guard-set duties or maintenance centres. Their serviceability has been improving, actually! That may not be saying much, however. I actually think VIA has improved the way they utilize the in-service Venture sets - two 'doublavay' trains east out of Toronto every morning, two chronically late performers cancelled, and most sets operating on two and sometimes three legs each day.

VIA has 13 Venture sets and 2 guard Venture sets in the Corridor rotation. That is not very many with 31 sets now on the property including 29 in service. VIA is stuck at that 13-set level largely due to CN's crossing speed reductions perpetuated by VIA, not serviceability of Venture sets. Let's all imagine what serviceability would look like if all Ventures on all lines could operate at the speeds they were intended to, and VIA ordered them to, before CN imposed the nonsensical restrictions in October, 2024 and focus on seeing that resolved.
 
Trackside_Treasure said:
Well, admittedly my methodology has 'some' holes in it. I don't see every single train nor see observations of them all. I can only report the observations I can amass, which are still numerous and I began this process to at least find out information that VIA won't supply - that is just what is the serviceability of their most recent acquisitions! Some of these one-off trips may be repositioning moves, i.e. circulating sets between guard-set duties or maintenance centres. Their serviceability has been improving, actually! That may not be saying much, however. I actually think VIA has improved the way they utilize the in-service Venture sets - two 'doublavay' trains east out of Toronto every morning, two chronically late performers cancelled, and most sets operating on two and sometimes three legs each day.

VIA has 13 Venture sets and 2 guard Venture sets in the Corridor rotation. That is not very many with 31 sets now on the property including 29 in service. VIA is stuck at that 13-set level largely due to CN's crossing speed reductions perpetuated by VIA, not serviceability of Venture sets. Let's all imagine what serviceability would look like if all Ventures on all lines could operate at the speeds they were intended to, and VIA ordered them to, before CN imposed the nonsensical restrictions in October, 2024 and focus on seeing that resolved.
Click to expand...
I don't think it will be anytime soon
 
I don't believe that either the Montreal or Toronto maintenance bases are complete and operational yet, so maintenance will not be at peak efficiency yet. Possibly that also affects the availability of spare parts etc.
The procurement put Siemens in charge of maintenance, no doubt with specific performance measures. I expect they may improve on things as time goes by.
One recurring maintenance problem which has constrained things is the number of cracked cabcar windows, forcing much more wyeing of consists than planned. So the end operational plan is also likely constrained.

- Paul
 
Saw a Charger train set in Union today. Looks pretty beat up.
Screenshot_20250714_172100_Gallery.jpg
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top