VIA Rail Canada

This was my first time taking Via Rail so I was excited. I took business class from Ottawa to Montréal. The price difference was not much more than economy. I was late to arrive at the station, so my lounge time was not very long. It is nice inside and they have leather seats. There is a coffee machine and cold drinks in the fridge. The sign says they must be consumed only in the lounge. There are private washrooms which are clean and spacious.
We stood in single file and proceeded to board the first car. There were 2 staff members on stand by to scan tickets and help with bags. I have a younger appearance and am always mistaken for someone in their early 20s. Not a bad thing ;) But I noticed when I approached the stairs, I was the only person who was not offered assistance with my luggage. I was one of the final passrngers to board the train. I noticed that the approximately 15 adults travelling in business class appeared to be over the age of 50. I often find my appearance affects the service I receive, which was the case.
Beside the bag incident, the ride was comfortable. I was able to store my carry on in the overhead bin woth my jacket. There was enough leg room to store my other bag on the floor beside me. I was able to select a window seat which was nice. The seats are outdated and require an upgrade. We received drinks and a small snack once the train left. After about 10 mins we got a hot towel. Then the meal was served about 10 minutes after. I choose the vegetarian option as my meal. Although I was not very hungry, I managed to finish the salad and chick peas with rice. I had a glass of white wine with my meal. Afterwards we were offered tea or coffee and organic chocolate in espresso or dark.
My ride was about 1 hour and 35 minutes to my stop. I would take Via Rail again in the future and definitely choose to ride business class. Just a reminder that it is important to provide equal customer service despite their appearance. For this reason I give a generous 3 stars.

I was previously a huge fan of Via Rail. In fact my first trip on my own was across Canada in a day/​night coach from Montréal to Edmonton. I had a ball, I met wonderful people and saw so much of Canada I had never seen before. I don’t know what the trip is like now and wish I could recommend it, the trip I took was in the 1980’s.
My recent trip from Ottawa to Hamilton was confusing and the return trip left me stranded on a Sunday night without local bus service home. Because of the way Via schedules their Sunday trains I had the option of sitting in the Toronto terminal for hours or staying in Hamilton for those hours and enjoying myself, or leaving over three hours earlier to be able to catch an afternoon bus home. I gambled that Via Rail would get me home before the last two buses (after 11PM) would pass the Via station. My luck, the train broke down several times and left me, a disabled person, bus-​less, and because I have a limited income, no way to get home.
The kicker, the extremely stupid, rude and contempt-​full woman who was working the night of… April 2015 who made it clear that she considered me too stupid to read a bus schedule. The cane means my body is injured, not my mind, toots!!! I have lived at my current location for over 10 years and I know ever bus that can get to and from home and I know their schedules. I was counting on the train arriving on time to catch one of the last two that would get me home before OCTranspo shut down Sunday services. (Yes, we are still pretty much a berg, on Sunday most busses stop at Midnight)!
No, I didn’t have a dime to spare for a taxi. I had planned my first vacation in more than 10 years down to the last dime, and as I didn’t expect to have to use a taxi, I had no money left.
All passengers on the train were offered a discount on their next trip (if taken in next six months) with original ticket.

I didn’t find the business lounge all that special… the food at the deli/​takeout restaurant is average at best. One of my least favourite stations to travel through although it’s light years ahead of the Barrhaven Via Rail station. Very large washrooms are convenient, however.

Mr. H and I went to Ottawa for Canada Day and decided to take the train. One way we went economy and during return we upgraded to Business.
Economy: My train left the station at 6.45pm and between getting to the station and boarding, we missed dinner. I wasn’t too worried since we would get dinner on the train. Let’s just say things didn’t go as planned. They served snacks an hour into the journey and I was told that dinner would only be available after Kingston! At 9.15pm! So I ordered a wrap (which was gross.) and waited till dinner. Turns out there was a miscommunication and dinner was no longer available because the server thought I cancelled dinner because I ordered a wrap (a 5 inch wrap!!). So I starved till we got to Ottawa.
Ambience: Not enough leg room, the toilet was so gross (the seat is like a beach in a park) and wifi didn’t work (it was so slow!). Also everything looked very worn out.
Business: My train left at 6.15pm and omg… there was so much leg room! There was also so much space between Mr. H and I, no more elbowing! Instead of fabric seats, it was now leather :) We were given warm towels and then served drinks with some nuts. An hour into the journey we were served drinks twice, followed by dinner (good dinner!), followed by coffee/​tea/​drinks. I was one happy passenger, also my wifi was so strong that I watched Murdoch Mysteries all the way to Toronto. Did I mention the lounge at Ottawa? Well, it was clean and they had the best Mocha ever. I wish there was more food but that’s ok.
Let me just say, travelling economy will never be the same. I will always know that people in Business are getting dinner before me while I settle for dry snacks/​wraps. I’ll know it’s much cleaner with a better toilet and then I’ll just want jump off the train. Or… I’ll save up and only travel Business ;)

Via if you listening, we have travelled Ottawa Montréal 10 times in the last thee months and every time considered and rejected via despite staying at the Fairmont in Montréal which is amazingly directly above the montreal terminal (great food and services there!!!) Ottawa however is a train wreck. #1 location location location. Why in the name of Cow would you abandon the amazing station downtown for the disaster location in the 60s or 70s? #2 Parking. If I have to drive 30 min or more to the station why has there been no investment in parking. #3 Station. Ottawa station is a assault to the senses. A capital city with a Station that belongs in the third world please quit if it is really this bad. #4 baggage. While allowances are generous moving two bags and a carryon per person needs some more logistical planning via. Prices are close and I might have even put up with the very dated interiors. I want to travel a lot more by via but you need to invest a lot more money or this will remain a hobo class travel modality.

I would give No stars! I was traveling from Toronto to Ottawa. Getting there was OK, the leg back from Ottawa to Toronto was a problem. I was traveling with a baby and three year old. The cars need to be updated, crying out for cleaner updated seating. They still have ashtrays in the seats and it’s impossible to strap a Britax car seat to the seat.
Not a comfortable ride for small children. No seatbelts to be found, but I guess they would laugh at that since there are never any train accidents.
We almost missed our stop at Toronto, how do you do that? The attendant was a surly French Canadian, with lousy English or he refused to speak it, would not help me with my car seat or our luggage. I had to get out with the kids in tow and one car seat, hike down the corridor, find the luggage centre with the kids, ask them to help me get the luggage. They refused and told me I could leave my car seat and get the my own luggage. They said to hurry, they would hold the train. This has got to be the WORST customer service ever, we will never ever ride the train ever again. Ride the train through the western region Banf Springs, Calgary to Vancouver if you’re in need of a romantic train ride. The prejudice against English speaking traveller’s can be pretty apparent on the eastern side. The service in Toronto was just Laziness. I would never recommend traveling with kids on via rail, do yourself a favour and rent a car!

Travelling between Ottawa and Montréal and don’t have your own vehicle? Definitely recommend taking the train. The Ottawa station is a little out of town but the train deposits you in the heart of downtown in just two hours. And, if you can plan a little ahead, pay the extra for business class. Free meals and alcohol as well as bigger seats while you enjoy the free wifi (the wifi is in all train cars).

Constant interruptions with tracks and piss poor service. If you can use an alternative method of transportation, do so.

Just what we all need on shorter routes, easy commute, clean stations, good service, good coffee :) found all these & enjoyed the relaxing ride up down Ottawa — Montréal. And the online booking is a breeze ! Via rail Canada, you exceeded my expectations.,

Trains are old, but they get the job done. On longer routes such as Toronto to Ottawa there is food and drink you can buy, similar items to a flight such as tea, coffee, soda, beer, wine, chips and snacks, sandwiches, etc.
The seats are spacious although a little old and haggard, but generally it is a comfortable, no frills experience. They do have flaky wifi on the trains that lets you mindlessly pass the time or do a little bit of work if you need to, as well as plugs to power your electronics.
The train tickets are generally more expensive than bus, and the train is marginally more comfortable than the bus. Booking in advance and online sometimes garners some savings, too.

Clean and spacious waiting area. The staff at the ticket counter is patient in helping with my refund request. Unhurried service.
There’s plenty of seats available at the station and best of all, there’s a café located right at the end of the station. Taking out and u could eat comfortably at any of the 8 2-​seater dining table outside the café. Pops/​mineral water and snacks vending machines are available as well.
Generally, the washrooms are clean. Wifi is available free and the network seems alright with less interruption.
I have a good ride experience at Tremblay VIA Canada train station. It’s hassle free and do weigh your baggage if u think u are likely to exit the baggage allowance. They are quite strict in that. Just go to the baggage weighing scale in front of the entrance and get it weigh or the staff will come with a mobile scale machine and tag a red sticker with date when it’s done. U are allowed a 18kg carry on baggage on the train when checked in facility is not available during your chosen ride. Anything exceeding 18kg — 23kg will required a penalty charge of $ 20. Just pay the charges at the billing counter and a green tag will be placed on your baggage. They are less stringent on size but extremely skeptical on the weight of your baggage. I was allowed to carry on a 29″ luggage since it weighed only 16kg. So size doesn’t matter but do not over fed your baggage. Anything that’s above 23kg is not allowed on board the train. Perhaps u may need to check with the station staff to get it resolved! Accordingly, no one has exceeded that! Boy!
Have a pleasant ride!!!

I’m from Edmonton and before about a month ago the last time I was on a VIA Rail train I was 2, and obviously I don’t remember the experience.
I’m sure people who take VIA Rail regularly, or on a more frequent basis can probably tell you more about their services. I can say that my experience of taking the train was pretty awesome. I did a trip from Toronto to Ottawa, then one from Ottawa to Montréal, and a final trip back from Montréal to Ottawa. Aside from the 2 hour trip from Ottawa to Montréal the free WiFi worked great on the train. I could get some work done (or get distracted by Facebook) and not feel stressed. And since your not driving you don’t need to pay attention to other drivers. There are no other drivers. You’re on a train track, and there’s a conductor or engineer to worry about that. Sure it’s not as quick as taking a plane, but you get to see more of the country-​side, there’s free WiFi, and there’s no 2 hour wait at security or boarding to go through. Taking the train was pretty easy to figure out.
This VIA Rail train station isn’t very big, which can be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at things. The good news is there is absolutely no way you can get lost here, unlike at a larger train station such as Union Station in Toronto. The bad news is this train station doesn’t have much for amenities (one coffee/​snack shop), and the train station is located pretty far from downtown Ottawa. There is a bus station across the street that can take you into Ottawa, but you have to get exact change, which you can do at the coffeeshop. It would have been nice to have a bit more variety in food options at the train station, since it’s so far from anything else, but it’s not like flying where you have to spend 2 hours at the train station in order to get on your train. Perhaps it’s different depending on the time of the day — like at times with business commuters — but it wasn’t very busy when I went.
So the train was good, the station a little less but not so bad that I’d never take VIA Rail again.

This review is impossible. I can’t give you my opinion, because I am confused. The VIA Rail station in Ottawa has so much potential, yet that potential continues to be squandered.
Rather than a review, I simply have questions (rhetorical I am sure) that will put things into perspective:
Why on earth does VIA allow a sub-​par coffee shop to be the only eating establishment in the entire train station? This isn’t me being rude, it’s simply horrible. The selection is weak at best, the customer service isn’t there (talk on the phone more while you ring my purchase through, please), the prices are outrageous… I can go on, but the long-​and-​short of it is, this is a coffee shop that would have gone out of business a long-​time-​ago if it didn’t have the monopoly in a train station.
How does it make sense to have only two televisions in the entire train terminal, always playing the same news channels with the sound off — one in English and one in French? A grand total of eight people can see the screens clearly at any given time, while everyone else sits in the bland, boring waiting areas counting the seconds.
Who was it that planned the Panorama Lounge in the Ottawa Train Station? The way VIA promotes it, you would think the Queen of England stops by on occasion. In reality, it’s a room that can fit about 20 people. Sure the chairs are comfy and if you qualify to enter you get free pop (free, as in you already paid for it by buying a business class ticket), but what else are you giving? Available Wi-​Fi IN the terminal? What an age we live in.
Why on earth isn’t there an easier way to get to the terminal from the mall behind it? A new mall has been constructed behind the terminal, which was an opportunity to reignite the energy around the Via station. Why not have a tunnel leading to the mall from the station? Why not get some foot traffic?
The questions are endless, but at the end of the day, this is a great location with a history that dates back decades, but the powers that be are content with having a mediocre train station in the Nation’s Capital.
The real shame, in my mind, is the fact that the Montréal — Windsor corridor (which Ottawa is part of) accounts for the GREAT MAJORITY of VIA’s business. You’d think they might want to keep their current customers happy and loyal.

These days I am living on the rail lines between Toronto and Ottawa. Kudos to VIA for upgrading their service and offering super cheap web prices for 7 day advance bookings.
Seats are roomy. Wifi is good. Electrical outlet at every seat. Even the onboard dining prices are pretty good. Three round trips in three weeks and all have left and departed on time.
Much of the trip depends on the attitude of the conductors and service personnel. Most of them are terrific. One or two grumpy guys have put a damper on an otherwise good experience.
By the way, Ottawa now has a great little restaurant in the station. It has a real coffee bar, fresh sandwiches (grilled, pressed, etc.), good looking salads and baked goods.
The station has free WiFi as well.
Union station is great as a historical and architectural icon. However, too many stairs and too few elevators/​escalators make this a daunting place for folks with mobility challenges.

I am a frequent rail traveler so I pass through this station a lot and although functional as it may be, it is still quite far from downtown, although much easier to get to than the Greyhound station due to the attached transitway station. The architecture is fairly ugly (I guess I don’t appreciate the aesthetics of a girder the way they did in the 60’s) but on the plus side it is very well designed in terms of functionality. The concourse area has large wide open spaces, while the big glass walls provide plenty of light and the washrooms are usually nice and clean (although I am fortunate to be short as the men’s room is quite cramped).
In terms of amenities, the station really could use electronic arrival/​departure boards, especially now that VIA are running more Montréal-​Ottawa-​Toronto trains that have a higher risk of a delay. The current system of a manual board is antiquated. The restaurant is functional, but a bit overpriced, while the TV’s showing a live news feed are a good touch.
Overall the station is good, with potential to be a lot better if VIA were to invest a little in a few extra amenities.

Of the major train stations in the Quebec to Windsor corridor, Ottawa’s is the most modern yet simple.
The building is a nice looking place with high ceilings and lots of glass. The ticket counter greets you as soon as you walk in so compared to Toronto and Montréal there’s very little walking.
Unlike Toronto and Montréal though you do have to do a little bit of outdoor walking TO and FROM your train but it’s not that significant.
The biggest thing that is lacking here is a restaurant. There are food and snack options available at a small café but really if you get there for an early or late train you’re pretty much out of luck. There’s nothing around the train station either so you’ll find yourself hoping in a cab or grabbing the bus (major east-​west buses go right past the station).
I enjoy Ottawa’s train station on a typical day because I live here and I think it’s a decent welcome for visitors too but when this place gets busy or if you get stuck here waiting for a long period of time I begin to really feel sorry for you because you can’t just pop out to somewhere else to wait your delay out like you can in Toronto or Montréal.

I’ve had such mixed feelings about VIA Rail that I’ve learned to avoid it as much as possible.
My dad used to take it to and from Toronto all the time when I was little, so I used to think it was coolest thing ever. Wrong. I took it a few times when I was in university and it no matter how much I tried to like it, it just so much more of a hassle than convenience. They used to have these coupons in random chocolate milk powder tins for a 2-​for-​1 deal on tickets, and if it wasn’t for these coupons, I really don’t think I would’ve taken it otherwise.
I believe there are only two trains leaving from the Ottawa station — to Toronto and Montréal. If you’ve ever driven to Toronto, you would know that it should only take 4 – 5 hours, on average. Every time I’ve taken the train, it’s taken 6 – 7 hours without notice, always late, and costs twice the price. One time during the holidays, coming back to Ottawa from Toronto, we had to switch «cars», and instead of letting people just walk through the isles, we all had to get our luggage and carry-​ons (Christmas presents) and get off the platform just to move up ONE CAR. How terribly inconvenient!
If you have longer legs, I guess you would want the large leg room, but the chairs are pretty much plastic with hardly any padding, so it’s a bit of a trade-​off. They do have Wi-​Fi on the train, though, so if you’re a business person or a student with a paper to hand in, I’m sure you’d really appreciate it.

Travelled from Ottawa to Toronto today on Via 1. The lounge in Ottawa is small but I guess big enough for most days. On a Friday before a long weekend… not at all. The lounge had hot and cold beverages to offer along with a few daily newspapers.
Business class boarded the train first. There is a selection of alcoholic and non-​alcoholic beverages to choose from. The meal usually has 3 options for entres — 1 veg, 1 seafood/​chicken, 1 red meat. The meal is complimented with red or white wine. The meal also includes a desert. I must say that the food is better than any plane food I have ever had. The service is really good, much better than what I was expecting. After the meal, you can always ask for a hot bev.
The journey may be a bit longer than a flight… more than a bit actually. But as compared to the bus, the train is far superior. And free wi-​fi on board business class. After experiencing Via 1, I now will have to re-​think if I would even consider economy unless it is significantly cheaper. Good Job Via!

Okay, VIA: What the hell? You put this lovely modern-​looking station in — nice tall ceilings, big windows for lots of light — with a good connection to the bus system, and then you manage to screw it up with no method for people to get change when arriving on a late train. No staff on hand that I could see, and all the vending machines are coin-​only. Getting change to get on the damned bus proved… tricky, to say the least.
The biggest complaint, however: the men’s washroom. Whoever designed it needs to spend far, FAR less time with hobbits, because the urinal walls are inexcusably close. Were men THAT much more intimate when this thing was built in the 60s?
I should mark you lower for so utterly confusing and annoying a new arrival alone, but I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and leave it at three stars simply due to my lack of experience. You’re definitely on notice, though.
Oh, and referring to this as the «downtown station» reflects a far, FAR more liberal interpretation of «downtown» than I’m comfortable with.