Train Adventure - VIA Rail Corridor, Part Two: Which trains are the good trains?
VIA Rail REALLY doesn't want you to know what train you're about to ride.
Last week in Part One, we went over the five main Corridor services that VIA Rail operates, and the different tracks that they operate on. With Part Two this week, we’ll go over something far more important: the actual trains you’ll get to ride.
Whether the train is going at the maximum speed of 160 km/h, at a reduced speed through a level crossing, or completely halted for several hours as CN Rail freight traffic ruins your day, the space you’re about to be trapped for the next few hours is important.
After all, trains don’t move as fast as flights, so the creature comforts are even more significant for us passengers. Travelers deserve a modern train which is comfortable, accessible, reliable, and high-speed.
Today, we’ll talk about all the different trains that VIA Rail operates on the main Corridor services. Whether you’re a railfan looking to optimize every aspect of your journey, or the average Canadian just trying to get from Point A to Point B at a reasonable price, this guide will point you in the right direction.
The Rolling Stock
On the Corridor, VIA Rail runs some very old trains, some very new trains, and some structurally dubious trains. Every Corridor train uses a diesel-electric locomotive, which either pushes or pulls a train consist of unpowered cars.
VIA Rail’s use of locomotives stands in contrast to countries like Japan which use multiple-units for intercity rail service. With multiple-unit cars, motive power is distributed throughout the train, allowing for faster acceleration and deceleration.
Multiple-units can be found in intercity and regional rail service across many countries, in both electric (EMU) and diesel (DMU) varieties. Indeed, VIA Rail does use an old DMU model, the Budd RDC…but only on a regional route in Northern Ontario, to facilitate flag stops in isolated rural communities.
For the passenger experience, the car you are riding in is much more relevant than the locomotive tugging you along. This holds especially true on VIA Rail’s Corridor, where every train regardless of the locomotive or the passenger car is limited to a maximum speed limit of 160 km/h.
Primarily because of this, I will focus more of this entry of Train Adventure on the passenger cars versus the locomotives. Nonetheless, in order to be thorough with this piece, I will briefly break the locomotives down as well:
Locomotives
First of all, don’t let the name confuse you: VIA Rail’s diesel-electric locomotive are not hybrid locomotives. For decades, the majority of modern diesel locomotives have used an electric drive-train, which is provided electricity by a diesel generator; this is what “diesel-electric” refers to.
A locomotive which has the capacity to operate in true hybrid fashion, switching between electric power and diesel power, is known as a dual-mode locomotive. VIA Rail does not possess any dual-mode trains, as none of the track they currently operate on has been electrified with overhead catenary.
Electric trains can accelerate and decelerate faster than diesel trains, providing operational benefits in addition to the environmental benefits. Unfortunately, despite Metrolinx in Ontario making concrete plans to electrify their tracks, VIA Rail did not take advantage when purchasing their new Corridor fleet.
VIA Rail operates three different models of diesel-electric locomotive: the EMD F40PH-2D, the GE Genesis P42DC, and the Siemens Charger SCV-42. Here are the important bits:
EMD — F40PH-2D
General Motors Electro-Motive Division first launched the F40PH series in 1975, a passenger model based on their popular EMD GP40-2 freight locomotive. The F40PH became an instant success for EMD, launching many variants over the years with Amtrak, VIA Rail, and a slew of North American regional operators.
In Canada, VIA Rail operates the F40PH-2D variant, customized for operation in the Canadian winter. These locomotives were ordered by VIA Rail to replace the older locomotives they had inherited from CN Rail and Canadian Pacific Railway.
The F40PH-2D units were manufactured in London, Ontario, and delivered in the late 1980s as some of the last F40PH units EMD delivered before transitioning to the sale of newer models; EMD would go on to develop the F59PH for Ontario’s GO Transit.
The F40PH-2D is rated for roughly 3,000 ~ 3,200 horsepower of motive output, weaker than the other VIA Rail locomotives in Corridor service. While they may take slower to accelerate than the other models, they can still hit the 160 km/h speed limit that binds all Corridor trains equally.
Currently, VIA Rail’s fleet of F40PH-2D locomotives are undergoing a new rebuilding process in Lachine, Québec. This process has the intent of extending the lifespan of thirty-nine units until the year 2035.
With the new Siemens fleet set to displace all other equipment from Corridor service, VIA Rail’s investment in rebuilding the F40PH-2D units guarantees they will remain an iconic symbol of Canadian passenger rail for many years to come…even if they no longer grace the current $10 banknote.
General Electric — Genesis P42DC
Between 1992 and 2001, General Electric built the Genesis series of locomotives for the North American market, originally launching with the P40DC model for Amtrak’s long-distance service; at 4,000 horsepower, two P40DC locomotives could do the same work as three of Amtrak’s older F40PH or F40PHR units.
As a result, Amtrak began replacing the F40PH with the P40DC in 1993; when the P42DC launched in 1996 with a superior 4,250 horsepower, further deliveries switched to the upgraded model, and by 2001 Amtrak had fully retired the F40PH in favour of the Genesis, repurposing some F40PH units as luggage and cab cars.
It is the P42DC model of the Genesis series which VIA Rail adopted in 2001, adding themselves as a tag order to Amtrak’s final procurement. VIA Rail ordered these Genesis P42DC units to replace older locomotives, as well as some which had been damaged after accidents.
Curiously, despite being intended for long-distance routes like The Canadian, VIA Rail operates the P42DC exclusively on the Corridor. Since the additional horsepower means the P42DC can accelerate more quickly than the F40PH-2D, it has a greater capacity to make up delays caused by freight traffic.
As the Siemens fleet will also displace the P42DC from the Corridor, and since the Genesis units have a fair bit of useful life left in them, I would expect that Corridor-exclusive status to change in due time; they could certainly find a purpose on other VIA Rail services.
Siemens — Charger SCV-42
The Siemens Charger is one of three EPA Tier 4 diesel locomotives on the market; the other two competing models, the EMD F125 and the MPI MP54AC, have sold an order of magnitude fewer units than the Siemens Charger.
The MPI MP54AC was only been purchased by Metrolinx for GO Transit in Ontario, while the EMD F125 was only purchased by Metrolink in Southern California. Since then, Wabtec has withdrawn the MPI model from their product catalog.
Thus, if you’re looking for a diesel passenger locomotive in North America, the Siemens Charger is the only serious game in town. And indeed, the Charger is popular enough that it has already spawned a few different variants.
VIA Rail, initially placed their order for the same SC-44 variant used by Amtrak’s state-supported operators. In time, however, they worked with Siemens to modify their locomotives, creating the VIA Rail-exclusive SCV-42 variant of the Charger.
The SCV-42 has a fuel capacity of 8300 litres and a power output of 4,200 horsepower, which matches the specifications of the GE Genesis P42DC which it will replace in VIA Rail’s Corridor operations.
Additionally, the snowplows and nose cone are more pronounced than the American variants; various elements of the locomotive have been extensively winterized to suit the Canadian climate. These attributes make the SCV-42 visually distinctive to the other Charger variants sold by Siemens.
Most notably, while the nose of the SCV-42 features a standard coupler, the back of the locomotive is semi-permanently mated to the Venture trainsets. Some operators, such as Metro-North Railroad in New York, and soon Exo commuter rail in Montréal, use their Siemens Chargers coupled to a variety of cars; the SCV-42 variant, in contrast, cannot do so.
The Siemens Charger SCV-42 variant and the Siemens Venture cars are thus mutually required to be used together on VIA Rail. This is not a concern, as all other equipment is planned to be retired from service or shifted onto other routes by 2025.
There is a shortsight, however, which does frustrate me greatly.
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As mentioned previously, Metrolinx will be electifying their tracks with 25 kilovolts of alternating current, at the North American utility frequency of 60 Hz. This is the modern standard for passenger rail, and it will cover a large swath of the Metrolinx tracks that VIA Rail’s Corridor services use.
One of the factory options which Siemens offers for the Charger locomotive is the ability to add an Auxiliary Power Vehicle (APV) with a pantograph to collect electricity from overhead catenary; this turns the Charger into a proper dual-mode locomotive.
The modification to insert this pantograph module is simple, and can be done at the factory; the difference between Amtrak’s ALC-42 diesel variant and ALC-42E dual-mode variant are minor, and the former could potentially be upgraded into the latter.
As such, it is disappointing that VIA Rail made no provisions to purchase these APVs as part of their Siemens trainsets. Even if we didn’t purchase the pantograph modules immediately, there certainly would have been value in building the SCV-42 locomotives with the compatibility already included.
To my knowledge, VIA Rail could send our units back to Siemens, so that the modification could be made. If this is possible, I would highly encourage that VIA Rail make plans to do so, as Siemens has a large order backlog and the process may take time.
Ultimately, it would be disappointing to be stuck with diesel trains on an electrified track corridor. But on balance, the Siemens Charger is the best locomotive that VIA Rail has ever purchased.
Passenger Coaches
VIA Rail does not utilize any baggage cars, dining cars, or lounge cars along the Corridor services; you will only have your typical passenger car, and you will have very little reason to leave that car during your journey.
Galleys are distributed throughout the length of the train, meaning that food and drink service are brought to your seat. This contrasts with Amtrak in the USA, where you must walk to the café car for snacks and beverages; Amtrak’s future Siemens trainsets, while similar to VIA Rail’s current Siemens fleet, will differ in that key aspect.
There are luggage racks located within the cars for oversized baggage which does not fit in the overhead bid. Unlike a plane, you need not fear any gate checks; there is enough luggage space in the bins to satisfy every single passenger aboard your train.
Golf bags, hockey bags, and skis/snowboards are permitted as carry-on items aboard Corridor trains. Unfortunately for cyclists, however, currently only folding bicycles are allowed onboard.
There are three types of passenger car you may end up riding on your Corridor journey, pulled by one of the three diesel locomotives mentioned previously.
For VIA Rail’s older fleet of HEP stainless steel cars and LRC aluminum cars, your locomotive may be either an EMD F40PH-2D or a GE Genesis P42DC. HEP cars and LRC cars may find themselves mixed and matched within the same train consist.
But for VIA Rail’s new fleet of Siemens Venture cars, your train consist will be semi-permanently coupled to a matching Siemens Charger SCV-42 locomotive, and will never feature any other kind of passenger car.
By 2025, only the Siemens trainsets are planned to operate on the Corridor. But at the current time, all of these models of train currently operate, and with Canada’s potential to delay progress, they may remain longer than we expect. Here’s the rundown:
Budd Company — HEP-1 & HEP-2
The HEP fleet represents the oldest equipment in revenue service along the Corridor. HEP stands for “head end power”, which is how VIA Rail locomotives provide electricity from their generator to the passengers cars.
Head-end power is used by the train to heat the cabins, power the internal lights, and most importantly, brew coffee for passengers in the galley. But counter-intuitively, HEP is not exclusive to the HEP fleet, and it’s used across a wide variety of trains around the world.
VIA Rail’s “HEP” fleet, specifically, are actually a group of very old stainless steel equipment, originally built in the 1940s and the 1950s.
These various steel cars were first manufactured by the Budd Company. Before VIA Rail, they were previously owned by a long chain of operators; VIA Rail acquired these cast-offs from Amtrak and Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and then put them through extensive interior reconstruction.
The HEP fleet is used not only for Corridor services, but also on long-distance routes as dining cars, sleeping cars, and lounge cars. These cars have been reinvented so many times since their initial birth that they are a modern Ship of Theseus.
For the Corridor, there are three specific HEP variantions to keep in mind: the HEP-2 Club for Business Class, and both the HEP-2 Coach and the HEP-1 Long-Distance Coach for Economy Class.
On the Corridor, the HEP-2 Club (Cars #4000-#4009) and HEP-2 Coach (Cars #4100-4125) see much more common use than any HEP-1 car. The HEP-2 units were originally built by Budd between 1947 and 1953.
In the early 2020s, the HEP-2 fleet was put through their second refurbishment since VIA Rail first aquired them. Both the HEP-2 Club and HEP-2 Coach share the exact same Grammer ICE3000 seat model, and both variants arrange their seating in a 50-50 layout, with half the passengers facing forwards and half facing backwards.
On the HEP-2 Club, there are 56 seats arranged in a 1-2 layout, allowing both solo travelers and pairs to sit together. There are also tables in the layout that offer seats facing each other, conductive to group travel with friends, family, or colleagues.
Solo passengers may book a seat at two-person tables on the left side of the car; four-person tables, however, require a party of at least three people to book. This is a policy which I consider more than reasonable, as it ensures the tables are used by groups large enough to suit them.
On the HEP-2 Coach, there are 68 seats arranged in a 2-2 layout, adding a column of seats and taking away some legroom. Otherwise, these cabins feature the same Grammer ICE3000 seats, the same interior lighting and design, and the same luggage storage features as the Business Class variant. Since there is no single-file seating, Economy Class only features four-person tables, and not two-person.
Many Corridor consists, in addition to the HEP-2 cars, also place a single HEP-1 Long-Distance Coach at the tail of the train. The HEP-1 Long Distance Coach cars, numbered #8100 to #8147, were designed for VIA Rail’s long-distance operations, such as The Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver, and The Ocean from Montréal to Halifax.
However, many of these HEP-1 cars have been refitted to include the WiFi system that is aboard the HEP-2 fleet and LRC fleet, enabling their use as additional capacity on Corridor services.
Since the HEP-1 was designed for long-distance Economy passengers who could not afford a sleeper compartment, this car seats only 62 passengers in comparison to the HEP-2 Coach seating 68.
The HEP-1 features extensive legroom and generously padded seating, making it more comfortable than the Grammer ICE3000 seats. However, the HEP-1 does not feature an arm rest between you and your seatmate, so solo passengers should be warned: they will have no separation between them and a complete stranger.
Both HEP-2 variants as well as the HEP-1 may be pulled by either EMD F40PH-2D or by GE Genesis P42DC locomotives. HEP-2 and HEP-1 cars normally operate only with other HEP fleet cars, but on rare occasion, such as on the Toronto — London sub-service, you may see the HEP-2 and LRC mixed in a single consist.
While they are planned to be retired from Corridor service once the Siemens fleet has been fully delivered, these stainless steel Budd cars are hardy, reliable, and could just as easily be pulled by a modern electric locomotive on any other standard grade track around the world.
Until the Federal Government carries out plans to procure a new long-distance fleet for VIA Rail, I would expect to see these Budd cars relocated to other VIA Rail services, or potentially sold onwards once more to a new set of owners.
Whatever their future, I have nothing but respect for the HEP fleet; these troopers have a lot of fight left in them.
Bombardier — LRC
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The Bombardier LRC was the first new-from-factory train purchased by VIA Rail after it was spun off from CN Rail in 1977. Until this point relying on used equipment they had inherited from CN Rail, CP Railway, Amtrak, and other operators, VIA Rail placed an order with Bombardier to obtain their LRC series of locomotives and passenger cars.
LRC is a bilingual acronym, which in English signifies “Light, Rapid, Comfortable”, and in French, “Léger, Rapide, et Confortable”. Designed as an alternative to purpose-built high-speed lines, the LRC was intended to operate on existing passenger corridors without requiring the investment to remove grade crossings and straighten track curves.
In order to accomplish this goal, the LRC series used a system called “active-tilt”, which reduces the forces on passengers while travelling at high speeds. This kind of mechanism does not actually make the train go faster, but it does make those higher speeds more comfortable when banking through curves.
As such, the LRC was designed to operate at ~200 km/h on routes like the Corridor, with one LRC locomotive for each end of the train. During test runs, the LRC was able to reach top speeds of 210 km/h.
Unfortunately, such speeds would never feature in passenger revenue service along the Corridor, and it would face the same speed-limiting conditions as every other Corridor train before and since.
While the active-tilt mechanism did feature some growing pains, in the modern era it is now a common feature. Indeed, Amtrak’s Acela high-speed service between Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. features trains that were also built by Bombardier, and those trains have an improved second-generation tilting mechanism based on that included in the LRC cars.
The tilting mechanism, ultimately, is not why the Bombardier LRC failed. The simple truth is that the LRC did not address the core problems of grade crossings or freight traffic, which are a far larger bottleneck on speed than track curves.
Since the LRC cars would now only see service at 160 km/h along the Corridor, they only required a single LRC locomotive for one end of the consist. Ultimately, there was little benefit for VIA Rail from this investment into a bespoke rolling stock.
There is a lesson in this story: if you don’t separate passenger traffic from freight traffic, and you don’t remove grade crossings that intersect roads, then your train will never be able to operate at reasonable speeds.
The two locomotive variants, the LRC-2 and LRC-3, both started to fade from service before the dawn of the new millennium. The last revenue service operation of an LRC locomotive was in 2001, only twenty years after the debut of the model in 1981; it would find itself replaced by the GE Genesis P42DC, as mentioned above.
The passenger cars remain in VIA Rail service today, however the active-tilt mechanisms have been physically removed. Nonetheless, even without the tilting system, they still hit the 160 km/h speed limit for Corridor operations.
There is little to note about the inside of VIA Rail’s LRC cars versus their HEP-2 cars. During the 2020s, both were refit by VIA Rail to have extremely similiar interiors; as a result, both the LRC Club (Cars #3451-#3478) and LRC Coach (Cars #3300-#3372) use the exact same Grammer ICE3000 seating as their HEP-2 counterparts.
Overhead bins, internal cabin lighting, curtains, all of these are the same between the HEP-2 and the LRC. Even the galleys for food and beverage service use the same equipment for food preparation, as indicated by labels saying “HEP/LRC”. Both the HEP-2 and the LRC use the same WiFi provider for onboard internet service.
As a result, if a passenger doesn’t pay attention to the outside of the train car before they step aboard, they could genuinely be unsure as to whether they’re aboard a HEP-2 car or an LRC car…and for the average rider, I can’t say that the difference particularly matters!
One minor distinction on the interior of the HEP-2 Club versus the LRC Club is the seating capacity. A LRC Club car seats only 44 Business Class passengers compared to the HEP-2 Club car’s 56.
In contrast however, both the LRC Coach and HEP-2 Coach seat 68 Economy Class passengers. As a result of the smaller size of the LRC Club car, many LRC train consists are longer than a HEP-2 consist, featuring two Business Class cars rather than one.
Despite being decades younger than the HEP fleet, the LRC passenger cars are a higher priority for replacement, and will soon exit service. Metal fatigue has caused structural problems with the aluminum frames of the LRC cars, as first reported by CBC News in 2012.
As such, while the HEP-1 and HEP-2 cars will likely see usage on other routes until VIA Rail completes long-distance fleet renewal, the LRC cars are headed for the scrap heap.
Thankfully, two units of the VIA Rail LRC locomotives have been kept and preserved in working order: an LRC-2 model numbered #6917 kept by the VIA Historical Association near Mimico GO Station in Toronto, and an LRC-3 model numbered #6921 kept by the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, Québec just south of Montréal.
It is my sincere hope that a few LRC passenger cars can be saved from the scrap heap and preserved in a similar fashion, ideally alongside the matching LRC-2/3 locomotives they used to operate with.
I think adding an LRC Club car and a few LRC Coach cars to the Canadian Railway Museum, refitting the interiors back to their original 1980s designs, and pairing them with the LRC-3 locomotive, would be an excellent way for historians to preserve VIA Rail’s legacy for future generations.
After all, while the LRC may not be in service much longer, there is a certain Jetsons-esque appeal in looking back at our past and remembering: this is what the future used to look like.
Siemens — Venture
VIA Rail’s Siemens trainsets were ordered by VIA Rail in December of 2018, and Siemens began to deliver those Charger locomotives and Venture cars in late 2021. After thorough testing during the 2021-2022 winter season, the Siemens trainsets began revenue service with VIA Rail on November 8th, 2022.
The Siemens Venture cars are the North American derivative of Siemens’ Viaggio Comfort model, used in Europe for the Railjet high-speed service. While Railjet’s Viaggio Comfort is designed for 250 km/h and operates at 230 km/h, their Venture cousins in North America are only rated for a maximum of 200 km/h.
Further, on VIA Rail, the 160 km/h speed limit of the Corridor strikes a deadly blow yet again; the Venture is no faster than the older VIA Rail trains which came before it, but unlike the LRC cars the metal structure isn’t fatigued!
The Venture first enterered service in 2018 with Brightline in Florida, a private intercity rail operator between Miami and Orlando. At the same time, orders for Venture cars became increasingly popular with state governments, to replace their aging fleets on Amtrak state-supported routes.
Finally, in 2021 Amtrak would follow the lead of those state governments, and place their own order for Venture cars to replace their decades-old Amfleet I cars.
VIA Rail’s order of the Venture cars for Corridor service likely inspired Ontario Northland to make a similar purchase in 2022, as part of their plan to revive the Northlander passenger rail service later this decade.
The Northlander will likely launch by 2027, and it will be interesting to compare the Northlander Venture cars to the Corridor Venture cars; I hope that VIA Rail and Ontario Northland can form an arrangement for codesharing, to enable protected transfers at Union Station in Toronto.
Needless to say, the Siemens Venture cars, and the Siemens Charger locomotive they are intended to pair with, are rapidly becoming the rolling stock of choice for intercity operators in North America. Even operators which do not use Venture cars have still opted to select the Siemens Charger as their new locomotive of choice.
Beyond the sleek, modern aesthetics of the outside, the most important thing about these new cars is that the Siemens Venture is much nicer on the inside too. Compared to the dated interiors of the LRC and the HEP cars, the interior of the Venture car is a much-welcome leap into the 21st Century.
Similar to the rest of the Corridor fleet, Venture cars have both Business Class and Economy Class variations, with Business in a 1-2 seating layout and Economy in a 2-2 seating layout. Both have a 50-50 split between front-fracing and rear-facing seats, and both have table seating available.
The similarities end there. The aisles are wider in both classes of cabin than the LRC and HEP cars, allowing increased space for passengers and crew to move about, and yet this is the least of the new accessibility-focused design aspects.
The Venture is far more accessible for wheelchair users than any other car which VIA Rail operates in it’s fleet, with powered lifts to board wheelchairs, as well as a plethora of fully accessible seating and washrooms spread throughout the entirety of the train.
VIA Rail is more than proud to expound about those features themselves, at great length. Even though I may not require any of these accessibility features, I am heartened to see this level of care being put into increasing accessibility.
The LCD info screens on the ceiling of each Venture car are my personal new favourite feature of these cars. On each of these screens, with several spread throughout the vehicle, VIA Rail is able to easily keep passengers informed about a wide variety of things about their journey.
On the top of the screen, VIA Rail puts the number of your train (in the above example, #643), which car you are aboard on that train (in this case, car #2), and a pictogram showing whether that car’s washroom is currently occupied.
Below that, is the most important info, showing your current station and the next two stations following. While you are in motion between stations, the dot representing your train will slowly move along the animated line between stations, gradually reflecting your progress between stations.
Of course, auditory announcements are still made by VIA Rail conductors in addition to the LCD screen; this ensures that those unable to see any of the screens are still made aware of their train’s progress.
Like the HEP-2 and LRC cars, the Venture uses the same kind of seat for both Business Class and Economy Class; however, instead of the Grammer ICE3000 seat model, the Venture car instead uses the Clerprem Arthemis seat design.
Preference for one seating model over the other is highly subjective; I personally prefer sitting in the Arthemis seats for extended periods of time, but other frequent VIA Rail travelers have commented to me that they find the reverse to be true, and prefer the ICE3000 seats.
One unique seating feature of the Venture Business car, as opposed to the LRC Club and HEP-2 Club cars, is the semi-compartment. Similar to the regular four-person tables which require a group of at least three to book, the Venture Business car partially encloses Seats 1A/B and 2A/B for an element of visual privacy.
This divide is best compared to a cubicle wall; your conversations will be heard just as easily as any other passenger in the cabin, and there is no sliding door to fully enclose the space from passengers walking towards the restroom or through the gangway.
Nonetheless, for groups travelling together, it is understandably more popular than the typical four-person tables in the same cabin; be prepared to book the semi-compartment long in advance to ensure it is available for your party.
A note of caution: aboard the Venture cars, the power outlets beside your seat stick out right into the space where your beverage is supposed to sit. I would call this a notable flaw; passengers should be wary to not accidentally knock over their beverage with their charging cable.
When it comes to service aboard the Venture cars, the galley equipment is superior to that used by both the HEP-2 and LRC fleet. Where the older trains will serve both water and alcohol in disposable plastic cups, the Venture cars use proper glassware which carry double the volume of liquid.
The WiFi equipment is also superior to that aboard the HEP fleet and LRC fleet, using a different provider, a different network name, and a different connection portal. If you have only used the onboard WiFi on the older trains, you will not automatically reconnect.
Unfortunately, the newer system still uses cellular service, meaning that bandwidth has not significantly improved over the older system. On the upside, this connection has improved stability and reliability, making it more useful for connecting to a workplace VPN.
Currently, VIA Rail primarily operates five-car Venture trainsets in conjunction with the SCV-42 locomotive, consisting of a Business Class end car, a Business class middle car, two Economy Class middle cars, and at the end an Economy Class cab car with operator controls to enable bidirectional movement.
However, on the Montreal — Québec sub-service during weekdays, the #20 eastbound train operates with a four-car Venture trainset, with only a single Business Class car rather than both.
All of VIA Rail’s Charger SCV-42 locomotives are numbered as #22XX, while the cars have various numbers from #23XX to #29XX. Every passenger car in a single consist will share the same two digits for XX, but the last two digits of the Charger locomotive may not be the same as the one shared by the passenger cars it tugs.
The Business Class end car, numbered #26XX, features 41 seats, as well as two wheelchair spaces and two flip-up benches intended for use while queuing for the fully accessible washroom.
The Business Class middle car, numbered #27XX, possesses 46 seats, removing the two wheelchair spaces and replacing the single accessible washroom with two standard washrooms, while retaining the two flip-up queuing benches.
This middle car is the one removed from the four-car consist on the #20 train; as such, the four-car Siemens trainset is guaranteed to always have fully accessible washrooms in both Business Class and Economy Class.
For the two Economy Class middle cars, numbered #29XX and #28XX, each possesses a fully accessible washroom; the #29XX has a half-galley for serving Economy passengers, while the #28XX instead uses that space for an additional standard washroom.
The #29XX has 66 seats, one wheelchair parking space, and one flip-up waiting bench. In contrast, the #28XX has 62 seats, two wheelchair parking spaces, and two flip-up waiting benches.
Finally, in the Economy Class cab car, numbered #23XX, there are 62 seats, with no wheelchair space and no flip-up queue bench for the washrooms. There is a single standard washroom, as well as the driving cab for operators. Unlike the other cars, which feature luggage racks near the vestibule, the cab car places its luggage rack in the middle of the car.
While VIA Rail mainly uses these five-car consists with the above configurations for each car, this is variable and the four-car trains used on the #20 train from Montréal to Québec proves the sets can be shortened or lengthened to match customer demand.
Personally, rather than spend the money to lengthen the existing trains, I would rather have more trains at a greater frequency. But absent any change in the frequency limitations imposed by CN Rail freight traffic, I would not oppose lengthening these trainsets in the future, as Brightline plans to do with their own trainsets in Florida.
One additional bonus for the rail traveler who likes whimsy: VIA Rail Siemens Charger #2218 and the attached Siemens Venture cars are painted in a special yellow livery, and the train is nicknamed “Lumi”. This livery represents the old UAC Turbotrain, an early high-speed train powered by a gas turbine.
I think special liveries like this are a nice way to get passengers excited about their next train, and as such it disappoints me that this is the only special livery VIA Rail uses on any of their Siemens trainsets.
It would be great if VIA Rail could do a few more special liveries to represent other parts of Canadian rail history. For the low cost of having Siemens do a different paint job at the factory, VIA Rail can make a larger impact on their customers, and build anticipation for which special train will surprise a passenger on their journey.
Mind you, while these new trains are very nice, they are not without problems; Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez demanded immediate action from VIA Rail’s executives, after a ten-hour delay where a Siemens Charger locomotive experienced technical failure. Passengers becoming stranded without food or water, and a VIA Rail cabin crew member ripping a passenger’s phone out of their hands.
Minister Rodriguez resigned from his position soon after that, leaving the Liberal caucus to sit as an independent and pursue his leadership ambitions for the Québec Liberal Party. Now, CN Rail and VIA Rail are engaged in a legal dispute over whether the Siemens trainsets have signaling issues that require speed restrictions.
Nonetheless, the Siemens Charger/Venture trainsets are a significant upgrade over the HEP and LRC cars they’ll be replacing. Political staff I have talked with at Transport Canada are very proud of the new VIA Rail Corridor fleet; in my opinion, they have every right to that pride, even if I have listed a few nitpicks.
Certainly, the prospect of riding the new Venture cars and comparing them to the older cars was one of the reasons I planned this Train Adventure from Toronto to Québec.
But before I can write about my experience riding VIA Rail’s Corridor all the way up and back, there’s one last question to answer:
“How do I ride the better trains?”
Great question! It sure feels like VIA Rail doesn’t want us to find out! There is one tool, however, that will allow you to plan your journey to use the newer Siemens Venture trainset…and for my purposes of reviewing VIA Rail, to plan trips with the older trains, too.
Firstly, the VIA Rail booking system does not inform passengers what kind of train they will be riding. This is lacking in contrast to virtually any airline, which will tell you exactly what kind of Boeing or Airbus jet you’re going to step aboard.
VIA Rail provides a single hint, which is only visible deep into the booking process on the seat selection page, and only in Business Class. All Business Class cars have a 1-2 seating layout, but the HEP-2 Club and LRC Club cars number these solo seats, for example, as Seat 11S. In contrast, aboard the Venture Business Class cars, the solo seat would instead be numbered Seat 11D.
Sadly, this trick is of little use to passengers. Because you must go to the penultimate stage of the booking process before you can even see seat availability, it saves effectively no time, and is extremely cumbersome.
So, instead of asking passengers to read VIA Rail’s tea leaves, I’ve discovered a much simpler solution to reveal which trains to ride. This solution was reverse-engineered by a talented Reddit user, and built from VIA Rail’s own data sources.
You see, it turns out that VIA Rail does track exactly what model of car is used for each part of any given train. This is not merely for the Corridor; this data is available for all of their routes across the entire country.
Even the Maple Leaf, operated between Toronto and New York with Amtrak equipment, returns the correct data when pinging this tool. The data set is robust, reliable, and has not failed to be accurate for me on a single booking.
To use this tool, simply go to the website traincar.info, and type the number of your train and the date of your departure. Traincar.info will then show you exactly which cars are operating in that train consist, by grabbing VIA Rail’s own data.
Frankly, considering how much VIA Rail has boasted about their “new and improved” booking system, I’m shocked VIA Rail doesn’t display this information themselves, considering it is literally their own data.
Again, airlines like Air Canada makes this information easily visible, as do third-party booking services like Google Flights. When you fly, you can use these tools to make sure you don’t accidentally step onboard, for example, the Boeing 737 MAX.
Nonetheless, traincar.info makes VIA Rail’s booking system much more useful; I sincerely hope that VIA Rail does not close off access to the API which enables it. If VIA Rail is concerned about outside users pinging that API, they should simply include the data publicly in their booking system.
Next week, our journey will begin properly, as we depart from Toronto’s Union Station and make our way towards our eastern teminus at Gare du Palais in Québec.
In Part Three, you’ll find out how VIA Rail’s “new” booking system is still lacking, and how even the best-laid travel plans can be ripped apart in the blink of an eye.
Wow, this is a deep dive. My experience on VIA is mostly limited to a once-per-year round trip between Toronto and Ottawa. We now almost always splurge on Business for our sanity, it's not crazy expensive if booked well in advance.
I've not seen that enclosed 4-person booth in the wild before. It appeals to me, not because I plan to sit there, but because it might shield the other passengers from listening to 5 hours of loud conversation from the group at that table, which is often the case, especially after a few rounds of caesars.