VIA Rail Canada's surprisingly good main corridor from Montréal to Toronto by train! 

You're right! I guess nice of VIA to also put them in standard

@@Simon-Andersen Sure is! DB do the same, as do some others.

They were train sets for the chunnel that were adapted to Canadian standards

@@bradjames6748those are used on the Ocean train running from Montréal to Halifax, not on the corridor trains seen here.

They should use Railjet's Business ClAss seit instead ...

Thanks for the insight Paul! Lets hope they can do something to change these things, there is great potential for this service especially if the goverment can take over some portions of the service to ensure it gets priority :-)

@@Simon-Andersen, as much as I want to see modern-high speed rail transit between Toronto and Montreal, what we're getting in the form of the new Siemens sets is a great upgrade, and is better than having *_no passenger train at all_* as in Mexico.

The opposite has occured. The tracks and freight trains are owned by a private railway that was once state-owned but was devested in the 90s.

Expect the Siemens loco to damage the track and be unreliable. P42DC and even the F40PH-2 is better in my opinion.

@@vicsams4431 The P42DC and the F40PH-2 are the older trains that the Siemens are replacing. As those trains age, they will become more expensive to maintain. One of the benefits of the Siemens over the older trains is that it will reduce emissions by 90%. The Siemens trainsets are both smoother and quieter, so that doesn't suggest they will damage the tracks. If anything, the freight trains largely cause the degradation of the tracks. Top speed is 125 mph for Siemens vs. 110 mph for P42DC. As the Siemens Chargers are fairly new to both Amtrak and VIA I expect that there will be some kinks to work out, but I don't get the impression that they're unreliable from the ones that are already in service other than some kinks that have or will be worked out if any arise.

Thats kinda the reverse of europe, better seat but anything more than free coffee is rarely included. But having a meal on a journey like this sounds nice!

@@Simon-Andersen The food is quite decent as well! Served on China, proper cutlery, etc. A nice treat if you can budget it.

​@@Simon-Andersen that's not entirely true, quite a few countries have some catering included for their first/business class passengers. Often, it's nothing moe than a snack and a drink, like on Renfe or Trenitalia's high-speed services, but some give actually full meals, especially the UK's long-distance operators have quite a decent food game. Eurostar follows this tradition, you get either a complementary light meal in Standard Premier or a hot meal in Business Premier. On Thalys, it's only in Business Premier, nowadays... And it may have changed, but DSB and the Norwegian trains (NSB at the time) had at least a complimentary coffee corner, last I was on a train there.

The beverage service has been reduced to 1x per train ride every 4 hours now in business class! Best to stock up with a juice and a pop from the lounge if you want something to drink on the train. 🎉

Thanks Mr Albs 🤠

Oo intresting! I would never have thought they were tilting trains. Shame the journey now takes 1h longer with it no longer operating like that.

It was a great Bombardier Design of Montreal Locomotive Works - even now after 40 years they Look modern and stylish. Passenger travel demand follows rhe 3 hours rule: if scheduled Journey time is less than three hours ok - but for modal choice of an individual traveller it makes no Real Difference to stay 4 or 5 hours on the train and Hydraulic tilting Devices are expensive to operate and even more exoensive to mantain - on both sides: rail exactness and wheelsets checked.

@@Simon-Andersen The LRC train sets were pretty slick considering the period they came out. All that is left are these carriages with non functional tilting mechanisms. 😢

@@jamesbuchan416 Amtrak even purchased upgraded Bombardier LRCs, although built with steel instead of aluminum, the Acela train sets...

I was surprised by the island airport in toronto its so close. Ill take a trip on a train over a flight on a Q400 any day!

@@Simon-Andersen Right now you have to make a rather long streetcar hop to downtown form YTZ but the subway will get to that aera in like 10 years.

@@phil1625 Porter Airlines operates a complementary shuttle between the west entrance of the Royal York Hotel (which is across the street from Union Station) and the island airport.

@@phil1625, I hope that it doesn't; we don't need any more more subway lines in Toronto, the streetcar works just fine.

The UP has very much improved the Pearson connection at least

Thanks! I enjoyed my stay there :-)

Ontario Northland has ordered some new Siemens Venture trains to bring their north-south service between Toronto and Timmins/Cochrane (with connection to the Polar Bear Express) through Muskoka and North Bay. Perhaps 2026?

A group of us from the UK and the Netherlands did Toronto to Moosonee with overnight in Cochrane. So sad to see the ONR Northlander train go. That was the prettiest part of the route.

Thanks for sharing

Michael, the problem with this particular RU-vidr is he doesn't/didn't want to do his homework; he arrogantly ASSumes that rail in (North) America is just like rail where he comes from, and that everything's the same as far as pricing's concerned, so instead of getting the Business Class seat like he should've, he got the other one.

Business class Montreal to Toronto is excellent with a choice of meals and wine. Much better than regular coach. Yes, Simon should have done his homework ….

I agree. The stewardess said "Say when" whilst pouring my single malt, so I stayed silent. She continued pouring. I ignored her. It filled to the brim of the glass, nearly overflowing, I said "When." Happy days ! Probably not worth it for the 90 minutes Montreal to Ottawa. The meal gets a bit rushed. Regards from London, England.

I went in with the expectation of what you describe with a long delay and lack of everything 😄 Maybe I set them too low 😅

I have done every railway line in Canada except Churchill. Most ram to time, but The Canadian was 6 hours late, which bearing in mind it is 4 days, I thought was not too bad, plus they fed us an extra free meal.

That delay was a combination of weather, a tree down on the tracks, and multiple power outages. CP24 has the full story online (Dec. 24, 2022). That's not typical rail service.

@@amandaregis313 "I've taken the trip 20+ times and my average is probably 45 minutes late on a 4.5 hour trip."

@SamEllens , I've probably taken that run 20+ times, meeting my grandfather "under the clocks" from 1968 to 1975 (I would have been 7 to 15 and traveling on my own). Granted, they were often not on time, but that and having the train personnel telling me "next car" when asking "is this car for Toronto?" or any other city, which The Royal Canadian Airfarce poked much fun at, it was looked at as normal having to walk past 6 or 7 cars before being able to board. I have traveled multiple times after that, and while some trips had delays, I can honestly say it has gotten better. What I made mention of was an entirely different set of circumstances (tree down in the middle of nowhere, during a blizzard).

Thank you 😊

I won't have it out by then unfortunately, but im sure you will enjoy it as much as i did :)

@@Simon-Andersen oh man. I was hoping you would. Well actually this is my first train journey. I do go to New York a lot via plane. But this time im doing the Amtrak maple leaf because well i love trains. Lol.

The train takes 13 hours, but it is far more civilised. You get to see great scenery and my wife and I had lunch and dinner on the train.

Have a great trip!

Same here! Looking forward to coming back to this line in a few years

I warned people not to buy Siemens. They may be cheap, but they damage the track causing speed restrictions and their diesel locos are unreliable.

I have had no problems. Done every railway in Canada except Churchill.

I'm not sure what you mean? It was a direct train with one ticket yes

I love both. But whilst I have done every railway line in Canada except Churchill, I have only done the Maple Leaf, the Vermonter, plus the Alaska Railroad and the White Pass and Yukon in America. Regards from London England.

You think the current diesels are bad, The Turbo was worse, it was basically the same as an Aircraft with how loud the Sikorsky turbofan was.

@ze da Cruja, can you say, 'Not going to happen?' Because it won't, at least not in 2026; it will take a lot of time to build, and there are a lot of obstacles in the way to getting it built (environmental and political.) It won't be an easy slog, and it would've been better if we had bullet trains, but we don't (and even if we did, a trip between Toronto and Vancouver, even by bullet train, would take at least 10 hours, the same distance as a trip between New York and Los Angeles by bullet train [although it _could_ be mitigated by building said routes with maglev instead of standard steel rail HSR.]) AFAIK, the Wold Cup should be held in Canada solely, and should be held only in Toronto and Montreal (with an all new high-speed electric route built between both cities, and with new stations at each end in each city that can be open 24/7 to accommodate all of the people that have come to Canada to see the World Cup.) But that's just me, unfortunately; I'm not a politician, nor am I the overlord of Canada and the United States (or even the Prime Minister/POTUS [President of the United States]), and I can't wave a magic wand to get it built, either.

I doubt it

You have missed a lot. I have done every railway line in Canada except Churchill. Regards from London England.

@@vicsams4431 Via rail is more expensive than bus 🚌.

If cost is your only consideration, you could cycle or walk. LOL.

@vicsams4431 Bus 🚌 is more frequent than a train 🚆 on some routes like, for example, between Montreal and Quebec city.

@@Ahuntsicspotter Yes. I know. Lots of Canada has a train only once every other day. I have even been to Schefferville, Quebec which only has one northbound train on Mondays and Thursdays, and one southbound train on Tuesdays and Fridays (there are no trains on Wednesdays, Saturdays or Sundays - unless a train is 12+ hours late) ! Here in London, England I have a train every 45 seconds, on most tracks, and there are 14 large termini. I have done Montreal to Quebec City many times. It is a lovely journey. Especially across the Quebec Bridge. Quebec Gare Du Palais is a fine building too. I have done the funicular in Quebec City, and I have done the line from Chute Montmorency to La Malbaie, plus Montreal to Senneterre and Montreal to Jonquiere. Plus the Metro, plus the suburban lines to Candiac, Vaudreuil, St Jerome, Deux Montagne etc. There is not a line, I have not done. Schefferville, Quebec has no roads the 357 miles from Sept Iles, so your only options are train, plane, walk etc. I even managed to ride on the locomotive, courtesy of the Tshiuetin Railway.