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  • Someone on Twitter (I know) said this was mainly for commuters, but as someone using VIA Rail in the Corridor, I can't imagine commuting to work with their services. Unless it's for wealthy commuters...

    AFAIK VIA doesn't have monthly passes or any kind of rebates on tickets for regular users (aside from accumulating points and "preference") and it's necessary to book multiple days in advance. Otherwise it costs way more if trying to buy last minute tickets. I really don't know who would commute this way.

    I asked the person that said this but never got a reply. Maybe we have a different definition of commuting.

    Anyway, one nore departure is good news. It obviously cannot hurt and only add more options, even if limited or slow.

    • (All prices $CA)

      Yes. If you were commuting from Oshawa or closer you'd use GO so this train doesn't stop there anyway. It's quite cheap, arrives frequently so you won't have to book a seat and convenient.

      I agree that not having a railpass/multi-ticket since Covid really sucks for Via. They recently changed their entire reservation system so maybe they will bring it back in a year or two.

      Where this train is competitive is for business people I think. The base price from Ottawa to Toronto is $60, and the most expensive Business class fare with lounge access and a meal is $150. Compared to flying, sure its 1/3 of the flight time not including security and getting to the airport and boarding and getting out of the airport (which is especially rough if you pick YYZ), but you are pretty miserable and it costs $280 similarly booked in advance in El Cheapo class. Comparing the two when booking last minute (if seats are available) you have up to $331 in business class by train or $580 by plane. If you know you're going to commute you can book at least a week in advance which generally doesn't sell out or get overpriced so long as it's not a holiday weekend, whereas flight prices need about 3 weeks to be ideal.

      As an addendum, compared to driving, I think even just considering gas it's cheaper and faster to get from station to station by train (and most businesses people would hire a ride on both legs if time was more of an issue) Depending on how far out your actual start and end points are the car might make sense but really, train travel is the least stressful of the 3.

    • Renting a 3 bedroom house in Toronto is more expensive than a similar house in Belleville + $1500 in monthly VIA Rail tickets. Plus lots of jobs are partly remote which makes the equation even more appealing.

      • Have you already tried to use VIA Rail to go somewhere once in a while? It's absolutely not a commuter service. Tickets have to be booked days in advance, and the cheapest ones are non-refundable and non-changeable. So a person commuting to and fro would need two very specific tickets every day, or pay more to have "flexible" ones that can be used with any departure. Otherwise if a person has a cheap ticket and misses their train, that ticket is now useless.

        The argument of living in a suburb where housing is cheaper can be understood if there are real commuter services, like trains from GO or Exo, but otherwise, commuting regularly with VIA Rail sounds like a real nightmare. They are rarely on time, there are even fewer departures than commuter trains, and their ticketing system is totally inappropriate for every day users.

        I had to make a similar choice many years ago, with a job in Montreal and me living 60 km away. There were commuter buses in the suburb but it was taking nearly 2 hours to go to work, and 2 hours to come back. To each their own but I most certainly prefer paying more to live closer to work, than having to deal with commuting with Exo or heavens forbid, VIA Rail.

        Seriously, I want to reiterate/ask again, do you use VIA Rail often? Because as someone that has to use it a few times a year, the idea of commuting with them, even just a few times a month, is horrifying.

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