Canada's VIA Rail Network Evolution

From its beginning in 1978, Canada's VIA Rail and Amtrak network has changed dramatically, reflecting the decline in popularity of passenger rail travel. This animated video takes you through the timeline of when new stations were opened and closed, forming the VIA Rail network that we know today.
🐦 Ask us questions on Twitter: / vanishingunder
☑️ Video Criteria:
- Stations shown are named after the municipality in which they are located, not necessarily the station name itself.
- All stations in municipalities with a population greater than 25,000 as of the 2016 census are shown.
- Stops in municipalities with a population less than 25,000 are shown if they are identified as a major stop on the timetable, or there were train trips starting or ending at the stop.
- Some exceptions have been made to better convey information (eg. Albany NY is shown even though the station is located outside the municipal borders).
- Future extensions are shown only if a construction tender has been awarded for their completion, at the time of video publication. If a construction tender has been issued for a project not included in the video, feel free to leave a comment, and we'll add it to our list to update.
- If you find an error, feel free to let us know in the comments. Please include links to any sources that will help us correct the error. Note: comments with links might take up to 24 hours to appear due to KZbin anti-spam policies.
📸 Image Credits:
All images and video used in this video are owned by me.
🖼 Thumbnail image: Robert Taylor - originally posted to Flickr as VIA Rail Belleville_0002, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
🚋 #VIARail #Amtrak
VIA Rail Canadian, Ocean, Atlantic, Super Continental, Abitibi, Saguenay, Lake Superior, Hudson Bay, Skeena, Bras D'Or, Malahat, Chaleur.
Amtrak Adirondack, International, Montrealer, Mount Baker International, Maple Leaf, Niagara Rainbow, Amtrak Cascades, Pacific International.

[@ST2b2b]

lol better named as “Canada's VIA Rail Network Devolution”

[@abdiqarebash3156]

r/Comedygold

[@abdiqarebash3156]

@@elianhouston2918 r/mildlyintresting

[@alexanderip1003]

but now it is on rebound with the ultimate destruction of greyhound VIA rail could be back on the rise

[@clarification007]

But, with the new more Frequent Train in Canada, Canada will have the slowest train in the world at max. 200Kmh! 😤😡

[@Somewhatbulletproof]

One of the greatest tragedies for the quality of life for our nation. It’s so sad to see that we’re willing to spend billions on new roads or highways but can’t spare anything to restore service on these abandoned passenger lines

[@abdullahrizwan592]

so true, this is sad

[@robmausser]

Most of the remote stations are better served by buses, unless there is no road access. However, many routes, like Calgary to Edmonton, make zero sense to be removed and should actually be replaced with High Speed Rail.

[@coastaku1954]

I mean, I love driving, but Trains are so much cooler, what they need is an Auto Train like service, since the biggest issue people have is "Great, now I won't have a car when I get there..." Amtrak's Auto Train is a wonderful service and I think more trains in the US and Canada should adopt it's idea

[@nanaymanuel]

I want to take more trains!! 😭😭

[@holofernesz]

@@robmausser What buses? Bus service in most of Canada stopped in 2018. Regional buses from other companies have not materialized leaving us the car as the only mode of transport. Very backwards

[@cathyv51]

I grew up in Montreal in the 1960’s, when train travel was one of the most affordable ways to travel. I feel so fortunate to have taken the CN Super Continental three times to Vancouver and back. Our family also twice took the train ( and CN ferry) to PEI. Those trips were the ultimate experiences of my childhood. Cost aside, I feel that one of the reasons for the decline of train travel is the adoption of the attitude that all that matters is the destination. What train travel taught me as a child was that the journey was part of the experience. It was always considered part of our vacation, not just a means to an end.

[@railspike7057]

I totally agree. Sure did meet some interesting people on those trips

[@Irock5600]

This is one of the best videos on this topic that I've seen. Really shows how "minor" service cuts and reductions over decades resulted in the total annihilation of anything resembling a "national" rail network. No region in Canada has gotten a net better rail service since 1978. Even the lines that didn't drop belong daily service still had service reductions. I know in the 80's there was at least 4 round trips Sarnia-Toronto and now there is only 1.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

Actually one route has significantly improved over the years: Toronto-Ottawa. There's now 10 trains per day (pre-covid), which is more than there had ever previously been, and they are also faster than ever before. This is partly thanks to the fact that VIA actually owns the railway from Brockville to Ottawa. But yeah, every other line has been decimated.

[@roger1818]

@@OntarioTrafficMan Agreed. Toronto-Montreal has also improved from 4 direct trains a day to 6.

[@coastaku1954]

Yeah but... When was the last time you wanted to go to Sarnia?

[@coastaku1954]

@@OntarioTrafficMan Wait so VIA Rail owns the roughest section of track I have ever been on? Greeeeeeeeat

[@jessebrook1688]

Besides the removal of service in Quebec, the next most contentious service removal was the Edmonton-Calgary line.

[@Fiedman]

I live in Alberta and I know passenger rail service would work between Calgary and Edmonton, and it is sorely needed since Greyhound pulled out of Western Canada.

[@zezemorgan]

Looked like a ploy to sell more gas and cars

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

Yeah Edmonton-Calgary and Montréal-Trois Rivières-Québec were the most short-sighted closures in my opinion.

[@donaldinho62]

Several level crossing collisions in the previous half dozen years, some fatal, as well as the fatal Wessex siding collision of 1983, helped drive passenger numbers down on this route.

[@roger1818]

@@donaldinho62 Agreed. Local politicians requested that the service be cancelled for that reason.

[@Absolute_Zero7]

This series is probably your best work. Glad to see more of it! Edit: Damn this video was sad. Should be called the De-evolution of Canada's VIA Rail Network.

[@pauly5418]

I was going to say the same. Devolution.

[@holofernesz]

Edit: Should say De-evolution of Canada. With the reduction of rail services only the large cities are going to survive making the maintenance and running of this country exponentially expensive.

[@TheTroyc1982]

@@holofernesz well I think it's the opposite, the more concentrated Canada population becomes the less we need to spend on services to far away places

[@CharlieND]

As someone who lives on Vancouver Island, hopefully we get passenger rail back some day. Even if it's in the form of an LRT or a small commuter train.

[@shanerajkumar3633]

Write to your local MP. With the pandemic the government is going to have to invest in infrastructure to stimulate the economy. It'd definitely be boost for small businesses on Vancouver Island and local tourism

[@Themapleleaforever]

@@shanerajkumar3633 we’ve tried so many times. And we have only a few months left before the BC court of appeal grants the First Nations back the rail line if it doesn’t go back up as if the time I’m writing this.

[@rwrynerson]

It didn't fade on main lines because demand wasn't there, it was clubbed to death. The 1981 bloodbath was directed by a former vice-president of a politically-connected bus company with little public input. I witnessed the Alberta CTC hearings in 1985. The Minister of Transport ordered the discontinuance of EdmontonCalgary service before the CTC could issue its ruling!

[@MrBigjonneh]

Well that was depressing.

[@jcwasheregt]

Not gonna lie, it hurt to see the massive cuts of service :( we could've had such an advanced network of trains! I mean we could still have it if we invested in it

[@Rickyrab]

@@donkey7921 if the investment makes it easier to use and people like it, then people will use it more

[@HamTransitHistory]

Here's the dream: new Via routes -Edmonton-Calgary (maybe down to Lethbridge) -Regina-Saskatoon -Winnipeg-Calgary -Winnipeg-Edmonton service on days when the Canadian isn't running, on the same schedule Also Via/Amtrak routes Winnipeg-Chicago & Halifax-Boston

[@revenniaga6249]

Is that a dream or a nightmare? With Precision Schduled railroading today, even the hobos will not ride CN or CPR anymore.

[@inkshop963]

@@revenniaga6249 correct me if my recollections are wrong, but I believe they hit a cow on the tracks on the last trip. Don't know if this was an early edition of "fake news" or it actually happened.

[@Zastrava]

I'd also love to see Winnipeg-Toronto on the southern Canadian route rather than the northern Transcontinental route! I have a lot of family in Northwestern Ontario near the southern portion of the line, as well as more population being on that route (hitting Thunder Bay, Kenora, Sault Ste. Marie, etc)

[@Rickyrab]

@@revenniaga6249 why not build and use long distance light rail vehicles? This could be an answer to the "too few people aboard" problem.

[@Rickyrab]

@@revenniaga6249 the hobos will if info is provided to them of where the trains are and where they are going

[@OhioCentralModeler]

Dang, Via seems to make Amtrak look good by comparison... My condolences to those up north in America Lite. Hopefully in the future we can see a revival of passenger rail in both our countries.

[@ZachFisher2753]

One important note about Amtrak service to Montreal - it is likely that there will be a new US Customs preclearance facility in Gare Centrale, allowing for improved service on the Adirondack and eventually the Vermonter upon its return.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

I'm suddenly imagining restoration of service from Port Huron to Sarnia to Toronto for the first time since 2004, if not Detroit-Windsor-Buffalo (Michigan Central).

[@Islington_Express_Bus]

I can't believe Calgary has no train service.

[@sangyoonsim]

Other countries: More line! More services! Canada: N O

[@transitnetwork3049]

Couldn't believe it got smaller, this is kinda like the Pacific Electric in Los Angeles where they abandoned the lines

[@traftonkoenig2913]

Absolutely ridiculous to not have service between Alberta's two big cities. No question that service could work with the right investment.

[@revenniaga6249]

It will never work, even Greyhound could not get it to work. Now the Rider Express and Red Arrow have reduced their service. Who is going to pay $57(bus fare) for one person when gasoline cost is $24 for an entire automoblie.

[@bubba842]

@@revenniaga6249 people who don't have cars or don't want to sit in traffic on the worst highway in Alberta. If you had a high speed rail service between the two it would be used a lot more. If it was cheaper than the plane, lots of people fly between Calgary and Edmonton, it would eat into the airplane market. Having travelled on many fast trains in Europe, I would much rather prefer to take a train than fly. No being there 1 hour before and no security. Plus when you get to you destination you are in the city, not about 20km outside as in Edmonton/Nisku or on the northern outskirts of the city as in Calgary. The opportunity for business travellers is massive. Business travellers, or anyone for that matter, can have a proper cooked breakfast and not have to get a taxi to the city centre.

[@revenniaga6249]

Respectfully Tom, there is not even enough cross traffic to add a extra lane to Highway 2 or even to add extra parking at the airports. VIA has its hands full in the Central Corridor with 100 mph trains, despite low fares, to get ridership off of the 401. It seems a losing battle. In the 1960s they tried building faster, cleaner and modern ocean liners to get people back from planes, it did not work.

[@bubba842]

@@revenniaga6249 well there is a big difference in time between an ocean liner and a flight on a airplane. I would say that was a bad idea. Yes some areas of the number 2 are quiet but it's a terrible road in winter with the cross winds. 100mph is not very fast for a modern train and is not classed as high speed rail, if tackled correctly and promoted/marketed correctly I personally think it could be a huge success. If you had a through service that only stopped at Red Dear and stopping service that stopped at places like Airdrie and Ponoka them you could revitalize these small towns with commuters to the big cities. This is what happens in Europe. Many people live outside the cities and commute everyday. If commuting was easy and you didn't have to be stuck on the Deerfoot or Anthony Hendy every morning In terrible traffic, more people would choose the train to commute if it was available. Not having any other way of travelling but by car is causing people to live in cities and promotes urban sprawl. Giving people other options will help massively. North America has become so dependent on automobiles that eventually it will begin to impact us negatively. We are building suburbs that are not sustainable in any way. I live in a suburb that has no shops and would be in impossible to get anywhere with out a vehicle. Having a back up solution to travel is not a bad thing. We will never solve traffic problems in Edmonton and Calgary by building more roads. This will just delay the problem for 10 years and give us the same headaches in 10 years time. But unfortunately while we oil interests in Alberta doing what we have always done is the politicians only route. They just want to keep the status Quo, no matter if it means walking off the edge of a cliff. We desperately need more public transport, as isn't having more choices of how to get places a little bit more free than shackled to car stuck in traffic every morning knowing that you have no alternative.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

Meanwhile in the US, Texas's three largest cities (Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio) are barely connected by rail. Dallas is connected to San Antonio on a daily train, the _Texas Eagle_ and the _Sunset Limited_ passes through Houston and San Antonio only three times a week, leaving no direct service between Houston and Dallas (and your only alternative besides possibly expensive, inefficient, short haul domestic air travel is a congested highway). Apparently Amtrak and a private operator want to operate Dallas-Houston service, but I doubt frequencies will be increased between Houston and San Antonio. Meanwhile in Arizona, Phoenix and Tuscon lack a direct link. If you want to take a train between the two, you'll have to check your calendar to plan when to depart (the _Sunset Limited_ , again, departs triweekly), and drive all the way up from Maricopa to Phoenix. There are probably plenty more examples.

[@Alex_Plante]

VIA and Amtrak have stops at St-Lambert, on Montreal's South Shore. I believe VIA may also stop at Dorval, on the West Island. It's nuts that there is no service between Calgary and Edmonton, and this is obvious even from Montreal.

[@dontown1531]

I remember taking the Bras D'Or tourist train in 2000 after travelling all the way from Vancouver & returned all the way by train. I've travelled about 250,000 km since 1955 when I took my 1st train by myself Montreal-Ottawa behind steam in a Parlor Car. I miss the old Union Station in Ottawa. Took 'The Canadian' from there in 1964 to Vancouver. & have taken it over 25x both ways since. Great Channel Cheers.

[@raptorsfan12]

Only just found your page today - been binging most of your videos. Trying to save some for another day. Great work! Much appreciated. Very entertaining, informative but straight to the point.

[@DiamondKingStudios]

Living in the United States, our passenger rail system is also a shell of its former self. The difference is that most passenger lines were axed immediately when Amtrak assumed operations in 1971, including the only train serving my hometown by then.

[@alexlovelock4648]

Greyhound is also out of Western Canada. That could be a reason to restore some VIA services. I wonder if VIA could launch their own bus service to connect with their train services

[@bohdantelychko8155]

Also there is a bus running between Edmonton and Calgary. So sad they abandoned service to Calgary, Calgary is a booming city. If I could I would connect (or re-connect) Edmonton and Calgary.

[@rwrynerson]

There is less bus service now than when trains were on the EdmontonCalgary corridor. As a general rule of thumb, the way to get good bus service is to run a passenger train.

[@WilliamChan]

The 90s was a sad decade for public transit in Canada in general I feel

[@ppolow]

Seems like it should have been the reverse if what actually happened, except for where GO Transit took over some routes

[@glenpower1677]

Wish they continued the CP Rail service from Winnipeg to Vancouver on a daily basis. The Canadian really is more of a luxury cruise train.

[@davideck]

Very sad, but informative. I worked for Via in the 80s. It was so poorly managed and corrupt. No wonder the government kept cutting the service. I quit in 1988 because I just didn’t feel there was any security for a family man. I’ve never regretted it.

[@bohdantelychko8155]

One of your best videos! Just wish the map was more realistic (like to scale)

[@senorsoupe]

I grew up in SHerbrooke, really sad that I can't take a train back home. For a while in the mid 90's my father went back to school in Nova Scotia and would take the "Atlantic" from Sherbrooke

[@MikeDS49]

I imagine this is partly the result of travellers footing the bill for paying private companies to use their primarily freight rail lines vs. using publicly funded roads "for free". It's sad seeing lines being torn up, knowing they will likely never be replaced.

[@frankgarrett242]

I wouldn't really say it was better for customer service when they cut Hamilton and moved all operations to Aldershot. Yeah, it saved in staffing but Hamilton is a major hub that has no major inter-city rail service. You have to take transit or a cab to Aldershot and get VIA from there.

[@VanishingUnderground]

To my knowledge, it also had to do with the upkeep costs for the CN station on James St

[@bubba842]

Didn't they use that line for the Commonwealth Games?? But then shut it down again after spending millions of on renovating the Hamilton station??

[@m.curtis7366]

When you focus on Ontario and Quebec are you going to include High-Frequency Rail or because it is still in exploratory levels will it be dismissed.

[@VanishingUnderground]

My criteria for these videos is usually that the construction tender has been issued, so probably won’t include it in this series.

[@wavesnbikes]

Send this to the Director of VIA RAIL so he can be aware of the demise of his Railroad. Great work!

[@justforsheba]

Nicely done!

[@jonathanlin7874]

Its very sad, they should restore all of these abandoned services.

[@Theonintendo]

Great video, I really like your Channel. But may I suggest that next time you could zoom in ? You see I’m not from North America, and for example when you say that in British Columbia, I constantly search the map looking at what’s changing. So maybe if you zoom before that beautiful map ( I love it) changes it would be more clear .... I think. Again , love you videos ! Greeting from Chile 🇨🇱

[@VanishingUnderground]

Thanks for the feedback! Zooming in might be a bit difficult but I’ll try visually highlighting the province or state that I’m talking about in future videos to narrow down where to look

[@matsomalvar]

Awesome video! Such a pitty all those routes removed. Hug from Argentina ;)

[@journ9er]

10:05 I live in Calgary, and the first time I rode VIA Rail's Canadian was in 2004. I had to fly to Vancouver first so I could ride the whole route.

[@phoenix_heart1111]

Well if it doesn't cost $5k Vancouver to Toronto I guess more people would travel more..

[@FredIsMyName22]

exactly what i was looking forward to !!

[@fernbedek6302]

Let’s hope for new lines soon.

[@pixzel4118]

I’m 28 and remember riding the gaspe route multiple times. It’s so sad to see the decline of the via network. Some services should be brought back

[@Sherdow2]

In winnipeg its crazy how it changes from a small to big railway!

[@naturallyherb]

Really awesome! Just one little feedback: in the legend where you indicate the population, the dots for both >100,000 and

[@VanishingUnderground]

The dots are the same for both, but the city name is bolded for greater than 100K. I’ll see about using a different dot style next time though!

[@christianpeaker2200]

Great graphics!

[@tobygoodguy4032]

Thanks for citing Yonkers, NY on the map as a "small victory" amongst the carnage of '90. (Too funny ... and I would know.)

[@CTrail1711]

Yonkers was build in 1912

[@fawfulfan]

VIA Rail. The answer to the question "What national passenger rail system makes Amtrak look good?"

[@ansonchan7323]

That's partially why there is only 4 major city in Canada because the rest is inaccessible without owning car and the bus service varies from satisfactory to shit depending on province

[@rwrynerson]

Once the rail line is gone, the bus companies start reducing service. You can make profits that way all the way down to the bottom.

[@vicsams4431]

Thanks for the great video. Why do you call Jonquiere, Saguenay on your map ? Plus you repeatedly call New Haven, CT, Washington DC for some reason. I have done all the current VIA Rail routes except Churchill and White River. I have also done several non-VIA routes, such as the Tshiuetin between Sept Iles and Schefferville, the Ontario Northland between Toronto, Cochrane and Moosonee. Plus GO Transit, EXO / AMT Montreal, West Coast Express, Rocky Mountaineer (to Calgary, Whistler, Quesnel and Jasper), various heritage lines such as Orangeville to Brampton, Whytes Park to Port Stanley, St Jacobs Waterloo, Hull to Wakefield, the South Simcoe and the two Orford Express routes. Plus the AMTRAK Maple Leaf from Toronto to New York, and the AMTRAK Vermonter between New York and St Albans, VT. Plus the White Pass & Yukon Route to Carcross, YT. Not bad for a Brit living in London, England.

[@camerontausch7757]

Jonquiere was combined with Chicoutimi, La Baie and Laterrière and some other municipalities in 2002 to form Saguenay. The main urban "population centre" is still called Chicoutimi-Jonquiere by statistics canada though. Same thing happened with trois-rivieres but they used the name of the biggest city for the new municipality. Was just something Quebec decided to do, there's a Wikipedia page at "2000-2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec"

[@vicsams4431]

@@camerontausch7757 Thanks for your advice. I took the train there in 2013, and the station and timetable still referred to it as Jonquiere.

[@n1thmusic229]

When is part 3 coming out, you said it would be coming in the coming weeks, this was released nearly a year ago

[@VanishingUnderground]

Sorry for the delay… it’s been fully researched but I’m looking for time to design the map. Hoping to have it done before the end of this year

[@n1thmusic229]

@@VanishingUnderground Ok thanks for the info, I remember asking you a couple months ago and I was worried you'd forgot, no problem

[@johnlanelli3968]

VIA Rail's logo first appeared on a CN Turbo Train in March 1976.

[@CSSBTGaming]

Good Video. Although I should mention that Amtrak's Cascade service does not terminate on its south end in Portland, OR. Some of the trains go as far south as Eugene, OR. Also I think a high speed rail corridor between Toronto and Montreal if not an extended one between Quebec city and Windsor might make sense geographically and might produce some economic benefits.

[@VanishingUnderground]

Cascades does go to Eugene, but there are no thru trains from Eugene to Vancouver. None of stops south of Portland offer a one-seat ride into Canada.

[@CSSBTGaming]

@@VanishingUnderground I guess under the Cascades brand, some of the trains make trips between Vancouver and Portland, while others go between Seattle and Eugene then... Personally I've only been a passenger on that train between Seattle and Portland. But I suppose if we look on the bright side, looks like places as far as LA and Chicago are all within 1 layover and 2 train rides away from Vancouver...

[@mountainsunsets]

Hopefully (although I have my doubts) VIA will restore service on the southern route through Calgary, Regina to Winnipeg. I do think there are opportunities for them in the west, but I think the head honchos have blinders on.

[@myousif797]

This was an important video but I also hate it (or at least what happened to our rail network) so much at the same time, the lack of foresight by our politicians is really disappointing. The hyper focus on budgets for things that are supposed to be public services is really a cancer on our society.

[@alexharris2495]

Amtrak needs to restore the chicago- Toronto train. As for the Vermonter, the most sensible thing would be to start an alternate service from Montreal- Boston. Extending the Vermonter to Montreal would just be counterproductive. It's long enough (and good enough) as it currently is.

[@sagmilling]

Not much point in having rail services between large towns with minimal public transit. Rail only makes sense when you can walk off the inter-city train and get on a metro to then get delivered to your actual destination. You can't reasonably get on a train in Kitwanga, BC to go shopping in Smithers because you need a car to get around in Smithers. Rail only makes sense between Windsor & QC and a few special cases like Edmonton (connect to LRT) and Calgary (connect to Ctrain).

[@TheRandCrews]

To be honest you can add the Regina to Saskatoon one there for the station in Regina is just a block away from the transit mall downtown and Saskatoon’s station is relatively close to downtown and bus connections.

[@haweater1555]

Very comprehensive service history. But, as a Canadian, I find your map design hard on my national sensibilities.

[@joel7736]

Hey guys, I'm studying the technical terms of railroading, but I don't have enough books. Could someone please send me a PDF workbook about train or locomotive. I really need it.

[@groundzero_-lm4md]

I feel like the map should include GO Transit service.

[@malachimuhammad-dy2ow]

What about Lac Maegantic?

[@jfp3earth357]

You should make a video about Amtrak

[@oliverbanks3396]

I mean if you play in reverse it looks great!

[@donjames7971]

I for one miss the Toronto-to-Chicago run .. !

[@jgodfrey546]

You forgot the service between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay via Fort Frances, ON & Beaudette, MN....

[@VanishingUnderground]

There was a 3-times weekly train on that route but I can’t find any record of it existing after October 1977, which was before CN services were officially transferred to VIA.

[@johannesurbanski280]

The April 1977 had a note for this transit-through-the-US route, saying that the last train was to operate on May 23 of the same year (the service was no longer mentioned in the October 1977 schedule). Similar notes could be found for Sainte-Foy to Clermont (April 30), Sudbury to Sault-Ste-Marie (May 23) and Edmonton to North Battleford (also May 23)...

[@Lorijenken]

This is probably his only video were more lines were removed then added... yes our network is that bad.

[@JaapFilius]

Wow, that is an eyeopener.... I always say how good services in the Netherlands are, and this video confirms that. On the entire railway network we have at least every hour a train to and from all the stations, no matter how small it is, but on many branches trains are running every 10-30 minutes. On 90% of the network electric trains are in service (1500V dc, overhead wire). Trains are running from 05.00 till 01.00 (so 20 hours a day, every day). On secundairy branches daily till about 11 pm. And people are complaining anyway... I do not understand that. Of course, we have a totally different situation here: the Netherlands is small and very densely populated. But than: when trains are not running at least on a daily base they are useless for a lot of people.

[@FredIsMyName22]

Plattsbugh has two T's ;)

[@CTrail1711]

Correction - Yonkers was build in 1912 but was only for commuter rail.

[@dmann5938]

This is just... SAD. I feel like there should also be GO Train service to Bolton and Peterborough instead of VIA in my opinion

[@marcusfuller6657]

Having service between Seattle and Vancouver today would have been great

[@rwrynerson]

It was suspended due to COVID border crossing issues, but it's running again, starting with one daily round-trip.

[@benlangford9391]

you should do Ontario Northland

[@user-mrfrog]

I would like to see the return of train service between Montréal and Sherbrooke. So sad what happened to rail service in Canada.

[@MikeDS49]

Maybe it's also an indication of the population migration from rural to urban population centers.

[@DouglasEdward84]

I think this is the case in some of the peripheral services, like in Northern Ontario, but Edmonton-Calgary just can't be explained away like that.

[@MelioraCogito]

Notwithstanding the attempt to oversimplify route graphics, on Vancouver Island (VI), VIA's E&N route goes up the EAST coast of VI, not the WEST coast as depicted. Your route graphic should have gone vertical (north) from Langford to Duncan on the east side of the island (not North Cowichan - pronounced 'cŏw-ĭ-chan' or 'cŏwĭ-chan' - which is a rural municipality, not an incorporated city like Duncan) and then northwest along the east coast. I wasn't aware Illinois was next door to Washington State (must have missed that geography lesson). Not to mention Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta being on the north shore of Lake Superior - at least Canada's prairie farmers don't need to ship their crops too far by rail to get to the lake-head. (sarc)

[@Alexbenjamin0627]

The map hurts my brain

[@e5b7-wr811ouhih]

That’s quite the shame of a network. I guess urbanization also has to do with it.

[@vincenthuying98]

Via’s only purpose apparently is to cut ever more rail services. You better call it the devolution. Not just the US, but also Canada should invest much more in rail for passengers, especially high speed ones.

[@hansklaus6860]

9:08 "The government ordered a 50% reduction in passenger services" what how?

[@coastaku1954]

Welcome to the world of Conservative Leaders, it's just cars cars cars

[@revenniaga6249]

It was simple, any route that had more staff than passengers was reduced or cut. Envriomentally it was a win, you could put the passengers in taxis and burned less than 1% of the fuel used to move the train

[@coastaku1954]

@@revenniaga6249 But was 50% of all passenger rail services really necessary?

[@revenniaga6249]

Basically yes. In all of Western Canada the numbers are just not there and have not been there since 1975? Running empty trains does no one except the employees any good. Google the Hinton Headon (Feb 1986) just to see how few passengers were on the train. In the west he only time you might not get a double seat to yourself is maybe?? at Christmas time.

[@DAwaffleG0]

its just sad really

[@Themapleleaforever]

We need to get back up there and not fail again!

[@RodFarva]

This is so sad

[@jg-7780]

I know why it was drawn that way, but it's still funny seeing Illinois share a border with Oregon and Washington

[@DiamondKingStudios]

Done for scale reasons; there's no international through train service in the Dakotas, Montana, or the like. But it's also weird to see DC bordering Lake Erie, seeing they had to do this to let it fit on the map.

[@btomimatsucunard]

Geez and I thought amtrak was bad with its route closures.

[@tobeytransport2802]

There’s a place called chatham-Kent in Canada 🤣 In the UK there’s a place called Chatham, Kent... Meaning the town of Chatham in the county of Kent

[@collinbarker]

The Canadian one is also a city called Chatham in the County of Kent, same as Sarnia Lambton (Sarnia in Lambton county) and Windsor Essex (Windsor, Essex County). British naming still prevalent in Ontario

[@tobeytransport2802]

@@collinbarker there’s no county here called lambton and I’ve never heard of sarnia. There is a county of Essex in the UK (next to Kent) but Windsor here is in the royal county of Berkshire and not Essex.

[@collinbarker]

@@tobeytransport2802 when naming they went for common names, not so much accuracy. There is also a Stratford on the Avon as well, but it is in Middlesex, where London is also where the Thames River flows

[@tobeytransport2802]

@@collinbarker on Google it reckons that Stratford canada is in Perth county whereas here it is in Warwickshire. It’s very interesting having all these places from my country spread all over the world.

[@collinbarker]

@@tobeytransport2802 Sorry about that, not really good at the counties around there. Still, names get reused quite a bit south of Toronto and up towards Lake Simcoe

[@danielvivian3282]

Very interesting video. Thanks. I note that China has heavily invested in high speed electrified trains and hope that Canada would do the same from sea to sea.

[@bubba842]

No chance. China invests in infrastructure using it as a service to help people provided by the government. Unfortunately we in Canada bought into the business model that everything must make a profit. Unfortunately that gives people so little choice that they have no choice but to get everywhere by car. Yet this lack of choice is what the politicians call freedom. More like freedumb. Webstern Canada is terrible for this. I live in Medicine Hat, Alberta and we have no trains and no busses now since Greyhound pulled out of western Canada a few years ago. We are so dependent on cars it is terrible. If there was any sort of oil crises in the future the whole west of our country would be at a standstill. The government always does the easiest thing, never investing in the future.

[@qjtvaddict]

90% of Canada’s population is in Montreal to Windsor what demand

[@TheRandCrews]

@@qjtvaddict that statistic is wrong more like 90% of Quebec and Ontario lives in the Quebec City to Windsor Corridor. More like 60% of Canada’s population, because Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia constitutes 31%.

[@n.b.3521]

This is so sad and enraging. I can't believe there's no demand for a train between Edmonton and Calgary, let alone the trains going east west through Regina et cetera! We need to do better Canada!

[@TheRandCrews]

Legit a no brainer too, cities and communities between the lines are growing and growing. Edmonton can rebuild one across the Legislative Buildingn and the platforms and connection underneath the Calgary Tower is still there.

[@timdella92]

This is quite sad.

[@stevenhodges7661]

Where is the Ontario and Quebec via rail network

[@UrsOrson]

Canada's VIA Rail Network destruction would have been the better title. One would think of Canada being more enlightened in matters of transport and the environment. Incredibly that Calgary and Edmonton are not connected by rail as I would assume there would be much potential for a fast service. One consolation is that Canada at least invested much in Urban rail with more to come.

[@seanrodgers1839]

This video looks like it was run backwards.

[@nadz109]

No via in Calgary

[@cobalt8619]

great video. could of used a way better map. that hurt my eyes

[@aswler]

So sad! Look at the eastern Asian high speed rail!

[@christopherhood9241]

interest

[@revenniaga6249]

Great and accurate video. Funny to read the replies with teardrops or hatred in them. VIA still panders to politicians and continues to run trains with basically no ridership. IE the Skeena (Jasper-Prince Rupert) which some days has no passengers and on good days very few. Buy a couple of volkswagons to move them and save a lot of money and carbon. The Canadian (Toronto to Vancouver), I keep losing count , is it down to one train a week in winter? and what has 40 people on it. Really? Lets be sensible, when you more have onboard staff than ridership, it is time to go. If the whole Western Network was axed nobody would even know or care.

[@disappointingmarbleraces9028]

“Save a lot of carbon” what. That makes no sense at all. Also, the reason why the lines probably have no ridership is that they run at inconvenient times or only run once a week, or maybe both because who uses trains that run only once a week?

[@TheOwenMajor]

Intercity passenger rail has never been profitable in North America(Excluding specific areas). Freight has always driven the operation of railways. It's very simple, the distances are too far. Either a plane is faster, or a car is more convenient. Trains sit in the awkward position that they are too slow to beat airplanes over longer distances, and don't offer the point to point convenience of cars in shorter distances.

[@andreiter]

Once they ban gasoline vehicles by 2030, we'll be back to rail again. I wish we could be more like Europe and the rail service they offer.

[@dog_house875]

Wrong. Atlantic isn’t involved anymore they forgot about us.

[@jonmasselink4214]

What a poor map of southern Canada! So hard to make sense of it because it does not represent the layout of our country, and does not show Cape Breton or PEI.

[@torontohamiltongoldenhorse908]

Make an American real network map history I want to see history of America railroad including an Amtrak one thank you