Introducing Lumi and the New Fleet of VIA Rail: A Unique Train to Celebrate a New Era!

[@WhiskyCanuck]

I did a Montreal-Toronto trip a few months ago with new train one way, and an old one for the return. The new ones have a much smoother ride and are quieter. I do think the old ones had more comfortable seats though, which was kind of odd. Otherwise the new interiors were much nicer too.

[@shahzaibaftabsahi1145]

How much you paid for the ticket?

[@WhiskyCanuck]

@@shahzaibaftabsahi1145 My earlier reply seems to have disappeared. It was about $ 350 round-trip & after tax, business class both ways.

[@rjparry1]

Now if they could upgrade the tracks so that the trains can go faster than 70km/hr we’d be all set

[@RailFansCanada]

Hoping that HFR becomes a reality as that would definitely help increase speed and reliability of the schedules. In the meantime, the fastest speeds that could be achieved are just under 160km/h on current tracks. Trains do go faster than 70km/h on many segments.

[@rjparry1]

@@RailFansCanada I have absolutely zero confidence that it will happen. It should, but it won’t

[@stevestruthers6180]

Only way that's going to happen is if Via gets dedicated track it doesn't have to share with freight trains. But of course, we know that will never happen thanks to our half-arsed government that's always a day late and more than a dollar short when it comes to doing anything.

[@Sir_David_Beatty]

>70km/h >The literal 100mph(160km/h) speed board directly outside of Toronto Union Station

[@annoyed707]

I rode Via at up to 152 km/h last year. Stop exaggerating.

[@Kaizerzydeco1]

New trains are easy. Adopting modern signalling and better track is the hard part. These trains will still have to run with antiquated signalling and poorly-maintained tracks clogged with freight trains.

[@ElleNaturelle]

Beautiful fleet. I'm excited to try it. As someone who uses a mobility device, I'm already impressed with how accessible they seem. Well done and thank you for being mindful of everyone ❤

[@JimH48]

I like this new paint scheme better than the others

[@mil161]

the grey on grey?

[@johnmurray8428]

About time we replaced all the existing passenger stock on VIA. Anywhere else in the world they would be regarded as preservation line trains.

[@qjtvaddict]

@@johnmurray8428 well via rail doesn’t run serious service on ANY route

[@johnmurray8428]

@@qjtvaddict not serious is about right! There was a “service” Toronto- Kingston - Fallowfield- Ottawa - Dorval(for the airport, which is in itself a joke) Montreal. They dropped this during Covid and have not restored it! So you have to book a single journey Fallowfield-Ottawa, then Ottawa - Dorval. Only the train from Toronto to Fallowfield is always late and you have to get Ottawa Station on your own efforts or miss your flight. Via on two occasions could not give a toss about missing flights, the best they can do rebook you for a later train, nuts to your flight!

[@andymcdandycdn6808]

Great job translating. Does VIA ever do these little events in English or is it always French? I hope in October I will experience the new train sets when I travel to/from Windsor.

[@RailFansCanada]

Thanks for your comments. The events in Montreal are primarily in French, however some of the experts will speak English for some parts. In the case of this video, both Dean and Catherine did speak English after explaining in French, but it was not a 1-to-1 translation so I made the decision to do my own translation to retain most of the detail.

[@jwillisbarrie]

Thanks for adding actual captions for the Deaf

[@davidreichert9392]

I love this livery. Simple and elegant.

[@RailFansCanada]

It really is!

[@Rick-C-117]

@@RailFansCanadawere these manufactured in Canada, I might have missed where that was mentioned?

[@RailFansCanada]

They are produced as Siemens’ Sacramento, California factory. I do not believe they have a rolling stock factory in Canada.

[@jfmezei]

has VIA give any indication of reliability of the new trains (locos and cars) ? Do they still need a lot of tender loving care to debug or have they reached degree of maturity where they can truly be deployed anywhere and spend night away from the Montréal Maintenance centre?

[@toddarmstrong.trackside.action]

They were made here by Alsthom / Siemens and have been operating in regional service throughout Europe for years now without any problems. German design and engineering so they should be a little better than the LRC (Light, Rapid & Combustable)

[@jfmezei]

@@toddarmstrong.trackside.action the "Venture" coachas and custom locos for each railway are all "made in America" trains that may have been derived from Viaggios in europe but cpletely different in order to meet FRA requirements and "made in American" ones. They are for all practical purposes new trains that need to be debugged. The Amtral Midwest trains and locos are different from the Antrak California ones, and the locos for the Cascades service are different from the other ones, simiar to the long distance locos ordered by Amtrak and the ones for VIA. All have different model numbers because they are all custom models. This is one reason it took VIA so long to test the trains and get the to be reliable enough to enter service. (at first always terminating in montreal so they could be checked/maintained between each trip). The LRC was also brand new and MLW used its experience in building the United Aircraft Turbos to design the LRCs but that wasn't anywhere near enough to design a reliable train and it took a number of years for VIA to fix the trains (then sold by Bombardier who purchased MLW). But since the mid 1980s when banking was disbaled, the LRC coaches have proven to be very reliable. I am sure the Siemens coaches will end up being more reliable than LRC were initially, but there is still question of whether all the glitches have been worked out. (such as soundproofing the cab car so the horn doesn't feel kike it is iinside passenger cabin),

[@Eaglescout217]

@@toddarmstrong.trackside.action actually the new trainsets are made by Siemens

[@sonachuria8698]

Love it,I am very eager to take a trip in those gorgeous trains. I am waiting for the Rem to start running, I love ❤️ Trains.

[@ConfusedNyan]

Hello! Sacramento, CA resident and casual railfan here! I live and work near the Siemens Mobility plant in the Florin area of Sacramento, CA. I think I may have seen this very train being pulled up the north-south segment of UP's tracks near where I work, bound for Canada, some weeks ago. If not this one, then some other one.

[@RailFansCanada]

That’s amazing. We are sure happy with our new trains. Thanks for sharing with us.

[@gradnitzersl]

Glad to heard that going replace the equipment on long distance runs even will probably miss those dome cars. It was time those cars up to 20yrs older than me

[@RailFansCanada]

We really hope the Long-Distance Fleet will include a modern version of the dome cars. They are an iconic part of passenger rail in Canada and hope they will be seen as such during the new procurement process.

[@longbranchmike7846]

Having been to a VIA Rail presentation on their new long distance fleet, they are considering new dome cars. My analysis is that it depends how much such cars will cost, which will be the determining factor.

[@OmanMuskat-rw2rv]

Excellent limo, excellent train, very beautiful type💛💛💛

[@p.s.anders]

Just in time for next year meeting accessibility compliance. Now if we could just get the airline industry to do the same. Congrats VIA for meeting compliance regs.

[@ramsaymayka9978]

Still waiting for it to be on the Mtl to Toronto line without having to go through Ottawa

[@haweater1555]

New TurboTrain tribute train -- Jason Shron's fever dream.

[@raymondsiu]

Nice upgrade to VIA, I use to travel Montreal-Toronto often years ago. However, compare to Japanese train, it still like 20 years behind. Hope will ride it when I retired.

[@Kitchguy]

Nice looking but what we need is high speed rail in the Montreal/Windsor corridor. It's disappointing that in 2024 when Countries that used to be third world are now ahead of us in transportation.

[@stephenp448]

@@Kitchguy Even at 160 km/h it's still just as fast as flying (Toronto - Montreal) unless you live within walking distance of YTZ. A few years ago I boarded a GO train at Oshawa to get a flight to Montreal. There was a VIA train heading for Montreal at the same time. The train arrived at Dorval station just as I was walking out of the airport.

[@qjtvaddict]

@@stephenp448yawn

[@dancostello6465]

Nice new toilets. Hope VIA keeps them clean. The kitchens also look nice, VIA can cook nice foods. Catherine's helmet seems to be on sideways.

[@ggreg2258]

I subscribed! !

[@AnaRegaloHayes]

While it fantastic to have new trains. However a beautiful looking train will not address the constant delays and ridiculous prices. You want to exicte passengers to take via, ensure they depart on time stop at all stations and the prices are reasonable. These are the things that commuters expect from VIA.

[@kevinferris1589]

Send all the old stuff to Manitoba for the Winnipeg to Churchill run.

[@kolejnakolej.1437]

Interesting video.

[@Leafsfanforever]

I’m going on a trip in September from Toronto to Montreal. It sucks they don’t have trains scheduled on the day I’m leaving

[@kitchener2200]

Great video.

[@djhrecordhound4391]

No surprise that Niagara is not mentioned at all in their plans.

[@michaelrogers1344]

Niagara trains use Amtrak equipment, VIA only staffs the Niagara Falls to Toronto portion. GO provides more Niagara service.

[@JohnFinkjfin55]

I'm happy to see the more up-to-date Via trains for the future. From what I can observe that this type of train is not electric. I find very disappointing.

[@brucemckean2848]

Electrification is best...when you have the density of continental Europe, Japan, China. We don't have that in Canada. What we have in spades is distance. No was we could afford electrification. Oh! And ask Ottawa how electrification is going there....

[@bahnspotterEU]

@@brucemckean2848 Nonsense. You could easily afford to electrify the Via corridor, your government just isn‘t strict enough with the freight railways to make them do it. Density and electrification to not depend on each other very much. Russia, Kazakhstan and New Zealand have electrified main lines through super sparsely populated regions.

[@petere4540]

@brucemckean2848 we cannot electrify current lines because they belong to cn or cp. Freight cars like autoracks are too tall to allow electric wiring overhead, especially with overpass and bridge allowance

[@jamesstuart3346]

Wish VIA would settle on a paint scheme

[@RailFansCanada]

The paint scheme is pretty much constant for the entire new Corridor fleet, with the exception of Lumi! It is a conscious decision, all the remaining trains will have the regular livery as seen on the train inside of the Maintenance Hall.

[@daklimoges]

I hope they dont increase fares. Luggage prices are already half the cost of a ticket.. it would be nice to be able to bring more than one outfit in a backpack when im ataying in a different city for an extended period.

[@daklimoges]

Cool though.

[@suedow4538]

VIA RAIL HERITAGE UNIT!!!!!!

[@johndefalque5061]

Does it go 305 km/hr like HSR in China? I took the bus from Quebec City to Chicoutimi last year and saw nothing of the countryside in between both ways as the windows were covered with mud. Public transit sucks ass in Canada and was better a century ago.

[@TristouMTL]

Wow… I don’t know who came up with this idea, but it’s brilliant. Especially having only one. I look forward to seeing it and hitting whoever’s beside me and saying, “Oh! Look! Look! There’s Lumi!” Its bright yellow will surely turn heads of even those who think nothing of trains.

[@Paul66Videos]

When VIA can make rail travel as cost effective for consumers and convenient as rail travel is in Europe, then they will be able to reach their goal. Right now there is no incentive for me to take the train between cities rather than take my car.

[@RobMelanson-mx1uo]

I love taking the train but it’s too slow and expensive right now.

[@pbilk]

Exciting! 😊 A side note, can we ditch the imperial measurement system in brackets? I noticed it on the new trains. Either that or make it super small.

[@footballfanstyleonye]

It's a nice train but the only way people will use it is if it is faster and cheaper than driving which right now it's neither!!!!! :(

[@logannorquay]

I’ve taken these new trains twice now between Toronto / Ottawa and they are much smoother and more spacious than the old ones

[@TerrySmith1953]

Very nice - and approaching modern at last. Why can't we have this livery on all the new trains? When will we see these in western Canada?

[@nicholasyoung9758]

As an Albertan, I was wondering when we might see these trains myself! Being in Cold Lake doesn't help, though...

[@louisg2390]

@@nicholasyoung9758 When western Canada joins the Amtrak, BC had talks with Cal. Oreg. and WA. states for decades now, NO money !!!! Trans Siberian railway has dual electrified track since 1980"s , China has high speed and Maglev trains for at least a decade, Canada a lot of HOT air.

[@dylanc9174]

Give all the trains names like in Thomas the tank engine

[@annoyed707]

Then they will develop individuality, and one will become a Crazy Train.

[@WaterlooExpat]

New trains will not resolve the issue of passenger trains being required to wait for freight trains. What is needed is additional rail in order to allow passenger trains to avoid obstructions. That is not being addressed.

[@torontoguy1097]

These are uuuggggglllly.

[@kurtfriedrich9599]

Looks like the swedish x2000 train tested in north american 30 years ago. Can the siemens go 210 kmh -NO Can it tilt NO Can it do Toronto to Montreal in 3 hrs NO. So where is the progress?

[@jetta98]

Please forward video to Amtrak.

[@KkevrockK]

Via ridership won’t be sustainable until they figure out they have to be cheaper than airfare. They could also be less Quebec everything. They may not realize but 90% of the country isn’t French, this presentation is a perfect example. Couldn’t be spoken in half English…they create resentment.

[@RobertH-qb5it]

Umm VIA is not 'completely changing its fleet of trains'. Far from it. They are only introducing new trains on the corridor service-no long distance trains are being replaced for now, and probably won't be until significant funding is allocated.

[@stevem7508]

There nice new trains for sure, but there is nothing like the classic Budd cars, if VIA was smart enough they should keep all there Budd cars considering they don't rust, as there stainless steel, and built like tanks.

[@Eaglescout217]

Well these new trainsets are also stainless steel just with a wrap over the metal. I do think they should keep some of the older rolling stock for historical preservation

[@roundandroundmyworld]

As museum pieces that can certainly be done. For regular service, not so practical. The VIA staff are already struggling to keep enough cars on the rails to keep "The Canadian" operating. They have to manufacture parts from scratch because there are no parts available anywhere. Each year, cars have to be retired for good because they are no longer repairable. This was all reported in the news media back in February.

[@shahzaibaftabsahi1145]

No bullet trains. Its a shame only G7 country who did not have bullet trains!

[@SamVekemans]

Are these trains electric? And will bicycles be permitted on board?

[@RailFansCanada]

The Siemens Charger locomotives are Diesel Electric, however they could (potentially) be upgraded to support electric-operation as a "bi-mode" locomotive. Currently, bicycles are not allowed on board as the "legacy" fleet does not have bike racks. Once the entire fleet is replaced, then the policy to allow bike onboards might be implemented!

[@davidthomas2761]

@@RailFansCanada The luggage racks will go up to make room for bicycles. There is very little space for luggage now, so it will be ridiculous when bicycles get priority over luggage. The current policy in Business Class is two large bags per passenger. Where will they go if even a quarter of the passengers bring one large bag?

[@freddyluvless1063]

It’s a shame we can’t get euro pricing for train service…Toronto -Montreal should be $60 return.

[@Wiseguy1138]

I rode one of these new trains in the Corridor. Absolutely hated the experience. I don’t know the other classes but for Business, they make you board at the wrong end. You have to walk through the large kitchen area, walk all the way to the end with your luggage and then walk back to your seat through the crowds to get back to your seat. There’s also still no privacy in Business Class as the working area is usually taken up by staff coats and bags. And of course there’s pretty much every other passenger sick with stuffy nose/sneezing/coughing not masking and exposing everyone else to their crap. I loved VIA in the past but now that I have my own EV car, it’s a much more relaxing (& environmentally friendly) & healthy way to travel the corridor than the train is.

[@freddieqmercury5961]

@@Wiseguy1138 your review makes sense, now you have told us that you are an EV motorist.

[@CharlesBeland]

Looks a like the uac turbo train scheme

[@Tsass0]

Why is this loko pulled and not a DMU? The yellow is stunning by the way, they all should look like this.

[@RailFansCanada]

It isn't a diesel multiple unit, however in contrast to the older trains, there is a cab car at the opposite end so it can run in either direction, negating the need to turn around to operate in the other direction.

[@jfmezei]

Incite passengers to take the train? Good joke. Because of bad interior design with no luggage space, VIA has instituted hostile baggage rules designed to scare passengers away. Its insistence in not having at least 1 baggage train per day means net loss of passengers (that train was so full VIA often had to add cars to it, something it cannot do with permanently coupled trains). And as a cyclist, I will never be able to take the train in Canada again since their "pretend" bike hooks in the Siemens cars require the only baggage rack to be disassembled in a car that already ha a huge defiit in baggage racks compared to the LRC. Compare this to european trains that have a section dedicated to bikes. (Ceské Drahy,s new Comfortjet (Viaggios) have 2 such cars dedicated to bikes). And BYW, on west bound trains, never take seat in car 5 (cab car) because the horn is located inside the cabin and is very loud and of course in canada rings constantly. No these heavy steel trains are not incentive to take the train (and won't mention their narrower seats that are not comfortaable). In terms of long distance trains: VIA said that they won't be able to run then past 2030. The Minister said that VIA might get new ones by 2035. So once more, we are to lose what is left of long distance service. (toronto vancouver is not transcontiental). I know that you have to put on a smiley face to maintain good relations with VIA, but I don't especilly as VIA doesn't want me as a passenger.

[@torontoguy1097]

Sorry. Just another diesel electric hunk of polluting junk that will lumber along a freight line pulling over every 100 or so km for a CP rail freight train. This thing will never go faster than 70 kph, if you are lucky. And it will cost a fortune to ride. Why don’t we demand better????

[@stevedolesch9241]

I need to add that we don't use Sortie-Exit (at 6:46) anynore. Now we use more and more a pictogramme which is the International Signage System

[@Jon.Morimoto]

@@stevedolesch9241 For clarity, please explain who "we" refers to. You used "we" twice with no indication of what you meant.

[@stevedolesch9241]

@@Jon.Morimoto Sorry about that. Near the exits of buildings there are pictogrammes of a figure running indicating emergency exits instead of words Exit-Sortie.

[@Jon.Morimoto]

@@stevedolesch9241 Do you mean buildings in Canada? Who is the "we" deciding to use pictograms? Building owners? Provincial government? Municipal government? As a federal crown corporation, VIA must use both French and English, but pictograms and other languages are not specifically mandated.

[@stevedolesch9241]

@@Jon.Morimoto It's International. Beginning to be implemented gradually. Wish I can send you a photo.

[@Jon.Morimoto]

@@stevedolesch9241 "We don't use Sortie-Exit anymore" is a different claim than "beginning to be implemented gradually."

[@danielwaitzman2118]

What a shame! The old cars are completely.superior to the new, in terms of comfort and convenience.

[@TheRealJazz359]

Wait… Does this mean VIA has a heritage train set now?! HERITAGE UNIT?!

[@stoikiometry]

now if only we could get the paige saunders plan

[@andrerenault]

Having modern-looking trains will be a boost to Via’s brand image. Park this next to their other mishmashes of carriages and motive power, and it’s kind of embarrassing what we’ve lived with for so many years. In my opinion it was a step back to remove the LRC engines from service, they looked great compared to the generic locomotives that came after.

[@dylanc9174]

Special train!?

[@nicholasyoung9758]

Looks like the Siemens train painted mostly yellow. Good, but not really thrilling news.

[@dylanc9174]

@@nicholasyoung9758 Looks like a Siemens deal. Would rather have less flashy stuff like $20billion in passenger rails.

[@Jon.Morimoto]

​@@dylanc9174 Enthusiasts often develop tunnel vision. Canada will have an election in 2025. You should form a party pledging to spend $20 billion on passenger rail. Other parties will probably ask you why it's so important when health care, education, housing, and the justice system could use more spending, or reduced GST to ease the burden on Canadians. Good luck - bonne chance to the next Prime Minister! /s

[@dylanc9174]

@@Jon.Morimoto 1.3rd parties don't work in this country because it's rigged for 2 parties. 2. Yes Canada is unable to fund anything properly, military, healthcare, a functioning housing market. Why can't we do any of this? When other countries succeed, as well as spending $billions on railway infrastructure. Guillbault of the Lib government said himself that he wants to transition large spending on highways into railways. It's not that railways are too expensive like you say, but it's because of bureaucracy and failing to allocate $$$$. I would say railways are a reason to increase debt and have to pay back later, because traffic alone causes $billions in revenue and production loss for the country. Also you're being a dick when you know I'm correct.

[@dylanc9174]

@@Jon.Morimoto There is a lot wrong with everything you said, but YT might not allow me to reply for some reason. I've made one already and it gets deleted. "Why do this thing when we should be doing that!?" Why not only fund one government program and do it right rather than fund a bunch? By that logic.

[@matdob7677]

Who came up with Lumi, which means "snow" in Finnish (and is also my cat's name)? 🇫🇮

[@PeterCPRail8748]

The only why you as Via will insite people to take the train is to slash your pricing. Via charges insane prices for the Windsor to Montreal corridor. It shouldn't be that much more than what GO train charges for intercity travel. It shouldnt cost me 700 to 1000 dollars for a round trip from Brantford to Windsor or Toronto to Ottawa or Montreal. That's crazy.

[@graygraygraygraygraygray]

I’m not entirely sure where you’re pulling “700 to 1000 dollars” from. I thought that sounded odd so I checked. A train from Toronto to Montreal, next month, round trip, leaving on a Sunday morning, returning on a Friday evening, with Economy plus seats, so that comes with baggage… is 271$ with taxes. That’s all together, downtown to downtown, on the upgraded economy ticket. You can get it under 150 if you’re willing to adjust the days slightly and take the escape fare.

[@PeterCPRail8748]

​@graygraygraygraygraygray family of 5 buddy. Not a single fair. Sorry I wasn't specific in my original post. Lets be honest passenger rail in North America is dying because of no priority trackage and assinnine fairs.

[@adamp1440]

The new trains are way too noisy, way too many announcements.

[@user-pv5wy2om5j]

Please, fix the tracks so the trains can reach their maximum cruise speed. Make it affordable and frequent. If Spain can take you from Madrid to Barcelona in less than three hours and €20 by train, we should be able to do it, too.

[@WeenyBeanyHere]

It's the 🍌train!

[@doonsiedoo9doonsiedoo984]

Perfume on a pig. The whole thing, tracks, trains needs a revamp. Hi speed above ground rimls,. Flooding and other issues make this archaic system obsolete.

[@lafancyjoe]

old tech for old train ? what is the logic. Shame, or no shame.

[@doughayden]

VIA really needs to come back to Calgary and Banff ... its Un- Canadian not to be in these 2 great Cities

[@mil161]

such a bland color scheme.

[@peterjaniceforan3080]

🇨🇦🫡

[@backonpro5679]

One blue stripe on each side is all it took. But no, let’s give it the most uncreative, and most childish name possible.

[@pbilk]

What's wrong with the name Lumi?

[@abcdeshole]

Branding is hard for Via Rail because they generally want their branded terms to work bilingually, so they end up with words like: Via Rail, Renaissance, Via1, Lumi, that kind of thing. They even made their Comfort Class logo look like the third letter could be be an M or an N.

[@backonpro5679]

@@pbilk Lumi is meant to be short for luminosity. it’s like naming a dog puppy

[@rotatorcuffs8140]

@@pbilk Maybe I just haven't reached that level of railfan yet, but I also don't see anything wrong with the name

[@CALLMEGENESIS]

Awesome video, great looking train. Will the fares become affordable for all as they are in Europe or will they continue to be exorbitant and out of reach to the average person.

[@aalexis3]

Why does the interior have to look so sterile and clinical? Grey and white is so boring and harsh. There is so much colour that could have been used.