Sometimes one runs off at the mouth but does not walk off anywhere.
Ben Massey. Backpacking enthusiast, creator of this site, former writer of sports articles for several websites and one magazine, all-round handsome guy, and writer of his own blurbs.
9,557 words · General Canadian travel
It’s not that VIA Rail is good. That would mean high speed, high reliability, high frequency, and low cost. VIA Rail is slower, less reliable, less frequent, and more expensive than, literally, the bus.
It also cost the Canadian taxpayer $773 million in 2023 to carry 4.1 million passengers (their most recent annual report). That’s a drop in the bucket, or perhaps a drop in the budget, compared to the billions the federal government wastes every year, but suffice to say it doesn’t compare well to Amtrak. You don’t want to lose efficiency contests to Amtrak. In a serious country, VIA Rail could easily do more with less, pleasing the many Canadians who want to go by train and hurting nobody except us foamers.
However, when an American visits Canada and rides VIA Rail, he is pleased, even when the train is eight hours late. Easy for him to say, he doesn’t pay our taxes, but Canadians don’t feel the same way on Amtrak. VIA Rail, the $773 million remittance man of the federal government, too unrewarding to nurture and too popular to eliminate, has got character. It places elegant slow travel within reach of the middle class. And since we do not live in a serious country, for most of us the choice is not between “current bad VIA” and “hypothetical efficient VIA,” but between “current bad VIA” and no service at all.
VIA is not good, but it is nice. Recently I got to cross Canada by train, starting with the Canadian from Vancouver to Toronto. It was very late most of the time and I sampled many VIA inconveniences. It was still very nice, and not as a “subsidized cruise ship on land” which would be, let’s face it, a waste. In fact, one of the most worthwhile VIA complaints is how hard it is to see whether the niceness is what’s costing all the money.
Never miss a ramble
Ben will hike to your inbox! New posts and nothing else.
About the Author
Ben Massey. Backpacking enthusiast, creator of this site, former writer of sports articles for several websites and one magazine, all-round handsome guy, and writer of his own blurbs.
Unless otherwise noted, all content copyright 2016—2025 Benjamin Massey. All rights reserved. Any icons or trademarks used are the sole property of their respective companies. Powered by Wordpress.