Getting There By Rail
VIA Rail (tel: (416) 366 8411 or (888) 842 7245; website: www.viarail.ca) is Canada’s national rail transport provider. VIA Rail operates from the historic Union Station, 65 Front Street West, where tickets and information can be obtained in person. Facilities include restaurants, toilets, bars, lockers, shops, ATMs, bureaux de change, a business centre and car hire from National.
Rail services: VIA Rail operates services between Toronto and a number of national destinations, including Montreal (journey time – 4–5 hours; night train – 8 hours), Ottawa (journey time – 4 hours) and Niagara Falls (journey time – 1 hour 45 minutes), as well as the USA via Niagara Falls. Both economy and first class (VIA 1) cars are available on services along the Quebec City–Windsor corridor, which accounts for 85% of Canada’s passenger rail traffic. The carriages are clean and quiet, with large windows that confer a sense of the country’s vastness, as the train passes acres of farmland and mixed conifer and deciduous forests. VIA 1 fares include a surprisingly good meal and complimentary Canadian wines. Longer distance services to Vancouver and the East Coast (changing at Montreal) offer a variety of seated and sleeper accommodation options. Union Station is also the main hub for GO Trains (see Getting Around), overland trains providing frequent commuter service to the city’s outlying suburbs.
Transport to the city: Union Station is located in the city centre and is connected to the city’s subway network. Buses, trams and taxis are readily available in the immediate vicinity.
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Getting There By Rail