REVIEW | VIA Rail train Montreal to Toronto in business class

In May and June 2023, we travelled from east to west across Canada. From Halifax in Nova Scotia to Montreal in Quebec, to Toronto in Ontario, to Vancouver and Whistler in British Columbia. Along the way some night trains and commuter trains, the Niagara Falls and – imagine this – a bus journey. A true Trans-Canada Train Trek.

Goodbye Montreal, hello Toronto. For a change, we took a day train from those two metropolises. In business class because that’s how we roll… sometimes.

After a difficult check-out at InterContinental Montreal (link to the review at the end of this post), we rushed to Montreal’s Gare Centrale or Central Station. We just had time for one drink in the business lounge.

Boarding

Boarding is very much air travel style. You have to queue at the line for business class boarding, where your ticket is scanned. Then you proceed to the platform and the train. Once inside, those who sit at emergency exits get a safety briefing.

The car

The rolling stock consists or LRC cars. LRC stands for ‘Light, Rapid, Comfortable’ or ‘Léger, Rapide, et Confortable‘.

LRC was designed to run with locomotives or power cars at both ends and provide 125 mph (201 km/h) service on non-upgraded railway routes. To accomplish this, the LRC passenger cars feature active-tilt technology to reduce the forces on the passengers when a train travels at high speeds through curves. LRCs have reached speeds as high as 130 mph (210 km/h) on test runs.

In practice, the train does not exceed 100 mph or 160 kph. For service at these speeds, a single power car is used. Special signage allowed the LRC to run at higher speeds than normal traffic across a great portion of the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor when the tilt system was enabled.

The LRC locomotives and passenger cars are compatible with conventional equipment. While the last LRC locomotive was removed from service on 12 December 2001, the passenger cars are still in widespread use and form the backbone of VIA Rail‘s services, albeit with the tilt system disabled.

Inside

Business class is set up in a 2+1 configuration, with some seats facing each other, as you often see on trains. The seats are reminiscent of Deutsche Bahn‘s ICE first class seats. Comfortable but firm.

Legroom is good. Recline is decent. The tablet is practical. There are power outlets. I sat at a facing seat, so I had a typical foldable table. Practical to eat and work on the laptop. There is a lot of sideways space between the seats. A large cupholder is there for your wine.

Noteworthy, besides the quintessentially North American colour palette, are the airplane style overhead compartments. North Americans are (more) used to fly and it’s clear VIA Rail is mimicking the experience. Another interesting feature is paper garbage bags instead of dedicated trash cans.

Catering on board

Catering service started early with bagels. Danny had read no breakfast was provided, but there were the bagels, with cream cheese or jam. We had bought our own bagels at La Fabrique de Bagel de Montréal and those were way much better. But still, bagel, coffee or or tea service is nice.

Before lunch came drink and a snack.

Lunch is airport style as well with a tray of food where you need to remove the lid of the hot dish. The others all took the fish so the attendant was out of fish when she came to me. I had the pasta. The third option was chicken. As on a plane, the hot meal is served wit a side salad and a dessert. The salad was something with carrots, the dessert was carrot cake.

As a drink you could have water, soft drinks, wine, beer or something stronger. And afterwards you’re offered tea or coffee.

All tasted okay.

So?

For a five and half hour journey, the business class service is entertaining. The ‘look at me, I’m an airplane’ enthusiasm is endearing. Food is okay. It feeds and entertains you. A nice way to travel from Montreal to Toronto.