Railroad Forums 

It is currently Thu May 02, 2024 12:53 am

Extra VIA train to Niagara Falls this summer

Discussion of Canadian Passenger Rail Services such as AMT (Montreal), Go Transit (Toronto), VIA Rail, and other Canadian Railways and Transit

Moderator: Ken V

Extra VIA train to Niagara Falls this summer

  by Ken V
 
Toronto - Effective June 27, 2005, VIA Rail Canada will increase its service to Niagara Falls region with a new morning train to / from Toronto. The new departure complements VIA's current services to Niagara Falls and will offer greater flexibility for the traveler to enjoy a full day / night of some of the regions most popular attractions. The new service will operate during the busy summer season when highway congestion to and in the region is at its highest.

For nine weeks, from June 27, 2005 - August 28, passengers can choose from the new 10 a.m. departure from Toronto to Niagara Falls or 7:20 p.m. return departure, or travel in combination with another VIA train and extend their stay at the Falls or create an overnight getaway.

  by MACTRAXX
 
Ken: This is good to see-more service to NFS. How many cars are assigned to this train and is this being done to serve the growing casino market? It makes me wonder if VIA or GO should treat this like NJT treats the Atlantic City line-Will NF be Canada's casino capitol? MACTRAXX

Toronto/Niag. Falls sched.

  by Don
 
Can you supply the arr. times @ NF for the new train as well as the regularly schedueled 1? Also what is the rdtrip fare? TIA
Don

  by downbeat
 
All the following is according to Reservia (Via's online reservation system):
(Extra trains in bold.)

Train # 97 departs Toronto at 0830, arrives Niagara at 1026.
Train #93 departs Toronto at 1000, arrives Niagara at 1148.
Train #95 departs Toronto at 1745, arrives Niagara at 1938.
===========================================
Train #90 departs Niagara at 0640, arrives Toronto at 0834
Train #98 departs Niagara at 1745, arrives Toronto at 1942.
Train #94 departs Niagara at 1920, arrives Toronto at 2109.

Round-trip adult fares in coach class (Comfort):
$40.66 (Super)
$47.08 (Advantage)
$64.20 (Liberty)
There is no first class/Via 1 offered on Toronto-Niagara Falls trains.
Prices in Canadian dollars and include GST.

  by Ken V
 
A couple of notes on the schedules:
  1. Train #90 does not operate on Saturday and Sunday. Train #92 runs instead, departing Niagara Falls at 14:15 and arriving in Toronto at 16:08.
  2. Trains 97 and 98 are also Amtrak trains 63 and 64, the Maple Leaf, to/from New York City.

extra NF train

  by Don
 
OK -- thanks for the info.
Don

  by marquisofmississauga
 
downbeat wrote: Round-trip adult fares in coach class (Comfort):
$40.66 (Super)
$47.08 (Advantage)
$64.20 (Liberty)
There is no first class/Via 1 offered on Toronto-Niagara Falls trains.
Prices in Canadian dollars and include GST.
There is also a "Saturday only" fare of $32.10 round trip. This is capacity controlled and may have to be purchased well in advance. As of today, the fare is available for Saturday the 25th.

  by Ken V
 
marquisofmississauga wrote:There is also a "Saturday only" fare of $32.10 round trip. This is capacity controlled and may have to be purchased well in advance. As of today, the fare is available for Saturday the 25th.
Wow, that's a great deal! It's the same price as a Toronto-Aldershot Comfort Super round trip and it's also available on July 2 in the midst of the holiday long weekend. Surprising.

After checking ReserVIA I found that the same discount also applies to one-way fares on Saturdays and to the Saturday leg of round trips starting or ending on another day.

  by da conductor2004
 
After watching this train (and hearing other reports)there are 2 cars, behind a locomotive. It seems strange considering that they are expecting 15 million people to visit the Niagara Reigon in 2005.
Adam Rinne
Grimsby Ontario

  by Ken V
 
... and as a bonus VIA will be including the Glenfraser lounge car to these trains on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the month of August.
Rediscover the pleasure of travel... between Toronto and Niagara
Starting at the end of July and then every weekend in August, the elegant Glenfraser lounge car, which is presently available on certain Friday and Saturday departures between Montréal and Toronto, will be added to certain departures between Toronto and Niagara. This time, the Glenfraser will offer a wine and cheese tasting, the perfect introduction to Canada's wine country (and to your weekend). Click here to view our Glenfraser departures.

  by marquisofmississauga
 
It's a shame more people didn't take this train. My first trip was the inaugural run of Glenfraser, which was mid-week. There were about 25 to 30 who boarded #94 in Niagara Falls. A larger number boarded the Maple Leaf which, as usual, was late. In fact, the Maple Leaf departed NF just a few minutes before #94. (On many occasions, #94 left long before the supposedly earlier Maple Leaf.) It would have helped if VIA had given this train more publicity, such as including it in the timetable. Even the on-line edition of the timetable lacked this train. It was, naturally, shown on Reservia.

The operation of Glenfraser was a great idea and added to the enjoyment of the trip. The service manager on the last run of #93 told me that it was the Fallsview Casino which came up with the idea of running the lounge car. It was VIA's idea to get the wine producers and the dairy council to provide the victualling. The amounts served were quite generous: more so on #94 than on #93, which could not serve the wine until 1100 - more than half-way to NF.
 Return to “Canadian Passenger Operations: AMT, Go Transit, VIA, etc.”
 - All times are UTC-05:00 -