VIA Rail Extras

On a number of occasions I have witnessed unscheduled VIA trains passing through Kitchener, slowly rolling past the station without stopping and continuing on to their destination. Yesterday I observed one of these extra's headed west towards London with a sizable consist of approx 8 LRC coaches and 2 locomotives in a push/pull configuration in late afternoon. Would these trains be the result of VIA moving equipment, or a charter of some sort for entertaining VIA dignitaries ? The largest I've seen was last year, as an eastbound stainless consist of approx 10-12 coaches and a diner made an appearance mid-day on a Saturday. Does anybody know the origins of these trains ?

The train you saw on Saturday was "The Stratford Express" which runs once a year from Toronto non-stop to the Startford Festival. You can read more about it at stratfordfestival.ca.

Other special VIA moves occur from time to time on the north line for various reasons, but normally not for equipment relocation. There was another VIA extra to Kitchener about two months ago to participate in safety demonstrations for the Goderich and Exeter Railway.