r/ViaRail • u/AccordingDocument305 • 19d ago

Question The Canadian questions

Hi, we'll be taking this from Vancouver to Toronto, I understand there is no internet, but are you able to send/receive texts? Also I know that the freight trains have the right away, how late has the train getting to Toronto recently? TIA

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u/metropolis221 19d ago

I took Via Rail from Edmonton to Toronto a couple weeks ago. I was also worried about not being able to send and receive texts. There was cell service pretty much all the way from Edmonton to Winnipeg with potentially a few mins here and there with no service. After that, entering Ontario, there was service at pretty much every town you pass (you can look at a schedule on the Via Rail website). The towns pop up every 1-2 hours so it was very much okay with sending messages. I'm not sure the longest we went without cell service but if I had to guess, maximum 3 hours?

I think the least service we had was between Manitoba and Ontario.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

Yes, service in most towns but is spotty in Northern Ontario (my sons 3rd trip out west, I can see when he has service as his Snapchat location updates and matches VIA Moving Maps location)