VIA Rail – Travel with Children

Travelling by train has always been my favourite ways to travel. I would love to see continue to expand its network and services to make it more accessible and affordable.

For today, we are going to discuss VIA Rail’s discount options when travelling with children.

Kids under 11 years old

Normally, VIA Rail offers discounts to children under the age of 12. This is how the offers are broken down:

• Infants aged 0 to 24 months travel free provided that they do not occupy a seat. Basically, they need to be seated on an adult’s lap throughout the trip.
• Kids aged 2 to 11 years old travel at 50% off in economy class or 25% off in other classes (not applicable in Business and Prestige classes).

Once they passenger is 12 years and older, they can qualify for youth fares between the ages of 12 and 25 years old. Youth fares will vary. But for today’s post, we are focusing on the under 12 years old age group.

Summer Promotion

We are halfway through an affordable promotion that runs between June 7, 2022 and October 1, 2022 (inclusive travel period). Any children aged 2 to 11 years old can travel for $20 (plus taxes) on a one-way in Economy class ticket.

There are several conditions to keep in mind though:

• Travel must be in the Québec City-Windsor corridor (on on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday) or on the Canadian, the Ocean and regional trains (any day of the week).
• Sales tax varies depending on which province the ticket is purchased from.
• The number of seats are limited.
• Tickets must be purchase online or with the VIA Rail application and must be accompanied by at least one adult at least 18 years of age (up to 5 children with 1 adult).
• Tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable.

It is always great to see that VIA Rail is making an effort to sell a more affordable way for kids to travel, to encourage more family travel.