Canada - Via Rail - Sudbury to White River

[Red Onion]

Evening all,

I recently found out about the above service run by Via Rail in Canada (after I got back of all things!) and it looks like the last place you can ride the old Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) in paid service. It looks quite a scenic route through very rural and sparsely populated areas, functioning as a lifeline service for folk. I believe Via Rail are currently in the process of replacing rolling stock and it’s likely that the RDCs will go at some point in the near future so I quite fancy a run on them before they do go. I wondered if anyone had done this route before and had any hints or tips?

The plan I’m looking at is to leave Toronto on the Canadian to Sudbury Junction, to experience part of that service, albeit that station is miles outside town and will require some thought on how to get into town! Then overnight in Sudbury before catching the service up to White River, overnight there and return, then catching a coach back to Toronto. It seems fairly feasible and affordable. A few trip reports suggest stocking up on supplies before travel as little on the train and little up in White River! Just curious as to any experiences anyone has had.

Link below
Sudbury to White River - Via Rail

 

[Tester]

Evening all,

I recently found out about the above service run by Via Rail in Canada (after I got back of all things!) and it looks like the last place you can ride the old Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) in paid service. It looks quite a scenic route through very rural and sparsely populated areas, functioning as a lifeline service for folk. I believe Via Rail are currently in the process of replacing rolling stock and it’s likely that the RDCs will go at some point in the near future so I quite fancy a run on them before they do go. I wondered if anyone had done this route before and had any hints or tips?

The plan I’m looking at is to leave Toronto on the Canadian to Sudbury Junction, to experience part of that service, albeit that station is miles outside town and will require some thought on how to get into town! Then overnight in Sudbury before catching the service up to White River, overnight there and return, then catching a coach back to Toronto. It seems fairly feasible and affordable. A few trip reports suggest stocking up on supplies before travel as little on the train and little up in White River! Just curious as to any experiences anyone has had.

Link below
Sudbury to White River - Via Rail

Check out the 'Canadian Passenger Rail' io group for lots of useful information and knowledgeable posters.

https://groups.io/g/Canadian-Passenger-Rail

 

[Red Onion]

Check out the 'Canadian Passenger Rail' io group for lots of useful information and knowledgeable posters.

https://groups.io/g/Canadian-Passenger-Rail

Superb looking resource, thank you for sharing that

 

[ac6000cw]

The current (August 2024) edition of the US Trains magazine has a 10 page feature article about riding that service.

 

[Red Onion]

The current (August 2024) edition of the US Trains magazine has a 10 page feature article about riding that service.

Interesting, thank you, I shall see if I can get a read of it.

 

[jamesontheroad]

I rode a lot of VIA Rail in 2005/06, but never this one, because of the infrequent schedule and isolation from the main network.

I’m sure you can get an Uber or Lyft from VIA Rail in Sudbury Junction to Sudbury. Porter Airlines fly from Toronto Billy Bishop Airport YTZ (downtown) and Air Canada fly from Toronto YYZ to Sudbury.

The train is popular with different demographics. It’s used for recreation by people heading to their summer cabins or hiking/canoeing trips. But it also passes through some First Nations reserves, so it also acts as an essential service for many indigenous communities.

 

[ac6000cw]

Interesting, thank you, I shall see if I can get a read of it.

If you want to read it for free, sign up for the 30-day trial of 'Trains.com Unlimited' - https://www.trains.com/subscriptions-plans/ - then go to the Trains magazine archive section - https://www.trains.com/trn/magazine/archive-access/ (just remember to cancel the trial before the payment is taken).

Alternatively, retailers like Zinio - https://www.zinio.com/gb/trains-m6094 and and Pocketmags - https://pocketmags.com/trains-magazine - sell individual issues (as do some W.H.Smith branches and other shops for the current hardcopy issue).

 

[williamn]

There was a documentary online about this service, but it doesn't seem watchable to viewers in the UK. I'm sure you could access it with a VPN though.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/tripping-train-185-1.6786112

 

[Beebman]

Chris Tarrant travelled on the service in Series 2 Episode 6 of his Channel 5 'Extreme Railways' series ('The Railway That Created Canada') but I can't find it anywhere online.

 

[railfan99]

Evening all,

I recently found out about the above service run by Via Rail in Canada (after I got back of all things!) and it looks like the last place you can ride the old Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) in paid service. It looks quite a scenic route through very rural and sparsely populated areas, functioning as a lifeline service for folk. I believe Via Rail are currently in the process of replacing rolling stock and it’s likely that the RDCs will go at some point in the near future so I quite fancy a run on them before they do go. I wondered if anyone had done this route before and had any hints or tips?

The plan I’m looking at is to leave Toronto on the Canadian to Sudbury Junction, to experience part of that service, albeit that station is miles outside town and will require some thought on how to get into town! Then overnight in Sudbury before catching the service up to White River, overnight there and return, then catching a coach back to Toronto. It seems fairly feasible and affordable. A few trip reports suggest stocking up on supplies before travel as little on the train and little up in White River! Just curious as to any experiences anyone has had.

Link below
Sudbury to White River - Via Rail

I did Sudbury to White River in 2016.

Like you (in the opposite direction), I travelled by road coach between Toronto and Sudbury on the outwards journey. A hotel staff member drover me to Sudbudy station to join the White River Budd railcar next morning.

There is limited accommodation at White River: I couldn't find any vacant rooms online, but the helpful train conductor found the motel had one vacant room so I snagged that.

The trip was excellent, with some locals with sizeable camping equipment using the DRC, plus others. There is much forest.

Re Sudbury Junction, I joined the Toronto-bound 'Canadian' there, but it was five hours late so I waited from about 2230 to c.0500. A few others joined. The 'halt' is unattended, but safe. It was easy to get a taxi from the centre of town to the Junction 'station'. A couple of freights passed through when I was there. The sitting ('seated') cars are very comfortable with huge legroom and seat extenders.

There was no waiting room IIRC, but there may have been a seat.

 

[Beebman]

US rail YouTuber Miles Taylor (of the Miles in Transit channel) has posted a video of a recent trip he and a companion made on the RDC from White River to Sudbury which shows in some detail how the service is used by local people:

Note that the first part of the video is about how the pair got to White River by overnight bus with the train journey starting at around the 13-minute point.