VIA Rail

[plam]

You can't transport a bicycle from here to Toronto on a VIA train, but you can on a GO train. (I've done it once when I got lucky and the VIA train happened to have a baggage car, but they don't promise that.) For my April trip I'm thinking of biking to YYZ and then taking the plane out, and the train back.

The rules are here:

http://www.viarail.ca/en/travel-info/bag...dard-items

Toronto-Montreal with a bicycle on Fridays has to be the 11:30 train (VIA 64). I don't think you have to box your bike. I've seen people just get their bike delivered off the train, ready to ride. The rules seem to say that the bicycle can be on a different train than you.

(I am going to Jonquiere in February, but I'll take the plane; the train seems to take 2x as long. I'm curious about the route. It probably does not go near a highway.)

It seems like you'd be looking at an overnight in Montreal to take the train to Jonquiere.

I'm curious about the rule where it says "if there is a transfer, you have to box the bicycle". That doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

@ijmorlan: I guess that VIA would re-issue a ticket if you missed a transfer to GO, but by default they issue a fixed-time ticket for GO (which is not a very good deal, since paying with PRESTO is much more flexible and the same price). The GO connections seem to be kind of second-class for VIA personnel. They do tell you what to do for VIA-VIA connections.