Services for your special needs

We know that your travel needs may differ from those of our clients in general. This section is for you if:

• You have a handicap or a medical condition and would like information on our adapted services (accessibility, allergies, medication and special meals)
• You would like to receive our special services or make a special request (priority boarding, between-station stops)
• You have to travel under special circumstances (bereavement, children travelling alone)

Make sure you receive the services to which you are entitled

Please note that the range of our special services (and adapted services) may vary from one region to another, depending particularly on station facilities and train cars. If we know about your needs in advance we will have time to do everything necessary to make your trip as comfortable and pleasant as possible. In order to do this, we ask that you purchase your tickets by telephone or at one of our ticket offices 48 hours or more in advance of your departure taking care to specify the special services you will require.

Accessibility

Do our stations have wheelchair access? Can you bring a guide dog or get around in our trains by wheelchair? To find out what you need to know about accessibility, consult the section corresponding to your profile:

• Passengers with reduced mobility
• Passengers who are visually or hearing impaired
• Service animal (guide-dog) trainers
• Passengers with learning difficulties
• Escorts

In order to travel with VIA, passengers must be able to attend to their personal needs (eating, medical, personal hygiene) throughout the trip. If you are not able to do so, you must be accompanied by an escort. VIA will be pleased to carry your escort in the same class free of charge.

Access to Travel, your special needs information source, will provide you with facts on accessible transportation and travel across Canada with the aim of making accessible travel easy and enjoyable! This site, created by Transport Canada, has a wealth of information on adapted tourism in Canada, as well as a detailed list of Canadian transportation companies offering accessible local, intercity and national service.

Allergies, special meals and medication

Get the information you need on the range of special meals offered on VIA trains, medication transportation and storage, and the policy on oxygen bottles:

• Allergies and special meals
• Medication
• Oxygen bottles

Other special requests

This section contains information on specific situations and special requests. Choose the link most likely to correspond to any questions you may have:

• You wish to board your train before the other passengers
• You wish to stop in an area between stations
• You are an obese person and wish to occupy two seats
• You want to take your musical instrument in the same car with you and would like to book a second seat for this purpose
• You want to know if a child can travel alone and under what conditions
• You would like to know about our bereavement policies
• You wish to know our language policy

If you are planning to rent one or more VIA Rail cars (or an entire train) for an event, business meeting or a film shoot, consult the PRIVA services section on our web site.

If you don't find the answers you need on these pages, please consult the Need help? section of our web site.