List of Via Rail rolling stock
This is a list of past and present rolling stock owned and operated by Via Rail in Canada. Via Rail owns 78 locomotives and 396 passenger cars. The tables below list that equipment by type and include some information regarding previously-owned and operated equipment. When Via began operation in 1976-1978 it was with a collection of equipment inherited from the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. Much of this equipment remains in use today. Over the years Via has supplemented this initial fleet with new orders and with new acquisitions of secondhand equipment from other operators.
Locomotives
Current
Via operates diesel locomotives exclusively. Its fleet of GMD F40PH-2s was recently modernized. The newer GE P42DCs are found only on Corridor services.| Model | Road numbers | In service | Years of service | Notes |
| GMD F40PH-2 | 6400-6459 | 53 | 1987-present | Number 6403 is featured on the Canadian $10 bills issued starting in 2013. The actual 6403 was renumbered to 6459 due to its appearance on the bill. All units in the fleet were rebuilt by Canadian Allied Diesel, which included many modernization upgrades, and the addition of a separate Head-end Power generator at the rear of the locomotive. The rebuild was complete by 2012. Unit 6400 retired and scrapped following a wreck. Locomotives 6454, 6437, 6436, 6416, 6402 wrapped in Canada 150 scheme. |
| GE P42DC | 900-920 | 21 | 2001-present | GE P42DC locomotives have been retrofitted with High Intensity Discharge lights below the numberboard, these lights were added after successful testing with the F40PH-2Ds in the mid 2000s. Most have been wrapped in Canada 150 scheme, minus the Canada 150 logo. |
| EMD SW1000 | 202 and 204 | 2 | 1978-present | Switcher. Originally built 1966-1967. Originally built for Inland Steel. |
Future locomotives
In December 2018, VIA Rail Canada ordered 32 trainsets - each powered by a Charger locomotive - from Siemens for use on the Québec City–Windsor Corridor.Former
Via inherited a diverse fleet of diesel locomotives from the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways. It also received three of the experimental UAC TurboTrain gas-turbine trainsets. Between 1980-1984 Bombardier delivered 31 LRC diesel locomotives with matching cars. The last of these was retired in 2002.| Model | Road numbers | Built | Years of service | Notes |
| UAC TurboTrain | 1968 | 1979-1982 | Acquired three trainsets from CN. All scrapped. | |
| LRC-2 | 6900-6920 | 1980-1984 | 1980-2001 | |
| LRC-3 | 6921-6930 | 1980-1984 | 1980-2001 | Coaches remain in service. |
| MLW FPA-2u | 6758,6759 | 1979-1993 | Ex-CN. | |
| MLW FPA-4 | 1958-1989 | 1979-1993 | Ex-CN. Several acquired by private train operators in US. | |
| GMD FP9 | 1954-1959 | 1979-2002 | Ex-CN and CP. Later rebuilt as the VIA FP9ARM. 6304 acquired by Trains Unlimited Rail Tours of California; 6510 on static display in Thunder Bay ON. F9B 6633 wrecked in 1986 and retired/scrapped. | |
| GMD FP7 | 6501, 6509, 6521-6623, 6566 | 1949-1953 | 1979 | Ex-CP. FP7A 6566 wrecked in 1986 and retired/scrapped. |
| MLW RS-10 | 8558 | 1956 | Ex-CP. | |
| EMD E8 | 1800, 1802 | 1949 | 1979-1980 | Ex-CP. |
| Budd RDC-3 | 6144 | Ex-CP and CN. Used for passenger, baggage and postal service. 6144 converted as RDC-1. | ||
| Budd RDC-9 | 6000-6006 | Ex-CP and CN. Non-powered and no controls. Passenger use only. | ||
| IC3 | 7201-? | 1997 | Test units sent to VIA, did not meet expectations, units sent back to Israel Railways. |
Passenger cars
Stainless steel
The core of Via's long-range fleet is a collection of streamlined equipment originally built by the Budd Company for the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1950s. These were rebuilt by AMF to use head end power and thus are often referred to as the "HEP" fleet.| Type | Built | Years of service | In service | Fleet numbers | Notes | Image |
| "Galley" club car | 1947-1949 | 1993-present | 10 | 4000-4009 | Built by Budd Car Company and acquired from Amtrak and other operators between 1989-2000, rebuilt by AMF in mid-90s. Seats 56. Designated by VIA as "HEP2" Club cars and primarily used in the Quebec-Windsor Corridor. | |
| Corridor coach cars | 1947-1953 | 1993-present | 23 | 4100-4125 | Acquired from Amtrak and other operators between 1989–2000, rebuilt by AMF in mid-90s. Originally built by Budd Car Company. Seats 68. Designated by VIA as "HEP2" coaches and primarily used in the Quebec-Windsor Corridor. Cars 4123, 4124, and 4125 were converted into club cars, numbered 4007, 4008, and 4009 respectively. | |
| Long-distance coach cars | 1947-1953 | 1978-present | 43 | 8100-8147 | Mostly ex-Canadian Pacific, some rebuilt from ex-American coaches. Built by Budd Car Company, rebuilt in the mid 1990s by AMF. Seating for 62. Designated by VIA as "HEP1" coaches. | |
| Château series sleeping car | 1954 | 1978-present | 29 | 8201-8229 | Ex-Canadian Pacific and built by Budd Car Company. Cars bear names of famed explorers and administrators of the first French and British colonies. | |
| Manor series sleeping car | 1954-1955 | 1978-present | 40 | 8301-8342 | Ex-Canadian Pacific and built by Budd Car Company. Cars bear names of famed explorers and administrators of the first French and British colonies. | |
| Park series sleeper-dome-lounge | 1954 | 1978-present | 14 | 8702-8718 | Ex-Canadian Pacific and built by Budd Car Company. Named after select Canadian national parks. | |
| Dining cars | 1955 | 1978-present | 13 | 8401-8418 | Ex-Canadian Pacific and built by Budd Car Company. | |
| Skyline series dome car | 1954-1955 | 1978-present | 18 | 8500-8517 | Ex-Canadian Pacific and built by Budd Car Company. |
LRC
LRC was a series of lightweight diesel-powered passenger trains built by Bombardier that were used on short- to medium-distance inter-city service in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The LRC family includes both locomotives and passenger carriages designed to work together, though the two can be, and now are, used separately. The last locomotives were retired in 2001 but the coaches remain in service.| Type | Years of service | In service | Fleet numbers | Notes |
| Club car | 1984-present | 26 | 3451-3475; 3600-3601 | 44/56 seats. Undergoing refurbishment into 44 seat, bi-directional configuration. |
| Coach car | 1981-present | 72 | 3300-3399 | 68 seats. Undergoing refurbishment with fixed, bi-directional seating. |
Renaissance
The Renaissance fleet was originally built by Alstom in the mid-1990s for the proposed "Nightstar" overnight service between the United Kingdom and continental Europe via the Channel Tunnel. Via acquired the entire fleet in 2000 for C$130 million after the Nightstar concept was abandoned. The cars entered service in 2002. Presently, four sets are in service: two on the Ocean, overnight between Montreal and Halifax, and two in the corridor, between Ottawa and Quebec City.| Type | In service | Fleet numbers | Notes |
| Baggage car | 9 | 7000-7011 | Built out of unused sleeping car shells. |
| Club car | 14 | 7100-7114 | 48-seat capacity in a 2+1 configuration. |
| Coach | 33 | 7200-7232 | 48-seat capacity in a 2+1 configuration. |
| Lounge car | 20 | 7300-7316; 7354-7359 | Via Rail refers to these as "service" cars. |
| Dining car | 3 | 7400-7402 | 48-seat capacity; built out of unused sleeping car shells. |
| Sleeping car | 57 | 7500-7589 | 10 double bedrooms. 29 are stored at Thunder Bay, Ontario. |
| Baggage car/transition | 3 | 7600-7602 | Used to transition between coupler styles. |
RDC
The Budd Rail Diesel Car is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit railcar. These were used extensively by both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways for outlying routes. Via currently rosters seven RDCs and contracted with Industrial Rail Services for C$12.6 million to refurbish and upgrade all six. The upgraded units would include new seating, wheelchair accessible washrooms, LED interior lighting, controls, wiring, heating, air conditioning systems, braking systems and rebuilt engines that meet Euro 2 standards. The rebuilt units have also been modified to remove the control cab from one end of each unit, so passengers are never required to pass through the cab when entering or exiting the train. Following the bankruptcy of IRSI, work rebuilding the RDCs was completed by Canadian Allied Diesel at the IRSI facility in Moncton.| Type | Built | Years of service | In service | Fleet numbers | Notes |
| RDC-1 | 1956-1958 | 1978-1990s | 3 | 6109, 6120, 6127 | Budd built cars. 6109 acquired by CN Rail from Chicago & Eastern Illinois and sold to Cuba in 1998. 6127 acquired from CP Rail and sold to Dallas Area Rapid Transit in 1993. 6127 was ex-CNR D352/6703 and sold to Cuba in 1998 |
| RDC-2 | 1956-1958 | 1978-present | 2 | 6212, 6208, 6215, 6217, 6219 | Built by Canadian Car and Foundry. All ex-CPR cars. 6208 and 6212 sold to Industrial Rail Services 2000. 6215 still in service. 6217 and 6219 are refurbished and in service |
| RDC-4 | 1955 | 1978-present | 2 | 6250-6251 | A second RDC-4 was added to the fleet in 2013 when ex-CP 9251 was rebuilt into VIA 6251. |
Others
| Type | Built | Years of service | In service | Fleet numbers | Notes |
| Canadian Car and Foundry Café-Coach car | 1954 | 1980-present | 1 | 3248 | 72-seat snack bar ex-CNR 5454. Currently in use on the Keewatin Railway. |
| Canadian Car and Foundry baggage-coach | 1954 | 1978-present | 2 | 5648-5649 | Ex-CNR 5649 and currently in use on the Keewatin Railway. |
| Colorado Railcar Single-Level Dome dome coach | 2000 | 2002-present | 3 | 1720-1722 | Seats 71-74. Referred to as "Panorama" cars by VIA. |
| Canadian Car and Foundry lounge car | 1954 | 2002-present | 1 | 1750 | Originally CNR 5585 became VIA Rail 5585 from 1978 to 1998. Sold to Funtrain of Kelowna, then to BC Rail in 2001. Acquired in 2002 from BC Rail as 1750. Named "Glen Fraser". |
| Budd observation/club car | 1939 | 2002-present | 1 | 1751 | Acquired from BC Rail as 1750 Pavilion. Original built in 1939 as Biscayne Bay, later as Memphis and owned by 8 different owners. Has never entered service with VIA and stored at Montreal Maintenance Centre. |
| Various Budd baggage cars | 1954-1955; 1963 | 1978-present | 19 | 8600-8623 | 8600-8617 are ex-Canadian Pacific; 8618-8623 are ex-Union Pacific Budd slab-side baggage cars. |
| National Steel baggage car | 1951 | 1978-present | 1 | 9631 | One of 67 cars of this type once owned by VIA Rail. |