Low-grade food service drags down Via Rail’s Churchill route: advocates

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This article was published 21/03/2024 (574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Train passenger advocates are blowing the whistle on the “abysmal” food service on the Winnipeg to Churchill route.

Transport Action Canada, a 250-member registered charity that advocates for better sustainable transportation, wrote to the CEO of Via Rail recently, saying it is concerned about the number of complaints it has received from its grassroots.

Terence Johnson, president of the organization, said shortly after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted Via was providing good service and there was enthusiasm to promote the northern Manitoba route.

However, over the last couple of years, that commitment from Via has disappeared, he said.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen such a fall-off in on-board service quality (on that route),” said Johnson. “It’s quite unusual for Via.”

Daryl Adair, owner of Rail Travel Tours, a long-time operator out of Winnipeg, was blunt in his assessment of the food on offer to Via passengers riding to Churchill.

“It’s abysmal,” said Adair. “It’s gas station, microwaveable food.”

Johnson and Adair acknowledge Via is operating under severe financial constraints and worry about the future of the national service (let alone the rump service to Churchill) if Via is not able to refresh its fleet.

“If they don’t, we aren’t going to have any service within the decade,” Johnson said Thursday. “This current equipment is just not capable of running that much longer and it takes 10 years to fully procure, design, source, build and deliver a new fleet.”

A couple of years ago, the thrice-weekly Via train to Churchill typically included three sleeper cars and a chef on board preparing freshly cooked meals. Now the trains are limited to one sleeper car and even though there is a so-called Skyline car, which includes a kitchen, chefs are no longer scheduled as part of the crew.

The uncertainty and poor quality of service is putting a crimp in the Churchill tourism business, advocates said.

“We are really passionate about beluga whale and polar bear trips,” said Adair. “But last summer, they limited the route to one sleeper. In order to reserve a tundra buggy, you need 30 or 40 people. It makes it so much harder.”

One Churchill tourism operator who regularly included train service in its vacation packages no longer does so because of the uncertainty around the quality of service.

“Gas-station hoagies” is the way he characterized the food being offered to those travelling the nearly 1,700-kilometre route.

Christopher Graper, who works for Via on the Toronto to Montreal link (which, he says, does not suffer from the same problems as the Churchill route), is working on a campaign with Unifor to encourage more funding for Via, called “Let’s Get Canada Back on Track.”

“I can tell you, the food on that route is sub-standard,” he said. “It’s not suitable for people travelling that distance and its disrespectful for the local First Nations people who rely on the train and already have difficulty accessing fresh food.”

All the parties concerned understand Via Rail, a federal Crown corporation, is having trouble budgeting its limited assets.

Colin Ferguson, CEO of Travel Manitoba, is part of a committee with Adair and others to advocate for more infrastructure for Via.

“We know Via is having problems,” Ferguson said. “But one more sleeper car on the route would be nice.”

Johnson said Transport Action Canada has not received a response from Via.

Via Rail officials did not respond to a request for comment.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca