# Credits for Late 1 & 2 'Suspended'



## Nanook (May 1, 2015)

VIA has quietly 'suspended' the 50% 4 hour late and the 12 hour late 100% credit of coach fare for late Canadians, using the Gogama derailment mess as cover for changing policy.


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## Nanook (May 1, 2015)

Oh yeah - Must be VIA's 60th Birthday gift to the Canadian.


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## jebr (May 1, 2015)

I saw that the Canadian was missing on their policy page. Yaaaaaay.

How late has the Canadian been lately? I have a 6:45 PM flight back to YWG the night I arrive into Vancouver, and I'm hoping that's not cutting it too close.


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## Nanook (May 1, 2015)

It depends on the day, but you should be okay,

That said, your arrival is pretty much at the mercy of CN. I always give myself at least an overnight so I'm not playing 'beat the plane.'


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## jebr (May 2, 2015)

It'll be a Saturday. I'm hoping that I would have a good estimate by Winnipeg, so I can change plans as necessary. (It's nonrefundable and exchanges cost $75, so I don't want to do it yet if there's a good likelihood that the sevenish hour buffer will be fine.)


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## NS VIA Fan (May 2, 2015)

jebr said:


> It'll be a Saturday. I'm hoping that I would have a good estimate by Winnipeg.........


On a trip last year….

-We arrived and departed Winnipeg on time.

-Were 3 hours late at Edmonton and Jasper

-Almost back on time at Kamloops,

-Arrived Vancouver a half hour early.

(We would have been an hour early into Vancouver but held by a freight at Port Mann)


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## NS VIA Fan (May 2, 2015)

VIA’s Late Train Credit program is pretty generous and still applies to all trains except the Canadian. Unlike Amtrak where you can ask for a voucher, on VIA a credit is automatic based on this table below. Just keep your ticket/boarding pass to apply to your next trip.

http://www.viarail.ca/en/resources/condition-travel-credit

Note the bottom line of the table: _"Notice: Please note that VIA reserves the right to cancel its late train travel credit policy when faced by major events not under VIA's control."_

There are still slow orders through the Gogama accident site so the Canadian is almost guaranteed to be late. The credits will probably be reinstated when things get back to normal (where only 3/4 of the Canadians are late....not every one!)

The value of the credit is based on the “Transportation” or Coach/Economy cost of your ticket only. Not the value of the Accommodation portion. I guess the premise is you did receive that value by occupying your room and receiving meals


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## Nanook (May 2, 2015)

Me thinks someone works for VIA. 

From [email protected]:

I was on #2 from Vancouver on April 17. It arrived in Toronto at 19:11 on the 21st 9 h 41 min late. In the past, that would have entitled me to a travel credit of 50% of the Vancouver - Toronto coach fare. But when I asked VIA Customer Relations about this, they replied "Since service between Toronto and Winnipeg has resumed following a CN freight train derailment in Gogama, new operating conditions such as speed restrictions surrounding the derailment site have been put in place which are causing delays beyond VIA's control. For this reason, late train credits which are normally offered when the train is delayed by four hours or more have been suspended and are therefore not being offered for your recent trip."

Most of the delay on my trip had nothing to do with the Gogama derailment. I was going from west to east, and we were already 4 h 24 min late when it left Saskatoon, and 7 h 20 late when it left Winnipeg. This was similar to my trip a year ago, and similar to many other trips reported here and on other forums in the past couple of years, almost all of them pre-Gogama. It's just the now-routine CN traffic congestion.

The chart at http://www.viarail.ca/en/resources/condition-travel-credit no longer makes any mention of the Canadian. It used to say that a 4 h delay meant a 50% credit, and a 12 h delay meant a 100% credit (on the coach fare). Those lines in the chart have now been deleted.

VIA's travel credit program has been (and still is) exceptionally generous in giving credits for delays beyond VIA's control (CN traffic, bad weather, grade crossing accidents, etc.) It contrasts with airline policy. In my experience, they only give credits when a delay is their fault. I can't blame VIA if they've given up on pretending the Canadian's schedule bears any resemblance to reality, and have suspended travel credits for that train indefinitely. But it seems dishonest to blame that policy change on the Gogama derailment.

Tom B...



> End of quote (please forgive my formatting error)


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## Anderson (May 3, 2015)

Though I think a credit is probably due when there are catastrophic delays (and I think 12+ hours qualifies), VIA's credit policy is also insanely generous (and allows you to claim Preference points in lieu of cash, too, which is _really_ nice in many respects...especially since I _think_ a voucher auto-converts to points if/when the voucher expires). Imagine Amtrak offering credits like this if the Regionals were an hour late into NYP or BOS, for example...


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## Amfleeter (May 4, 2015)

I didn't have a cell phone for a few months, and couldn't call in, and my Canadian trip back in January was 9 hr late - is it possible I could still redeem my credit?


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## Nanook (May 4, 2015)

As Wally on 'Leave it to Beaver' use to say (Okay, I'm dating myself) : "Gosh, You can't blame a guy for asking."

Call VIA's 800 ASAP and ask. Let us know what you find out.

Make sure your cell carrier doesn't charge for the call, or use a land line (like, GASP, a pay phone!) to call the 800 number.


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## Jim (May 7, 2015)

Amfleeter, your reservation should show the times and possibly already a credit there. I took my first Canadian trip in January, and was delayed 14 hours (among other things............would have been nice to have a park car!). I got crazy busy with work and never got around to calling. Finally called this week with my reservation number from delayed train and the credit was already attached to the res. Can't find any time in the next year that I can swing it, but I can squeeze it in next week.........So I'm going to. Found a discount Tuesday deal to Jasper and only had to shell out an extra couple hundred bucks (ok, few hundred with flight and hotels) for the trip. Even got a cabin F.

So just call via res, and you should get your credit.


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