Refunds and exchanges
If your travel plans change or your ticket has been lost or stolen, please notify us as soon as possible.
Please note: All bookings are completely non-refundable and non-exchangeable if a cancellation is made after the scheduled departure time of the train.
Here are the procedures and policies regarding:
Ticket refunds and exchanges
To obtain an exchange or refund, you must present your tickets together with your receipt coupons. In most cases, you can obtain a refund for unused tickets or partially unused tickets immediately by going to the ticket office nearest you.
If you paid for your tickets by cheque, you must present the cancelled cheque (obtained from your financial institution) that was used to purchase the tickets. If you do not have the cheque, you must complete a request for refund and receive the refund by mail.
Some conditions may apply to exchanges and refunds of rail passes and reduced-fare tickets: there may be service charges, or tickets and passes may not be refundable, etc.
For a refund by mail, return your tickets with the original receipt (photocopies not accepted) to the following address:
VIA Rail Canada
Ticket Refunds
Central Station
895 de La Gauchetière Street West
Montréal, Québec H3B 4G1
Canada
Lost tickets
The moment you notice your tickets have been lost or stolen, call VIA Rail's toll-free number 1 888 VIA Rail (1 888 842-7245) or TTY 1 800 268-9503 (hearing impaired).
You may also go to the ticket office nearest you. You will be asked to fill out a claim form for the missing tickets, which will then be forwarded to the VIA Rail Refunds Department.
Submitting the form is no guarantee of obtaining a refund and under no circumstances does it entitle you to a replacement ticket.
While waiting for a decision from the Refunds Department, you must buy new tickets. Lost or stolen tickets qualify you for a partial or full refund under the following conditions:
- You will be charged $40 per ticket for processing your claim unless your loss is the result of an error by VIA Rail.
- You must file your claim within 30 days after the latest departure date marked on the ticket.
- Allow 75 to 90 days for your claim to be processed.
- Rail passes, credits and gift card are not refundable, even when lost or stolen.
- The claim form for lost tickets may only be used for VIA Rail tickets, Amtrak/Ontario Northland Rail tickets issued by VIA Rail, and VIA Rail tickets issued by travel agencies.
- If the ticket covers a combined VIA/Amtrak trip, only the VIA portion is refundable.
- All claims for refunds for tickets issued by Amtrak or Ontario Northland Rail must be submitted to the issuer.
- If the lost or stolen ticket is found and returned, the processing fees will be waived.
