VIA Rail Acknowledges its TurboTrain Past

Putting on the new VIA Rail TurboTrain livery - HSRC Collection

On July 10th, 2024, VIA Rail released a publicity campaign for their Windsor to Quebec City corridor new train sets. The Siemens Venture trains, powered by Siemens Charger locomotives, will be fully in service across the entire corridor by the fall of this year.

High Speed Rail Canada salutes VIA Rail’s acknowledgement of its past train, the TurboTrain in their new livery of the Lumi.

According to the VIA Rail press release, Introducing Lumi, the unique train of its new Corridor fleet, which bears VIA Rail’s classic monochrome yellow all while keeping the signature linear lines of the new trains.

Lumi will be the only new train (Simple and efficient, the monochrome yellow, our brand’s signature colour) with this unique exterior design and acts as a reminder of the beginning of a new era for passenger rail. As others have done when introducing a new fleet, VIA Rail wanted to make a strong gesture by differentiating one of its trains with a special exterior design.

Reminiscent of the design of the Turbo Train that ran between Montréal and Toronto until 1982, Lumi stands out and becomes a "Champion" for the new fleet with its luminous design.

Comparisons of the two trains would be unfair as there has been four decades between the use of the TurboTrain and the Venture trains. One of the biggest positive modernizations is that the Venture trains are fully accessible and barrier-free.

However, the TurboTrain had its own special qualities. The ability to sit in the bar car, having a drink and watch out over the front cab was certainly one of them. Also its unique design was one many people will never forget.

Inside the TurboTrain - HSRC Canada Collection

Looking at the speeds of each train, the TurboTrain top speed was 226 km/h in 1976, and the  new Venture train top speed will be 201 km/h.

High Speed Rail Canada has previously posted many articles on the TurboTrain. It is rewarding to see VIA Rail promote its rail heritage.Here is a link to High Speed Rail Canada TurboTrain history page. https://www.highspeedrailcanada.com/p/uac-cn-turbo-train-archives.html

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