VIA Rail plays an indispensable role in bridging Canada’s urban centers with its rural counterparts, connecting our communities across the country. Despite its national significance, potential users often find themselves at a loss without a map to easily explore routes, destinations, and expected travel times.

This April, our 'Map of the Month' initiative aims to bridge this gap by developing an interactive online platform of the entire VIA Rail network. This tool enables users to discover travel possibilities from any station across Canada. Through the use of Python and ArcGIS, our team has analyzed VIA Rail’s publicly available data to chart the average lateness for each journey. Our exploration into VIA Rail’s recent performance highlighted a familiar narrative: delays, shaped by shared tracks with CN freight trains, weather conditions, forest fires, and other variables, are part of the travel experience.