Via Rail is banking on tunes and tweets to help it gain younger passengers with the launch of a four-day music festival aboard the Canadian, its flagship Vancouver-to-Toronto train.
The Canadian departs Pacific Central Station tomorrow evening, Friday, June 8, for the debut of Tracks on Tracks, carrying 10 independent music acts, CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence and HootSuite vice-president Dave Olson.
"We are trying to attract that younger audience to VIA Rail and show them that train travel is good, viable, it's part of your history and part of your future," said Josephine Wasch, Via Rail's senior adviser of domestic and international sales.
Wasch said the 233-passenger trip, with 166 Sleeper-Plus passengers and 67 in economy, is also an effort to offer a "cruise-on-rails experience." A 10% group discount was offered for the trip and tickets were given away on CBC Music.
"This is certainly a pilot project to see how everything goes and to see if our guests are happy," Wasch said. "If it's mutually beneficial for all parties involved, we'd certainly hope for an extension."
The music-fuelled trip to Toronto, host of the June 11-17 NXNE Music Film Interactive festival, is inspired by the 1970 Festival Express cross-Canada rail excursion by the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and The Band.
The idea grew out of a tweet to Via Rail by Green Couch Productions partner Michelle Allan, suggesting her company could help expand the Canadian Artists Onboard program that offers musicians free passage in exchange for acoustic performances along the way.
"We're going to be filming these and editing these, they're going to be based around trains and train travel and the improvements to amenities that Via has undertaken," Allan said. "And promoting how fun and relaxed and enjoyable a train trip can be."
Tickets for the journey are still available online at www.viarail.ca. Besides the scheduled on-board performances and impromptu jams, concerts are planned for stops in Jasper and Winnipeg. The train arrives June 12 at Union Station in Toronto.
"[This will be] a compelling new chapter in the Canadian story, which shows how art, music, culture, transportation and social media all come together to provide a unique experience for the bands, the public and the future," said Olson.
