''Rapido'' was the brand name for the

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

's express

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

service in the

Quebec City–Windsor Corridor The Quebec City–Windsor Corridor () is the most densely populated and heavily industrialized region of Canada. As its name suggests, the -long region extends from Quebec City in the northeast to Windsor, Ontario in the southwest. With more tha ...

. ''Rapido'' service was introduced on October 31, 1965, and lasted until the end of Canadian National passenger train service with its transfer to

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

on October 29, 1978. ''Rapido'' service began on the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

–

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

route. In 1966, service was extended to the Montreal–

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

route and later, to other city pairs, including Toronto– Windsor, Toronto–

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

, Toronto–

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and Montreal–Ottawa.New XN service lets riders get down to business ''Railway Age'' May 13, 1968 page 11 In addition to being branded as ''Rapido'', each express train was also given a name related to the route's particular geographical or historical context. Some names included ''Frontenac'' (after the

Château Frontenac The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac (), is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Pl ...

hotel in Quebec City), ''Rideau'' (after the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...

in Ottawa) and ''Ville-Marie'' (the historic name for Montreal). A "bistro" car was occasionally included in ''Rapido'' service trains. Piano-based entertainment and alcoholic beverages were offered in these specially outfitted cars which were lit with red bulbs which were meant to create a party atmosphere on the trip between Toronto, Kingston, and Montreal. The ''Rapido'' brand name continued to be used for advertising material and timetables by

into the 1980s. The brand name likely survived until Via was able to complete the reorganization and integration of Canadian National and

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

passenger train schedules. By the end of the 1980s, Via Rail began to increasingly refer to '' the Corridor'' for branding all passenger trains operating from Quebec City–Windsor, regardless of speed or class of service. Most dedicated train names were removed and trains began to be identified by number only. In the mid-2000s, the "Rapido" name was adopted by Canada-based

model railroad Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are Model building, modelled at a reduced Scale (ratio), scale. The scale models include locomotives ...

manufacturing company Rapido Trains Inc.

References

* Colin Churcher's Railway Pages (August 16, 2005),
Significant dates in Canadian railway history
'. Retrieved October 31, 2005. * Via Rail Canada, Corridor Timetable (Quebec-Ontario), October 30, 1983. Canadian National Railway passenger trains Named passenger trains of Canada Railway services introduced in 1965 Railway services discontinued in 1978 1965 establishments in Canada 1978 disestablishments in Canada {{Canada-rail-transport-stub