Luxury business travel is hitting the rails.

Via Rail says corporate travellers are saying "all aboard" to its Priva service, an exclusive train conference service available across its 14,000-kilometre network of tracks linking 450 communities.

Via says companies can charter individual railcars or even a whole train in order to hold an annual general meeting, business conference or event.

Rail cars are now capable of hosting meetings and presentations, while dining, sleeping and observation vehicles add to the experience. Trips can be short or long, with itineraries customized to any business needs or interests.

Photo by Cynthia Blanton, courtesy of Via Rail
Participants take part in a UNICON conference workshop on the Via Rail Priva service.

"It's really geared to anybody, but specifically corporate travel," says Joeanne Comisso, a senior specialist in national sales for Via Rail Canada Inc. "We can do special trains from Halifax to Vancouver, but our predominant business area (for the Priva service) is the Windsor to Quebec City corridor."

Priva service follows two basic options: Cars can be added to trains along existing scheduled routes or a business can charter its own train - although there is a minimum two-car requirement for these special trains.

The special trains, however, can go to areas that Via doesn't normally service, as long as the track belongs to CN Rail and permission is obtained in advance. Via left CN Rail 26 years ago when CN decided to focus solely on freight.

Bookings usually require up to 45 days notice. Depending on the type of railcar, 56 to 68 passengers can be accommodated per car.

"We have a lot of financial institutions and pharmaceutical companies that use our Priva service," says Comisso.

A short while ago, cosmetics giant Avon decided to hold its conference in Toronto - its Canadian head office is in Montreal - but wanted to take the train.

Company officials held the first half of the conference in the morning on the train. After arriving in Toronto, participants checked into their hotel and went to dinner and a play in the evening.

Then they finished their conference the following morning on the train back to Montreal.

Staff at the Richard Ivey School of Business also used the Priva service to host last year's International University Consortium for Executive Education (UNICON).

Erich Almasy, then-director of executive development at the school, says the Priva venture - which provided the 100 international delegates with a memorable trip from Toronto to Jasper - was a fresh experience.

"I think it's a fabulous way to hold a meeting or a conference," says Almasy. "To this day, I still get people who were on the trip complimenting us on this innovative approach.

"They talk about the new friends that they made, and also the way in which we were able to give them an education as well as a highly enjoyable experience.

"Many of them said they would be returning to Canada either to take the train or stay at Jasper."

The trip took nine months to plan and was one of the largest Via had handled to that point. Eleven cars were attached to an existing Via train and route, including a dome car for panoramic views, sleepers and dining cars.

The conference was able to hold two different meeting streams - with about 50 people in one car and 50 in a second - via LCD screens throughout both cars.

At night, those same LCD screens were used to show movies to entertain the delegates.

Meanwhile, wireless handheld keypads allowed delegates to respond to votes on various issues.

"I consider UNICON to be a very collegial group, but I had noticed at previous conferences that the same people tended to always get together and this (trip) broke those natural or historic cliques," says Almasy.

He adds in comparison to booking a similar event in hotel-like settings with accommodations, food, beverages and extra-curricular activities, the business train trip package was a very reasonable cost.

Even so, Comisso says Via doesn't see itself in competition with other meeting or conference venues.

"We don't try to compete with convention centres as our service is very unique and we are a transportation company," says Comisso.

"But because we're a transportation company, we can also provide additional services to the client: The audiovisual aspects and the ability to host a convention, if that's what they choose to do."

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)