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Via Rail Just Made Travelling Canada By Train In 2017 So Much Better

Take a look at the train today.

If you're between the ages of 12 and 25 in Canada, Via Rail just changed your summer travel plans.

The coast-to-coast passenger rail service revealed a special all-you-can-ride Youth Pass for the month of July in 2017 for Canadian youth in honour of the country's 150th birthday — for the grand total of $150.

The pass, which will be available on viarail.ca or at train stations and is for the Escape fare option (the rail line's cheapest of its five fares), cuts down the cost of an equivalent pass by almost $550. Students who are 26 and up but have a valid International Student Identity Card (ISIC) can also purchase the pass.

There's one minor problem though — the offer appears to be so popular that it's broken the Via Rail site.

While it is possible to buy the pass until July, Escape seats on trains are limited, so there are plenty of concerned people out there who hope this error gets fixed soon.

In an email to The Huffington Post Canada, Via Rail noted the technical problems, and stated, "all efforts are being deployed to resolve the problem as quickly as possible."

So stay tuned, youth of Canada — we believe all hope to purchase the pass is not yet lost.

UPDATE: As of the evening of March 29, the system is back up and running. Via Rail, however, has issued a few caveats, including the fact that there are only 1,867 passes available (get it? 1867?), and that tickets using the pass must be booked between April 19 and July 31, 2017. So hurry up and get on it, young people!

AND ANOTHER UPDATE: Via Rail announced that the Youth Pass is all sold out. Here's hoping another offer comes up soon!

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