VIA Rail has turned the sound of its trains into a sleep aid. Tracks to Relax, created with Cossette, is a series of audio tracks recorded aboard VIA Rail trains on real routes, with each track running for the full length of the trip it captures. The first track went up on VIA Rail’s YouTube channel on November 1, the day most of Canada turned its clocks back, and the full playlist launched November 6.
The time change is hard on a lot of people’s sleep. In a Léger survey of 1,570 Canadians cited by Le Devoir, 67% said the time change disrupts their sleep routine and that it takes several days to get back to normal. Many already look for help. A 2024 Léger study commissioned by Sleep Country, which surveyed 2,008 Canadians aged 18 to 74, found 40% use apps or digital tools such as white noise, meditation or sleep tracking to sleep better.
The idea didn’t come from a formal brief. According to the team behind the campaign, it grew out of ongoing work to anchor VIA Rail in a Canadian purpose “that extends far beyond passenger transport.” With Canadians bracing for the time change, the connection to train sounds became obvious. “Rather than manufacturing a message, we simply translated an intrinsic part of the VIA Rail journey into a functional sleep aid, timed precisely for when people needed it most,” the team said.
Nothing was recreated in a studio, a choice Michel-Alexandre Lessard, Senior Vice-President and Chief Strategy Officer, Quebec and Eastern Canada at Cossette, ties to the moment. “In an era of artificial intelligence and synthetic audio content, nothing replaces the authenticity of the real thing,” he said in the campaign’s release. A sound engineer rode VIA Rail routes with a full recording setup and captured the whole soundscape of the trip, not just the rhythm of the rails: stations, onboard announcements, employees talking with travellers, and the small incidental sounds that make a train ride sound like one. “It’s rare to have the opportunity to work with such a rich, authentic soundscape, and we loved letting it speak for itself,” the campaign team said.
The bigger goal is reaching people who aren’t on a train. “At VIA Rail, we believe that the journey begins long before boarding and continues well beyond arrival,” Philippe Normand, Vice-President, Communications and Marketing, said in the release. Bringing that onboard feeling into people’s homes, according to the team, “builds a positive bond with the brand long before they ever buy a ticket or step onto a platform.”
The team is measuring results on two levels. For engagement, it’s watching consumption and retention as signs that people find real use in the tracks. On the brand side, it’s tracking perception and sentiment. For now the tracks live on YouTube, with support across VIA Rail’s social channels, and VIA Rail is considering bringing them to other streaming platforms, including Spotify.
Credits: Advertiser, VIA Rail Canada. Agency, Cossette. Production agency, Septième. Sound house, Parade. Sound engineer, Pierre-Olivier Rioux.
