generated: '2026-07-28'
method: searched
source: https://www.viarail.ca/en/developer-resources + HEAD on the GTFS archive + gtfs/viarail-gtfs.zip feed_info.txt
summary: >-
  There is no API lifecycle policy because there is no API. What VIA Rail
  operates instead is a file lifecycle: one zip archive at a stable URL,
  replaced in place, dated on the Developer Resources page and bounded by the
  feed_start_date / feed_end_date pair inside feed_info.txt. Everything a
  lifecycle artifact would normally record - versioning scheme, deprecation
  policy, sunset headers, SLA, API status page - is not published.
versioning:
  scheme: dated-file-replacement
  current: '2026-07-09'
  current_window: '20260709 - 20261107'
  docs: https://www.viarail.ca/en/developer-resources
  url_stability: >-
    The download URL https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/gtfs/viarail.zip is
    unversioned and stable; each new edition overwrites it. There is no
    /v1/, no dated filename, no archive of prior editions and no way to pin a
    previous edition once it is replaced.
  version_markers:
    - marker: page text
      value: 'Link to download VIA Rail GTFS file (last updated on July 9th, 2026)'
      source: https://www.viarail.ca/en/developer-resources
    - marker: Last-Modified
      value: 'Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:51:08 GMT'
      source: HEAD https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/gtfs/viarail.zip (2026-07-28)
    - marker: ETag
      value: '"f6bbd-6562c3d5f20c2"'
      source: HEAD https://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/gtfs/viarail.zip (2026-07-28)
    - marker: feed_info.feed_start_date / feed_end_date
      value: '20260709 / 20261107'
      source: gtfs/viarail-gtfs.zip#feed_info.txt
  polling_guidance: >-
    Because the URL is stable and the origin returns ETag, Last-Modified and
    Cache-Control public, max-age=300, the correct consumption pattern is a
    conditional GET with If-None-Match or If-Modified-Since. VIA publishes no
    refresh cadence, so a consumer must poll; the ~121-day service window in
    feed_info is the only hint at how long an edition is expected to stand.
deprecation:
  policy_url: null
  policy_published: false
  sunset_header: false
  note: >-
    No deprecation policy, no notice period, no sunset or deprecation headers,
    no archive of superseded editions. The previous GTFS edition simply ceases
    to exist at the URL when a new one is uploaded. Nothing is published about
    withdrawing the feed altogether.
sla:
  url: null
  published: false
  uptime_target: null
  note: >-
    No SLA, no uptime target and no support commitment attach to the GTFS
    download. The only support channel offered to developers is the
    dev@viarail.ca mailbox named on the Developer Resources page, with no
    response-time commitment.
status_page: null
status_page_note: >-
  VIA Rail publishes no service-status or incident page for any developer
  surface. https://tsimobile.viarail.ca/ is the VIA Rail Tracker - a passenger
  map of live train positions - and https://www.viarail.ca/en/travel-info/
  service updates cover train operations, not data availability. Neither is an
  API status page, so no `StatusPage` pointer is wired.
changelog:
  published: false
  note: >-
    No dated changelog exists for the feed. The Developer Resources page carries
    a single "last updated on" date that is overwritten each edition, so change
    history is not recoverable from anything VIA publishes. No `ChangeLog`
    pointer is wired.
deprecated_operations: []
undocumented_surfaces:
  - host: https://api.reservia.viarail.ca
    note: >-
      Live AWS API Gateway fronting Sqills S3 Passenger. No versioning policy,
      no deprecation policy, no published contract of any kind. The reservia
      production bundle names an environment enum of dev, dev-config, ppd, prod,
      qa, qc and training behind an apiGateway.baseUrl template of
      "https://api.{{env}}tst.reservia.viarail.ca", and routes /apidocs only
      when !isProd() - so API documentation is deliberately absent in
      production.
  - host: https://tsimobile.viarail.ca/data/allData.json
    note: >-
      Public, unauthenticated, undocumented live train-position JSON. No
      version, no schema, no licence, no stability commitment. It is an
      implementation detail of a web page and can change or vanish without
      notice.