Railway Meal Calculator

Free meal entitlement tracking for Canadian railway employees

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What's New
📱 Scan Tickets from Your Phone or Tablet (CN & CPKC)

Don't have access to a computer? The Railway Meal Calculator can now scan your ticket right off your CN & CPKC tablet or employee portal and extract trip data automatically.

How it works: Open the app, go to My Trips and select 'Take a Picture', then take a picture of your trip ticket displayed on your employer-issued tablet, and the trip details are automatically filled in — no typing required. On desktop, copy & paste from CATS or employee portal remains the fastest and most reliable method, but the scanner is available there too behind a toggle if needed.

Welcome to Railway Meal Calculator

Welcome to the Railway Meal Calculator — a completely free, unofficial tool built for all railway employees in Canada (CN, CPKC, VIA Rail, and others) to easily track trips and calculate meal entitlements for your TL2 tax claims.

Log your trips manually or use the QuickFill Wizard, get accurate meal counts instantly ($23/meal simplified method), and export everything to Excel.

No affiliation with any railway company · You are responsible for your own data and calculations.

How It Works

The Railway Meal Calculator simplifies tracking meal entitlements:

  • Trip Entry: Manually input trip details (train ID, dates, times, stations) or use the Trip Parser to auto-fill from pasted data.
  • Meal Calculation: Meals are awarded at 1 per 4 hours of duty (or combined duty + layover time for round trips), capped at 3 meals per 24-hour period. Total meal value is calculated at $23 per meal based on a simplified method.
  • Download Data: Export your trips and meal entitlements as Excel files for easy record-keeping.
  • Disclaimer: This app aligns with a simplified method for meal tracking, but CN's specific policies may vary. Always verify with your employer or union agreement before claiming. This is not official tax advice; consult a professional for filing.
Quick Start Video Tutorial
Support This Tool

Railway Meal Calculator is a free, unofficial tool developed to assist railway employees in accurately tracking and claiming meal entitlements for tax purposes (e.g., TL2 forms).

The application is provided at no cost for personal use. Hosting and maintenance expenses are covered by the developer. If the tool proves valuable to you, voluntary contributions via PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee are greatly appreciated and help ensure continued availability and improvements.

Thank you for your support.