Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Apr. 24, 2012
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Registrant Name	VITRAN CORP INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000946823
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		16,399,241