Across Canada by Train

wanderer 22 · 03-03-2014 3:57pm #1

Two weeks ago I travelled from Toronto to Vancouver (4 nights, 4,326kms) with Via Rail, Canada’s national rail company. I’ll review the trip here, along with some tips on how to book tickets etc.

I booked the tickets through https://www.viarail.ca/ , through one of their half price promotions. They have these fairly often so keep an eye on their website or sign up for their newsletter. I got my ticket (private cabin, all meals included) for €650 or so. It’s best to book a few months in advance, the half price cabins go quickly.

There are other options available, seats in economy class as well as 2 person and 4 person cabins in sleeper (first) class. There are also 4 person berths, these are lower or upper bunk beds, which are separated from the train corridor by a curtain.These are midway in price between a seat and a private cabin. I’d highly recommend getting a bed; I couldn’t imagine spending 4 nights on a seat.

I boarded the train in Toronto’s Union station on the Tuesday, a really beautiful building which provided a great starting point for the journey. The train was a couple of hours late setting off as it had arrived late from Vancouver , but this wasn’t a hardship as sleeper class passengers can use the waiting lounge with free coffee/pastries/soft drinks etc. We boarded at midnight, so there was no time to explore the train, I just got settled in my cabin and got a great night’s sleep (I found it really easy to sleep on the train each night, though others I talked to found the rocking motion of the train made it difficult).

The private cabins are very small, but contain everything you need; a bed (which easily converts intoa seat during the day, a toilet and sink, and enough storage space for two carry on size bags).

Breakfast the next morning (as with every meal onboard) was great. Breakfast is served between 6:30and 9:00, while there are 3 different sittings for both lunch and dinner. Meals are served in the restaurant car and you end up sitting with new people at every meal so this is a great way to get chatting to other passengers. Meals I had onboard included French toast with bacon and maple syrup, blueberry pancakes with sausages, scallop and prawn skewers, lobster ravioli, rack of lamb, pecan crushed halibut (not all at once...though once I couldn’t decide between the lamb and the duck and asked for both...yes, it was cheeky but I got them !) starters and desserts were beautiful too..I’m a bit of a foodie and was seriously impressed with the standard of the meals. I’m told the wine was of a good standard too though I’m not expert enough to comment on this.

There was a bar also where good craic was had each evening; the great part of drinking on a train is not having to make a long trip home at the end of the night, instead it’s just a short stumble to your cabin..

There were a few stops along the way where you could get off and have a look around, these stops are usually between 30 minutes and an hour. We stopped for 2 hours in Jasper which was a really pretty town (though cold at appx. 15 below zero). We were scheduled to stop for 5 hours in Winnipeg, though ended up just having an houras the train was running late. The train also stops relatively frequently to allow freight trains to pass (these have priority on the rails) and so you can be stopped for up to an hour at these times...these stops seemed to frustrate some passengers but seriously, why stress?!. There are a couple of elevated observation cars on the train, which are mainly glass, there are great views to be had from these...one of the cars has a table constantly replenished with (free) coffee, tea, muffins and so on , you can really eat24/7 on this trip.

That’s pretty much it,we arrived in Vancouver Union station at 12pm Saturday, 2 hours behind schedule. Apparently it’s very common for the train to be hours late, so don’t book any tight onwards connections if you’re planning on doing this trip. I’ve attached a couple of pics and hope this review is useful to some people.

Fabio · 18-03-2014 2:50pm

That looks class!

Strumms · 23-03-2014 5:30pm

It does indeed... Always been a dream of mine to do such a train journey... Such a relaxing way to travel !

MadYaker · 23-03-2014 5:35pm

That looks cool. Id prefer it in the summer though and maybe with a group as opposed to on my own.

Across Canada by Train

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