# Recent VIA Rail Canadian Trip - Vancouver to Toronto



## jayt (Sep 12, 2011)

It has been awhile since posting here but still reading everyone's great comments, recommendations, travelogues, etc. everyday. I just don't have a lot to say I guess. Anyhow, last month I snagged a 75% discount on VIA Rail from Vancouver to Toronto on the Canadian. I will have to say it is probably one of the best trips I have ever taken anywhere in this world and definitely looking forward to it again.

I won't get into the comparisons between Amtrak's LD trains and Via Rail's Canadian. It will just raise the dander of some. I got a cabin for 2-resulting in the upcharge for one person occupying a two person room. Still the fare was great compared to paying full fare on this train. The train left Vancouver right on time and for the most part was on time or no later than 30 minutes late(Edmonton). The earliest arrival was 20 minutes early (Winnipeg). All equipment was in great condition, no duct tape needed on this trip. The 10 meals I had were excellent, delicious, and very filling. Servings were plentiful and meals were always different each day. I really liked how the dining car was managed and how the seating times were arranged. Everyone ate together at their assigned seating time. Everyone in at the same time and then trickled out as they finished their meal. Service in the dining car was outstanding - absolutely no complaints here with the personnel. It was amazing how the staff performed to such a high level with the number of people eating all at one time. All I can say is they have it down to perfection.

The sleeping car attendant was fantastic - and the best I have encountered on any train. She was their when needed and somehow knew when exactly to make the bed up and down. Never did figure that one out. She assisted all passengers getting on and off and was always at the door promptly when arriving into a station stop. She actually kept the room and toilet clean, swept or vacuumed, and everything in order. It was more like housekeeping in a hotel. Emptied the trash each morning and night, little things like that. She was awesome and subsequently received a very nice tip when the crew changed in Winnipeg. Each sleeping car attendant is responsible for one car and a half.

The Skyline Dome car/Activity Car was very enjoyable and the attendant again was awesome. We had two champagne receptions, leaving Vancouver and leaving Jasper, two wine and cheese tastings, two micro-beer tastings, movies, games, bingo, etc. There was coffee, juice, water and snacks available day and night. Newspapers and magazines were also available to read. VIA Rail souveniers were displayed the third morning of the trip and some nice mementos were purchased by many on board, including myself. There were also a couple of discussions in the Park Car regarding the art on the train and the train itself.

As for a few tidbits of information - The train was 22 cars long, two engines, one baggage car, three coaches, three Skyline Dome Cars, two Dining Cars, one Park Car, and 10 sleepers. Never once did I see a coach passenger come into the sleeping cars/skyline dome car as they have their own dome car to utilize. The shower is mid-way in the sleeping car. Kept spotless and about as big as Amtrak's showers. All towels, washcloths, etc. are already in your room in a very nice bag to utilize as well as soap, mouthwash, ear plugs, eye shades, more washcloths and hand towels, and drinking cups. Also, the VIA Rail magazine, safety card, route guide, and timetable actually opened to the correct timetable are available in each room. The bedding and linens are very nice and quite comfortable and were changed daily.

The station stops are about early morning, right after lunch, and then evening or late evening. No stop was during meal time. The longest stop was Winnipeg which was is a total crew change and replenishing the train. This was a 3.15 minute stop. Most everyone did get off and go to the entertainment district near the station. Jasper was 1:45. Here it was unfortunately drizzly, highs in the upper 40's but was great to walk around the town. Edmonton was right over an hour and there is no where to go here. The station is outside of downtown Edmonton. The scenery was beautiful and breathtaking - from coastal Vancouver, through Jasper National Park and seeing Mt. Robson, Canada's highest peak, to the plains and the thousands of lakes in Ontario and all their fishing camps/villages.

The one idea I really liked was that their is no conductor on board and that the Service Manager of the train runs the operations. They occupy a sleeping cabin with their name and title outside the room and their door was always open. I stopped in and chatted with both - a very nice and professional woman to Winnipeg who had just over 30 years service then a man with somewhat same length of service to Toronto. As I spoke to many on board personnel, none had never been on Amtrak. These individuals are the boss of the train and the personnel, so if there are problems, they are right their to handle any situation. Everything is done by seniority, even down to sleeping assignments, but whether they be in a cabin or section, their name is posted where they are sleeping.

The entire 85 hour trip, I did not hear of one complaint, one grumble, and even arriving into Toronto did not hear of one person saying they were glad to be getting off of the Canadian. I did get my exercise by walking the entire train, coaches, just like any Amtrak coach, and the Park Car at the end was very nice to sit back in, have a drink, good conversation, and watch the world go by. The individuals I met were a mixture of nationalities, however, mostly were Canadians and Americans. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many young people (children) were on the train. Everyone was very respectful of each other and all in all a great time was had.

If you do have the time and ability - I highly recommend taking the Canadian across Canada.(just get the discount fare). I will say the biggest difference between Amtrak and this trip were the on board personnel. These two crews I had truly wanted to make your trip the best they could and did whatever it took to ensure that it happened.

Any questions, feel free to ask. I think this was more of an observation than travelogue. It would have been too lengthy.


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## rrdude (Sep 12, 2011)

Sounds like ANOTHER great trip on Via Rail.

Well done, well done.


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## Rail Freak (Sep 12, 2011)

Thanx, as I am trying to decide between VIA or a trip to Yellowstone next year & havent done either one. As a matter of fact, which would you folks choose?

RF


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## Jim G. (Sep 12, 2011)

Thank You for a great report. On my wish list!


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 12, 2011)

Rail Freak said:


> Thanx, as I am trying to decide between VIA or a trip to Yellowstone next year & havent done either one. As a matter of fact, which would you folks choose?
> 
> RF


Silly question for this Forum! ^_^ If you can only do one, it's The Canadian, no contest! :wub:


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## greatcats (Sep 12, 2011)

I will be on that train Oct. 11 from Vancouver, stopping in Jasper for three nights, and continuing to Toronto. i am pleased to read that your trip was so outstanding. I sure did not see the bargain fare, however. I have paid $1,612 for the cabin for one. SOunds like it will be worth it.


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## pennyk (Sep 12, 2011)

Thanks for the report. I am hoping to take the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver for my 60th birthday in 2012.


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## jayt (Sep 13, 2011)

greatcats said:


> I will be on that train Oct. 11 from Vancouver, stopping in Jasper for three nights, and continuing to Toronto. i am pleased to read that your trip was so outstanding. I sure did not see the bargain fare, however. I have paid $1,612 for the cabin for one. SOunds like it will be worth it.


If you have a refundable ticket,I would certainly go and look at VIA Rail.ca and click on the 75% express deals. I just did and there was a deal on your date from Vancouver to Jasper for single cabin for $230.25, however, the deal from Jasper to Toronto was not available until Monday 17 Oct at $385.00. Even if you cannot get the entire deal, you might want to check into getting part of the deal, if you can. It was showing only 5 left on these dates.


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## JoanieBlon (Sep 14, 2011)

I "should have" posted this report quite awhile ago, :giggle: but I've been busy with other trips and rail adventures since then....  Instead of starting a new thread, I figured it would be appropriate to post my experiences in this one, as it deals with the same route.

My husband and I took Via Rail across Canada from Montreal to Vancouver. Our adventure began on May 31, 2011. I booked this specific day to begin, as I wanted to be as close to the summer equinox as possible, for maximum scenery viewing. I discovered that May 31st qualified for "off season" fares, even though the majority of the trip was in the month of June. If we BEGAN our trip on June 1st or later, we were looking at high season fares, which were CONSIDERABLY higher!

I booked bedroom "F" in the Manor Car (I forget the actual name) which is QUITE A BIT LARGER (about 2 feet) than the other double bedrooms, due to the way the cars were refitted when they were remodeled. We were able to keep TWO FULL SIZED suitcases along the wall behind the door, and our carry-ons fitted nicely into the space above the sink and toilet area. Even with the suitcases behind the door, we were able to open it fully. The door swings into the room and isn't a pocket door that the Amtrak bedrooms have. In order to get Bedroon "F", I made our reservations on the first day they became available. Needless to say, for those in the know, this is THE bedroom to request. It's also adjacent to the car's shower, which is convenient. We were able to keep a close eye on the "occupied" sign and then make a dash to use it as soon as it was available. The bedroom has an ensuite toilet/washroom as well as a sink.







Regarding the bedroom units on The Canadian, we had mixed feeling about them. The beds were SUPER comfortable ~ much more so than the ones on Amtrak. The sheets were like hotel sheets ~ crisp and freshly pressed and we had a nice comforter as well ~ not just the flimsy blanket that's standard on Amtrak. However, if you wanted to take a nap during the day ~ which my husband ALWAYS does ~ you have to call the attendant to lower both beds for you, plus collapse and store the extra heavy duty folding chairs (REALLY comfortable to sit in) which are set up during the day. In Amtrak bedrooms, Mike can stretch out on the long bench seating area and I can sit in the permanent arm chair and enjoy the scenery or read a book. On the Canadian, it's either chairs OR beds. Also, in order to use a table, the attendant has to bring one ~ which is LARGE ~ to your room. It sort of cantilevers off the edge of the windows. I have to say that I DO like the permanent set up of the folding table in Amtrak bedrooms.

The Manor car we were in was located immediately in front of the last car on the train ~ the Park Car ~ with its unique bullet lounge, and 2nd story, bubble topped viewing area. This car has a bar serving all sorts of drinks. It also has a few bedroom units, as well.






The Park Car was kept stocked with teas, coffee, juices, fresh fruits and muffins. The muffins were HIGHLY popular and generally vanished as soon as they were put out.  I can't attest as to how tasty they were, as I never tried one. Too many calories!

We traveled Business Class from Montreal to Toronto, leaving around 3:30pm so we would make our connection onto The Canadian with an hour or so to spare. There are a number of trains from Montreal to Toronto each day. In retrospect, I should have opted for an earlier train so we could have done a bit of sightseeing in Toronto!

The Business Class car was VERY nice with large leather seats. Our fare included a meal which was brought to our seats by the attendents, and also included wine and alcoholic beverages. My husband enjoyed several gin and tonics with no additional charges.

The Via Rail station in Montreal was really nice. For a tip of our choosing, we were able to have the porters store our luggage on the day of departure (we spent several day sightseeing in Montreal before we got on the train) and then put it on the train for us! It was waiting at our seats when we boarded. On the train, we chose to store our bags in the cubbies at the end of the Business Class Car. You can also store your bags at Baggage Claim, but I believe that was $3.00 per bag. Having the porters take care of them was MUCH nicer! 

The First Class Lounge in the Montreal Station was also quite nice ~ it had a fridge with all sort of drinks and juices, plus coffee, tea, etc., and free newspapers. It also had private washroom facilities. All in all, it was much nicer than the First Class Lounge in Amtrak Stations I've been to.

The Montreal Station is also part of a HUGE underground network of shops and restaurants that snakes around under the city! Mike and I amused ourselves for several hours just exploring. You could easily get LOST, but there are maps mounted here and there on the walls to help you get your bearings.

Our trip from Montreal to Toronto was pleasant. We made a few brief stops along the way and arrived in Toronto on schedule.

The Toronto Station ~ in its current condition ~ is probably the worst station we've been in. First Class passengers were in sort of a roped off area that, as far as we could tell, wasn't any different than the area for Coach passengers. There might have been a coffee pot, but I'm not certain of that. The station area was crowded and confusing. We didn't see anything nearby worth checking out, so didn't go exploring. Happily, we didn't have to wait long to board.

Our bedroom was turned down and ready for us when we got on the train, as it was about 10:30pm. Time for bed!

The trip between Toronto and Winnepeg, while pretty, became rather repetitious after a few hours.....miles and miles and miles of woodlands, with lakes, streams, and beaver ponds. There were very few towns that we passed through during the daylight hours. We finally made a brief stop and the smokers POURED out of the train to get their fixes. hboy: I can say, that on the entire trip, smoke stops were few and far between. Glad that neither Mike nor I have to deal with that!

One thing that was sort of perplexing was the number of stops that the train would make out in the middle of nowhere. Generally, these weren't to allow a freight train to pass by, but were just STOPS to get back on schedule. I read somewhere that The Canadian used to have real issues with being FAR behind schedule, so they now have loads of "extra" time built in that necessitates stops here and there.

Apparently all of the staff working for Via Rail are at least partially bi-lingual. All of the announcements were first made in French and then in English. Hearing this was sort of strange for us. Coming from the USA and Florida in particular, bi-lingual announcements are generally in English and Spanish. We didn't hear, or see, ANY instructions in Spanish during this trip.

Dining was very pleasant with good food selections and cheery, efficient service people. As noted by the person starting this thread, the entire car was seated for lunch and dinner and then allowed to empty at leisure before another group was seated. Breakfast sittings were more Amtrak style ~ as seats became available, passengers were shown to their tables. In some ways, we prefer the way Amtrak seats diners, but Via Rail's system is ok too.

Mike and I never ventured into the coach areas of the train, so we're not sure what type of light meals or snacks may have been available for purchase there. The Canadian is a LONG train with LOTS of cars and LOTS of passengers!! We'd basically stayed put in our sleeper area of the train, plus the lounge car and diner.

We arrived (traveling westbound) in Winnipeg at about 8:00am and had a 4 hour stop there for a crew change. Happily, the weather, which had been quite overcast and drizzly, took a turn for the better and the sun peeked out from the clouds. We took the opportunity to explore the adjacent *The Forks* which has a park, riverwalks, shops, restaurants, etc. After exploring that area, we also walked around downtown some, but there wasn't much to see. The Winnipeg Train Station was fairly nice, but again, not as nice as the one in Montreal.

We lucked out weather-wise during our brief 4 hour stay in Winnipeg! After we reboarded the train, and were enjoying lunch, there was a hailstorm with BIG hailstones! :blink:

On Via Rail's Canadian train, you're allowed one stop-over at no additional charge, so I arranged for us to stay Friday and Saturday night in Jasper. We arrived about 2:00pm on Friday. There are loads of shops and restaurants in the core downtown area. We rented a car there so we could drive the *MAGNIFICENT *Icefields Parkway. There were two car rental desks right in the Jasper Station. Be sure to make reservations ahead of time. While in Jasper, we stayed at *The Sawridge Inn & Conference Center*. This hotel was located a bit out of the center of town. You "could" walk into town, but it would be a bit of a hike, so it's best to stay here if you have a car arranged for. We found the hotel to be quite nice. It had large rooms with comfortable beds, an indoor pool, a restaurant and a bar. There's also a breakfast place right next door with good prices.

While in Jasper, we got to see several bears, antelope, elk, deer, etc., during our drives to the Icefields glacier and Maligne Lake. ^_^ We continued on our way on Sunday afternoon at about 2pm for our final leg into Vancouver. We arrived into Vancouver on Monday morning at least 1/2 hour ahead of schedule.

In my opinion, the BEST scenery of the trip is from Winnipeg to Vancouver ~ actually from Edmonton to Vancouver. If we ever travel on this particulat train again, we'll probably only do this portion.

Unfortunately on the LAST evening of our trip, Mike became violently sick. I'm pretty certain it was Norovirus ~ the same stomach malady that is commonly found on cruise ships. I also succumbed to it our last night in Vancouver.  We don't know if we picked it up on the train or while we were in Jasper. Thank goodness it's a short lived bug and that it struck towards the end of our adventure.

We both really liked the lovely, modern city of Vancouver, and enjoyed warm weather and sunshine while we were there. We were there during the hockey playoffs, so the city was buzzing with excitement. Happily, we were NOT there on the final night when the riots occured. :angry:

Our train adventure on Via Rail's Canadian train was a once in a lifetime experience. We had such a good time that I can see us doing a portion of the trip again. We're also thinking of taking the Via Rail train from Montreal to Nova Scotia.

If you go to our website at *Maison-t-Bayou*, and then select CANADA from the menu choices, you can view slide shows with music of Montreal, The Canadian Rockies, Jasper, and Vancouver, which were all taken during our trip. We have other slide shows of Canada there as well.


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 14, 2011)

:hi: Thanks for the Trip Report and the pics! I agree about Montreal and the Station, have always thought that Union Station in Toronto was badly kept and poorly utilized, sort of like Grand Central before the rehab! Im also surprised that the First Class pax werent better treated in the Toronto Station, Vancouver does a first rate job in this area, as does Montreal as you said! Sorry yall became ill, that seems to be more prevelant on cruise ships, tourist areas and in large cities, the World gets smaller all the time and diseases and viruses never sleep!

As to the stops in the middle of nowhere, lots of them are actually like Flag stops where people board/deboard the train, sort of like the Empire Builder is here, the only game in town!

Totally agree about the best part of the trip being in Alberta and BC, but Im more into Mountains and Trees and Water than Praries and Farms!

Your plan to ride the Ocean to Nova Scotia is a good one, were lucky to have so many members that have been on these routes and post pics, trip reports and advice on these dream trips!


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## JoanieBlon (Sep 14, 2011)

jimhudson said:


> As to the stops in the middle of nowhere, lots of them are actually like Flag stops where people board/deboard the train, sort of like the Empire Builder is here, the only game in town!


I don't think these were flag stops....most of them were literally in the middle of nowhere! No towns anywhere near .... just basically stopping for 20 minutes or so in the middle of the woods or forest.
Glad that you enjoyed my take on this trip! :hi:


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## Bob Dylan (Sep 15, 2011)

JoanieBlon said:


> jimhudson said:
> 
> 
> > As to the stops in the middle of nowhere, lots of them are actually like Flag stops where people board/deboard the train, sort of like the Empire Builder is here, the only game in town!
> ...


I know what you are saying about the stops, but believe it or not, there are people out there in the boonies that ride that Train, some drive for hundreds of miles! Where they board/deboard makes the Beaumont Slab, the Williams Junction and the Sanderson "Ghost Station" seem like Union Station in WAS/CHI/LAX in comparison! :lol:


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## guest (Sep 27, 2011)

JoanieBlon said:


> I "should have" posted this report quite awhile ago, :giggle: but I've been busy with other trips and rail adventures since then....  Instead of starting a new thread, I figured it would be appropriate to post my experiences in this one, as it deals with the same route.
> 
> My husband and I took Via Rail across Canada from Montreal to Vancouver. Our adventure began on May 31, 2011. I booked this specific day to begin, as I wanted to be as close to the summer equinox as possible, for maximum scenery viewing. I discovered that May 31st qualified for "off season" fares, even though the majority of the trip was in the month of June. If we BEGAN our trip on June 1st or later, we were looking at high season fares, which were CONSIDERABLY higher!
> 
> ...


I have posed the same questions to the other Canadian trip report but am not sure who is best to answer, so here they are:

I have a couple of question:

With more than one dining car for the sleeping-class passengers, do train personnel assign you to a particular diner based on your car location? Are you similarly assigned to a a particular dome car, or can you use all of them? And what is the difference between the Skyline Domes and the Park Domes?


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## JoanieBlon (Sep 27, 2011)

Boy ~ I'm not sure how to answer..... :blush: We were in the sleeping car that was just before the last car in the train ~ the Park Car. In order to get to the dining car, we had to walk through several sleepers to get there. I personally only saw that one dining car and that's where we had all of our meals. The car immediately in front of the dining car we used was sort of "lounge car" with tables where people could chat, play games, cards, etc. It was also used in the morning as a "holding area" for diners waiting to be seated.

We were able to get beers and drinks in the Park Car, so we never saw where coach passengers would have purchased those and/or snacks. The lounge attendant may have also sold snacks as well, but we never asked about that possibility.

We were never "assigned" a dome car for viewing. I guess that you could go anywhere on the train, but we stuck to the Park Car at the end, as it was convenient to our bedroom. Most of the time we were able to find open seats either in the upstairs dome or the downstairs bullet lounge, which had good viewing as well. We really didn't go exploring, so I can't tell you the difference between the Skyline domes and the Park Car dome. Sorry.... :blush:

When we were on The Canadian, it was a REALLY LONG train with many more cars than any Amtrak train we've been on!

Here's a photo I took from the Park Car dome ~ you can see several other domes ahead of the Park Car dome.

Hopefully someone with more experience will be able to answer your questions better.


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## MrFSS (Sep 27, 2011)

JoanieBlon said:


> Boy ~ I'm not sure how to answer..... :blush: We were in the sleeping car that was just before the last car in the train ~ the Park Car. In order to get to the dining car, we had to walk through several sleepers to get there. I personally only saw that one dining car and that's where we had all of our meals. The car immediately in front of the dining car we used was sort of "lounge car" with tables where people could chat, play games, cards, etc. It was also used in the morning as a "holding area" for diners waiting to be seated.
> 
> We were able to get beers and drinks in the Park Car, so we never saw where coach passengers would have purchased those and/or snacks. The lounge attendant may have also sold snacks as well, but we never asked about that possibility.
> 
> ...


It has been a few years since I rode *The Canadian*, but our sleeping car was about 1/3 of the way from the front. We were right next to a dome car and then there was a dining car behind the dome car, so not a real long walk to eat. The consist of our train had about 27 cars. There were two coach cars, a coach only snack car and a dome car for coach passengers only.

There were three other dome cars for the sleeper passengers. There were also three dining cars.

We were assigned a specific dining car, the one closest to us, but we were told we could go to any dome car on the train. From our sleeper it took almost 10 minutes to walk to the Park Car. I found the Park Car dome was always the least crowded. But, it was a long walk back and forth.

Breakfast was first come first served, but lunch and dinner were by reservation. No PA calls for the meals but a dining car person walked the sleepers and rang a Westminster chime announcing each service time. Pretty classy!

Hope this helps.


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## Devil's Advocate (Sep 27, 2011)

guest said:


> With more than one dining car for the sleeping-class passengers, do train personnel assign you to a particular diner based on your car location?


Yes.



guest said:


> Are you similarly assigned to a a particular dome car, or can you use all of them?


You can use any dome car you prefer that has available space.



guest said:


> And what is the difference between the Skyline Domes and the Park Domes?


Not much of a difference up top. Down below the arrangement and furniture is different and you gain a true trainfan window at the tail end of the car. I found the Park car more interesting than the rest of the domes but it was also more packed and much further away so I ended up spending most of my time in the nearer domes. The only car I didn't spend any time sightseeing in was the "panorama" car.


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## J-1 3235 (Oct 1, 2011)

Thanks for both reports. One difference in the Skyline vs Park domes, the Skylines have a pair of rear-facing seats and a table at the front,on each side, to make a four-seater. The Park cars do not have this table, only forward facing seats.


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