VIA fare versus Amtrak fare between same city pairs.

[xzperu42]

One other note, there have been posts in the VIA Canadian FB group that you cannot book entire sections on line. It apparently sells the uppers first, then the lowers, which confirms my suspicion that you cannot select upper versus lower (the online selection is simply "Berth" now) and it just assigns two "Berths" on a next up basis. I imagine that a VIA agent can sell you a lower or whole section for two traveling, though. If VIA deliberately or by accident collapsed upper and lower berths into "Berth" like they collapsed Compartments and Double Bedrooms into "Cabin for 2" that would seem to be a mistake. In my mind there is a much bigger difference between an upper and lower berth than the extra floor space that's the difference between a compartment and double bedroom. Plus, if a couple who is ignorant of VIA (and most first time travelers are wholly ignorant of rail sleeper accommodations generally) books two "Berths" and gets, say 1U and 2U and assigns strangers to 1L and 2L, that is going to be one surprised couple once they board. They need to recognize it is a mistake and correct that.

i just tried to do a test booking for 2 in a berth from Toronto to Vancouver. The VIA application did indeed put both of us in 2 upper berths in the same car. But down in the lower left of the car diagram with the preselected seats… there is a checkbox and a $175 price. You can then click this and one of the passenger boxes below and you can move to the lower berth (and price goes up $175).

it is a bit of an odd interface. When you click one of the passengers… it says selecting and looks like it is processing… so you wait for it… but nothing happens… you just need to click the berth you want and accept the selection.

 

[zephyr17]

i just tried to do a test booking for 2 in a berth from Toronto to Vancouver. The VIA application did indeed put both of us in 2 upper berths in the same car. But down in the lower left of the car diagram with the preselected seats… there is a checkbox and a $175 price. You can then click this and one of the passenger boxes below and you can move to the lower berth (and price goes up $175).

it is a bit of an odd interface. When you click one of the passengers… it says selecting and looks like it is processing… so you wait for it… but nothing happens… you just need to click the berth you want and accept the selection.

The additional $175 seems right, lowers have always been more expensive than uppers, but the UI sounds strange (did they outsource work to Amtrak IT? ).

Probably best if anyone wants open section berths to just call.

 

[railiner]

but the UI sounds strange (did they outsource work to Amtrak IT? ).