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-   -   Train travel in Canada (https://www.fodors.com/community/canada/train-travel-in-canada-1666971/)

peapod May 12th, 2019 12:06 PM

Train travel in Canada
 
I want to travel East to West via train. Where can I start and not have to change trains? Assume it will end in Vancouver.
I have traveled Chicago to Seattle and Chicago to San Francisco with Amtrak.
Any information will help

tomfuller May 12th, 2019 02:13 PM

Starting May 1, 2019 the ViaRail Canadian train #1 leaves Toronto at 9AM on Wednesdays and Sundays. If you have the time, I suggest that you go to Winnipeg for the first leg and then spend 3-4 days in Winnipeg before moving onward to Jasper. Spend several days in the Jasper/Banff area with a rental car. Take the last leg from Jasper to Vancouver.
The fares on the ViaRail trains are slightly higher than on Amtrak.
Once you want to leave Vancouver, take the Amtrak train or bus to Seattle to take the Empire Builder back east to Minneapolis or Chicago. The Empire Builder is a daily train that starts from Seattle and Portland at the same time. The sections of the train are put together after midnight in Spokane.

peapod May 12th, 2019 02:32 PM

Thanks for all that info but I want to stay on the train all the way and enjoy the journey.

sludick May 13th, 2019 11:46 AM

Well, then - go to https://www.viarail.ca/en and research your options.

tomfuller May 13th, 2019 09:19 PM

If you want a through ride on one train, I suggest that you get a Blue & Gold sleeper. In 2001 I rode the Canadian in 3 segments in coach plus a trip from Winnipeg to Churchill and back. I will never ride on a ViaRaIl train in coach again. The conductor locks the bathroom doors when the train is at stations because the toilets dump between the tracks.
The sleepers are not cheap but are a lot more comfortable than trying to sleep in coach seats on a 4 day 1 hour trip from Toronto to Vancouver.

thursdaysd May 14th, 2019 08:25 PM

ViaRail has much better options for single travelers than Amtrak. The roomettes are fine, and come with toilets, and there are berths (aka sections) as well. I would never do a trip that long in a seat! The Canadian route runs from Toronto to Vancouver.

For info on Canadian trains see: https://www.seat61.com/Canada.htm

For my trip Vancouver-Jasper-Toronto start here:
https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ils-to-jasper/

almcd Aug 2nd, 2019 06:32 AM

Are you sure?
 
Do you really want to do this? Much of the trip.is boring. Think about flying to Calgary and taking the Rocky Mountaineer train from there to Vancouver.

thursdaysd Aug 2nd, 2019 06:40 AM

I thought it might be boring after the Rockies (going east), but I wasn't bored. And the Rocky Mountaineer is seriously expensive, not that sleepers on ViaRail are exactly cheap.

thursdaysd Aug 6th, 2019 06:15 AM


Originally Posted by melissafalbo1 (Post 16965984)
It might be very boring. i am not interested. My first priority is always by air travel from one place to another.

You won't know whether it is boring unless you try. Apparently you have no concerns about global warming, thank you so much for contributing to the problem.


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