If you take the train right across Canada you'll notice that different sections of the route use different types of train and offer slightly different services. By far the longest through train is VIA's flagship, the Canadian - the tri-weekly transcontinental between Toronto and Vancouver.
The other routes covered by this book are the Ocean (Halifax to Montreal), the Corridor (Montreal to Toronto), the Hudson Bay (Winnipeg to Churchill), the Skeena (Jasper to Prince Rupert) and the privately-run Rocky Mountaineer (Vancouver to Jasper or Banff/Calgary, and Whistler to Jasper) and The Whistler Mountaineer (Vancouver to Whistler).
THE CANADIAN
Renovation
The Canadian was first introduced by the CPR in 1955. At that time the streamlined, stainless-steel trains, designed and built in America, were considered high-tech and ultra modern, representing the latest in railway technology. Thirty-seven years later VIA reinvented the Canadian, this time marketing its nostalgic appeal, elegant appearance and the luxurious comforts of old-style, long-distance rail travel.
Before launching a new service aboard the Canadian, VIA carried out a massive renovation project on the 190 trains. Steam heating was converted to electric; new wiring and lighting were installed; air conditioning was introduced; showers were fitted in each sleeping car; ventilation was improved; mechanical components such as brakes and trucks were completely overhauled and the interiors were recarpeted and reupholstered throughout. The total cost of the project was over $200 million.
Economy or Silver & Blue
There are two ways of travelling on the Canadian: in Economy class or in Silver & Blue. In Economy class you get reclining seats (where you sleep overnight) with pull-down trays, overhead lights and leg rests. The seating seems to have been designed with your average basketball player in mind: the leg room is very generous. Silver & Blue is for passengers travelling in sleeping cars. It's much more luxurious than Economy class. This section has its own dome car and lounges, and passengers have exclusive use of the dining cars.
Staff on the train
VIA's on-board staff are almost without exception helpful, efficient and friendly. They also tend to be very knowledgeable about the train and the places it takes you through, the older people who've clearly worked on the railway for many years being particularly interesting. Don't feel shy about asking them questions - they're usually more than happy to talk about anything to do with the journey. During the peak season, however, the Canadian gets packed out and things can get rather hectic, which leaves the staff with little time to sit around and chat.
Boss of the train is the Conductor. He will usually introduce himself (I've yet to come across a female conductor) to Economy-class passengers at the beginning of a trip and will explain the layout of the train, the facilities on board and give a brief description of the highlights of the scenery or towns you'll pass through. Next in line are the Service Managers and the Service Coordinators, the latter working mainly in the sleeping cars, where they'll see passengers to their seats and explain the facilities and service.
The staff you'll meet most, whether in Economy or Silver & Blue, are the Service Attendants who generally run around making sure everything's okay. The staff are attentive in both sections of the trains but Silver & Blue passengers are particularly well looked after, with drinks and snacks brought to their seats as and when they please.
Bathrooms
Each sleeping car has its own piping hot shower but these are not available to Economy-class passengers, who have to make do with the wash basins. You might expect this part of the train to get a bit whiffy by the third day but this rarely seems to be the case. The passengers seem happy to improvise with the basin - or else the air conditioning is extremely effective.
Eating and drinking
If you're travelling in Economy class during the peak season (1 June-21 October) you'll be feeding yourself at the Skyline Cafe which serves light snacks you can take back to your seats (sandwiches, crisps, and the ubiquitous Oh Henry bars) or warm meals you can eat at the tables (burgers, fries, pizza etc). Alcohol is served here, as well as in the Skyline Bar. You can't, however, take your booze back to your seat: you must drink it where you bought it. Outside the peak season Economy-class passengers also have access to the dining car, where all meals must be paid for as you go along.
Over in Silver & Blue your meals are included in the price of your ticket, and during the peak season you have exclusive use of the dining car with its crisp, linen tablecloths and efficient service. You're given a choice of three sittings which are rarely on time in the busy summer months. The food is usually very good: typical evening fare might be soup, followed by salmon steak with potatoes and vegetables, followed by (invariably sickly) pastries or gateaux. Breakfast is hearty - usually toast, bacon and eggs, or pancakes with maple syrup - and lunch will be something like a burger, or fried chicken. The menu always includes vegetarian options.
The dining car also has a good range of alcohol on sale which you'll be billed for at the end of your meal. Be warned that the dining-car experience can be a little manic in the middle of peak season as the harassed staff work flat out to serve three sittings of three meals a day to hundreds of hungry people.
In Silver & Blue you can also help yourself to complimentary tea and coffee in the Park Car (at the very back of the train), or get a Service Attendant to bring a cup to your seat.
Note that smoking is not permitted on any of VIA’s trains.
The dome cars
The glass-roofed, panoramic observation domes are probably the most famous feature of the Canadian. There's one in the sleeping-car section and one in the Economy-class section, and seats are at a premium in both.
Passengers tend to treat the dome the way holiday makers treat pool-side sun loungers: they get there early, they stake their claim and they stay there. They do get hungry, though, so you can usually find a free seat at mealtimes and in the early morning or late evening. The best time to sit in the dome is at dawn. No one's around, the only sound is the movement of the train and Canada's vast, wide open space is at its most haunting.
Life on the train
If you're travelling in Economy class you'll doubtless find yourself surrounded by a young and cosmopolitan crowd. Fellow travellers are often backpacking or hostelling and there are a lot of Europeans on board in the summer months. Strangers strike up conversations quite easily and meeting new people is all part of the enjoyment of the trip. Between scanning the horizon for bears you can stretch your legs by wandering to and from the cafe or hover around the dome car in the hope that someone will offer you their seat.
Silver & Blue passengers are a particularly convivial lot. The service is inevitably patronized by slightly older and wealthier travellers who all appear (when thrown together three times a day in the dining car) to get on extremely well. There is a shared preoccupation with nocturnal comforts. Conversations at breakfast tend to focus on the previous night's sleep, and conversations at dinner on the impending night's sleep.
Silver & Bluers may also pursue a social life in the bullet lounge or the mural lounge, where they can discuss the merits of the specially-commissioned artwork on display. The original murals, painted by artists from the Group of Seven (see p121), are now on show in a museum in Ottawa. There is also an activity car where movies are shown in the evenings and, if you are lucky, there may be a wine-tasting session, concentrating on the Canadian wines from southern Ontario.
THE OTHER TRAINS
The Ocean
Between Halifax and Montreal you’ll most likely travel aboard the same stainless-steel trains as The Canadian, though some services are on modern ‘Renaissance’ trains – check before booking if you’d like to travel old-style. Again, you can travel either in economy class or in sleeping cars, though here you have a choice of two types of sleeper class. Comfort Sleeper Class (available year-round) is pretty much like Silver & Blue on The Canadian, though your meals are not included in the price of the ticket. Easterly Class is a new peak-season tourist service, including on-board commentary from guides, exclusive access to some areas of the train and priority access to the dining car (meals included in the ticket).
The train never gets as hectically busy as The Canadian and the 191/2-hour journey proceeds at a leisurely, relaxed pace.
The Corridor
Moving on from Montreal to Toronto you'll take the aptly-titled Corridor route. The LRC trains (light, rapid and comfortable) operating along the Corridor carry the highest volume of passenger traffic in Canada. The trains are sleek, modern and very fast - downtown Montreal to downtown Toronto takes just four hours.
The train offers First Class travel, known as VIA 1, or Economy class. VIA 1 is super luxurious: you get to sit in a posh lounge before boarding; delicious three-course meals are served to you at your seat and you're plied with wine or liqueurs during and after each meal.
Economy class has the usual roomy seats and the attendants periodically bring round refreshments for which you have to pay. The journey is more functional than recreational and you're not likely to walk around the train meeting people. It gets you from A to B good and fast but it's probably the least memorable train ride you'll take in Canada.
The Skeena
The 21-hour Skeena service from Jasper to Prince Rupert, completed in 1914 by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, is a two-day daylight-only journey, in direct competition with the privately-operated Rocky Mountaineer (see p68). The Skeena is arguably the most beautiful rail journey in Canada, taking you through the heart of the Rocky Mountains and ending in the misty, deep-green fjordland of north-west British Columbia.
Passengers spend a night in Prince George en route and must arrange accommodation there themselves (you can call VIA for assistance with hotel bookings: tel 250-562-3700 for Prince George, and tel 250-624-5637 for Prince Rupert. We also give some suggestions on p216 and p220).
The trains are the same stainless-steel ones used by the Canadian. Economy class is available year-round, and from mid-May to mid-October there's the extra choice of Totem class, which includes all meals served at your seat, and offers exclusive use of the Park car at the back of the train, featuring the Bullet lounge (with wrap-around windows) and an observation dome above. Totem Deluxe class goes one step further, including reserved seats in the Panorama Dome Car.
Economy-class passengers do not have access to an observation dome during this peak season, but from 18 October to 13 May they can use the Bullet Lounge.
The Hudson Bay
The train that takes you on the one thousand-mile journey up to Churchill has rather gone to seed. Operated by VIA, it's as old as the Canadian but lacks its elegance and expensive renovations. All the same it has a charm and character all of its own and travelling aboard the Hudson Bay is a magical railway experience.
For a start, there’ll be very few of you on the train unless you go in the middle of the polar bear season. This creates a camaraderie among the passengers and by the second night you may find yourself playing poker, drinking whisky, swapping spurious anecdotes, telling obscene jokes and singing Abba songs.
Life on the train gets particularly interesting north of The Pas as you’re joined by Cree and Chepewyan natives, or wizened fishermen and trappers. For once you’re travelling not only with fellow tourists or elderly Canadians but face to face with an entirely different culture. The railway provides a vital link for the small communities along this northern stretch of the route.
The crew on The Hudson Bay is uniformly relaxed and friendly and, to tell the truth, a little on the eccentric side. This is no doubt due to the fact that most of them have been working this lonely line for many, many years. They know the route inside out, back to front; they will happily tell you everything they know about the land you’re travelling through and will point out osprey, geese, teal and ducks, giving you the names of all the wild flowers, trees and lakes that you’re passing. In winter it’s also worth keeping an eye out of the window even when it’s dark, as this is the place to catch the spectacular northern lights.
The Rocky Mountaineer and The Whistler Mountaineer
In 1989, the Armstrong Group took over The Rocky Mountaineer from VIA Rail and launched Rocky Mountaineer Railtours (now Rocky Mountaineer Vacations). It subsequently (and with some justification) dubbed its daylight-only routes as ‘the most spectacular train trips in the world’, becoming a roaring success.
The flagship Rocky Mountaineer train travels along three differing routes: the Kicking Horse route from Vancouver to Banff/Calgary; the Yellowhead route from Vancouver to Jasper; and the newly launched Fraser Discovery route from Whistler to Jasper. All of these are two-day trips, with overnight hotel stops included in the package. In addition, the company has recently introduced a new service, The Whistler Mountaineer, which travels on the old BC Railway lines from Vancouver to Whistler (a three-hour trip). All train rides can be taken in either an eastbound or westbound direction.
There are two ways of travelling on The Rocky Mountaineer: Red Leaf or Gold Leaf service. Gold Leaf passengers travel in an ultra-luxurious dome car – and pay $400 extra for the privilege. The dome area seats 74 people who are assigned seating there for the whole of the journey. Downstairs there’s an open-air observation platform and a dining area which serves hot gourmet meals. Accommodation is provided for the overnight stop at Kamloops.
At either end of the dome car are the ordinary coaches where you’ll be if you’re travelling Red Leaf. These are nowhere near as stylish as VIA’s stainless-steel fleet and you might be disappointed by the absence of a dining car or observation dome if you’ve already taken The Canadian, although there are complimentary snacks.
The Rocky Mountaineer, however, excels in other ways, primarily with their onboard service attendants. Each carriage has its own attendant who (ingenious recruitment policies ensure) will almost certainly be warm, outgoing and charismatic, inspiring instant devotion among the passengers. His or her duties include serving you breakfast, lunch, snacks and soft drinks at your seat (included in the price of the package) and providing you with commentary about the route. This is one of the highlights of the trip: the attendants have obviously been required to learn large volumes of information by heart, as their knowledge of the history of the railway and the landscape you pass through is encyclopaedic. They also do a good line in amusing anecdotes and corny jokes. Our attendant told us the railway workers constructing the line from Kamloops to Revelstoke were so fed up with the local fare – moose for breakfast, moose for dinner, moose for tea – that they expressed their frustration in the name they chose for the next station we were to pass. It was Sicamous. One attendant is also known to switch out the lights and recite Shakespeare through the five-mile Spiral Tunnels.
The Rocky Mountaineer is essentially group travel and the service attendants encourage everyone to join in, getting people to look out for mile markers or shout out to the others if they see any wildlife. This makes for a highly enjoyable atmosphere (unless you’re averse to group travel), though the real draw is, of course, the magnificent scenery and the luxury of travelling through it all in daylight.
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