5 ms·

I didn't know there was a trans-Canadian railroad. Did anyone try it?

alisonatwork 3y ago
I took Via east to west a while back. It takes a few days, but just like Amtrak the regular seats are more spacious and comfortable than airplane seats so it's not too bad. No internet most of the way, so you better have some books or something to entertain yourself. The food is terrible because of course it is. Bring snacks. The train also stops for a couple hours in Winnipeg which has lots of places to get a good feed. The scenery is pretty great, especially through northern Ontario where it feels like you are traveling through an alien planet where the only thing that exists are rocks, trees and eerie, pitch-black pools of liquid that you could imagine isn't water. You fall asleep at night then wake up the next morning and the view out the window is exactly the same. It's wild. Crossing the Rockies isn't really worth it if you're only going for the views, imo. Lots of tourists get on the train at Jasper, but I imagine they'll be disappointed because the epic vistas are fleeting and most of the time your line of sight is blocked by trees, cliffs or tunnels. Unlike the route out of Denver on Amtrak, you don't get an awesome desert on the other side either. Either way, the main point is that it's pretty much the only way to get from one side of Canada to the other if you don't want to use a plane or zig-zag through the US. Greyhound is gone, STC is gone, stringing together a bus route with a hodge podge of local operators is tough and in some places just leads you back up to Via anyway. If you're lucky enough to live along the CN line then Via is all there is, and it's better than nothing at all, which is the situation for a huge chunk of rural Canada.
dewert 3y ago
I haven't tried it, because it's outrageously expensive to get a cabin with a bed, and I don't want to sit in a chair for a week. But it's pretty famous - we even have a song about it! [1] [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Railroad_Trilogy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Railroad_Trilogy
- morkalork 3y ago
  Taking the dome car through the rockies and a bit of the prairies would be awesome but flying out there just for that is hard to justify.
a3c9 3y ago
I took it around 5-6 years ago when I was moving to Vancouver from the east coast. It was a great way to see the country and meet some other travellers - such a strange travel option attracts some interesting folks! The highlight though is the Jasper-Vancouver leg going through the Rockies - if you don’t have 3 days to burn that’s a good choice. Rocky Mountaineer line goes through there as well iirc.
chrisfosterelli 3y ago
It's a big part of the country's history; the project was a key bargaining chip to get BC to join Canada. Development started with the first prime minister and the actual construction was incredibly expensive and filled with controversy over bribes and exploding construction costs, causing gov turnover and bringing the federal gov into significant financial risk a few times. But they did push onward to completion and it became the core pathway for the further settlement of western Canada, which was instrumental to the country's expansion. Nowadays it's primarily a freight railway, the passenger traffic is very minimal and tickets are very expensive; it's more of a tourism attraction than practical method of passenger transport.
- Lammy 3y ago
  Relevant: Canadian Pacific Railway's Rogers Pass Project (1983–1989, 1hr27m) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zepXkTPvqA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zepXkTPvqA
- jszymborski 3y ago
  The cross canada rail trip is that deadly combo of exceptionally expensive and exceptionally slow.
  - chrisfosterelli 3y ago
    Nowadays for sure. But before the trans-Canada highway and before commercial flight, it was a pretty great deal!
  - ghaff 3y ago
    That pretty much describes long distance North American rail generally. At least in the US, I'd add that it's not only slow but could be delayed by a day or more. I've occasionally toyed with the idea of taking one of those trains for at least part of their route but I have a feeling that it's one of those things where the idea >> the reality and it would get pretty old once the novelty wore off. Later this year I'm going with a more luxurious version instead (ocean liner).

I took Via east to west a while back. It takes a few days, but just like Amtrak the regular seats are more spacious and comfortable than airplane seats so it's not too bad. No internet most of the way, so you better have some books or something to entertain yourself. The food is terrible because of course it is. Bring snacks. The train also stops for a couple hours in Winnipeg which has lots of places to get a good feed. The scenery is pretty great, especially through northern Ontario where it feels like you are traveling through an alien planet where the only thing that exists are rocks, trees and eerie, pitch-black pools of liquid that you could imagine isn't water. You fall asleep at night then wake up the next morning and the view out the window is exactly the same. It's wild. Crossing the Rockies isn't really worth it if you're only going for the views, imo. Lots of tourists get on the train at Jasper, but I imagine they'll be disappointed because the epic vistas are fleeting and most of the time your line of sight is blocked by trees, cliffs or tunnels. Unlike the route out of Denver on Amtrak, you don't get an awesome desert on the other side either. Either way, the main point is that it's pretty much the only way to get from one side of Canada to the other if you don't want to use a plane or zig-zag through the US. Greyhound is gone, STC is gone, stringing together a bus route with a hodge podge of local operators is tough and in some places just leads you back up to Via anyway. If you're lucky enough to live along the CN line then Via is all there is, and it's better than nothing at all, which is the situation for a huge chunk of rural Canada.

dewert 3y ago

I haven't tried it, because it's outrageously expensive to get a cabin with a bed, and I don't want to sit in a chair for a week. But it's pretty famous - we even have a song about it! [1] [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Railroad_Trilogy https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Railroad_Trilogy

morkalork 3y ago
Taking the dome car through the rockies and a bit of the prairies would be awesome but flying out there just for that is hard to justify.

a3c9 3y ago

I took it around 5-6 years ago when I was moving to Vancouver from the east coast. It was a great way to see the country and meet some other travellers - such a strange travel option attracts some interesting folks! The highlight though is the Jasper-Vancouver leg going through the Rockies - if you don’t have 3 days to burn that’s a good choice. Rocky Mountaineer line goes through there as well iirc.

chrisfosterelli 3y ago

It's a big part of the country's history; the project was a key bargaining chip to get BC to join Canada. Development started with the first prime minister and the actual construction was incredibly expensive and filled with controversy over bribes and exploding construction costs, causing gov turnover and bringing the federal gov into significant financial risk a few times. But they did push onward to completion and it became the core pathway for the further settlement of western Canada, which was instrumental to the country's expansion. Nowadays it's primarily a freight railway, the passenger traffic is very minimal and tickets are very expensive; it's more of a tourism attraction than practical method of passenger transport.

Lammy 3y ago
Relevant: Canadian Pacific Railway's Rogers Pass Project (1983–1989, 1hr27m) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zepXkTPvqA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zepXkTPvqA
jszymborski 3y ago
The cross canada rail trip is that deadly combo of exceptionally expensive and exceptionally slow.
- chrisfosterelli 3y ago
  Nowadays for sure. But before the trans-Canada highway and before commercial flight, it was a pretty great deal!
- ghaff 3y ago
  That pretty much describes long distance North American rail generally. At least in the US, I'd add that it's not only slow but could be delayed by a day or more. I've occasionally toyed with the idea of taking one of those trains for at least part of their route but I have a feeling that it's one of those things where the idea >> the reality and it would get pretty old once the novelty wore off. Later this year I'm going with a more luxurious version instead (ocean liner).