Canadian
long-distance trains are run by VIA
Rail Canada, www.viarail.ca. They're a great way to see the country, whether you
travel on the inter-city trains between Toronto, Montréal and
Québec in the East, the "Océan" from Montréal to Halifax or Canada's great
trans-continental train, "The Canadian" from Toronto to Vancouver.
Left: Under the shadow of Toronto's famous CN Tower
(don't tell me you didn't know that 'CN' stands for Canadian
National Railways!), the gleaming stainless steel of 'The
Canadian' waits to leave for Vancouver... Above, right: The 'Canadian' calls at Jasper...
Two excellent daily
trains link New York with Canada, run by Amtrak, jointly with
VIA Rail in the case of the New York-Toronto train.
New York ► Montreal / Toronto
Toronto / Montreal ► New York
Daily
Mon-Fri
Sat
/ Sun
Daily
Daily
New York depart
07:15
08:15
07:45
Montreal depart
09:50
Niagara Falls USA
16:30
|
|
Toronto depart
|
08:30
Toronto arrive
19:42
|
|
Niagara Falls USA
|
12:05
Montreal arrive
18:30
17:50
New York arrive
19:40
21:45
The New
York-Toronto train is the 'Maple Leaf' with coach class & business
class. The New York-Montreal train
is the 'Adirondack', with coach class. Both trains have comfortable air-conditioned
reclining seats and a café car, and are a day well spent, highly
recommended.
Both trains travel right along the Hudson
River valley all the way from New York to Albany, with superb views of the river, including
West Point Military Academy, Bannerman's Island and Storm King
Mountain. Try to sit on the left-hand side of the train
leaving New York. The Adirondack passes through more great
scenery in the Adirondack mountains. A wonderful ride! You can check times and fares and book
online at www.amtrak.com.
Amfleet
seating as used on the New York-Toronto 'Maple Leaf'...
Amfleet
cars, as used on the 'Maple Leaf'...
Seattle to Vancouver:
A daily articulated
Spanish-designed 'Talgo' train links Seattle with Vancouver.
For details, see
www.amtrakcascades.com
or www.amtrak.com. You can also travel between
Vancouver and Seattle via Victoria, the British Columbia
provincial capital, on Vancouver Island: There is a daily
catamaran service between Seattle and Victoria (see www.victoriaclipper.com
for times & fares), and regular buses link Victoria with
Vancouver (see www.pacificcoach.com
for times & fares).
VIA Rail's fast modern inter-city
trains link Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal. Montréal to Toronto takes about 4 hours 40
minutes city centre to city centre, and the fare starts at around
Can$85 if you book in advance. Toronto to Ottawa takes about 4 hours 15
minutes. You can check times, fares
& book online at www.viarail.ca.
Montréal - Québec:
From
Montréal to Québec, air-conditioned trains run several times daily,
taking less than 3 hours. The fare is around Can$47 if you
book in advance. Check times, fares
& book online at www.viarail.ca.
Toronto -
Winnipeg - Edmonton - Jasper - Vancouver
The
greatest train in Canada, and one of the world's greatest train
journeys, VIA Rail's "Canadian" runs 3 times a week
all-year-round linking Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Jasper &
Vancouver. The journey takes 3 nights, and the train
consists of the original 1955-built stainless-steel coaches
from the Canadian Pacific Railway's "Canadian". You can
travel economically in 'Comfort Class' in a reclining seat, or
very comfortably in 'Silver and Blue' class with a
sleeping-car room, meals included.
Fares vary by time of year, higher in July & August,
Easter, etc., and lower at other times.
Comfort
Class (reclining seats):
In Comfort Class, you have a
comfortable reclining seat, and access to the Comfort Class
'Skyline' car with coffee shop, lounge and 'vista dome'.
Comfort Class seating. Seats recline,
and have fold-out leg-rests.
The Silver and Blue class dining-car...
'Section'
sleepers, daytime mode.
Silver & Blue class
(sleepers):
In Silver and Blue sleeping-car class,
you have your own sleeper, meals in the restaurant car are
included in the fare, and you can use the famous 'Park' car at
the rear of the train. The 'Park' car, 18 of which were
built and all named after Canadian parks, features a 'vista
dome' upstairs, the bullet lounge at the rear (complimentary
tea and coffee always available) and the mural lounge
downstairs underneath the dome.
The Canadian's 'Park' car:
Left: Silver & Blue class sleeping-car passengers
can use the 'Park' car at the rear of the train.
Below left: The
'bullet lounge' at the back of the
train.
Below right: Go up into the vista dome for
superb views of the scenery all around the train.
Comfort Class seats passengers also have access to a
sightseeing dome.
There are several different types of sleeper, all with hot showers at the end of the
corridor:
Sections (see photo below) are the cheapest type of sleeper.
Sections consist of open-plan seats arranged in pairs facing each
other. At night, the seats pull together to form a lower
berth, and an upper berth folds out from the wall.
Curtains are fitted to each bunk for privacy. If you've
seen Marilyn Monroe in 'Some Like it Hot', then you'll have seen
'sections' - the girl band travels from Chicago to Florida in a
sleeping-car with sections. Bring your own Marilyn...
The next step up from a section
is a roomette or bedroom. If you are travelling alone, you
will travel in a roomette. This is a very compact
single room, just big enough for a large seat with plenty of
legroom, and a leg-rest with a toilet bowl hidden
underneath. There is a washbasin in the corner. At
night, a bed folds down from behind the seat, taking up almost
all of the roomette. Bedrooms are larger rooms for two
people, with separate en suite washroom and toilet. An
upper and lower berth convert to seats for daytime use.
Bedrooms are the same price per person as a roomette.
How to
buy tickets...
You can buy tickets online
at www.viarail.ca,
picking up the tickets at the station before departure.
Alternatively, you can make
VIA Rail bookings in the UK through First Rail Ltd on 0845
644 3553. Canadian railpasses.
Watch the video -
Canada by train
It's a PR video, of
course, but it gives you a good idea of a train journey
right across Canada, from Vancouver to Toronto on the
'Canadian' with observation domes, lounges, diner &
sleepers, then by inter-city train from Toronto to Montreal,
and finally Montreal to Halifax on the 'Ocean'...
Canada's
Trans-Continental routes: A
bit of history...
There were (and are) two competing trans-continental rail routes
across Canada. The Canadian Pacific Railway opened the
first trans-continental line across Canada in 1885, running from
Montreal to Vancouver via Winnipeg, Calgary and Banff. The
second and slightly later line, built by a consortium of
railroads which were later nationalised as Canadian National
Railways (or 'CN', as in the CN Tower), runs from
Montreal/Toronto to Vancouver to the north of the CPR
route, via Winnipeg, Edmonton and Jasper. VIA Rail was
formed in 1978 as a government corporation to take over running
passenger trains from these two private companies, which now
only run freight trains. VIA Rail originally continued to
run both the Canadian Pacific's 'Canadian' and the Canadian
National's 'Super-Continental' daily on each of the two routes,
with the rolling stock getting progressively older and less
reliable. However, in 1990, this was reduced to
one train, the present-day 'Canadian', running from Toronto to
Vancouver three times a week via the Canadian National route
through Winnipeg, Edmonton and Jasper. The good news was
that the original stainless steel 'streamliner' coaches built
for the Canadian Pacific's 'Canadian' in 1955 were completely
rebuilt and upgraded for use in the new train, making this train
a real classic. However, there is now no regular passenger
service through Calgary or Banff, apart from the
Rocky Mountaineer tourist train
which runs on certain dates in summer between Calgary, Banff &
Vancouver.
Vancouver - Victoria
If
you're going to Vancouver, don't miss a trip to the
British Columbia provincial capital, Victoria, on Vancouver Island.
Regular buses link Vancouver with Victoria in about 3½ hours,
going on board a ferry to reach the Island. See www.pacificcoach.com
for times and fares. To head onwards to the States, there
is a daily fast catamaran service between Victoria and Seattle -
see www.victoriaclipper.com
or direct trains Vancouver-Seattle, see
www.amtrakcascades.com
or www.amtrak.com.
The Océan has
'Comfort class' reclining seats and 'Comfort class' sleeping-cars,
with restaurant car, coffee shop and lounge. In the summer
tourist season from June to October it also has 'Easterly' class
sleeping-cars and a 1955-vintage stainless-steel observation
dome/lounge car at the back, like the one attached to the rear
of the 'Canadian'. This
observation/lounge car is reserved exclusively for Easterly
class passengers, and meals in the restaurant car are included
in the Easterly class fare.
In summer, all departures of the Océan use modern air-conditioned sleeping-cars (some with private
toilet and shower) and reclining seat cars
originally built in the UK for the abortive Channel Tunnel night
trains, and now marketed by VIA Rail as 'Renaissance' cars.
In winter (Nov-April), four departures per week use Renaissance
cars, the remaining two departures per week
use 1955-built stainless steels seats and sleepers, similar to
those used on the Toronto-Vancouver 'Canadian'. Exact
departure times may vary slightly in winter, November to April.
There is also a Montreal-Gaspé portion of this train, using
1950s stainless steel cars, attached
three times a week. See www.viarail.ca
for more information, including fares and online booking.
Fares & how to
buy tickets...
You can
check fares for "The Océan" at www.viarail.ca. To
give you a rough idea, Montreal-Halifax costs about C$148 in
coach, C$159 in a 'section' and C$207 in a roomette or
bedroom. You can book online at www.viarail.ca,
picking up the tickets at the station before departure.
Alternatively, you can make
VIA Rail bookings in the UK through First Rail Ltd on 0845
644 3553. Canadian railpasses.
The
'Canadian' from Toronto to Vancouver
now takes the Canadian National Railways route via
Edmonton and Jasper, and there is no passenger service
over the more southerly (and allegedly more scenic) Canadian Pacific Railway route via
Calgary and Banff. However, a special tourist train called
the 'Rocky Mountaineer' runs regularly in summer between
Calgary, Banff & Vancouver. Tourist-orientated (in other
words, high...) fares are charged, usually as part of a package
including meals and accommodation - the train does the full trip in
daylight, stopping overnight on the way so passengers can sleep in a hotel. The train also operates on other routes, including
the Vancouver-Jasper route. For dates of running & fares, see the Rocky
Mountaineer website,
www.rockymountaineer.com.
Vancouver-Whistler
by "Whistler Mountaineer"
BC Rail withdrew
from passenger trains on this route, but the company that runs
the Rocky Mountaineer tourist trains has taken over the route.
A daily train April-October provides a great scenic excursion
from Vancouver to Whistler, journey time around 3 hours.
See
www.whistlermountaineer.com.
Excellent value railpasses are
available for Canada, well worth checking out if you are
planning a tour. The CanRail pass gives unlimited travel
in a seat on all VIA Rail trains, including 'Comfort Class'
reclining seats on "The Canadian" and "Océan". If you want
a Silver & Blue or Easterly Class sleeper you must pay the
difference between the seat price and the sleeper price.
Note that even in seats on "The Canadian" and "Océan", a seat
reservation will need to be made either in advance or when you
get to Canada, as you cannot hop on and travel on these trains
without a reservation. There is also a
North America
railpass covering
both Amtrak in the USA and VIA Rail in Canada for 30 days.
It costs around £397 off-peak and £560 peak.
Click the button for information about Canada railpasses, to check prices
& buy online at
the
Seat61 RailShop.
Cunard's Queen Mary 2 sails from
Southampton to New York roughly once a month, taking six
nights, or there are regular freight ships that carry
passengers. See the United
States page for more information. There are daily trains from New York to Toronto and Montreal,
see above.
Escorted tours by train across Canada...
If
you want to travel coast-to-coast across Canada or the United
States by train, but prefer to do this as
part of an all-inclusive escorted tour with fellow travellers and a
guide, UK-based company
Great Rail Journeys offers
5-star rail-based
holidays from about £2,500
per person. They also offer rail-based holidays to other countries. Check the holiday details online, then call
0845 402 2068 to book or use their
online booking form.
Seat61 gets some commission to help support the site if you book
your holiday through this link or phone number, so please
mention seat 61 when you book.
Paying for a
guidebook may seem an unnecessary expense, but it's a tiny
fraction of what you're spending on your whole trip. You
will see so much more, and know so much more about what you're
looking at, if you have a decent guidebook. For the independent traveller this
means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.
Both guidebooks provide the same
excellent level of practical information and historical
background.
It's probably the most adventurous timetable ever produced... The
famous Thomas
Cook Overseas Timetable is published every two months, and has
the latest train, bus and ferry times for everywhere outside
Europe, including Canada and the USA. It's essential for
any serious overland traveller, and an inspiration for armchair
travellers..!
It costs £13.50 from any UK high street branch of Thomas Cook, or you can buy online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com (worldwide
delivery).
A good guidebook like the Lonely Planet or
Rough Guides will point you at some good hotels in each town
or city when you get there. Alternatively, you
can pre-book hotels (budget, mid-range and upmarket) in almost
any Canadian city through
www.hotelscombined.com, just use the search box
below. It's the best hotel search system I've seen.
This is not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites for you (AsiaRooms,
Opodo, Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms and many others) to
find the cheapest hotel rates on the net. Set up in
2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place to
start for booking any hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Personal recommendation: The famous
Royal York Hotel in Toronto is a classic, and so handy for
train departures as it's across the road from the station!
It may be $260 per room, but it's well worth splashing out on
if you can manage it...
Get an
online quote
from both Direct Line & Columbus Direct...
Travel insurance is a boring subject, but it's a real necessity, so make sure you
budget for it. Make sure the cover is adequate -
for example, at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover,
from a reliable insurer. Remember that an annual
multi-trip policy is often cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just two or three trips
a year. Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy after clicking these
links.
Overland travel is best wherever
possible, and certainly when you're exploring a country.
But occasionally there may be little practical alternative to
a long-haul flight. For independent travellers,
Opodo.com is a good place to start and it's usually where
I start myself. It will book return or one-way flights
(either outbound or inbound). It's owned by Amadeus and by nine of Europe's leading
airlines - Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian
Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa.
Seat61 gets some commission if you buy through these links.